I was going over baby pictures of some of the newest members of the Arrington Clan and I was struck by the striking resemblances and strong familial similarities, so many of us bore and bear as children, teens, young adults and even mature seniors. I’m asking for all of you to send baby pictures, elementary school pictures, high school photographs and current pictures so I can assemble the spectrum of familial looks and create a testament to the strength and power of  the blood lines  we share. I have been going over pictures of John Jr., John III, Manuel, John IV, Dion, Jaquill, and Jaquay and some of the resemblance is beyond remarkable. Courtney and my daughter Lakeisha could be twins, Marvelle (Sissy) and Terri have always favored immensely, Cindy looks like a mini version of her mother and grandmother, Mattie Lee and  Mary E.  Zita and Marvelle both favor their mother Mary E with Zita maybe being a bit closer, Monique, Michelle, Andriana, and Aniya favor too, and Grandma Rose’s eyes those dark piercing eyes have made a come back in both males and females, but no matter what, no matter the skin tone or height, or sex, or even the strength of the other family’s blood, there are dominant features the blood lines, the Arrington bloodlines, seem to create. The influence of Angus Arrngton and his ancestor’s genes must have been remarkable, as can be seen in many of us and I’m just wondering if the Ohio Branch and others, including another branch in Little Rock, NC, I have found that seems to be descended from the same blood lines from Virginia, also carry the familial characteristics and features.  SO, I am asking for baby pictures and others so we can document this phenomenon, and whether your last name is Moore, Cross, Hall, McIntyre, Betts, Adams, or any of the other names I apologize for leaving out, we’d love to get your pictures. If you do not have the ability to scan them in let us know and we can arrange for you to send them to us and we can digitally reproduce them. We are asking for all digital pictures as well, so we can  document this amazing family. All things can be sent to me at joel.arrington@aaccmjb.com or by sending me an email we can arrange for you to send you hard copy pictures for conversion.

All pictures sent will be returned quickly and without damage.

Joel

And there are so many others. We need to get them all together and really work on this project! Too many of our elders are slipping from us and we need to document their lives and not just their passing. We are family! As the Sister Sledge song said in the mid 70’s and our children and our children’s children and their children should be able to see and hear about the rich heritage they have sprung from. We have doctors, lawyers, computer professionals, law enforcement officers, truck drivers, teachers, nurses, and a hundred other occupations in our clan and together we can be a mighty for for change but separately we are all just pieces of a puzzle that has not been assembled. Talk to the old ones in the family and get their stories so we can write them down as well. I had to wait until my father passed to find out he was one of the first blacks outside of the Tuskegee airmen in the Army Air Corps. I always thought he was just an army staff sergeant but he was in the Army Air Corps. How many other little facts are floating out there that should be documented? As we connect and reconnect so we improve the lives and rich history of our children and their heirs. Our legacy is their future. Any thing you would like to preserve for posterity such as wedding licenses, death certificates, army discharge papers, birth certificates, or anything you think may add to the story of our family even if it may contradict something that has been assumed all these years will be welcomed. What we preserve now, we preserve for all posterity and for our progeny. Eventually with help I’d like to publish a new book with the family history in it. This is not as hard as you would think anymore in this day and age of electronic publishing. I’m not asking for donations of money but rather pieces of history. God Bless and I hope to hear from all of you soon.

And by the way whether you are an Arrington by birth, marriage, adoption, or any other means you are now and forever will be part of this family. We do not and will not exclude those children raised by our family or their heirs from this mighty heritage. We are all family and in that simple term and fact is the strength and glory of who we are.

Joel M. Arrington