Alveta's genealogical quest

LITTLETON, N.C. (WAVY) - In a time when families rarely stay in one place for long, keeping up with immediate family is hard enough, let alone keeping tabs on generations gone by.

Genealogy is the study of ancestry and family histories. And while the study is nothing new, it has grown in popularity in the last few years, particularly with online ancestry database websites such as ancestry.com.

This year, NBC thrust the concept of genealogy into by airing a new series called, "Who Do You Think You Are?" which traces back the ancestry of some of celebrities, such as Susan Sarandon and Sarah Jessica Parker.

"Who Do You Think You Are?"--a network program--has seemingly unlimited resources to tell these stories, but we wanted to show that the story of a family history can be told on a much smaller budget.

And we didn't have to go far to find someone eager to trace their family line...

WAVY-TV anchor Alveta Ewell gladly accepted the opportunity to bring part of her family ancestry to the public, and at the same time, prove that genealogy is something anyone can do.

Our first stop was The Tidewater Genealogical Society in Newport News.

The Genealogical Society is an organization that makes use of thousands of books documenting local families and local heritage. That library, coupled with ancestry.com, opened a door to Alveta's family history.

Jill Russell, a local genealogist with more than 42 years of experience helped us along the way.

"We have family files on local families and that's not something you'll find anywhere else but here," said Russell.

Russell suggested we begin by looking at U.S. census forms dating back to 1930. She said that because of privacy laws, 1930 is the most recent census available to the public. With the help of ancestry.com, Jill and Alveta stepped back in time--more than a century.

"We work our way back using the census records on ancestry until we get to 1850," Russell said.

After only a few minutes of searching, Alveta's family tree began to grow. A handwritten census form revealed something she didn't know.

"My great grandfather, Thomas Burton," Alveta said, surprised.

"He was born in North Carolina, as were his parents and he was a farmer," said Russell.

Using century-old documents as a guide, we decided it was time for a road trip.

A two-hour drive brought us to a small town in North Carolina called Littleton, which began an emotional journey as Alveta brought her past back to life.

Alveta's second cousin Valerie Thompson, who still lives in Littleton, offered to help us find what we were looking for. Our cameras followed Alveta and Valerie through three cemeteries in search of the graves of Alveta's ancestors.

"This is your great granddaddy, Thomas Burton," said Valerie, pointing to a gravestone in the ground.

Alveta was shocked. Her first look at the grave of her great grandfather was an emotional one.

"He was born in 1866 and he died on Christmas Day," said Valerie.

It took a little footwork--or, perhaps, a lot of footwork--but by the end of day, Alveta got to connect for the very first time with the grave sites of family members from two generations ago.

"This is Great Grandma's plot and this is Uncle Tom Eddie. So this is her son," Alveta said.

Alveta's great grandparents Gratsie and Thomas Burton lived in a house just a few miles from their grave sites. The green house sits alone on a lot, and its structure is partially falling down.

"When Valerie put the key in the door...the key was so old," Alveta said. "It made me realize how long ago it was."

When we first pulled up to Alveta's great grandparents house in Littleton, Alveta said she doesn't see an empty, decrepit old house; she sees a house filled with memories. But she soon learned that not all of these memories were happy ones.

Alveta's great uncle "...came out here to the outhouse," Valerie said, indicating the area, "the outdoor toilet right in this area and shot himself."

But tracing Alveta's roots beyond this abandoned home in a town that is best described by its name, was a feat that only science could help us tackle.

We took a cheek swab from Alveta and mailed it to a lab that will test her DNA, which we hope would link us back even further.

"It takes you back hundreds of thousands of years, starting with 'Eve', who lived in the northeast part of Africa," Russell said.

The questions Alveta wants answered are not so simple.

Who is Alveta Ewell? How did she get here?

"I really want to know" Alveta said.

When the test results come back in a few weeks, she will have more of those answers, and her entire family will be anxious to hear what we find.

And this story isn't over yet. Alveta will be blogging about the the results from her DNA test and we plans to bring the findings to a family reunion that her family is planning in a few months.

In November, Alveta will share the secrets of her family line with everyone, in an updated story of her family's genealogical past.

Look for that story on the air on WAVY-TV 10 On Your