As I noted earlier, my maternal biological grandmother was Matilda Snow Cheek Russell. She was the daughter of Nathaniel Augustus Cheek, Sr and Annie Garnes Cheek.
After Ann Marie retired from the US Post Office in 1995, she decided it was time for me to get to know some of my biological relatives.
Thanksgiving weekend 1996, I convinced my friend Reggie (now my husband), to go with me to North Carolina to meet the relatives. During that weekend, I attended my first Cheek-Garnes Family Reunion. Most of the people there had not known that Ann Marie had had a child … and there I was, a full grown daughter that Ann Marie knew and was now introducing to everyone as her daughter.
I returned home to Boston, amazed that the weekend had gone well. The people I met were all open and loving and welcomed me with open arms.
Since then, I have attended two other Cheek-Garnes Reunions, one in 2004 and one in 2008 (reunions are every 2 years during Thanksgiving weekend). At each one I have met more people and at each one I continue to feel their love and support.
In addition to the Russells mentioned a few essays back, I have an extended biological family on my grandmother’s side that includes the following families: Cheek, Garnes, Odim, Belle, Hairston, Ephraim, Carroll, Clements, Fogg, Nicholson, Russell and at least 20 other family names.
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