Starting With Me 869

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Uncovering My Roots: Am I Igbo? Exploring My Heritage & My Identity
Starting With Me
Rev. Dr. Charles Douglas Martin: St. Kitts–Born Moravian Leader, Harlem Pastor, and 1917 Civil Rights Organizer
Discovering my Jamaican Ancestry: Tracing Family Roots and Caribbean History
Fave Shoes
The Best Gift I Ever Received!
A Love Letter to Cynthia Elaine Martin (1916–2011): A Life of Faith, Song, and Service from St. Kitts to New York
Phoebe Berridge: My African-Born Ancestor’s Survival from West Africa to St. Kitts
“WE SUFFERED”: An Emotional Visit to the African Burial Ground in Modern New York
My Ideal Day in Paradise
The King David Slave Ship Revolt of 1750: Resistance, Survival, and St. Kitts’ Hidden History
Igbo Landing and The Prince of Orange St.Kitts Tragedy: Resistance, Memory, and the Refusal of Enslavement
Something On My To-Do list That Never Gets Done: My Signing Up For Swimming Lessons
Who Started Slavery in the Caribbean? Power, Profit, and Colonial Expansion
Telling Jumbie Story: Caribbean Folklore, Family, and St. Kitts Roots
Before the Caribs were the Ciboney or Siboney People
My childhood Playing Cricket in the Road (Cultural Memory Post)
Books that I want to read…
My Yeet Quilt
St.Kitts Native Marcus Davis aka Marcus of the Woods: Enslaved Resistance and Survival in the Colonial Caribbean
These days I enjoy quilting and writing my blog.
Life Isn’t Perfect—Neither Is My Quilt
Title: “A Mango, A Whipping, and Justice: The Trial of Arthur Hodge”
I haven’t been to The Vessel in NYC
Art Historian
Fun Times!
Sassy
My Name is Renée, it is French
Uncovering the Dark Past: The Caribbean’s First Serial Killer is in My Family Tree
Gov. Arthur John Hodge: Hero and Defender of Anguilla
Ode to Bob…poem
Quelbay or No Quelbay: Music, Chores, and Caribbean Saturday Tradition

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About the blog

Well hello there!

I’m your host, a U.S. History teacher who traded the sun-drenched Caribbean for…well, whatever delightful meteorological surprise New York has in store today. Yes, I teach the American Revolution by day and chase ancestral ghosts by night (and on weekends, and during the summer holidays… it’s a full-time haunting).

You’d think growing up in the Caribbean, my history lessons would have focused solely on pirates and rum—and don’t get me wrong, those are stellar topics—but my passion lies in untangling the fascinating, messy, and surprisingly interconnected tapestry of American history, all viewed through a unique, island-infused lens.

I’m slightly obsessed with dusty archives, census records, and the thrill of finding a distant cousin I didn’t know I had. This blog is where I share my adventures in history and genealogy, proving that the past isn’t just a list of dates to memorize for a test; it’s a wild, often hilarious, story waiting to be told.

Think of this as history class, but with better anecdotes and significantly fewer pop quizzes.

Grab a coffee (or a rum punch, no judgment here), settle in, and let’s go digging into the past. We might just find some skeletons in the closet… or at least a really interesting old land deed.

Cheers to the past!

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