USCT Pension Records and Genealogy Tell a Community’s Story with Tina Jones

Research at the National Archives and Beyond

Tina Jones research journey began in 2000 when she began working with the local senior citizens - many of whom were residents of two historically African American neighborhoods in Franklin, Tennessee. Franklin was the site of a significant Civil War battle and is the county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee. Several historic homes operate as museums and significant local attention is paid to the community’s Civil War history. The genealogy program with 50 senior citizens soon had constructed dozens of family trees - many intersecting. She started compiling any information she could find about the experiences of enslaved people in Williamson County to understand more fully the context in which the people she was researching had lived. Tina tracked down slave narratives of people with ties to the area, newspaper clippings, probate documents, and diary entries. It all helped paint a fuller story - and highlighted an aspect of local history that had been almost entirely overlooked: the contributions of black men who served in the who joined the US Navy and the US Army’s Colored Troops during the Civil War. She now specializes in researching these men and telling their stories. She raises money to install brick pavers inscribed with their names in the County’s Veterans Park through her “Slaves To Soldiers” project. Inspired partially by this work, a local group called the “Fuller Story” has formed to erect a statue depicting a local US Colored Troop soldier on the town square. Opening music: Sweet Mello Spice by AK Alexander Productions