African American history in this country is still being written. In this family history of the Wardlaws of South Carolina and Arkansas and the Boldens of Tennessee and Arkansas on the one side and the McKinneys, Randalls and Aikens of Georgia and Arkansas on the otther, the author highlights generations going back more that 200 years. Through slavery, the Civil War, Reconstrction and the Civil Rights eras these families lived ad made history in their own right. Genealogy is a unique way to learn about and experience history. Researching and writing about ancestors opens so many doors and provides so much insight into the lives of those who made our own journeys possible. While this book is about the ancestors of the author, it mirrors so many stories of African Ameriscan and other families that have lived, worked, experienced hardship and thirved here in this country.