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Tracing Your Roots: Were My Enslaved Ancestors East African?
Separating fact from fiction in a familyâs oral tradition. Dear Professor Gates: I recently read a 2014 article that you authored (âWere My Enslaved Ancestors Originally From Ethiopia?â) concerning a Green family in Texas with roots in Georgia and their possible connection to Ethiopia. Iâm inquiring about my own Green family, also from Georgia (primarily…
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Tracing Your Roots: Were My Southern Kin From Jamaica?Â
A search for the Caribbean origins of a readerâs family takes a few surprising turns. Dear Professor Gates: I want to learn about my paternal grandparents, Cecil E. Burley Sr. and Beatrice (King) Burley. They were both born in Jamaica but lived out their lives in Rome, Ga. I want to know how my grandmother…
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Tracing Your Roots: How Were My Ancestorsâ Lives in 19th-Century Arkansas?
In a common scenario for African Americans, the paper trail disappears once a reader gets to the 19th century. Dear Professor Gates: I have been working on my family tree for years. I am having difficulties finding information on my paternal great-grandfather. His name was Leon Turner (born in 1901) and he married Birdie Todd…
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Tracing Your Roots: How Do I Research My Cuban Origins?
Inspired by a shocking revelation on Professor Henry Louis Gatesâ show, a woman wonders how to research her own heritage. Dear Professor Gates: My family is from Cuba. I have always had a desire to verify the oral histories from both sides of my family about our heritage. The episode of your PBS television show…
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Tracing Your Roots: Do I Have Gullah Roots?
A reader wonders if her family originates from a unique coastal Southern community that has retained many West African traditions. Dear Professor Gates: Iâm hoping you can help me figure out whether my family is of Gullah origins. My motherâs family is from a tiny town in South Carolinaâs Low Country called Brittons Neck. While…
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Tracing Your Roots: What Are My In-Lawsâ Texas Slavery Roots?
Her mother-in-lawâs paternal roots lie in what was once Texasâ richest county, made so off the backs of slaves. Dear Professor Gates: My mother-in-law is in her mid-80s, and per her request, I would like to do what I can to find information about her fatherâs family. I have searched on Ancestry.com and I am…
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Tracing Your Roots: Where Did My Infamous Ancestor Come From?
A grandfather made headlines for his various run-ins with the law, but his origins and racial identity are mysterious. Dear Professor Gates: I canât seem to find much information on my grandfather Kelly H. Godwin. Several newspapers in Robeson County, N.C., have carried stories about his different run-ins with local law enforcement. I even found…
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Tracing Your Roots: My Ancestorâs Records Are Confusing!
Was a formerly enslaved man in a May-December romance? Was he well-read or illiterate? We try to untangle the clues. Dear Professor Gates: I have hit a brick wall in my research regarding an ancestor by the name of King David Hinch, born in Tennessee. His birth year varies in records that I have found,…
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Tracing Your Roots: Did My Ancestor Work in a Prior Enslaverâs Home?
Repeating patterns in Reconstruction-era census records point to possible connections during slavery. Dear Professor Gates: Iâm trying to determine if my third great-grandmother (from my motherâs paternal side of the family) was a slave or if her mother was. In the 1880 census in Lytleâs Fork of Scott County, Ky., she is listed as Polly…
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Tracing Your Roots: Was Great-Grandma Part Creek Indian? Â
Historic records point to a life of mixed heritage in the American West. Dear Professor Gates: My great-grandmother Lula Craig/Creg, born Jan. 26, 1870, appears on both the federal 1910 census in Depew City, Creek County, Okla., and the 1910 Indian-population census for that city and county. Lula and her children (including my grandfather Bobby)…
