National & International Call for Information: Evidence in American Archives

While every historian loves the experience of being in an archive and handling documents from the past, the digital age has enabled researchers to quickly find an array of information that they may not have been able to otherwise access. Evidence documenting people of African descent who visited, lived and worked in Hull and East Yorkshire can be found all over the world. For example, pictured below is the death certificate of Oswald Z Paris, a 46-year-old Black man who died on 14 February 1928 in Greensboro, Gilford, North Carolina, USA.[1] While shedding light on his death, this document also demonstrates that he was born in Hull around 1882 and his father was J. K. Paris. Unfortunately, further information on his parents has not yet been found. However, at least one of them must have been of African descent. Further evidence located in America demonstrates that he arrived in New York on 4 April 1902. In 1920, he lived at number 1701 Maudle Avenue, Newport, Virginia with his wife Emma B. Paris and was working as a musician.[2] He later went on to be a music teacher in a school.[3]

Further records from across the Atlantic demonstrate that Hull born Raymond B. Edwards had emigrated to America in the first half of the twentieth century. The information on his U.S. World War II Draft Registration Card shows that he was born in Hull on 2 January 1892 and by 1942 lived at 2746 Mickle Avenue, the Bronx with his wife.[4] It also documents that he worked for the British Government at their Ministry of War Transport Office in New York. As pictured below, he was described as a 50-year-old man with black hair and a dark brown complexion.[5]

We have also identified two Black women that were born in Hull but moved to America for a short time. These were Dorothea Anita Forde and Gwendoline Cecilia Philpot.

As people move from one region to another and sometimes emigrated across the seas to create a new life, they are lost in a larger migration story. Thus, this is a national and international call for information to all family historians. If you have an ancestor who visited, lived or worked in Hull or East Yorkshire and was of African descent please get in touch because we would love to document their presence in the region! Also, if you have further information on the people mentioned in this post we would love to hear from you.

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Footnotes
[1] Ancestry.com. North Carolina, Death Certificates, 1909-1976 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007.
[2] Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.
[3] Ancestry.com. North Carolina, Death Certificates, 1909-1976 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007.
[4] The National Archives at St. Louis, Missouri, Draft Registration Cards for Fourth Registration for New York State, 04/27/1942 - 04/27/1942; NAI Number: 2555973, Records of the Selective Service System: 147
[5] Ibid.