Ancestry: A dream delivered – the lost letters of Hawkins Wilson

Ancestry released a documentary film in the US to honor the legacy of Juneteenth and commemorate its one-year anniversary as an official holiday by changing misconceptions/perceptions about what's possible in family history with Ancestry research tools.

Situation Analysis

Many Americans do not understand the generational impact slavery has on families today, and the importance of acknowledging our country's past.

Emblematic of the family history struggles within the Black community is Hawkins Wilson, a man who was born into slavery, torn from his family as a young boy. After his emancipation, Wilson would migrate to Galveston, Texas where he would speak at one of the first Juneteenth celebrations as a freedman and a minister in the community. Resilient in the face of loss, Wilson wrote letters to the newly formed Freedmen's Bureau in hopes of reuniting with...

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