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Most recently, I received an email from a first Cousin that I never knew I had.
(My Uncle's daughter) Her Grandmother only told her recently who her Father was, she found me on Ancestry.
At first I was afraid that it might be some sort of joke or scam...but after a phone call to my Mom I found out that it was
totally legitimate. (I can understand not relaying this information when we were children, but why on earth did she not say something before now? And what else might have happened that she is just not telling me?)
My mom's earliest patriarch on her maternal line and my father's earliest direct paternal ancestor were slaves belonging to the same extended family. Post-Civil War, the first went on to become an Exoduster in African American history. The other stayed in MS and purchased land in the 1890s where he was once a slave. The ancestor purchasing land could also read and write and all of his children were educated.
My mom's grandfather was murdered in MS in the 1920s.
I am distantly related to Silas Soule, at least on paper.
Another relative did some educational research with Booker T Washington.
The bold is interesting for a black American. Do you know if she was descended of a free family?
I only ask because as I shared earlier in the thread, I have discovered I had a lot of free people of color in my own lineage. Quite a few of my distantly related cousins have done the DNA ancestry tests (and done others and/or uploaded them onto various sites as well) and most of my female cousins on these lines ended up having European mDNA markers for their maternal lines which corresponded with our research and those lines being descended of a white/European female in the late 1600s/early1700s of colonial America.
Most of these cousins are related through my paternal great grandmother and her ancestors, so we don't have the same maternal ancestry. I'm trying to coax my oldest living relative on my maternal side to do a DNA swab for me. She and I have the same mitochondrial DNA ancestry since she is my maternal great grandmother's daughter and I am at a roadblock in my maternal line so am hoping she will do the test for me.
The bold is interesting for a black American. Do you know if she was descended of a free family?
I only ask because as I shared earlier in the thread, I have discovered I had a lot of free people of color in my own lineage. Quite a few of my distantly related cousins have done the DNA ancestry tests (and done others and/or uploaded them onto various sites as well) and most of my female cousins on these lines ended up having European mDNA markers for their maternal lines which corresponded with our research and those lines being descended of a white/European female in the late 1600s/early1700s of colonial America.
Most of these cousins are related through my paternal great grandmother and her ancestors, so we don't have the same maternal ancestry. I'm trying to coax my oldest living relative on my maternal side to do a DNA swab for me. She and I have the same mitochondrial DNA ancestry since she is my maternal great grandmother's daughter and I am at a roadblock in my maternal line so am hoping she will do the test for me.
I thought my daughters nana (in her 80's) would tell me no because she came to the US at some point with her parents from Europe. I believe she told me she was German but came to the US from Poland. Her maiden name could be Jewish. My daughter had 8% European Jewish which was way more then me or my son from another marriage. I finally got up the nerve to ask my sister in law if nana would do one, she jumped at the chance. Interestingly no Jewish; so I assume it came from her husband. I was sure there were bad memories when they fled since she doesn't talk about those days. I have not been able to find her family coming over; gonna have to play around with it more. I also need to call her.
It seems like every time I turn around there is a DNA commercial playing; most times Ancestry but I've seen 23 and me and My Heritage. I wouldn't doubt my daughters nana saw commercials too. I hope your relative changes her mind. What is stopping her from doing it?
I thought my daughters nana (in her 80's) would tell me no because she came to the US at some point with her parents from Europe. I believe she told me she was German but came to the US from Poland. Her maiden name could be Jewish. My daughter had 8% European Jewish which was way more then me or my son from another marriage. I finally got up the nerve to ask my sister in law if nana would do one, she jumped at the chance. Interestingly no Jewish; so I assume it came from her husband. I was sure there were bad memories when they fled since she doesn't talk about those days. I have not been able to find her family coming over; gonna have to play around with it more. I also need to call her.
It seems like every time I turn around there is a DNA commercial playing; most times Ancestry but I've seen 23 and me and My Heritage. I wouldn't doubt my daughters nana saw commercials too. I hope your relative changes her mind. What is stopping her from doing it?
She's like me and is just ornery lol. I also haven't tested so she is messing with me. I love my auntie though and we mess/joke around with each other. I think she'll do it she is probably getting a kick out of it bothering me that she hasn't yet. I also got a kit for my grandfather. He is my only living grandparent now. He said he would do it but hasn't spit in the tube yet so Auntie jokes that when his old a$$ does it, she will too lol. FWIW grandfather and my grandmother (Auntie's sister) divorced back in the 1960s over some drama caused in their family by his uncle (the uncle got my Auntie's brother's wife pregnant while he was overseas in the military - lot of old school gossip/family secrets there lol) and she hasn't liked my grandfather since that happened, which caused a schism in our families and my grandparents to divorce. She IMO is also getting a kick out of re-living her old grudge against him with this test.
She's like me and is just ornery lol. I also haven't tested so she is messing with me. I love my auntie though and we mess/joke around with each other. I think she'll do it she is probably getting a kick out of it bothering me that she hasn't yet. I also got a kit for my grandfather. He is my only living grandparent now. He said he would do it but hasn't spit in the tube yet so Auntie jokes that when his old a$$ does it, she will too lol. FWIW grandfather and my grandmother (Auntie's sister) divorced back in the 1960s over some drama caused in their family by his uncle (the uncle got my Auntie's brother's wife pregnant while he was overseas in the military - lot of old school gossip/family secrets there lol) and she hasn't liked my grandfather since that happened, which caused a schism in our families and my grandparents to divorce. She IMO is also getting a kick out of re-living her old grudge against him with this test.
LOL If you have a kit for yourself you should offer to do it at the same time as them.
The bold is interesting for a black American. Do you know if she was descended of a free family?
I only ask because as I shared earlier in the thread, I have discovered I had a lot of free people of color in my own lineage. Quite a few of my distantly related cousins have done the DNA ancestry tests (and done others and/or uploaded them onto various sites as well) and most of my female cousins on these lines ended up having European mDNA markers for their maternal lines which corresponded with our research and those lines being descended of a white/European female in the late 1600s/early1700s of colonial America.
Most of these cousins are related through my paternal great grandmother and her ancestors, so we don't have the same maternal ancestry. I'm trying to coax my oldest living relative on my maternal side to do a DNA swab for me. She and I have the same mitochondrial DNA ancestry since she is my maternal great grandmother's daughter and I am at a roadblock in my maternal line so am hoping she will do the test for me.
From a historical standpoint, my assumption has been that earliest ancestress likely arrived here as an indentured servant and had at least one child with a black man who was likely a FPoC.
This is where it all gets strange, though. The earliest direct maternal line ancestress that I have been able to trace is found on the 1880's census where she is listed as mulatto as are her three children. She answered that she was born in MS, for her father it isn't written "Do Not Know" and for her mother no answer at all was given, which is strange. I don't think that she knew her mother at all. My 2nd great grandmother is her only known female child and my great grandmother is my 2nd great grandmother's only known child, period. One story about that area in MS where my ancestors are from is biracial/mixed race, illegitimate children were often given to free families to raise.
I just really can't find anything else about this line. I found out a few years back that my 3rd great grandmother died at some point after that census was taken and 1883, where her husband is back in MS and gets married to another lady. I have been able to find some relatives who share the same haplogroup but of course they don't have a lot of information, either.
From a historical standpoint, my assumption has been that earliest ancestress likely arrived here as an indentured servant and had at least one child with a black man who was likely a FPoC.
This is where it all gets strange, though. The earliest direct maternal line ancestress that I have been able to trace is found on the 1880's census where she is listed as mulatto as are her three children. She answered that she was born in MS, for her father it isn't written "Do Not Know" and for her mother no answer at all was given, which is strange. I don't think that she knew her mother at all. My 2nd great grandmother is her only known female child and my great grandmother is my 2nd great grandmother's only known child, period. One story about that area in MS where my ancestors are from is biracial/mixed race, illegitimate children were often given to free families to raise.
I just really can't find anything else about this line. I found out a few years back that my 3rd great grandmother died at some point after that census was taken and 1883, where her husband is back in MS and gets married to another lady. I have been able to find some relatives who share the same haplogroup but of course they don't have a lot of information, either.
See now that has be thinking all kinds of imaginative thoughts considering I was reading some slave narratives recently and there was one about a man from Texas who was the child of a white woman, the daughter of his owner, and her illicit affair with a black slave of her fathers.
She was sent away after the birth of the child according to the narrative and the child was raised as a slave, even though, by law, he should have been free since he had a white mother.
Maybe something similar happened in your family.
I will admit that from a genealogical research standpoint I kinda don't like the state of Mississippi. They lack in so many ways versus other states, even other southern states in regards to the records available for research. I feel fortunate that I don't have any direct ancestors from MS. SC is bad enough IMO and they have more than MS. I do trees for a lot of people since I've hit a lot of blocks recently on my own and have been working on some friends' ancestors who are from MS.
See now that has be thinking all kinds of imaginative thoughts considering I was reading some slave narratives recently and there was one about a man from Texas who was the child of a white woman, the daughter of his owner, and her illicit affair with a black slave of her fathers.
She was sent away after the birth of the child according to the narrative and the child was raised as a slave, even though, by law, he should have been free since he had a white mother.
Maybe something similar happened in your family.
I will admit that from a genealogical research standpoint I kinda don't like the state of Mississippi. They lack in so many ways versus other states, even other southern states in regards to the records available for research. I feel fortunate that I don't have any direct ancestors from MS. SC is bad enough IMO and they have more than MS. I do trees for a lot of people since I've hit a lot of blocks recently on my own and have been working on some friends' ancestors who are from MS.
To me, at least in the counties involving my ancestors, MS kept excellent records. And most of my ancestors completed the census, a couple of lines completed it from post-Civil War 1870 clear up to the 1940's census. So it's easier to track for me. Plus my ancestors were connected to some of the founding families in those areas in MS so I have more info available to me.
For my direct maternal ancestors, while they didn't have an easy life, I don't believe that they were ever slaves. And for the earliest one that I have been able to trace, if she was ever a slave it was for a short period of time of her young life. She was born in 1860.
To me, at least in the counties involving my ancestors, MS kept excellent records. And most of my ancestors completed the census, a couple of lines completed it from post-Civil War 1870 clear up to the 1940's census. So it's easier to track for me. Plus my ancestors were connected to some of the founding families in those areas in MS so I have more info available to me.
For my direct maternal ancestors, while they didn't have an easy life, I don't believe that they were ever slaves. And for the earliest one that I have been able to trace, if she was ever a slave it was for a short period of time of her young life. She was born in 1860.
I think I was just spoiled by having a lot of ancestry from Virginia. They have a lot of information available online with their historical societies and archival societies and on the frequently used genealogical research sites and they are indexed.
I even have information on my enslaved ancestors from VA that I found easily online going back to the late 1700s.
Of all the people I've traced in MS, I cannot find much about black families prior to the Civil War. I do think if I visited/contacted some private libraries or archives I could get more, but for the families I've researched there (including my step family) they dead end at 1870. I think since most of the people I research were not from prominent families, they just don't have a lot of info about them. I also have yet to find good Freedman's Bureau records from MS like cohabitation registers, which are available online for the state of VA. Those documents usually named who owned the family and I can use that information to trace plantation and probate records of formerly enslaved persons and their ancestors. I've never been able to do it for people from MS but have for other southern states. MS is a beautiful state though and they are some of my favorite southerners. I just get weirdo genealogical grudges lol. My own family tells me to stop bashing SC often from a genealogical standpoint lol. My great grandfather was from SC and I'm mad I cannot find info on my 4th great grandmother there and the historical society and archives in the county they're from didn't have a lot of useful information for me. They also did not keep death, marriage, or birth registers until after 1900 versus other states had them in the early 1800s.
I think I was just spoiled by having a lot of ancestry from Virginia. They have a lot of information available online with their historical societies and archival societies and on the frequently used genealogical research sites and they are indexed.
I even have information on my enslaved ancestors from VA that I found easily online going back to the late 1700s.
Of all the people I've traced in MS, I cannot find much about black families prior to the Civil War. I do think if I visited/contacted some private libraries or archives I could get more, but for the families I've researched there (including my step family) they dead end at 1870. I think since most of the people I research were not from prominent families, they just don't have a lot of info about them. I also have yet to find good Freedman's Bureau records from MS like cohabitation registers, which are available online for the state of VA. Those documents usually named who owned the family and I can use that information to trace plantation and probate records of formerly enslaved persons and their ancestors. I've never been able to do it for people from MS but have for other southern states. MS is a beautiful state though and they are some of my favorite southerners. I just get weirdo genealogical grudges lol. My own family tells me to stop bashing SC often from a genealogical standpoint lol. My great grandfather was from SC and I'm mad I cannot find info on my 4th great grandmother there and the historical society and archives in the county they're from didn't have a lot of useful information for me. They also did not keep death, marriage, or birth registers until after 1900 versus other states had them in the early 1800s.
See, my slave ancestors went from Spotsylvania County, VA to Cheraw, SC, and then into MS. Being able to follow the slaveholders explains why many of my ancestors stated that they were born in SC on later census reports.
They family that dead ends in 1870, what is the race of those ancestors? Before I give an answer from my experience, I want to be clear that I understand you.
And let me also add, much of the info that I have been able to find is from tracing info listed on census reports, the traveling and relocating habits of the slave holding families, land patents, and from cohabitation (as you mentioned). I found my first born in Africa ancestor from this sort of reporting. She was living in the home of her great grandson and was 100 years old at that time.
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(I can understand not relaying this information when we were children, but why on earth did she not say something before now? 
And what else might have happened that she is just not telling me?
)
