Another Historic Announcement - George Melvin Gillispie & James Goings

George Melvin Gillispie

Yesterday in Tulsa, IMF team members were in attendance as Mayor Monroe Nichols made another historic announcement regarding the 1921 Mass Graves Investigation.

First, new excavations are planned by the City of Tulsa, the anthropology and archaeology teams for later this year. Dr. Kary Stackelback delivered a powerful and emotional account for her team regarding the 2024 exhumation and their findings. You can see more here.

Secondly, the genealogy report included the name of George Melvin Gillispie believed to be the identity of Burial 180. Mr. Gillispie was born one of 13 siblings in 1881 and grew up in Oklahoma. Although it is uncertain if he was a Massacre victim, his last known documentation of life was in Payne County, Oklahoma in December 1920. Our team is forever grateful to the Gillispie family for their participation in this identification, and we extend our deepest condolences to them regarding their family member.

Finally, a new Tulsa Race Massacre Victim was named as a result of our genealogy team's research. Mr. James Goings was brought to our attention through our Information Donation Form by a relative with a family booklet stating "Mr. Goins" was "killed in the Tulsa riot." A team member followed up on this and requested records from the National Archives which revealed letters stating that James Goings was killed in "recent disturbances" in Tulsa on June 1, 1921. His name will now be added to the known victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.

With each milestone in this historic project, we have been in awe of the expertise, professionalism and thoughtfulness of each and everyone involved. This work is not done by one individual or just one organization, but rather a team of individuals representing the best in their field laying the framework for this project and others like it. To the teams of Dr. Kary Stackleback and Dr. Phoebe Stubblefield, your knowledge and dedication in planning and excavating are the crucial first steps in this process. To the team at DNA Labs International, we are thankful for your laboratory expertise and for providing the sequencing for the DNA profile of Burial 180. And to our pro bono investigative genetic genealogy partners who have donated countless hours to researching the burials and their associated families - The DNA Doe Project, Identifinders International, DNA Detectives, Moxxy Forensics, and the Cold Case Coalition—thank you for your time, dedication and perseverance.

In addition to these historic announcements, we learned last night that the city council of Tulsa officially approved the work to continue. Thank you for trusting IMF and all the many individuals/teams involved with this important work.