For more than 20 years Donya Williams has researched her Edgefield roots. She began to realize that writing, whether she wanted it to be or not, was a part of being a Genealogist/Family Historian.  As she researched her family there came a time where sharing her findings was a must.  She began to share her findings through a blog on WordPress that was followed by family members, other researchers and friends.  Her blog went on for a year or two, telling the stories she found and introducing the descendants, ancestors and ancestral kin she had come to know over time, to other family members.  As her knowledge of the Genealogical field grew so did her need to expose others to what she had learned.

In between blog post she would submit and publish articles to the Old African American Edgefield District Genealogical Society newsletter “Homeplace” before the group disbanded.  She was featured in Edgefield County’s longest running newspaper The Edgefield Advertiser as a guest writer for Black History Month in 2012.  Donya was interviewed by former boxing promoter and activist Rock Newman in 2013. It was on his radio show that she shared her first connections to American History.  In 2015, she was a speaker for a two-day event at Two Rivers Charter school in Washington, DC.  There she spoke and had a question and answer period on the topic of Frederick Douglas and the impact her family made on American History as well as share what they should look for when they researched their family.  This helped children understand the role that we as a people played in the founding of the United States.  This was one of her proudest moments, not just because it was her chance to have an influence on our future leaders, but she was invited to speak at a place where the then First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama frequented.  In 2016 Donya was the coordinator for the first ever Calling All Branches Family Reunion. This reunion would bring together families from Edgefield, South Carolina that may not have been together for over 150 years.  This reunion got the attention of two South Carolina papers. The Index Journal of Greenwood, South Carolina and the Post and Courier of Charleston, South Carolina interviewed Donya on the hows and whys this reunion needed to happen.

Donya’s most recent venture is the Stronger Together: Moses Williams Genetic Genealogy Project where she is a co-leader to a team of six researchers (who are also family members) that are researching their 4x great-grandfather and his 45 children.  This project has drawn the attention of the San Diego Free Press and has generated an interview on the syndicated Genealogy Show ExtremeGenes with Scott Fisher.

Donya is continuously working to bring her family together as she is the administrator of the family Facebook group:

• Calling All Branches This group is 1200 members strong of confirmed family members and still growing.

She is also the administrator of two Facebook groups that focuses on genealogy:

• The African American Genealogy group (8,086 members) is for genealogical researchers from beginners to experts as they share their experiences and advice for researching their families.
• Homeplace (209 members) is a focus group named after the Old African American Edgefield District newsletter. This group focus on the research of the Ninety-Six District and her ancestral home of Edgefield, South Carolina.

Her commitment to educating others continues to grow as she has recently started another group called:

• Today’s New Find in Black History that focuses on the many contributions that have been made since the founding of America by African Americans.

Donya is a single mother of four children, one of which is a graduating senior in Maryland. She continues her research while taking care of her mother and children.

Media History

• WeAreYeldells Wordpress blog 2010-2013
• Submit and Published articles in Homeplace 2010-2013
• Guest writer for the Edgefield Advertiser weekly paper Feb 2012
• Interviewed on the Rock Newman Show Oct. 2013
• Guest speaker at Two Rivers Public Charter School 2015
• Interviewed in The Index Journal (Greenwood, SC) Sept 2016
• Interviewed in the Post & Courier (Charleston, SC) Sept 2016
• Interviewed on the ExtremeGenes Show with Scott Fisher July 2017
• Interviewed for the San Diego Free Press August 2017