Genealogist’s interest leads to helping others

By LISA BELL

Branching out

Finding an old obituary in a family Bible sparked an interest in her roots.

For Judy Williams of Youngstown, a quest to find her family’s roots led her to an unexpected change in her own life path.

With a degree in education, Williams began her career as a Title 1 remedial math teacher in the Youngstown Public School System, where she taught for four years.

She then went into rehabilitation for the blind and visually impaired. “I wanted to stay in instructional mode,” she said.

With the assistance of the Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation, she received specialized training to become a certified Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist.

Special insight

“I was drawn to this because of my own disabilities,” said Williams, who was born with cerebral palsy. “I believe that gave me a special insight into working with other people with physical disabilities,” she said.

For 12 years, Williams worked for the Youngstown Society for the Blind and Disabled, evaluating clients for their specific job skills and abilities to make recommendations for jobs available in the community.

Unfortunately, the agency closed in 1992 after having been in operation since 1926. “It’s a great loss to the community,” she said.

She is still involved with the Vision Support Group, which has been in operation since 1983.

In 1991, Williams became a case management specialist for the Trumbull County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (MRDD), where she monitored residential and educational program services for people in Trumbull County with mental disabilities.

“To see the growth and independence was the greatest reward,” she said.

After retirement due to her disability, Williams continued to work closely with the Alzheimer’s Assistance and Referral Network, in which both she and her sister Shirley, who is also disabled, were involved because of their mother’s illness.

“Through our experiences, we attended support groups to help other people by sharing what we had learned through caring for our mom,” said Williams.

Became curious

Then her interest in her family roots was sparked after finding an obituary in her grandmother’s Bible.

In June 2002, Williams and her sister began the arduous task of tracing their family tree with the help of Pam Burgess, who was a volunteer at the main branch of the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County as a member of the Mahoning County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society (OGS).

“We were intrigued,” she said. The sisters were encouraged by their friend, Ollie McCurdey, to continue their research and not give up.

To date, Williams and her sister have researched back to 1660 on their mother’s side of the family.

“Through that research, I was able to connect two branches of our maternal line that had not been together since 1861,” said Williams, who explained that those two particular branches of her family had been separated during the Civil War.

According to Williams, one branch of the family went to Ohio and the other went to Queens, N.Y. Some remained in Virginia.

Helping others

Then she began assisting other black people search for their roots.

With the skills she had developed over the years and as a member of OGS, Williams took over as a volunteer in the Genealogical Department when Burgess left the library in 2002 to take a full-time job.

“I thought when I retired I would end up in the Adult Literacy Program,” she said. “I enjoy this because I enjoy helping other people.”

Journey continues

It will be seven years this spring since Williams began her own search. “Right now my focus is Pittsburgh connections,” she said.

Williams is now trying to bring together as many branches of her family as she can for the next reunion in Charles City County, Va., which is located between Richmond and Williamsburg.

“The benefits,” she said, “are that it will help you to understand the choices people made, which helps you to better understand your family and who you are today.”

She continued, “If you have older people in your family, interview them. ...Those memories will be your foundation to start your journey, and we’re fortunate to have the resources at the Youngstown and Warren public libraries.”