{"id":29476,"date":"2023-11-27T15:25:37","date_gmt":"2023-11-27T20:25:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/?p=29476"},"modified":"2024-01-09T13:30:54","modified_gmt":"2024-01-09T18:30:54","slug":"stewart-genealogy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/stewart-genealogy\/","title":{"rendered":"Genealogy\u00a0Research Helped Me Find My Cornellian Cousins"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-large-font-size\">I discovered that I\u2019m descended from an enslaved couple who settled a town called Promised Land\u2014and so are two fellow alumni<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By <strong>Melanie Stewart \u201910<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide has-media-on-the-right is-stacked-on-mobile\"><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">When I started the hobby of tracing my family tree, I expected to learn bits and pieces about my ancestors. I did not expect that this hobby would connect me to relatives who also went to Cornell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tracing African-American ancestry can be an overwhelming and challenging pursuit\u2014and most research efforts fall short at the point of slavery. Documents from that period commonly omitted the names of enslaved African Americans because of their status as property, making it difficult to continue to identify the next generation. <\/p>\n<\/div><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"729\" height=\"729\" src=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/image_6487327.jpeg\" alt=\"Melanie Stewart\" class=\"wp-image-29539 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/image_6487327.jpeg 729w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/image_6487327-300x300.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/image_6487327-150x150.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/image_6487327-632x632.jpeg 632w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/image_6487327-316x316.jpeg 316w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/image_6487327-400x400.jpeg 400w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/image_6487327-200x200.jpeg 200w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/image_6487327-100x100.jpeg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 729px) 100vw, 729px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite the challenge, I started researching my family\u2019s genealogy\u2014and was amazed to find other members of my family who are Cornellians! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Information on Ancestry.com led me to meet cousins\u00a0Evan Reynolds \u201919 and his father, Rodney Reynolds \u201976. We all descend from\u00a0Mary Reynolds and her husband, John Goode, who were born in 1810 and 1805, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I drew the conclusion of our shared lineage after contacting a poster on the Ancestry site named Eric Reynolds, who identified Mary and her sons as early settlers of a historically Black town called Promised Land, SC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide is-stacked-on-mobile\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/image_50769665-1-1024x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"Melanie Stewart and Evan Reynolds, both wearing bucket hats from their Greek organizations\" class=\"wp-image-29549 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/image_50769665-1-1024x1024.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/image_50769665-1-300x300.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/image_50769665-1-150x150.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/image_50769665-1-768x768.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/image_50769665-1-1536x1536.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/image_50769665-1-1264x1264.jpeg 1264w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/image_50769665-1-632x632.jpeg 632w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/image_50769665-1-316x316.jpeg 316w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/image_50769665-1-400x400.jpeg 400w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/image_50769665-1-200x200.jpeg 200w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/image_50769665-1-100x100.jpeg 100w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/image_50769665-1.jpeg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Stewart (right) and newfound relative Evan Reynolds \u201919, both sporting their Greek bucket hats. <\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p>During our exchange of family backgrounds and my mention that I went to Cornell, Eric said that his uncle Rodney and cousin Evan also went there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He connected me to them, and I was surprised and intrigued to find out that I had other Cornellians in my family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I am based in Chicago\u2014and coincidently, the week after I learned of my newfound cousins, Evan moved to Evanston, IL, to begin his PhD program at Northwestern.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Within days of discovering our shared ancestry, I met him and Rodney at a local pizza restaurant near Northwestern\u2019s campus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Over pizza, we discussed our immediate families and Cornell. It turns out that we had a lot in common.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rodney and I realized that he spent some of his childhood in Evanston, and that I spent some of mine in an adjacent suburb, Skokie. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Over pizza, we discussed our immediate families and Cornell. It turns out that we had a lot in common.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Also, Evan, Rodney, and I lived in the same dorm (<a href=\"https:\/\/cornell.campusgroups.com\/urc\/home\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ujamaa<\/a>) while at Cornell, and Evan and I both joined historically Black Greek organizations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We also discussed how our mutual ancestors established a town, owned land there, and were activists for equal rights just a few years after being emancipated from slavery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/IMG_9424-1.jpeg\" alt=\"Melanie Stewart, Evan Reynolds, Rodney Reynolds, and Rodney's wife Donna at a table in a pizza restaurant\" class=\"wp-image-29548\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/IMG_9424-1.jpeg 750w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/IMG_9424-1-300x240.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/IMG_9424-1-632x506.jpeg 632w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/IMG_9424-1-316x253.jpeg 316w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/IMG_9424-1-400x320.jpeg 400w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/IMG_9424-1-200x160.jpeg 200w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/IMG_9424-1-100x80.jpeg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Stewart dining with her two Cornellian relatives and Rodney&#8217;s wife, Donna (second from left).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>I took great pride in their endeavors and wanted to learn more about the town they established. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To my surprise, I\u2019ve been able to learn quite a bit about the town because sociologist Elisabeth Rauh Bethel wrote a book about it (<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/3432348-promiseland-a-century-of-life-in-a-negro-community\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Promiseland: A Century of Life in a Negro Community<\/a><\/em>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide has-media-on-the-right is-stacked-on-mobile\"><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p>I didn\u2019t know what I would find when I started my family tree and genealogy research. I just wanted to find out more about the people that I come from. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even though our families had lost touch about 100 years ago after my great-grandfather moved to Philadelphia during the Great Migration, our commonalities led me to conclude that we came from the same stock. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Through the experience of reconnecting with family, I learned that Mary, John, and their sons very much valued education at a time when education was denied to them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But their instilled value of education and the passing of that value through the generations can be seen in me, Evan, and Rodney today.<\/p>\n<\/div><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/Promiseland-cover.jpeg\" alt=\"The cover of &quot;Promiseland&quot;\" class=\"wp-image-29542 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/Promiseland-cover.jpeg 400w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/Promiseland-cover-200x300.jpeg 200w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/Promiseland-cover-263x395.jpeg 263w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/Promiseland-cover-333x500.jpeg 333w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/Promiseland-cover-167x250.jpeg 167w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/Promiseland-cover-83x125.jpeg 83w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><figcaption>The historically Black town where Stewart\u2019s ancestors settled was chronicled in a book published in 1981.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>We now take pride in being a family of Cornellians!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Melanie Stewart \u201910<\/em><\/strong><em> is an employment attorney for a tech company where she puts her ILR education to work by assessing legal risks in the workplace. She maintains strong friendships with several Cornell classmates with whom she has traveled the world and to whom she talks daily. She enjoys cooking, outdoor activities\u2014and her new hobby, genealogy.    <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>All images provided.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Published November 27, 2023<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I discovered that I\u2019m descended from an enslaved couple who settled a town called Promised Land\u2014and so are two fellow alumni<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":29538,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"alumni_hub_syml_posts":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[639],"tags":[],"cornell_year_post":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-29476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-perspectives"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Genealogy\u00a0Research Helped Me Find My Cornellian Cousins - Cornellians | Cornell University<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I discovered that I\u2019m descended from an enslaved couple who settled a town called Promised Land\u2014and so are two fellow alumni\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/stewart-genealogy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Genealogy\u00a0Research Helped Me Find My Cornellian Cousins - Cornellians | Cornell University\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I discovered that I\u2019m descended from an enslaved couple who settled a town called Promised Land\u2014and so are two fellow alumni\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/stewart-genealogy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Cornellians | Cornell University\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Cornellians\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-11-27T20:25:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-01-09T18:30:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/Chime-In_01_6487327.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Beth Saulnier\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@WeCornellians\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@WeCornellians\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Beth Saulnier\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/stewart-genealogy\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/stewart-genealogy\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Beth Saulnier\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/32fea64e8c64bb984ed5809675634100\"},\"headline\":\"Genealogy\u00a0Research Helped Me Find My Cornellian Cousins\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-11-27T20:25:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-01-09T18:30:54+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/stewart-genealogy\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":719,\"commentCount\":8,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/stewart-genealogy\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2023\\\/11\\\/Chime-In_01_6487327.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Chime In\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/stewart-genealogy\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/stewart-genealogy\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/stewart-genealogy\\\/\",\"name\":\"Genealogy\u00a0Research Helped Me Find My Cornellian Cousins - Cornellians | Cornell University\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/stewart-genealogy\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/stewart-genealogy\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2023\\\/11\\\/Chime-In_01_6487327.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-11-27T20:25:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-01-09T18:30:54+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/32fea64e8c64bb984ed5809675634100\"},\"description\":\"I discovered that I\u2019m descended from an enslaved couple who settled a town called Promised Land\u2014and so are two fellow alumni\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/stewart-genealogy\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/stewart-genealogy\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/stewart-genealogy\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2023\\\/11\\\/Chime-In_01_6487327.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2023\\\/11\\\/Chime-In_01_6487327.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1080,\"caption\":\"A photo of Melanie Stewart inset into the \\\"Chime In\\\" logo with two McGraw Tower bells\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/stewart-genealogy\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Genealogy\u00a0Research Helped Me Find My Cornellian Cousins\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/\",\"name\":\"Cornellians | Cornell University\",\"description\":\"Cornell&#039;s alumni publication\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/32fea64e8c64bb984ed5809675634100\",\"name\":\"Beth Saulnier\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/321760a8edb5153d2c562bbadd61cc5ebb987bda75fb59074266c35cc35beae1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/321760a8edb5153d2c562bbadd61cc5ebb987bda75fb59074266c35cc35beae1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/321760a8edb5153d2c562bbadd61cc5ebb987bda75fb59074266c35cc35beae1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Beth Saulnier\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/author\\\/ess8\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Genealogy\u00a0Research Helped Me Find My Cornellian Cousins - Cornellians | Cornell University","description":"I discovered that I\u2019m descended from an enslaved couple who settled a town called Promised Land\u2014and so are two fellow alumni","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/stewart-genealogy\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Genealogy\u00a0Research Helped Me Find My Cornellian Cousins - Cornellians | Cornell University","og_description":"I discovered that I\u2019m descended from an enslaved couple who settled a town called Promised Land\u2014and so are two fellow alumni","og_url":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/stewart-genealogy\/","og_site_name":"Cornellians | Cornell University","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Cornellians","article_published_time":"2023-11-27T20:25:37+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-01-09T18:30:54+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/Chime-In_01_6487327.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Beth Saulnier","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@WeCornellians","twitter_site":"@WeCornellians","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Beth Saulnier","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/stewart-genealogy\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/stewart-genealogy\/"},"author":{"name":"Beth Saulnier","@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/#\/schema\/person\/32fea64e8c64bb984ed5809675634100"},"headline":"Genealogy\u00a0Research Helped Me Find My Cornellian Cousins","datePublished":"2023-11-27T20:25:37+00:00","dateModified":"2024-01-09T18:30:54+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/stewart-genealogy\/"},"wordCount":719,"commentCount":8,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/stewart-genealogy\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/Chime-In_01_6487327.jpg","articleSection":["Chime In"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/stewart-genealogy\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/stewart-genealogy\/","url":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/stewart-genealogy\/","name":"Genealogy\u00a0Research Helped Me Find My Cornellian Cousins - Cornellians | Cornell University","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/stewart-genealogy\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/stewart-genealogy\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/Chime-In_01_6487327.jpg","datePublished":"2023-11-27T20:25:37+00:00","dateModified":"2024-01-09T18:30:54+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/#\/schema\/person\/32fea64e8c64bb984ed5809675634100"},"description":"I discovered that I\u2019m descended from an enslaved couple who settled a town called Promised Land\u2014and so are two fellow alumni","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/stewart-genealogy\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/stewart-genealogy\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/stewart-genealogy\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/Chime-In_01_6487327.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/Chime-In_01_6487327.jpg","width":1920,"height":1080,"caption":"A photo of Melanie Stewart inset into the \"Chime In\" logo with two McGraw Tower bells"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/stewart-genealogy\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Genealogy\u00a0Research Helped Me Find My Cornellian Cousins"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/#website","url":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/","name":"Cornellians | Cornell University","description":"Cornell&#039;s alumni publication","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/#\/schema\/person\/32fea64e8c64bb984ed5809675634100","name":"Beth Saulnier","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/321760a8edb5153d2c562bbadd61cc5ebb987bda75fb59074266c35cc35beae1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/321760a8edb5153d2c562bbadd61cc5ebb987bda75fb59074266c35cc35beae1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/321760a8edb5153d2c562bbadd61cc5ebb987bda75fb59074266c35cc35beae1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Beth Saulnier"},"url":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/author\/ess8\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET","POST","PUT","PATCH","DELETE"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/68"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29476"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29476\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30893,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29476\/revisions\/30893"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29538"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29476"},{"taxonomy":"cornell_year_post","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cornell_year_post?post=29476"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=29476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}