Information in the end of May of 2019.

Technology and human geography go hand in hand. We need technology to achieve survival in many cases from growing foods to developing resources. Technology’s purpose is manifold. One purpose of it is to try to make the lives of human beings easier or more efficient. As time as gone onward in human history, technology does change. Sometimes it can change rapidly. Sociologists and geography experts have studied this socio-evolution in terms of the items of hunting and gathering, horticulture, pastoralism, agriculture, industry, and post-industrialism. The first humans in Africa were hunter gatherers. This was about a system where people hunted animals for food and gathered plants for food as well. Life was not easy. Many animals were predators, and they readily killed humans and other animals. Migration was commonplace. Edible plants were eaten. This culture is extinct except in certain locations like in Canada, Central Africa, Australia, and Malaysia. Some used shamans back then for advice or for spiritual ceremonies. Technology was limited thousands of years ago. Later, horticulture was commonplace about 10,000 years ago. This used technology to plant crops. Soil was fertile in the Middle East, Western Europe, China, the Americas, etc.  Crops being developed increased the power of human civilization. By this time, the belief of one God spread in the world in the midst of a pastoral environmental. We saw agriculture revolutionize technology too. In agriculture, animals and machines are utilized to promote energy and the cultivation of crops. This spread by about 3,000 years ago. Human civilization by this time developed writing, number systems, and urban centers spread in Europe, Africa, China, Asia, etc. Some people used plows to build the soil. People traded using barter. Also, social inequality came about in the midst of agriculture too. Some people were enslaved to plant crops. You had the nobles and the elites controlling most of the farmland or the urban centers. Cultural diversity, the spreading of literature, and global trade advanced. The Industrial Age of humankind dealt with using technology to drive large machines in producing energy in a high scale. Humans expanded power. Industrialization grew by factories. Back then, there were many injustices involving industrialization like discrimination, child labor, income inequality, etc. That is why social movements (from the labor rights movement to socialists) came about to address these problems. With many industries, trains, planes, ships, railroads traveled faster and carried goods more efficiently. Industrial societies have increased the life expectancy of humanity. Industry relies on advanced technology from microchips to electronic devices. The price of this has dealt with some corporations polluting the environment, exploiting workers financially, and the weakening of human community. That is why groups and activists are here fighting against these problems. Postindustrial technology dealt with what’s happening now especially in the global North. It involves service jobs, computer technology, and automation. Many jobs are being more automated which replaces industrial jobs. This causes layoffs and many families suffering. This era of postindustrial society relies more on analyzing data, using computers, using speech, writing, and other skills. What the future holds will be interesting.

Transportation is one of the most important parts of human existence. For years, humans have traveled the world over. I have been on planes, buses, and other modes of travel to go to Richmond, Baltimore, Los Angeles, Charlotte, Philadelphia, Annapolis, Southampton County, Cape Charles, and other great places in America.  Transportation geography deals with studying transportation in a geographic area involving its aspects. Transportation is about the movement of people, goods, and information in regions. Cities like New York City, regions like the South, and global areas deal with transportation from roads, rail, aviation, and ships. During ancient times, human beings used horses and boats plus ships to travel along large areas. Today, there is a diversity of means of transportation. Social and environmental factors impact transportation too. For example, large railway systems are readily needed in large urban communities. In rural communities, you need satellite dishes, farm equipment transport systems, and massive communication services. The weather can influence how goods are shipped during certain times of the years. It is more difficult to ship items in the snow than during a clear spring day. You have to deal with nodes or the beginning or end of a transportation point. There are networks in infrastructure that links the nodes. You have to deal with demand of how consumers deal with transportation or how the economy deals with transportation. Travelers, customers, and researchers evaluate transportation geography constantly. Air, road, water, and rail plus space involve transportation for a long time. In the span of 400 years, transportation has expanded massively. For thousands of years until the 19th century, most transportation involved horses, carriages, sailing ships, balloons, and likeminded vehicles. Then, the canal came by the 1800’s and steam locomotives causing trains to go ca. 75 mph. By the 20th century, we see aircraft, automobiles, space rockets, and other inventions going underwater. By the 21st century, we have high speed rail (which is growing in the USA), more automobiles, space stations, satellites, and other instruments of transportation. In our time, we still deal with traffic congestion, population densities, and other issues. Transportation must always involve helping the poor, the sick, and the homeless.

Human resources are very important involving human geography. Without resources, the human race won’t survive literally. Human resources deal with the business sectors, organizations, talent, labor, people, and empowerment of people. There are issues that deal with employment, labor laws, and benefits. In May 2014, the U.S. Department of Labor stated that human resource assistants earn about $38,040 annually and human resource managers earn about $104,440 annually. People are key in the developing of any nation. Any society wants motivated human beings to deal with the issues of life. Any person regardless of educational level, age, or sex has equal value and ought to be treated with dignity and with respect. The issue is that human resources are not equally distributed in the world right now. We have racism, discrimination, xenophobia, sexism, and other evils. That is why activism is important to do something about. Scholars of human resources research literacy, health conditions, occupations, and income levels to witness the reality of the Universe.


There have been many migrations of my people. First, I will explain my migrations of paternal ancestors and then my maternal ancestors. My paternal ancestors came from Halifax County, North Carolina. My paternal fourth great-grandfather was a man named James. He married a woman named Edney. They lived during the late 1700’s and early 1800’s. By the late 1800’s, most of my paternal ancestors lived in Palmyra, Halifax County, North Carolina. My second great grandfather Adam in North Carolina worked as a farm laborer by the year of 1900. Adam had two wives by the names of Georgianna Tillery and Nancy Reynolds later on. Also, some of my ancestors on my father’s side lived in Scotland Neck, North Carolina too. By the mid-20th century, a change occurred. Many of my paternal relatives started to migrate from North Carolina into Virginia, especially at Northampton County, Virginia. Many of them lived in that area of the Eastern Shore where Cape Charles was located. My great grandfather Carl lived in the Eastern Shore until his passing at 1968. My grandfather Thurman lived in Cape Charles, Virginia, and in Baltimore, Maryland too. By the mid-20th century, many of my paternal relatives traveled further into Maryland, New Jersey, and Philadelphia. Descendants of my great uncle Levi, especially live in New Jersey to this very day. These migrations occurred during the two Great Migrations of the early 20th century and during the time of World War II. Some of my paternal relatives traveled into Trenton, New Jersey, Connecticut, and as far as Florida. Alicia Gatling-Sweat is my paternal third cousin. She was born in the year of 1968. We share the same 2nd great grandfather named Adam. Her mother is Delores Jones and her father was the late, great Bishop Dr. Richard Gerald Gatlin Sr. (1944-2014). She was married at Hartford, Connecticut. Alicia's ancestrors traveled form North Carolina all the way into Connecticut.

My maternal ancestors originated from Southampton County, Virginia. One major discovery was more information about my 6th great grandfather (on my mother's side) named Solomon Hurst. He lived from 1781 to 1877. He was from Southampton County, Virginia. On the Internet, what caught my eye was that Solomon was born free. He was a freeman. Back in the day, a lot of black people were slaves. He stood up 6 feet 1, which was remarkable since that is precisely how tall I am. Solomon Hurst married Milly Mundy on the date of April 7, 1804. Solomon's mother was Faithy Hurst, and she was born at ca. 1757. Solomon's son was Moore Hurst. Moore Hurst had a son named Morefield Hurst Turner. Morefield Hurst Turner's daughter was Susanna Field Hurst-Turner Claud (1862 - 1949). Susanna (her mother was Milly [Woodson] Bozeman, and she lived from 1830-1910) is my 3rd great grandmother. Susanna married James Thompson Claud and they had the child named Arthur Boss Claud. My mother saw Arthur Boss Claud when she was young many decades ago. I am related to many of the Clauds in Virginia and other places of America. Arthur Boss Claud (1891-1974) had a child named Ella Mae Claud-Turner (1913-1991) or my great-grandmother. She gave birth to my grandfather named Robert, and then I came into the picture later on with my birth in the year of 1983. Yes, my maternal relatives are related to the Artis family, the Scott family, the Hill family, the Darden family, the Kindred family, and other families in Southampton County, Virginia too. By the early to mid-20th century, my maternal ancestors migrated from Southampton County, Virginia into Franklin, Courtland, Portsmouth, Baltimore, other parts of Maryland, Philadelphia, New York state, and as far north as Connecticut. They traveled during the two Great Migrations too. For example, my third great aunt Addie Claud (1891-1928) lived in Portsmouth, Virginia. Susanna’s daughter Lily Claud traveled into Philadelphia too. My maternal second cousin Abdul Rashad-Diaab is a descendant of my 2nd great uncle Ralph Charles William Peebles (1884-1967). Abdul's father is James Russell Peeples. Abdul lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and he was born in 1947. With DNA testing and historical documents, we are blessed to live in a time where numerous folks can trace their ancestors so far back.


By Timothy