ABOUT THE SOCIETY
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1918 - 2007 |
The Society’s
founder, a retired Librarian and Field Archivist, Margaret
McCall Thomas Ward (1918-2007), had a vision and
commitment to research and preserve African American family
histories for future generations. In 1979, her idea became a
reality, with the formation of the Fred Hart Williams
Genealogical Society (FHWGS) in the city of Detroit.
Organizing Committee members, Yvonne Parks-Catchings, DeWitt S.
Dykes, Jr., Karen Batchelor- Farmer Allen, Gabrielle Bradby-Greene,
Norman McRae Ph.D., and others, including John H.M. Ingram, lll,
Edith Martin-Jackson, Marguerite Coar-Massey, Leontine
Cole-Smith, and Thelma Woodley-Mitchell, supported Margaret’s
efforts.
The
Society honors the legacy of
Fred
Hart Williams
(1882-1961), a pioneer in
collecting and interpreting historical materials about African
Americans. Throughout his employment as a senior tax clerk for
the City of Detroit, he also wrote and reported for three
newspapers: The Detroit Tribune, The Michigan Chronicle,
and the Detroit edition of The Pittsburgh Courier.
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1882 - 1961 |
Historians
and writers all over the world are indebted to him for the
materials he donated to establish the highly regarded E. Azalia
Hackley Collection which honors African Americans in the
performing arts. The collection is stored at the Detroit Public
Library. The descendant of a family who came to Detroit on the
Underground Railroad, Williams served his community as a
journalist, author, historian and patron of the arts. Williams’
personal family history papers, donated to the Burton Historical
Collection, DPL, form an important source of African American
History.
Today, the FHWGS publishes a newsletter twice
a year, and sponsors educational programs and workshops, which
explain research techniques most useful to persons of African
American ancestry. Members are encouraged to share their
experiences, exchange research finds at meetings, and to deposit
their compiled family histories with the Society. The Society
also collects, preserves and makes available to the public,
manuscripts, documents, genealogical records and historical
materials. Fieldtrips are taken throughout the year to examine
historical sites, and collections of family history records.
The Society was the first African American Genealogical Society
in the State of Michigan.
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