Atlanta, GA (1888PressRelease)
May 24, 2009 - Snellville,Ga., a city about 25 miles east of Atlanta is where racial strives are being made by a well known prominate family mending their historic roots. The white and black Livseys are now one family. This year's reunion will be only the second time in over 170 years that the families of both races will reunion together.
Since 1815 the Livsey family has been rooted in Georgia. Recently, they were aknowledged as being one of a handful of pioneering families known as, " The First Families Of Gwinnett County", by the Gwinnett County Historical Society. However, this year's family reunion will be held in Dekalb County, from 12:00-3::00pm at the Milan Park in Clarkston, Ga., June 14, 2009.
Last year, there was a media presence to document the occassion. Spectators were amazed at how everyone got along . They shared stories and recipes. They entertained each other through songs and jokes. By the end of the reunion they were simply one family. Case in point, after the dinner, Tom Livsey was elected the first black family president of the white Livseys.
Tom Livsey is a merchant banker and news editor. Along with his father Thomas Livsey, they researched the family history and eventually brought the two families together again with the help of Annette Livsey Merritt.
Below is his story about the Livsey history and what he thinks about how they can help improve racial relations in the United States:
This is the story of the racial divide and a reunion 187 years ago,of a proud American family.
" We are the Livseys'. Our family gained news attention this past summer when for the first time, the white and black Livseys' celebrated a family reunion together. It was a wonderful occasion".
He added," No one owed no one an explanation or excuse for the past. No animosity... No guilt. The Only thing each and everyone left with, was a whole new family tree. How about that? Since then we have become one family. The Livseys' ".
Its our purpose to promote the heritage of Gwinnett County,Georgia. We feel its our duty to educate its citizens, students, and visitors of the influences and effects of the Civil War. While history books illustrate grand battlefields , like Gettysburg, Vicksburg or even Chickamauga, where fathers and brothers fought to the death, against each other. The bloody and the dead were left to rot where they laid.
For better or worse, today's history is left for the living. We must question our past in order to determine our own future.
Our Georgia history starts back in Virginia, with the birth of a son to an English family, the Leviseys'. They were still new to the American Colonies. After extensive research,they found their new home, in a small town named Culpepper, Virginia.Shortly after, the Levisey family welcomed in a new-born boy named,Greene in 1774.
Although he was from English desent, he served in the War of 1812 from Virginia. After the war he moved to Georgia around 1815. On January 7,1817, he married Barbara Ann Poss. The daughter of Henry Poss ( Boss ) in Wilkes Co., Ga. The Poss family was of Dutch descent.
Green H. Livsey (name spelled as, Lipsey in Wilkes Co.1820-'39records), lived in Wilkes County about twenty-five years before selling his plantation there in 1838. He served for two years as overseer to Sen. Robert Toombs Plantation, before he moved to the county borders of Gwinnett and Walton Counties in 1840.
Sandy Levisey was born 1821-22. He is alledgely the mulatto son of Green Levisey.
Sandy was the progenitor of the black Livsey families that were registered in the 1870 U.S.Population Cencus in Gwinnett County records. In the 1880 U.S. Census, both Levisey family parties were using the current spelling of, "Livsey".
1870 records show that Sandy maintained control of his family throughout all of the obstacles faced by most freedmen and slaves during the 1820-1865. He was not faced with issues about separartion of family, as in the historic fiction like ,"Roots". He was not included as a slave; however, he did remain loyal and close to the white Livseys' of Gwinnett Co., Ga..up to 1900's.
Until recently, like most American families, family records or family trees were primarily for the priviledged and the powerful, as a record of how to allocate family jewels or power.
I am just a brick in the wall that Sandy Livsey built on the foundation Green H. Livsey started. I have been researching our family tree for over the past eight years with my best assistant, my father, Thomas Livsey.Until then me and my daddy could only talk about work. Now we have a hobby! No its not a "Rock, Coin, Stamp or even comicbook collection. We are trying to put our family history together before we die.
It has been very challenging, due to our mixed nationalities. My forefathers were black, white and Indian. Melungeon is the term that describes a person of tri-racial desendance. Historical records were not always kept for slaves and Indians. A lot of records sometimes were passed down through family members; however, much was lost because of the inability of the elder members that did not acknowledge the mixed blood.
Seems to me "You are either too young to know or too old to care", when it came to discussing family matters in the past.
My daddy only wanted to know about his grandfather, Hiram.Who was he? Were is he buried? But my ability to research online and at the Archives, hit a brick wall in 1870 cencus...Up til then, I was able to find small bits of pieces of info about my forefathers. My father would quizzed me every other day. His questions went from..., Did you find something? To wishful thinking remarks like'"Did you find anything?
The biggest and most important revelation of all, for both of us, was to realize that in order for us to find our forefathers beyond the 1870 cencus, we must make contact with the known white Livsey family from the same area during the same time. (Note: This is the most important aspect for mending slavery issues. For only through researching plantation owners and slaves /or desendants, can you people of color learn to be able to honor your forefathers and mothers who strived to make this day possible for all of you black people. Let go of any unfounded hate.
What followed was simply not imagined. My dad called Jack Livsey. They had joked for decades about being cousins. However during those times in the1960's in the south, that was nothing to joke about. Jack told my father to call Annette Livsey, because she was the family's historian. She invited us to her home and we both revealed some of our family history that we both lacked. Moreover, she welcomed us back home to the family.
We Are The Livseys'.
The name meaning for "Livsey", is "Protector of the Island". Our origin is from Lanchashire, U.K. It must be true, because my new found cousin, FOUR STAR GENERAL BILL LIVSEY-WAS THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF IN KOREA. Livseys' lead, apparently.
So, in order to maintain our new family legacy, we want to provide a template for other families, who perhaps share the same last name, even the same progenitor. Most importantly, is to advocate and educate.......without hate. The past is gone. The future is from the mold we make today.
Hold what you have in your mind...Now burn what hatred you might have in there.....because if given the chance to raise from their graves, your ancestors would rejoice of the fact that YOU are free....If pushed further they would chastise you for your lingering hatred and instead tell you of where the "Real Start of Slavery began...in Africa---by conquering black african chieftains.These African Chiefs were responsilble for trading your forefathers into slavery for trade goods.
I am proud of my heritage. You have to understand, you are born into your heritage, your heritage is not born to you. So I know that there are many families like mind and I hope my struggles and success might help and be used as a template for those who yearn for their complete family history. I urge those who are seriously considering doing a book on your family tree. Get to know your other family from the past. No apologies needed, just love and understanding.
We have before us, an enormous and monumental decision to make. Should we remain apart or unite the families? We can take a democratic vote,or we can do nothing. We have no obligation, one way or another.
But for our name, we should do the former. Moreover, we would be committing a crime otherwise. It would be a sin against our forefathers, not to set the record straight. Green H. Livsey and Sandy Livsey would roll in their graves if we didn't take this opportunity to do the right thing, now!!!!
It's our DUTY to show the American People the way to a better day. LIVE TO SEE A BETTER DAY!!! (i.e.LIVSEE) We are the Livseys'.... PROTECTOR OF THE ISLAND
Sincerely,
Tom Livsey
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