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Some of my New Jersey ancestors were slave owners, I have copies of their wills giving the names of these slaves. One was a woman named Tabby. Mine were also some of the first in the USA to free their slaves.
Just curious, but the will of my relative did mention some partial names for some of the slaves. It's really a long shot, but is there any way to research them?
Just curious, but the will of my relative did mention some partial names for some of the slaves. It's really a long shot, but is there any way to research them?
Would they show up in a census?
Remember that slaves were considered property, as witness the will you have. They were not counted in the census until 1870 under their own names. Many took the last names of their former owners. So you could search using the given names in the will and the last name of the person who made the will. There are many web sites that will give you hints about researching African American ancestors, too.
Often, people tend to think about slavery as only happening in the US. But the slave trade has existed for thousands of years, and is still going on today. Many people, of many different ethnic backgrounds, have been subjected to slavery throughout history, and it started long before America was discovered. It would not be unlikely, that many of our ancestors have been the victims of slavery, if you go back far enough in history....
One of the most well-known white slaves in the world has to be St. Patrick.
He was kidnapped in a slaving raid by the Irish and taken back to Ireland where he was a shepherd for his master. He later made his way back to Britain, became a priest and returned to Ireland as a Christian missionary.
That's not necessarily something worth being ashamed of- it was the social norm. Your relatives back then probably wouldn't approve of the hedonistic lifestyle many Americans enjoy today, and probably wouldn't recognize society.. it balances out.
Could have been worse, the slave families could have all been split up and sold at the behest of your ancestor's will.
I was thinking the same thing! Germans should not be ashamed of their ancestors for working in concentration camps...it was a part of the norm. They would probably not approve of our wasteful spending here in Amerikkka, today.
I mean, it could have been worse for slaves; they could have actually not been enslaved in the first place and taken off of that God-foresaken continent.
Well, My great grandfather owned 300 slaves. I'm not related to any africans though.
Writing is a very dangerous tool as, sometimes, you can misinterpret where the writer is going with his information. However, from what I gather, it appears as though you miss the good old days. Hey, no problem...you are entitled to your opinion; no matter how insensitive it may be.
My interpretation of your post: "My grandfather was the Bill Gates of his time; he had 300 cotton pickers and tobacco farmers. I'm not related to any of them people, though; so, who cares? It worked out for us. That's why my family has all of this land, these houses, and a decent amount of money today."
Slavery is a fact of history. You can't change it, and it was nothing you did. So there's no need for shame. If there was, we all need to feel it, because it was not something unique to America, or the American south.
I agree.
Quote:
Originally Posted by EnricoV
Free blacks owned slaves, Native Americans owned slaves, Native Americans enslaved other Native Americans. Africans enslaved other Africans, and then sold them to Europeans.
The information given, here, can be a little misleading. Although the willing African nations who sold their ENEMY tribes into slavery, they did not sell their own people into slavery. Your statement misses the premise that although they sold a person of similar race into an unknown slave system, it was not their own people. That's like someone saying German Nazis should not feel bad about the Holocaust because other white people helped turn in Jews and helped operate the death camps. Yes, they may both be of the same race, but they are of a totally different group of people. But, whites always think that all black people are related, anyway.
Second, although there were an infinitesimal population of blacks (particularly mulattos) who owned slaves, you have to understand the pyshological aspect of slavery. It is similar to a child who experiences a traumatic event such as being sexually abused or witnessing a parent being abused. There is a good chance that the child will grow up and partake in similar behavior - either as an abuser or as a promiscuous adult. Unfortunately, there were no exit strategies for slavery or post-traumatic, psychological assistance for those conditioned to devalue themselves or those like them.
But, just looking at records of blacks who owned slaves is misleading. Some blacks brought slaves in order to free them or in order to lessen their burden of suffering from the "traditional" European slave system.
EnricoV, going forward, when you make such statements, you should provide more specificity to your statements so as not to mislead people.
quote: "Although the willing African nations who sold their ENEMY tribes into slavery, they did not sell their own people into slavery. Your statement misses the premise that although they sold a person of similar race into an unknown slave system, it was not their own people."
Oh, so if they were they were from warring tribes, that was OK?
Let's not split hairs.
The point is that blacks were selling other blacks into slavery, and in Africa, keeping them as slaves as well.
...free blacks that didn't own slaves led active lives, owning businesses, becoming doctors and lawyers, owning land. It's unfortunate that many black Americans kind of automatically think all their ancestors were downtrodden. That's not always the case.
This is a, somewhat, confusing statement to respond to. Yes, there were many blacks, both noted and unheard of, that led prominent lives. But, the majority of blacks were downtrodden - slaves, sharecroppers, or just getting by in a society where they had to be submissive to whites. If the average black person CAN EFFECTIVELY TRACE THEIR GENEOLOGY, they may find a middle-class relative who lived a decent life (let's also be clear that we are talking pre-1900s or early 1900s). But, middle class should be the norm; however, it was an exception for a lot of blacks. But, for every black success, Rosewood (Florida) and Black Wall Street (Tulsa, OK), you had bitter whites who came along and put an end to it (Rosewood and Black Wall Street). It is hard to focus on the success of one ancestor when hundreds of others struggled so hard. Better yet, it is hard to focus on the early years of success (Rosewood, Black Wall Street) when the end result is tragic.
As most of you have confirmed in your thread, most blacks cannot go back 2 or 3 generations past their parents, yet alone trace their ancestry any further than an Annapolis, MD or a Charleston, SC auction block. There are a large number of black families who know that someone in their family tree may have been important. But, one of the lesser-talked-about tragedies of slavery is that the average black person cannot find the proper documentation to unequivocally do so.
You make a good statement on this point because blacks do have a significant amount of "successes" both here and throughout the diaspora. It is a point well taken and well said. I just also wanted to bring some additional information to your statement just to give readers some insight so that they can have a better understanding of why some do only look at the "downtrodden" aspects within black history instead of bashing them for not doing so.
Last edited by ajsmith365; 02-14-2011 at 01:15 PM..
Reason: for clarity on a specific point and fix a spelling error
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