Genealogy Project: The Yellowdy’s 1

Genealogy Project: The Yellowdy’s

Gabrielle Haley

University of North Carolina

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Everytime my mother goes out in public and is asked for her name, many people get

stuck on Yellowdy-Haley, but more specifically Yellowdy. I love how it sounds exotic and at the

same time just flows. My grandfather’s side of the family (the Yellowdy’s) came from the island

of Martinique. The Martinque’s official flag is France’s national flag, which is a tricolor of blue,

red, and white. However, there is another flag used that does not have an official status on the

island. It is a blue flag with snakes, the snakes are fer-de-lance vipers, which are native to

Martinique. Martinique is apart of France, so Martinicans are French.

Although, Martinique’s blue flag is not the official flag, it is historical. On August 4,

1766, an order was issued that vessels of the French Colony of Martinique and Saint Lucia (St.

Lucia) have a version of the French flag at the time. The blue flag was ordered to be used so that

vessels from Martinique and St. Lucia could be recognized when they approached ports. On

February 15, 1794, the tricolor flag was approved since Martinique is a territory of France

(Martinque’s Flag, 2018).

After the Yellowdy’s left Martinque they came to North Carolina. While many of the

Yellowdy’s stayed in North Carolina, many also moved to Delaware. Currently most of the

Yellowdy’s are in Delaware besides my mother who lives in North Carolina, one of my uncles

who lives in Texas, and another uncle who lives in California. My family and I used to go up to

Delaware every year for a Fourth of July family reunion, however lately we just do not have time

anymore. My brothers and I grew up in predominantly white neighborhoods, so of course our

perspective on topics will differ from my cousins on my mother’s side. Since my family does not

get to see my mother’s side often we are not close, and that is the one thing that I wish I could go

back and change.

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My mother was raised by her grandmother Hattie for most of her life because her parents

were not fit for parenting. Her grandmother was a cosmetologist at a local hair salon in

Wilmington, Delaware. At that time my grandfather Sneeze (Robert Norris) was an electrician,

while my grandma Ginger (Virginia Miller Yellowdy) stayed at home. My mother had two

brothers named Demetris Yellowdy, and Paul Miller. My grandmother had my Uncle Paul at a

young age, so he ended up taking her maiden name. My grandmother had high blood pressure,

which seemed to be a dominant trait, because it was passed down to all three of her children.

The only ones to serve in the military on my mother’s side was her great grandfather,

who served in World War Two, my mother and her brothers. My uncles joined the army, while

my mother joined the airforce. When I asked my mother why she joined the military, she said it

was so she could “travel, and get out of Middleton, Delaware. Middletown is a very small town

where once someone gets a job, they stick with it and stay there for just about the rest of their

lives.” My parents inspired me to want to try JROTC when I was in highschool. My highschool

offered Army ROTC, and I truly loved it.

My great grandmother Hattie loved to sew, and because my mother lived with her for

most of her life, she ended up trying it out and enjoying it. However, my mother does not sew

anymore because she does not have time. My mother wanted to pass down that hobby to me, so

all throughout my childhood her and I took sewing class together. I came to enjoy sewing as

well, but like my mother, I do not have time to do it anymore. My mother told me that like

herself, her grandmother “loved people and helped anyone in need even when she did not have

much monetarily.”
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Since my great grandmother Hattie was the primary caregiver for my mother, I decided

that I wanted to do more research on that topic. This led me to my inquiry question on “How

many African American grandparents are the primary caregivers for their grandchildren?” While

reading the “Grandparents Living with ot Serving as Primary Caregivers for their

Grandchildren” article by The Pew Research Center (2013), it was really interesting to see the

statistics by race. In 2011, African Americans had the leading percentage as grandparents as the

primary caregiver for their grandchildren.

I honestly did not think about how many grandparents actually became primary

caregivers of their grandparents until this project. It is really interesting to read about information

I would have otherwise never thought about. In another article, Lipscomb (2005) wrote in “The

Challenges of African American Grandparents Raising their Grandchildren,” I learned that there

are actually two categories for a grandparent caregiver. One category consists of custodial

grandparents, they are grandparents that have legal custody of their grandchildren. The other

category consists of grandparents who do not have legal custody over their grandchildren, but

who provide emotional and financial support.

My grandparents were not fit to be the primary caretakers of my mother but they were

still in her life. While interviewing my mother, she taught me some valuable life lessons (Teresa

Haley, Personal Communication, July 8 2019 - July 28, 2019). My mother has taught me to

forgive and forget. She told me that “while the past does help shape who we are, it does not

define us, so we should not let anyone or anything stop us from being happy.” My great

grandmother has helped shape my mother into the woman she is today and for that I am forever

grateful. I honestly wish that I was able to meet the woman who had such a positive impact on
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her life. This project has caused me to gain so much information on my mother’s side than I ever

thought possible. I actually found it fun to go through my mother’s old photos and seeing not

only photos of my mom when she was younger, but of relatives I never got to meet before.

My mother was not that close to her father’s side of the family, and they are a sensitive

topic to bring up. So I had to do most of the findings on him through the internet.

“Findmypast.com” was a very resourceful tool, because not only was I able to find information

on my grandfather, but on my great and great great grandparents as well. That website also gave

really great information on the spouses of everyone, along with how many children they had and

their names. When I was going through the old photos of my mother, I came across a picture of a

woman I have never seen or heard about before. For some strange reason, I just knew that that

picture was important and I brought it to my mother. The picture was a very old picture of my

grandmother Hattie. My mother did not know that she still had the picture and was overjoyed

that I had found it.

Currently, my mother is an Acute Care Nurse Educator at the Fayetteville VA medical

center. My mother did not have many resources growing up, so she provides my brothers and I

will any tools we need to succeed in life. My mother was very successful and involved all

throughout her child, so that lead to her having high expectations for my brothers and I to do

well. I always say that my mother is the black sheep of her family, but in a good way, because

she chose to do something with her life, and to be somebody. I am thankful for my past

ancestors, and I do respect them. Whether good or bad, my ancestors have paved the way to

where my family, and to where I am today. Whenever I feel like I want to quit, I always think
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back to how many resources I have that are readily available. The fact that my ancestors worked

when they had nothing gives me the motivation to always strive to be the best version of myself.

Learning and researching more into my mother’s side of the family has been very eye

opening. It has really made me look at my mother in a whole new perspective. I have learned

information that I would have never known about otherwise. I might not have gone through all of

the old photos my mother has. I enjoyed seeing my mother when she was a teen and young adult,

as well as seeing relatives I have never met for the first time. Even though I am a Haley, I am

happy to be apart of the Yellowdy family tree in some kind of way. Getting to know a lot of

information on both my mother’s and my father’s side is something I will cherish in my heart

forever.
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References

Martinique’s Flag. (2018). Retrieved from ​https://www.graphicmaps.com/martinique/flag

Lipscomb, Ruby C. (2005). The Challenges of African American Grandparents Raising their

Grandchildren. Retrieved from:

https://www.jstor.org/stable/41675166?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_content

The Pew Research Center. (2013). Grandparents Living with ot Serving as Primary Caregivers for

their Grandchildren. Retrieved from:

https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2013/09/04/grandparents-living-with-or-serving-as-pri

mary-caregivers-for-their-grandchildren/