Ecestry Research and Consulting

I'm relaxing this Chistmas Eve with my favorite Christmas album...Ella Fitzgerald's A Swinging Christmas.

If you have never heard her versions of fun, Christmas classics...you should give it a listen.

One of the greatest vocalists of all time singing Rudolph and Jingle Bells and Frosty...how could you miss it?

Merry Christmas!

https://open.spotify.com/album/2UhPCUgK2IGUrg7lIvMYfb?si=g3fGL9z4RnWbQlA2yrYzVA&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A2UhPCUgK2IGUrg7lIvMYfb

Ella Wishes You A Swinging Christmas (Expanded Edition) Ella Fitzgerald · Album · 1960 · 18 songs.

"Hang all the Mistletoe, I'm going to get to know you better. This Christmas."

Donny Hathaway set out to produce and arrange a song specifically for the black community, made by black artists.

Prior to this, the majority of holiday music recorded by famous black artists were holiday standards written and produced by non black artists.

Originally written and recorded in Chicago, he wanted to capture the culture of the black community in Chicago.

It has a specific focus on the present instead of the past...acknowledging the past hardships often seen within the black community with a promise that "THIS CHRISTMAS" will be ok. Maybe the last one wasn't and the next one may not be ..but this one...can be great.

It's a song about resilience, a centrally important part of being black in America.

He fully intended it to become a holiday anthem for the black community.

The song was first drafted by a black female receptionist, Nadine McKinnor, and shared with Hathaway who re-arranged, produced and recorded it in 1970.

Donnie Hathaway was a gifted musician, often called a musical genius by those who knew him, who studied music on a Fine Arts scholarship at Howard University prior to becoming a working a musician.

Soon after recording "This Christmas", he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. He struggled with his illness for years until he died in a presumed su***de in 1979.

"This Christmas" stands as a holiday classic and a reminder to enjoy the present you are in, because the future isn't promised.

Donny Hathaway - This Christmas (ATCO Records 1970) "This Christmas" is a song by American soul musician Donny Hathaway released in 1970 by Atco Records. The song gained renewed interest when it was included i...

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate the holiday.

"Have yourself a merry, little Christmas, let your heart be light.

Next year, our troubles will be out of sight."

Fun Fact: The classic Christmas song, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, first sung by Judy Garland in the film Meet Me In St. Louis, was conceived and written in Birmingham, Alabama.

The writer was visiting his beloved family home in the Southside and he wrote the song for a scene where Judy Garland is cheering up her sister who is sad that they have to leave their home in St. Louis.

According to the writer Hugh Martin, who also played the piano for several ministries, the song was originally more religious than secular but the lyrics were adjusted for the movie.

Hugh studied music at Birmingham Southern College and also wrote the famous "Trolley Song" for the movie.

The song has since been covered by everyone from Frank Sinatra to Keisha Cole to John Legend, but Judy Garland's original version is one of the most simple and beautiful versions of this song.

Enjoy it and Merry Christmas.

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas | Meet Me In St. Louis | Warner Archive Meet Me In St. Louis (1944) into a series of seasonal vignettes, starting with Summer 1903, it relates the...

Emmitt Smith's genealogy from "Who Do You Think You Are?" is a great example of the common path many Black Americans have to take when researching family history.

Watch him trace his history from Florida, through Alabama back to Virginia in the episode below.

Remember, you don't need a professional to trace your family history, you can do it yourself.

Check out my Ecestry Genealogy YouTube Channel and website at https://www.ecestrygenealogy.com for tips on researching your own family.

https://youtu.be/f05DX5DCEb8

Emmitt Smith unravels his ancestors' painful history in the slave trade Emmitt Smith wanted to take his family roots back to Africa, and while the task may have seemed impossible at first, the stars aligned for Emmitt and researc...

New Video Posted!

Researching African American Genealogy is hard...but rewarding. Let's talk about it.

Researching African American Genealogy Learn how to get started using Ancestry.com to research your genealogy. This video is a short tutorial on how to use the Ancestry website and how to start se...

As part of our launch week, I am linking a 7 Day Genealogy Research Challenge workbook for anyone interested in starting their genealogy journey.

Click the link below to download your copy.

Launch Day Freebie - 7 Day Challenge.pdf

Join me as I start the Ecestry YouTube channel sharing genealogy research tutorials and Research With Me videos as I research my own family’s history.

Getting Started with Ancestry Learn how to get started using Ancestry.com to research your genealogy. This video is a short tutorial on how to use the Ancestry website and how to start se...

Ecestry Genealogy is live.

Our mission is to make genealogy research more accessible and manageable for everyone.

Your family history is more than your DNA. Research helps you uncover meaningful stories and connections in your family history.

Visit Us at
https://www.ecestrygenealogy.com

Ecestry is re-launching this July! Stay tuned for articles, videos and resources to help us all explore our family history.