Wilhelmena Rhodes Kelly facts for kids

Wilhelmena Rhodes Kelly (born December 11, 1946 – died October 16, 2019) was an amazing African-American genealogist. A genealogist is someone who studies and traces family histories. Wilhelmena found that her family line in America went all the way back to Pocahontas and John Rolfe, who got married in 1614. She was also a member of the Jamestowne Society. In 2019, she became the New York State Regent for the Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR). This made her the highest-ranking woman of color in the organization since it started in 1890. She was a leader in tracing African-American family histories. Wilhelmena grew up in Brooklyn, New York. She was also a local historian for Brooklyn and wrote books about different parts of the borough, like Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights. She also wrote books about her own family's history in America.

Growing Up in Brooklyn

Wilhelmena Rhodes Kelly was born in Brooklyn on December 11, 1946. Her parents were George Morrell Rhodes, Jr. and Dorothy Hamlin Rhodes. She had an older sister named Linda Marie. Wilhelmena kept the last name Kelly from an early marriage.

People often called her "Mena" when she was a child. She went to public schools in Brooklyn, including Lefferts Junior High School and Erasmus Hall High School. She also went to Brooklyn College and finished in 1970.

Wilhelmena was the third generation of her family to live in Brooklyn. Her grandparents bought a brownstone house in Bedford-Stuyvesant in 1932. Wilhelmena lived there until she was thirteen. Then, her family moved to Union Street in the Crown Heights area. The Brooklyn Historical Society even interviewed her about her childhood in Crown Heights. Because she knew so much about these areas, she later wrote books about Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights. These books included her own photos and old pictures of Brooklyn.

Wilhelmena learned early on how important it was to be active in her community. She also learned about serving her country. When she lived on Union Street, she took part in events like Brooklyn Day. She also attended Sunday School at Concord Baptist Church of Christ.

She loved to read, especially history books. At home, she would ask her grandparents about their lives. They told her what it was like growing up in the American South in the 1890s. They also shared stories about moving to New York City in 1930 during the Great Migration. This was a time when about 6 million African Americans moved from the Southern United States to cities in the Northeast. These stories made her very interested in Brooklyn's history and the African American community.

Wilhelmena was also fascinated by her mother and uncle John Hamlin's work on their family history. They hired a professional genealogist in the 1970s to trace the Hamlin family in Virginia. She later said these experiences sparked her own interest in genealogy.

Her father, George Rhodes, grew up in Bedford-Stuyvesant. He went to Boys High School and Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute. He joined a special Army Air Force Program at Tuskegee Institute. Lt. Rhodes became a famous member of the Tuskegee Airmen. His brave actions in an air battle in Europe were even featured on the front page of the Amsterdam News newspaper in 1944.

Family History Groups

Jamestowne Society

Wilhelmena Rhodes Kelly joined the Jamestowne Society in 2007. She was able to join because her family line went back to Pocahontas and John Rolfe. The Jamestowne Society is a group that helps people learn about history. They find and record the names of early settlers in Jamestown. They also work to save old records and historical items. Wilhelmena was the Governor of the New York Company of the Jamestowne Society from 2017 to 2019. In July 2019, she spoke at the 400th Anniversary of the First Meeting of the General Assembly. She talked about the "20 and odd" Africans who were brought to Virginia in 1619. Her speech was later printed in the Jamestowne Society Magazine.

Daughters of the American Revolution

Wilhelmena Rhodes Kelly found that her mother's family was connected to Stephen Henry Hamlin. He was a patriot in the Revolutionary War from Prince George County. Stephen H. Hamlin was a Quaker and a farmer. He didn't fight in battles, but he helped the American Revolution by providing important supplies. He gave a horse, beef, sheep, corn, and fodder. Because he helped the fight for freedom, his family could join the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR).

Wilhelmena joined the Manhattan Chapter of the DAR in July 2004. She later became the leader of that chapter. In July 2012, she helped start the Increase Carpenter Chapter of DAR in Jamaica, Queens, New York. In this role, she often connected the borough of Queens with its colonial history. In her first year, she visited the Kingsland Homestead in Flushing, Queens. This is where the famous Weeping Beech tree, the "mother" of all European weeping beeches in the U.S., once stood. There, she gave a Newtown Pippen apple tree to the Queens Historical Society. This type of apple was named the official apple of New York City in 2009.

Within the DAR, Wilhelmena was the National Chairman of Public Relations and Media. She was also the National Vice Chairman of the Commemorative Events Committee. For the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks in 2011, she designed a special three-color flag. People often called her "a walking goodwill ambassador" for the DAR. This was because she gave many speeches and taught genealogy workshops. She was always ready to help others research their family histories. It is believed that her efforts helped about 100 women successfully join the NSDAR.

She became the highest-ranking woman of color in the history of the DAR, which was founded in 1890. She also became a member of the National Board of Management. In June 2019, she became the New York State Regent. Her theme as Regent was "Serving and Soaring in the Empire State." Her symbol was a pair of wings with a pearl hanging from them.

Helping Others with Genealogy

Wilhelmena helped more than one hundred women with their family history research. She helped them find out if they were related to an American patriot who fought or helped in the Revolution. This allowed them to become members of the NSDAR. She was also a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists-New York Company (APG-NY). She helped start the African-Atlantic Genealogical Society (AAGS) at the Macon Library Branch. She also worked with the Weeksville Heritage Society and the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS).

Her Final Days

In the summer of 2019, Wilhelmena was diagnosed with kidney cancer. In her last months, her sister Linda and her close friend Tony Wilkins took care of her. She passed away on October 16, 2019.

Her funeral services were held on Thursday, October 24, 2019, at the Bridge Street AME Church in Brooklyn. During the service, she was honored by many groups. These included the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) and the Jamestowne Society. The sisters of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority also honored her.

She was buried on October 24, 2019, in Pinelawn Memorial Park in Farmingdale, New York. Her resting place shows how much she loved American history. She chose to be buried in the Garden of Peace, near Forest Drive, between North and South Constitution Avenue.

See also

• Daniel D. Whitney
• Marjorie Parker Smith
• John W. Hunter