S09EP05 - 'The Testifier’ with Robin R Foster

In this fifth episode of Series Nine, host Andrew Martin meets professional family historian, author, and former FamilySearch volunteer, Robin R. Foster and hears about how she got hooked on researching her family history, her drive to help people through online communities like Facebook and Substack, and how she found herself surrounded by sources when she joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

THE LIFE STORY - BEVERLEY VANCE 

Robin has chosen to tell the life story of her 2x Great Grandfather, Beverley Vance who was born into slavery circa 1832 in South Carolina, USA.

While Robin and her mother were not initially searching for Beverley, they found him and his wife Matilda whilst researching her Great Grandfather (Beverley's son, Lafayette Vance) on the 1880 US Census for Cokesbury in Abbeville County, South Carolina.

It was here that they were presented with their ancestors' names - Beverley and Matilda for the first time. 

Robin soon found herself on the research trail, and this led her back into Beverley's life in enslavement, his slave owner's name, and ultimately to reveal the identity of her 4x Great Grandfather - his slave master Samuel Vance!

With the American Civil War and the abolition of slavery just a few years beforehand, Robin finds Beverley in 1868 where he testifies to a Senator about the way the Democrats treated him. 

THE BRICK WALL - MATILDA VANCE

Whilst her name was discovered on that 1880 census alongside her husband Beverley, Matilda's origins are less clear. Robin knows that she was born as Matilda Dunlap circa 1841, but there are some questions to answer;

• Who were Matilda's parents?
• When did Matilda die (did she survive Beverley in 1899)?

If you think you can help Robin with a clue or a research idea, then you can contact her via the email address she gives in the episode, or alternatively, you can send us a message and we'll pass it on to her.

In the meantime, Robin accepts Andrew's offer of help, but will it help her to get the answers she needs?

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Episode Credits:

• Andrew Martin - Host and Producer
• Robin R. Foster - Guest

Chapters

• 0:00 Intro
• 0:55 The Interview - Robin R. Foster
• 14:45 The Life Story - Beverley Vance
• 26:52 The Brick Wall - Matilda Vance
• 32:11 The Departure