The Awakening (e-book) (used book) | Wayne O'Bryant | bookbook.eu

Description

The Awakening: The Seawright-Ellison Family Saga, Vol.1, A Narrative History, is the first volume in a narrative history about the descendants of two families that share a common ancestor, Martha Kitchings Seawright Ellison, born into slavery, in 1849, in Aiken County, South Carolina. The book documents the beginnings of the family saga through Martha's life during slavery, The Civil War, The Reconstruction Era, and family life in Aiken County and beyond. The book documents the saga with contextualized resurrected stories of relatives forgotten over the years who were contributory figures of African American history in Aiken County, South Carolina, and beyond.

The book includes the famed stories of relatives who were born and lived in Aiken County. Floster L. Ellison, Jr., who during the Civil Rights Movement, became the co-founder of the Palmetto State Barbers Association, the first African American Barber Inspector in the state of South Carolina, and the first Director of Social Services of Crafts-Farrow State Hospital (South Carolina Lunatic Asylum) in 1965. Tommy Ellison, whose experiences as a youth singing on the children choir at Smyrna Missionary Baptist Church, inspired him to pursue a legendary career in gospel music, affectionately known by his fans as "Mr. Superstar of Gospel." Roosevelt & Henry Seawright who were successful brick masons in the Aiken community, and Wallace Seawright, Sr. who strategically survived the pitfalls of sharecropping life who was successfully employed as a textile technician at Graniteville Manufacturing Company.

The book is the 2022 African American Historical & Genealogical Society Book Award Winner (Non-Fiction/Regional Genealogy) and Literary Titan Gold Award Winner.