Before Juneteenth, There Was Appomattox! MY JOURNEY DOCUMENTING MY ANCESTORS AT APPOMATTOX COURTHOUSE NATIONAL PARK.

More and more historic sites are engaging their descendant communities in order to tell a more complete history. Similarly, many descendants are seeking out the ancestral homes of their family members and are finding and connecting with these places. This article tells the story of one of the writer's ancestral homes, Appomattox, Virginia, where General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant on 9 April 1865. The author traces her ancestors from enslavement in Prince William County and Appomattox to freedom and beyond. In 2024, after fifteen years of urging by the writer, Appomattox Court House National Park posted a historical marker recognizing the writer's ancestor and others who had been enslaved there. Given the recent emphasis on Juneteenth, readers need to know more about Appomattox, one of the most significant sites of our ancestors' liberation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]