-
Tracing Your Roots: Was My Ancestor Deported to Ghana?
A series of run-ins with law enforcement in the United Kingdom splits a family apart. Now the family is seeking answers. Dear Professor Gates: I’m trying to trace my great-grandfather, whose name was either David Sebe Agyemah Darku or David Sebe Agyeman Darku. He was sent to jail in England for a high-profile crime involving…
-
Tracing Your Roots: How Did My Ancestor Escape Slavery?
In revisiting the story of black refugees to Trinidad, we came across the tale of a foiled slave rebellion in Maryland. Dear Professor Gates: I am a Trinidadian who has been searching for information on my ancestor Henry Ransom, a black Colonial Marine who joined with the British in 1814 and was resettled in 5th…
-
Tracing Your Roots: Is My Family’s Big Secret Presidential?
A reader wonders if she could be related to Andrew Jackson through one of his slaves. Dear Professor Gates: The story goes that my great-grandmother Laura Emily Jackson shouted to her only daughter, “I found my family. I found my family!” That night my grandmother went downstairs and found her mother burning all the family…
-
Tracing Your Roots: Were Slaves’ Surnames Like Brands?
We made a surprising discovery while addressing a question about how slaves got their last names. Dear Professor Gates: Were the surnames of enslaved people changed when they were sold, or were they allowed to keep the surnames of their former slave owners? It would seem plausible that a slave’s name was like a brand…
-
Tracing Your Roots: The Black Side of My Family Is a Mystery!
A biracial woman yearns to know more about her African-American ancestors, about whom she has little information. It’s a good thing we found a lot of it. Dear Professor Gates: I am a 39-year-old biracial woman who was born in North Carolina. My father, George Newton Watson (Newton Watson Jr. on his birth certificate), was…
-
Tracing Your Roots: I Am Black but Discovered I Have Jewish DNA
Test results show unexpected Ashkenazi heritage and raise the possibility that a family legend is true. Editor’s note: This article was originally published Jan. 22, 2016. Dear Professor Gates: I’m African American, but about a year ago I received the results of genetic testing, which indicated that I’m 5 percent Ashkenazi Jew. My European genetic…
-
Tracing Your Roots: Did My Wife Descend From Runaway Slaves?
A Canadian resident tries to confirm the origins of his wife’s ancestors, who reportedly traveled the Underground Railroad. Dear Professor Gates: My wife, Kathy Brooks, and I live in Canada, and she is trying desperately to trace the ancestry of her great-great-grandmother Mary Ann Shepherd, who arrived in Canada between 1845 and 1861. We believe…
-
Tracing Your Roots: Untangling the Origins of My Dad’s Blended Family
A reader seeks details on grandparents who left behind a family tree with many branches. Dear Professor Gates: Can you please help me get some clear history on my grandfather and grandmother? My father, George W. Murphy, was born March 25, 1919, in Little Rock, Ark., one of many siblings. My grandmother Ada Wiley Murphy…
-
Tracing Your Roots: Finding Emancipated Black Ancestors Just Got Easier
If you’ve heard anything about the new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, it’s probably that the museum is the hottest ticket in Washington, D.C., resulting in long lines and the need to purchase passes three months in advance. Genealogy buffs ought to know that the museum has a hot ticket, of…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
