Information about Lives.

There is a lot of information coming out about my family that I have never learned about until late April 2023. This is the following information. My late 4th cousin Jimmie Lewis Bynum Sr. lived from October 5, 1941, to October 31, 2001, in Norfolk, Virginia. His parents were Jimmy Lewis Bynum Sr. (b. 1923) and Laura Elizabeth Claud (1923-1985). So, Jimmie Bynum is a descendant of my 5th grandmother Zilphy Claud via Frank T. Claud. Jimmie Lewis Bynum Jr.'s nickname was "June Bug." He lived on Spartan Street at its 1700 block in Norfolk, Virginia. He was a self-employed construction worker for 30 years. His five sisters are Louise Boyd, Gracie Glast, Diane Jones, Angelia Bynum, and Yvonne Bynum. His five brothers are James L. Bynum, Joe F. Bynum, Joseph A. Bynum, Steve L. Bynum, and Kenneth D. Bynum. Jimmie Lewis Bynum Jr. married Barbara Jean Jordan (1944-2022) on November 24, 1964, in Franklin, Virginia. Barbara Jordan's parents were Janis Mae Jordan and Early Lee Worrell. She served as a member of the First Baptist Church in Franklin, Virginia. Later, she was in the First Church of God in Columbus, Ohio. Jimme Lewis Bynum Jr. and Barbara Jean Jordan had a daughter named Cathy Denise Bynum (b. 1970). Cathy Denise Bynum or my 5th cousin married Nicholas B. Louketis (b. 1965) on August 5, 2005. Their children are Noria Louketis and Niya Louketis. The Louketis family lives in Ohio now. Recently, I found out that Jimmie Lewis Bynum Jr. and Cathey Patricia Sears (1952-2002) had a child named Kimberly M. Gale Long Garlick (b. 1982). Kimberly is my 5th cousin who was born in Norfolk, Virginia and lives in Georgia. Kimberly Garlick graduated from Norfolk State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology (2002-2006). She has a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) in Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration, General from Strayer University (2014-2015). Kimberly Long Garlick (Ancestry.com confirmed that we are blood cousins related to many Claud family members too) is now a Human Resources Manager in the Atlanta Metropolitan Area. 

 

Agriculture has a long history spanning thousands of years. Human beings changed from being hunter-gatherers to being part of Agricultural societies. This was a product of intensification and more sedentism. There was the Natufian culture in the Levent and the early Chinese Neolithic culture in China. Many scholars believe that after the last ice age (ca. 11,000 B.C.), much of the Earth became subject to long dry seasons. These conditions caused modern-day agriculture to be born. These conditions caused annual plants to die off in the long dry season leaving a dormant seed or tuber. Many storable wild grains and pulses caused hunter-gatherers in some areas to create the first settled villages at that time. In ancient history, human beings started to alter communities of flora and fauna for their own benefit. This was done by fire-stick farming and forest gardening. Wild grains have been collected and eaten from at least 105,000 years ago (maybe longer). We know about the existence of semi-tough rachis and larger seeds of cereals from just after the Younger Dryas (ca. 9,500 B.C.) in the early Holocene in the Levant region of the Fertile Crescent. Some believed that the domestication of the cereal rachis could have occurred naturally with its monophyletic characteristics without any human intervention. In the human family, agriculture began independently in many parts of the Earth including a diverse range of taxa. We know of domestic pigs having multiple centers of origin in Eurasia, Europe, East Asia, and Southwest Asia. Wild boars have first domesticated about 10,5000 years ago. Sheep were domesticated in Mesopotamia between 11000 B.C. and 9,000 B.C. Cattle were domesticated from the wild aurochs in the areas of Turkey and Pakistan in ca. 8500 B.C. Camels were domesticated later on in ca. 3,000 B.C. By 9,500 B.C., founder crops of agriculture developed which were emmer, einkorn wheat, hulled barley, peas, lentils, bitter betch, chick peas, and flax. They existed in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) sites in the Levant. Wheat was the first crop to be grown and harvested on a significant scale. At this time at 9,400 B.C, parthenocarpic fig trees were domesticated. 

Domesticated rye occurs in small quantities at some Neolithic sites in (Asia Minor) Turkey, such as the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (c. 7600 – c. 6000 BC) Can Hasan III near Çatalhöyük, but is otherwise absent until the Bronze Age of central Europe, c. 1800–1500 BC. Claims of much earlier cultivation of rye, at the Epipalaeolithic site of Tell Abu Hureyra in the Euphrates valley of northern Syria, remain controversial. Critics point to inconsistencies in the radiocarbon dates and identifications based solely on grain, rather than on chaff. By 8000 BC, farming was entrenched on the banks of the Nile. About this time, agriculture was developed independently in the Far East, probably in China, with rice rather than wheat as the primary crop. Maize was domesticated from the wild grass teosinte in southern Mexico by 6700 BC. The potato (8000 BC), tomato, pepper (4000 BC), squash (8000 BC), and several varieties of bean (8000 BC onwards) were domesticated in the Americas.

Agriculture was independently developed on the island of New Guinea. Banana cultivation of Musa acuminata, including hybridization, dates back to 5000 BC, and possibly to 8000 BC, in Papua New Guinea. Bees were kept for honey in the Middle East around 7000 BC. Archaeological evidence from various sites on the Iberian Peninsula suggests the domestication of plants and animals between 6000 and 4500 BC. Céide Fields in Ireland, consisting of extensive tracts of land enclosed by stone walls, date to 3500 BC and are the oldest known field systems in the world. The horse was domesticated in the Pontic steppe around 4000 BC. In Siberia, Cannabis was in use in China in Neolithic times and may have been domesticated there; it was in use both as a fiber for ropemaking and as a medicine in Ancient Egypt by about 2350 BC. 

In northern China, millet was domesticated by early Sino-Tibetan speakers at around 8000 to 6000 BC, becoming the main crop of the Yellow River basin by 5500 BC. They were followed by mung, soy and azuki beans. Chronological dispersal of Austronesian peoples across the Indo-Pacific. In southern China, rice was domesticated in the Yangtze River basin at around 11,500 to 6200 BC, along with the development of wetland agriculture, by early Austronesian and Hmong-Mien-speakers. Other food plants were also harvested, including acorns, water chestnuts, and foxnuts. Rice cultivation was later spread to Island Southeast Asia by the Austronesian expansion, starting at around 3,500 to 2,000 BC. This migration event also saw the introduction of cultivated and domesticated food plants from Taiwan, Island Southeast Asia, and New Guinea into the Pacific Islands as canoe plants. Contact with Sri Lanka and Southern India by Austronesian sailors also led to an exchange of food plants which later became the origin of the valuable spice trade. 

In the 1st millennium AD, Austronesian sailors also settled Madagascar and the Comoros, bringing Southeast Asian and South Asian food plants with them to the East African coast, including bananas and rice. Rice was also spread southwards into Mainland Southeast Asia by around 2000 to 1500 BC by the migrations of the early Austroasiatic and Kra-Dai-speakers. In the Sahel region of Africa, sorghum was domesticated by 3000 BC in Sudan and pearl millet by 2500 BC in Mali. Kola nut and coffee were also domesticated in Africa. In New Guinea, ancient Papuan peoples began practicing agriculture around 7000 BC, domesticating sugarcane and taro. In the Indus Valley from the eighth millennium BC onwards at Mehrgarh, 2-row and 6-row barley were cultivated, along with einkorn, emmer, and durum wheats, and dates. In the earliest levels of Merhgarh, wild game such as gazelle, swamp deer, blackbuck, chital, wild ass, wild goat, wild sheep, boar, and nilgai were all hunted for food. These are successively replaced by domesticated sheep, goats, and humped zebu cattle by the fifth millennium BC, indicating the gradual transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture. Maize and squash were domesticated in Mesoamerica, potato in South America, and sunflower in the Eastern Woodlands of North America.

 

By the time of the early 1980's, the game has changed in early rock and roll and pop music. Ballad songs dominated early 1980's music in general. By January of 1980, Michael Jackson's song of Rock with You was topping the charts a lot. The song was Jackson's third number hit as a solo artist and the first of his many 1980's top hits. At the same time, the song of Brass in Pocket by The Pretenders (a group from the UK led by American singer/songwriter Chrissie Hynde) was a popular song. This era saw Canadian rock band Rush have their album Permanent Waves with their biggest album to date. Their song of Spirit of the Radio was a more radio-friendly sound. The New York City punk pioneers of The Ramones released their fifth studio album of End of The Century. Detroit, Michigan rocker Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band have their first and only #1 album with Against The Wind. Both the title track and second single "Fire Lake" hit the US Top Ten. The album would go on the sell over five million copies (5X Platinum). By March 1980, Queen was already a UK rock veteran group. Their 8th album was called The Game with a new synthesizer sound for the first time. They had songs like Crazy Little Thing Called Love and Another One Bites the Dust. The UK progressive rock group of Genesis (with Phil Collins) released their 10th album called Duke. It would be their first number-one album in the UK. By this time, rock artists like Dan Fogelberg, Iron Maiden (with its debut album of Iron Maiden), and Judas Priest made successes. New wave band Blondie had their hit of Call Me by April of 1980. American punk music grows with the group X having their album called Los Angeles. The Clash or punk pioneers had the song of Train in Van. Peter Gabriel from Genesis had his breakthrough album called Melt with songs like Games Without Frontiers. The Jams was a new wave band with music like Going Underground. Minneapolis, Minnesota disco band Lipps Inc. hit #1 US, #2 UK with the single "Funkytown" from their debut album. The song is written by band member and producer Steve Greenberg, with vocals by Cynthia Johnson.

Joy Division had the singer Ian Curtis who committed suicide. Bette Midler had the song of The Rose. Roxy Music, Bill Joel, and Ultravox had made music too. This time saw new wave and punk music expanding in its evolution. Australian singer and actress Olivia Newton-John had the song Magic from the film Xanadu. AC/DC/ The Rolling Stones, and other groups expressed their musical abilities to the world. The first Monsters of Rock festival is held at Castle Donington UK and attracts a crowd of 35,000 rock fans to see Rainbow, Judas Priest, Saxon, Scorpions, April Wine, Riot and Touch. The concert would become an annual event for the next fifteen years (by August of 1980). Sailing was the popular song made by Christopher Cross (who is from San Antonio, Texas) including Ride Like the Wind. Pete Townshend from the Who made many singles like Let My Love Open the Door, etc. By September 1980, Diana Ross made a super comeback with her 11th album of Diana. Her song of Upside Down was made with help from Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards. Kurtis Blow (a hip hop icon) released the album of Kurtis Blow at the same time. The single The Breaks are from his debut album of Kurtis Blow. The Breaks is the first hip hop song to be certified Gold by the RIAA. Ozzy Osbourne left Black Sabbath and had his debut album of Blizzard of Ozz in September 1980. The UK band of The Police had their album of Zenyatta Mondata. Their popular song Don't Stand So Close To Me was popular in America and the UK. Lep Zeppelin drummer John Donham died from pulmonary issues after heavy drinking. The band quits. The Dead Kennedys Debut album existed. Music from Bruce Springsteen, Kenny Rogers, ABBA, Motorhead, REO Speedwagon, Steve Winwood, The Clash, and Pat Benatar made music. In December 1980, John Lennon was shot to death outside his Manhattan apartment by a deranged person. The murderer signed an autograph earlier. Lennon just released his first album in five years called Double Fantasy in November of 1980. 

By January 1981, John Lennon's Double Fantasy album posthumously was number one in America and in the UK. One single of the album was Woman. Blondie had their single of The Tide is High as a reggae cover of the same song by The Paragons in 1965. Blondie's song of Rapture was the first U.S. hit to have rap vocals. UK band Adam & The Ants hit #1 UK, #44 US with their second album Kings Of The Wild Frontier. With a new band and a new sound featuring the Burundi Beat the album generates three UK Top Ten hits including "Antmusic" #2 and "Dog Eat Dog" #4 UK. Jersey City, New Jersey funk, R&B, and disco band Kool & The Gang, recording since the late 60's, have their first US #1 single with "Celebration." Working with Brazilian musician and producer Eumir Deodato, the album of the same name reaches #10 US. Eddie Rabbitt had the song of I Love a Rainy Night. Phil Collins had the hit of In The Air Tonight. It was part of his solo album. He was part of Genesis for years. Dolly Parton was a country singer and actress part of the movie 9 to 5 that wanted to expose sexual harassment and sexism in the workplace. The song 9 to 5 by Dolly Parton focused on the same subject matter. The Who released the album of Face Dances in March of 1981. Eddie Van Halen (a famous rock musician from Van Halen) married TV star Vallerie Bertinelli (they divorced in 2007). Smooth Jazz pioneer Grover Washington Jr. teams up with Bill Withers for the single "Just The Two Of Us." The single reaches #2 US and drives Washington's eleventh album Winelight to #5 on the US Top 200, #2 US R&B, and #1 US Jazz. Chicago, Illinois rock band Styx hit #3 US with their single "The Best Of Times". The song is from the band's eighth album Paradise Theatre which reaches #1 US, #8 UK. The album's second single "Too Much Time On My Hands" hits #9 US. Scottish singer Sheena Easton had the song of Morning Train (9 to 5) as a big hit. Bob Marley passed away in May 1981. He was a Jamaican reggae pioneer who had melanoma. He worked with The Wailer since 1965. He also had a solo career promoting justice, peace, Pan-African unity, and love. Kim Carnes, Billy Squier, the British ska revival band The Specials, Kim Wilde, and Smokey Robinson made music in 1981 too. 

Beatles guitarist George Harrison has his first US Top Ten hit since 1973 with the single "All Those Years Ago" #2 US, #13 UK. Harrison wrote the lyrics as a tribute to John Lennon and all three remaining Beatles participated in this recording. This was in July 1981.  The popular song of Jessie's Girl was made by Australian musician and actor Rick Springfield. The country band of Oak Ridge Boys made the crossover hit of Elvira. By July 1981, Diana Ross worked with Lionel Richie with the single Endless Love. It was Motown's best-selling single ever. Diana Ross signed with RCA Records later for $20 million. By August of 1981, MTV was launched on cable. It would be a 24-hour-a-day music cable network influencing culture immediately. Early on, MTV had to be forced to show a diversity of black music (not just rock) because some in MTV had the racist notion that non-rock black artists would scare Middle America. The fact is that people of every color love music among many genres. Black music always matters. 1980's anthems from Don't Stop Believing from Journey in September 1981, Stevie Nicks, and the Simon and Garfunkel Concert at Central Park were historic times. Rick James made the song Super Freak in September 1981. Rick James was from Buffalo, New York. He did funk, R&B, and rock music. He was loved, and he was controversial. He had the single of Give It To Me Baby.  Juice Newton, Sof Cell, Laurie Anderson, The Go Go's, Bow Wow Wos, Fear, Altered Images, Motley Crue, and The Police made music. Queen and David Bowie had the hit of Under Pressure. Human League, AC/DC, Olivia Newton-John (with the song of Physical), Rod Stewart, and Tina Turner outlined rock and roll's power. 

1982 had some of the funkiest music of the 1980's. Let's Groove was a classic from Earth, Wind, and Fire. This was the Chicago-based funk/disco band. This was from their 11th album Raise! which used synthesizers and keyboards in the album. Hall of Oates had the song of I Can't Go For That. Artists like Foreigner, Bucks Fizz, The Cars, Quarterflash, and J. Geils Band had songs released. Joan Jett made the anthem of I Love Rock n Roll. It grew massively by March of 1982. She was a former guitarist and vocalist for The Runaways. Later, she would be an actress. John Belushi passed away from a drug overdose in March 1982. He was a veteran of Saturday Night Live. Also, he was a famous comedian and worked with Dan Akroyd in The Blues Brothers film. Both of them had a number-one album called Briefcase Full of Blues. In March of 1982, Teddy Pendergrass had his injury. Teddy Pendergrass was the most popular R&B singer of that time. He was once part of Harold Melvin and the Blues Notes. Teddy Pendergrass was paralyzed from the chest down via a car accident. There are many questions about the accident, and Teddy Pendergrass would later be a born-again Christian and live a greater life until his passing. Run to The Hills was from Iron Maiden in March 1982. The new wave band from Los Angeles called The Go-Go's had the anthem of We Got the Beat (from their album Beauty and the Beat). Planet Rock was the popular song from Afrika Bambaataa (I don't agree with his actions, but this is a historic reference). Rock music journalist Lester Bangs died in NYC on April 1982 from an accidental drug overdose. Duran Duran had music and Tommy Tutone. Roxy Music and Asia had albums and singles. Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder had the song of Ebony and Ivory promoting the ideal of racial harmony. In July 1982, Toto had songs like Rosanna and Africa plus Survivor had the song of Eye of the Tiger. The Australian band INXS had the son of The One Thing as part of their third album Shabooh Shoobah. Judas Priest released the song of You Got Another Thing Comin' and Fleetwood Mach had the single of Hold Me. By August 1982, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five had the song of The Message. That song changed hip hop forever as it was a mixture of conscious hip hop and hip hop outlining the environment of the streets. These artists were from the Bronx. By this time, The Motels, John Mellencamp, and Dexy's Midnight expressed rock music. Woodstock veterans Crosby, Stills & Nash release their fourth album Daylight Again #8 US. The single "Wasted On The Way" gives them their second US Top Ten single at #9. The album's second single "Southern Cross" reaches #18 US. The first US Festival is held Labor Day weekend in San Bernadino, California in 110-degree heat. With daily crowds of 200,000 enjoying The Ramones, The Police, Tom Petty and Fleetwood Mac. The festival was financed by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. One of the great funk songs was You Dropped a Bomb on Me by the Tulsa, Oklhaom funk group of The Gap band. Musical Youth had the song of Pass the Dutchie. The group members used reggae as part of Birmingham, UK. A New generation of groups like Men at Work, Culture Club, Berlin, Flock of Seagulls, etc. responded with various forms of music. Adam Anti had his debut album in 1982. Lionel Richie had the song of Truly. UK singer Joe Cocker and American singer Jennifer Warnes team up for a #1 single "Up Where We Belong" #7 UK. The song is produced for the hit film An Officer and A Gentleman and won a Grammy and an Academy Award. Toni Basil, The Jam, the UK artist Joe Jackson, and The Stray Cats had tons of music. By November 1982, pop music changed forever. This was when Michael Jackson released Thriller. Thriller was the best-selling album of pop and R&B music in history. It caused Michael Jackson to reach new heights of popularity, and it caused African American contributions to music in general to grow. Quincy Jones and other people were involved in the album. It had ballads, romance songs, and funky music too. Its music videos helped to modernize how music videos exist in our time. 

By Timothy