Gaines-Family.Org

05/21/2022

05/17/2022

Have you written a book about your family history? If not, are you considering it someday? I'm looking to begin networking with like-minded authors & would be authors. Writing a book on your family history can be a tremendous task. The process can be eased with a support structure. If your book is already published, maybe you are looking to widen viewership.
The type of author-to-author support network I speak of does not currently exist. But it is needed. It is why I am looking to hear from you. Together we can unlock the mystery of what it takes to become a successful author.
All african-american family history authors & would be authors are welcomed to respond. Either by direct message or comment below.

02/16/2022

This is a quick & easy way of sharing your images with others. Whether it is only a few or hundreds at a time.

06/11/2021

Celebrating the Life of Mr. Jessie Andrews

https://youtu.be/T0PsFdYOxWs

03/25/2021

Ode to the Gaines Family

Growing up at the time I did, I was never a fan of the Big Band era (before my time). But I did enjoy the Oldies But Goodies. Frequently audiotaping directly from radio broadcasts. In the 90's I happened to record from my favorite Oldies station something I had never heard before. Which was a medley of popular big band tunes. Although not a fan of that period, I adored that version of the medley (I later learned it was called "Hooked on Swing"). Each time I would replay it again, visions of my relatives from an earlier generation would abound in my head. I wondered what it would be like to have a collage of pictures moving around in much the same way as I had imagined? 16 years ago was long before I had ever heard of Facebook. I was toying around with my Adobe application called AE. I decided then & there to grab several of my vintage family photos and use AE to generate their movements around my pc screen. I laid down as a soundtrack the Hooked on Swing version I had recorded from the radio years earlier. For someone who had not done anything like it before, I was pleased with the result. Even though the final file size was 1Gb (enormous at the time). Few family members ever got to see it. The ones who did always responded the same way. "Please make a disk copy for me." Even though I did so several times over, it was during the time when just because a disk played good in one machine, did not mean it would on the next. Which is one of the reasons I have created this page on Facebook to go along with the family website. As a place to view such things as this ode to our family members from an era gone by.

Sidenote: Although I have been able to identify what the name of the medley is called, thus far I have been unsuccessful in finding who made this version of it. Which is superior to all similar versions I have heard. Which is why you can hear the radio announcer's voice come on at its very end.

03/22/2021

https://www.sassyjanegenealogy.com/

https://www.sassyjanegenealogy.com/genealogy-on-facebook-list-updated-feb-2017/

03/18/2021

https://www.sassyjanegenealogy.com/

03/17/2021

Sylvester Gaines Sr.

http://gaines-family.org/Front/02_6Child/Sixth_a-html.html

http://gaines-family.org/Generation_2/G1-01_G2/G1-01_G2-06A_Sylvester_Gaines_Sr/G1-01_G2-06A_Sylvester_Gaines_Sr/Album/index.html

03/17/2021

Celestean Lary (1927-2018)

Also known as 'Tine. The Gaines family spans several generations. Out of them all, she is the only one who was an albino. She recounts a harrowing childhood in which she suffered ridicule by members of her own race for the color of her skin. Her physical condition was complicated by eye sensitivity to brightness & poor vision. Some of her experiences as an adult have been edited out.

03/16/2021

"If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong. I can not remember when I did not so think, and feel."
-Abraham Lincoln

It was in my early years that I heard the story of Joseph Cinqué & his plight aboard La Amistad. How he was portrayed as launching a revolt against bo***ge. Which is why he is placed in history along side the other great abolistionists. Such as Frederick Douglass, Hariet Tubman & Nat Turner. Such an account as his is well documented all the while his feet are beyond the shores of his native continent.

From the time of my childhood, I was peppered with quotes such as that above from the president. Which leads one to conclude that no documented evidence exists of a named abolistionist within the shores of the motherland. I've been around for a long time. I know of the fighters against colonialism & apartheid. What I would like to know of are the counterparts to the Douglass', the Tubman's & the Turner's. Such that they are known more for their anti-slavery than anything else.

03/15/2021

https://africanamericanexperience.org/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J42GmsTN6Q4&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuELtMteMGd_Zqg5IM2cCRg

03/11/2021

As stated in my previous post. I am a professional photographer who has used Photoshop for over 20 years. But that I hold my position as family historian & photo archivist in higher esteem than do I my skills with picture manipulation. Which is why I steer clear of such labor intensive techniques as enhancing faded photographs. However I am delighted to share with others my latest discovery. Which has been around for at least several months, but I am just now finding out about it. With the latest release of Photoshop (as this is for Adobe users), they have installed a preliminary version of a 1-button colorization. Which they have made available to their subscribers. Unlike the labor intensive photo enhancement techniques, all colorization requires is the push of a single button. All professional photographers would agree that Adobe has a way to go before turning a picture into true color. But for a guy like me, this is a game changer. Something I have been waiting around to see for a long time.

03/10/2021

2021.03.09 Conversation with Deacon Luther Rhodes

Part 1
James Gaines was the brother of Leroy Gaines. It is James who has the plot on the cemetary grounds of Level Hill Church. Headstones also appear within the same plot for Rufus Gaines, Beatrice Gaines Ware & Voila Gaines.

Part 2
Summer of 2019 visit to Georgia
At the time of my arrival, I found from members of my own family they would be having a memorial service for Lillian Andrews. It would take place on the weekend. It would be at Level Hill church in Crawfordville. It is where the Gaines plot is located, which belongs to Leroy's brother. His name was James Gaines. He had several children. One of which was a son named Rufus.

I attended Lillian's service on Saturday. Lillian was buried right on the church cemetary grounds. So her repast was in the church's cafeteria area. I ended up seated across from the funeral staff that handled the service. We struck up a conversation. I told them I was visiting from out of state. I talked about the church & the role it played in the history of my family for generations. I said that I have many descendants which are buried right out there in the cemetary. But that I was somewhat dishearted by the fact of the church not keeping any records of who is buried on its own grounds. One of the funeral director ladies mentioned the name deacon Rhodes. She said, "Maybe you need to talk to deacon Rhodes. If anyone knows who is buried on the grounds, it would be him." That immediately got my mind thinking. I had never heard of him or had his named mentioned to me before. But no sooner than her saying that, I had to find out if he happened to be there that day.

I looked for & found Bernice. I told her what I had been told by the directors. That the name deacon Rhodes had been mentioned. She looked around the room but did not see him. She said she did not know where he was at. Which was all I needed to hear. It was good enough to know he had been there. If he was still around, I would find him.

I went back up to the main sanctuary. No one was in it except an old man vacuuming the floor rug. I told him I was looking for deacon Rhodes. He said, "I am he." We sat together & talked. About 30 minutes in all. It could have gone on a lot longer had it been left up to me. But I did not want to keep him from his duties. I asked if I could have his number & give him a call sometime. He provided it to me. I told him I would call in a few days.

The story of deacon Rhodes I found to be interesting. He was born & raised in the Crawfordville area. He said he had grown up with the children of Rufus Gaines & knows them all well. That is a part of the family I know nothing about. The descendants of a sibling of Leroy. As a young man, he left Georgia to move to New Jersey. Where he lived most of his adult life. Twenty years ago was when he returned to Georgia to live. He had become the head of the deacon board at the church.

Part 3
In Grandpop's tape, he talked about many different things. There was a female name he mentioned several times. The name was Doretha. She was his niece. Her last name is Andrews. She died twenty years ago. I never got to meet her. Doretha lived all her life in Crawfordville. She was active in the church. Her husband was head of the deacon board. His name was Jesie. Doretha & Jesie had several children. One of the daughters is Bernice. Who has become holder of the bible. A son of Doretha & Jesie is Douglas. The wife of Douglas was Lillian. It was for Lillian's service that I had come to the church that day.

I visited Bernice several times over the years. We got to know each other well. She always lived in Atlanta. Between her & her siblings they would take turns coming to Crawfordville to care for their dad, Jesie. Who lost his sight many years ago.

The furthest I had gotten about the own story of Deacon Luther Rhodes. When he returned to Crawfordville and Level Hill church, Jesie was still head of the deacon board. As he aged, he wanted to maintain his position. But eventually he could not. That was when Rhodes assumed the position. Something else I had learned. Rufus Gaines had a son who lived in New Jersey. His name was also James Gaines. I talked to him on the phone once. He let it be known he wanted nothing to do with the history of the Gaines family. It was of no interest to him whatsoever. A couple years after him telling me that, I met up with him in person at one of Level Hills homecoming services. But I could tell he was no friendlier than he had been before. Deacon Rhodes knows James Gaines. Both from growing up & living in New Jersey. When I had relayed to the deacon the attitude I had received from James Gaines his only reply was, "That does not surprise me."

Part 4
2021.03.09 Conversation with Deacon Luther Rhodes
I told him I was not going to talk long. Since he is the one with all the information it would not be good for me to have a single lenthly conversation. Rather, best to break it out into several short discussions over time. To this he agreed. The first thing I mentioned to him was about the Level Hill anniversary documents which Randall gave me to copy five years ago. It was a pamphlet of the church's 100 year anniversary. Which took place in the seventies. I said that the name Deacon Luther Rhodes is mentioned several times over. My assumption was that it was he. But he disagreed. At first he was as baffled as I. Then he remembered. That his father had been head of the deacon board around that time. "My daddy had the title & then Jesie assumed it afterwards." Which solved that question for me. Other details of my discussion are stated.

Children of James Gaines are as follows,
Rufus Gaines (Son)
Carrie (Daughter) married Roger Terrell
Deatra (Daughter) who traveled to Ohio
Viola (Daughter)
Beatra Gaines (Daughter)

Rufus Gaines & his wife split up. Upon their separation, the wife took their only child (a son) named James Gaines to live with her in New Jersey. As an adult he worked for New Jersey transit as a toll collector. Several years ago he was afflicted with a stroke. He has been in a nursing home since. I first met Deacon Rhodes at Level Hill church during the summer of 2019. This was when he informed me of the physical state of James Gaines in New Jersey. But today he informed me that James Gaines has died. The wife of James Gaines has also died as of several months ago.

I had asked several relatives about a prominent descendant from our past. Gary Gaines. He was said to have been 1st cousin to Grandpop. It meant that a brother or sister of Grandpop was the parent of Gary Gaines. But no one knew exactly who that parent was. It remained a mystery until today. Deacon Rhodes solved it. And by accident. Because he was the one who brought up Gary's name to me. He said he remembers Gary. "Gary & Rufus were brothers," he said. Now I need not change anything on the family website. I had stuck in Gary with the rest of the children of James until I found out more. Come to find out, he is already where he belongs.

03/09/2021

This is Yvette. Based on how poorly my first attempt was, I decided to forego eyes blinking for right now. Instead, paying more attention to simple eye movements. I think these results are better.

BTW, all of this are results of Photoshop. After all these years of using it, I am just now finding out about its timeline feature.

03/09/2021

While clearly not interested in the labors of photo enhancement, the advances in the MyHeritage's "Deep Nastalgia" have set me back on my heals with a bang. Not to go have them do it, but to see what I can self-teach myself as to how to come close to what they have perfected. I knew I would never be able to replicate their incredible head movements. But I wanted to find out what else I could do short of that. Pictured here is Lena. It is my first effort at doing a simultaneous blink and slight smile. I am almost embarrassed at how wooden the results look. But hey, we all have to start somewhere.

03/08/2021

In February of 2021, Mr. Steele had created an interesting post in the genealogy group on Facebook. I sent him a message inviting him as a podcast guest. To which he accepted.

03/07/2021

Fellow family historians know how much pictures are involved in everything we do. Yet the subject of photo enhancement techniques remaines one seldom discussed in the light of day.