The Church

So my great grandfather founded True Church of God in Missouri. After research, I was able to find that this church is indeed still in the family. The church is still alive and operating, I found their Facebook page and the current pastor is a Blissett, Michael Blissett. It is now called Divine Temple Church of God. This church is still prominent in the community. as supported by the many obituaries that I found mention their church name. the family appears to have many preachers actually. According to the obituary of a Maybelle Blissett, Johnnie L. Blissett II is also a preacher. this is the son of Grandpa eddies oldest son Johnnie.

Reverend Blissett

so I started my research at a totally different spot than I am now, I thought that my grandfather was adopted by a white family but that turned out to be wrong. With a little help, findings of pictures of him were found and that helps a lot being that my grandmother looked just like him. So far, the pieces that have been put together is that he was a preacher and a farmer, had many kids, and was married several times. The only issue is you can’t get an accurate story of the man thru this information.

Reverend E.L. Blissett

In today’s research, I was able to find that my great grandfather was a preacher but also very good at farming. He was recognized in the paper for his farming prowess, having just harvested 900 bushels of corn, 100 of sweet potatoes, 85 bushels of white potatoes and raised over 240 animals in a year. In this article, it was also mentioned that he was pastor of True Church of Twist, MS.

E.D. Bliscit

In m last post, I began to explore the notion that my great grandfather was adopted by a white family. This is my theory that needs to be explored more because of a number of facts. The first one being that the people listed as his parents were both born in 1877. That would be 12 years after the emancipation of my people. So the questions that lie would be was my grandfather a victim of hostility and forceful taken from his parents ? Or were these people some of the few at this time that would have stood up for the rights of my people. I am urged to believe the latter is true because of the fact that while he was not educated, according to the census, he had to be an educated man in order to be a prominent preacher during his time. In reading up on him, I cannot help but to connect this narrative with that of the boy from Oxherding Tales.

 

 

E.D. Bliscit

At this point in my research I have found my great grandfathers parents. His mother was Lizzie Bliscit. She was born in 1877 in Mississippi. I have not found her maiden name yet but I am continuing to research more about her and her family. His listed father is Jae Bliscit. The interesting thing I have found about this is apparently these two are white. That must mean that they adopted my great grandfather and that is what needs to be researched more. This is intriguing because it brings to mind the story of Nat Turner as the exceptional negro, maybe my great grandfather was that exceptional negro as well, I mean he was an ordained minister…

Eddie Lee Blissett

After much research into the history of my family, I have settled into what person in my family I would like to research. Being that I descend from slaves and sharecroppers, finding records is very challenging, especially before the year of 1917. I knew it would be challenging, however I did not know the natures of the challenges that would be faced in researching this far back into my family history. Eddie Lee Blissett is my great grandfather. He was a sharecropper in rural Arkansas but was also a preacher from what I have heard from familial legend. My late grandmother, whom I was very close with, was his second to youngest daughter from his first marriage.  He was a sharecropper that was limited to a fourth grade education and that reflects in the record keeping of the family, as I found at least four different spellings for what was supposed to be a last name.  This intrigued me most and implored my mind to further search for what my family and who my family is. It is a powerful thing to think about the fact that here I am, at a predominantly white institution, pursuing two degrees when not even a hundred years ago my ancestors had to fight just to get a basic education and often times did not have the means to finish a meaningful amount of schooling. Amazing to think about, and very humbling. This blog will follow my journey towards takin back the identity of my family.