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One Saint Louis
Woman’s Discovery
of Her Family History
For over fifteen years, Carmen White has conducted extensive family history research, tracing the rich, resilient history of her family. Saint Bonnewood is a combination of the names of the birthplaces of Carmen's four grandparents and the digital home where she plans to share her findings, ensuring their stories and legacies are remembered and celebrated.
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Genealogy is a powerful tool for Black people to reclaim and celebrate their rich heritage. By tracing your ancestry, you honor the resilience and achievements of your ancestors, ensuring their stories are never forgotten. Embrace your roots, connect with your past, and empower future generations with the strength of your history.
why genealogy matters
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Carmen White
I'm Carmen, a proud third generation St. Louisan, fifth generation Missourian, and family historian hailing from a long line of free and formerly enslaved people in Haywood County, Tennessee; Clay County (North Kansas City), Missouri and the Lead Belt area of Missouri (St. Francois and the surrounding counties). I fell in love with genealogy as a child, when Alex Haley's "Queen" aired on television. As a precocious young kid and teenager, I would often ask my elders lots of questions about our family history, but I did not begin formally researching until May of 2010, when I was a graduate student.
Since then, I've been fortunate to lend my expertise as a researcher and interviewee for the Peabody-nominated podcast Unfinished; Deep South on the episode entitled "Family Ties". Additionally, I provided research support for the Reveal News podcast Locked Up: the Prison Labor that Built Empires. And if that wasn't enough, I was also a featured panelist and researcher on BlackProGen LIVE! Episode 83b: "Stories from the National Memorial for Peace and Justice". I have also given presentations to genealogical societies and corporations around genealogy, identity and belonging, as well as my personal research.
I proudly hold a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a minor in Black Studies from the University of Missouri (Mizzou) and a Master of Public Affairs from the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University.
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Let's take a trip down
Memory Lane
Researching Saint Bonnewood
A DEEP HERITAGE
Southeastern Missouri Roots
Carmen has deep ancestral ties to most of the counties that make up the area of southeast Missouri known as "The Lead Belt", primarily St. Francois, Jefferson, Sainte Genevieve, Washington and Iron. Her ancestors and relatives in this area, both free and enslaved, have been documented there since the 1820s and primarily worked in farming, domestic work, laundering, railroading, and lead mining (St. Joe Lead Company, Valle Mining Company).
Family names include Fulton, Madison, LaPlant, Caldwell, Taylor, Hunt, Hutchings, and more. Confirmed slaveholders include James and Meeke (Perrin) Caldwell, John and Eliza Perry, John Fulton, James W. Smith, etc.
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NAVIGATING OUR JOURNEY TO
Saint Louis and Missouri
Carmen is a third generation St. Louisan and fifth generation Missourian by way of her maternal grandfather and his ancestors, who were brought to the Kansas City area from Kentucky by their slaveholders in the 1830s. They resided primarily in North Kansas City until the early 1900s, when they moved into Kansas City proper, with some also settling in Kansas City, Kansas. Her 2x great-grandmother left the area in the early 1900s and relocated to St. Louis.
Family names for this branch of her family include Johnson, Stewart, Montgomery, Thomas, and others. Slaveholders of interest include Baruch Prather, Joseph McNeil and Nancy Ann (Prather) Chandler.
HAYWOOD COUNTY
Tennessee Family Roots
Haywood County, Tennessee has been home to Carmen’s paternal grandparents and family for generations. The roots run deep in this area, with extended family ties in Lauderdale, Fayette, Madison, Davidson and Rutherford Counties. The family names associated with this lineage include Turner, Gause, Vaulx, Taylor, Jarrett, Jeter, Davis, Tucker and Nixon.
Confirmed slaveholders include William and Sarah (Henderson) Vaulx, Braxton Brantley Hill, Asa Mann, William C. Nixon, and Thomas Jefferson Short.
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