My neighbors call me Darky Charley. No, my parents did not name me Darky Charley it was my neighbors in Reinbeck, Iowa. Yes, I am Black.

Why has there been no new blog post? What have I been up to lately? Well, I have been setting up the Roots to Branches Genealogy office....

Getting tired of watching TV, listening to music, or finding a new place to sit in your home. Now, is the time to start your family...

A friend shared this July 1908 story with me about Lulu V. Nelson. The text of the story is transcribed and follows as printed in The...

New book about Blacks in Iowa. Hear the author talk about the book. https://soundcloud.com/user-241121222/grinnell-stories-feb-25-2020...

Learn a bit about Roots To Branches Genealogy. New phone number 515-779-4394.

THE YOUNGEST OFFICER.-The question having been raised as to who was the youngest officer who was commissioned in Iowa regiments during...

I was born and given a boy's name Ricki.

Horrible punishment for murder in 1873. The Musquakie Indians,in Jasper County, inflicted a terrible punishment upon a murderer of their...

Ad within sleepy bug story is one word. The cream was well known enough that the Gourand's name was used once in the story. What is being...

"The habit of washing the face in the morning prevails, but with many person is the only time in twenty-four hours..."

To A LITTLE ONE, JUST A WEEK OLD. Only a baby, ‘thout any hair, ‘Cept just a little hair here and there. Only a baby, name you have none;...

Who was the first black person from Iowa to run for President of the United States? If you study presidential history you know this,...

“George Sneer, one of the three oldest settlers in Des Moines, drops dead. (25 August 1891) Stricken with heart disease at the Elliot...

I love the Iowa State Fair. I have no connection to it except I am an Iowan. Boy, how much more could a person love the Iowa State Fair?...

Traveling around Iowa in 1919.

Hint: It was not in June. Juneteenth is based on when Texas slaves heard of the surrender which was on June 19th. The Texas slaves did...

Link to above story. http://centerville.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?i=f&d=01011943-12311944&e=chas%20davis&m=between&ord=e1&fn=ce...