Article from the Fall 2018 Edition of the New York City Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution Newsletter
Ruth Hunt is passionate about genealogy. In 1977 she was moved by the TV miniseries Roots which centered on Kunta Kinte, an African man sold into slavery, and followed all of his descendants through American history. It inspired Ruth to look back and discovery her own ancestry.
Through research on her own family tree Ruth discovered that she has relatives that have fought in every major American conflict, including her brother who served in Vietnam and her father who fought in World War II. Her dedication to veterans led her to become the chair of the veterans committee of the New York City Chapter. When she took on this role she saw the opportunity to combine her love of genealogy and her desire to serve veterans.
In January of 2017, Ruth began monthly genealogical workshops with veterans at the Manhattan VA hospital. During that time she assisted more than 200 veterans to research their lineage and learn about their family history. Staff at the hospital believes her events are so well attended because there is a lack of intellectually stimulating programming for veterans. The workshops also tap into the innate human desire to know who you are. It’s wonderful to have volunteers come in to the VA and perform songs or lead arts and crafts, but nothing is more inspiring to someone than to learn where they come from and how their family history is woven into the fabric of America. It helps give their own sacrifice context and meaning.
At her workshops, Ruth gives veterans a basic family tree to fill out in pencil. Many of the veterans have no knowledge of their family beyond their parents or grandparents and some don’t even have that. Ruth shared the story of a veteran who didn’t know who his father was. With the help of her two assistants (and a recently donated library edition of Ancestry.com), Ruth was able to help this veteran find his father that day in the workshop!
“There’s nothing like that,” she said “It’s amazing. There’s nothing like hearing someone say, ‘Wow. I found my father.’”
Ruth loves seeing the look on veterans’ faces when they discover that the answers to questions about their ancestry is available. She says it’s heartwarming to watch people discover not just information about their DNA, but the stories of their families that helped to build this nation, especially people of color, many of whom face tremendous challenges in uncovering their ancestral stories because slaves were not listed by name on any censuses prior to 1870. Most African American slaves before the 1860s were only named in slaveholders’ wills.
“Slavery dehumanized a group of people that were forced to work for free only to enrich the lives of others. This continual terrorist act of slavery never took away their humanity and ability to achieve greatness,” said Ruth “I am passionate about helping my brothers and sisters find their lost ancestors who were forcefully separated during slavery through Jim Crow.”
In June of this year Ruth received a once in a lifetime award of appreciation from the U.S. Department of Defense at the NSDAR Continental Congress in acknowledgement of her work with veterans. In addition to her workshops, she has organized drives for toiletries and clothing to be donated to veterans. It’s her hope that someday soon she might be able to expand her genealogical workshops to other VA hospitals across the city and our nation—sharing her passion with hundreds of other people who long to discover their own roots.
