Uploaded May 2021 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
“The Misremembered ‘Uncle’ Wallace and ‘Aunt’ Minerva: Establishing Father-Daughter Kinship,” is part of “Perspectives in History,” the 2021 Oklahoma History Conference. “Uncle” Wallace and “Aunt” Minerva Willis contributed to the musical legacy of Oklahoma and beyond. They performed Negro spirituals during the antebellum Indian Territory period. The Fisk University Jubilee Singers popularized some of their songs in the 1870s. In 2011 the State of Oklahoma designated a song credited to them, “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” the state gospel song. While their talent has not been forgotten, the nature of their relationship has been misremembered. The mainstream history of Wallace and Minerva incorrectly defines them as a married couple. Upon examining primary sources, it is established that they were parent and child. Understanding their relationship sheds light on why Wallace may have received more credit and disrupts relationally-based slave stereotypes. The session will share how this research journey unfolded and the formation of a manuscript documenting this research. Ward will demonstrate how kinship relationships can be documented for the enslaved inhabitants of Indian Territory.
Shelby B. Ward is an attorney, Choctaw Freedman, community historian, and genealogist. She is a cofounder of the Beck Genealogical Society and the Oklahoma Freedmen Collective. Shelby has trained Knoxville Family History Center staff on the subject of African Diaspora genealogy, history, and culture.
“The Misremembered ‘Uncle’ Wallace and ‘Aunt’ Minerva: Establishing Father-Daughter Kinship,” is part of “Perspectives in History,” the 2021 Oklahoma History Conference. “Uncle” Wallace and “Aunt” Minerva Willis contributed to the musical legacy of Oklahoma and beyond. They performed Negro spirituals during the antebellum Indian Territory period. The Fisk University Jubilee Singers popularized some of their songs in the 1870s. In 2011 the State of Oklahoma designated a song credited to them, “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” the state gospel song. While their talent has not been forgotten, the nature of their relationship has been misremembered. The mainstream history of Wallace and Minerva incorrectly defines them as a married couple. Upon examining primary sources, it is established that they were parent and child. Understanding their relationship sheds light on why Wallace may have received more credit and disrupts relationally-based slave stereotypes. The session will share how this research journey unfolded and the formation of a manuscript documenting this research. Ward will demonstrate how kinship relationships can be documented for the enslaved inhabitants of Indian Territory.
Shelby B. Ward is an attorney, Choctaw Freedman, community historian, and genealogist. She is a cofounder of the Beck Genealogical Society and the Oklahoma Freedmen Collective. Shelby has trained Knoxville Family History Center staff on the subject of African Diaspora genealogy, history, and culture.
