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Did My White Ancestor Become Black?
(The Root) — “My father’s grandfather, Will D. Carter, born in 1875 in Fayette County, Ky., is listed as being white in the 1880 census. The family is listed as white, too. But by the time the 1910 census rolled around, he was listed as black. My father remembers a picture of him that used…
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Did I Have a Scottish Ancestor in Africa?
(The Root) — “My family is from Sierra Leone, but we do have a legend of sorts. I think it’s true, but because of the civil war that happened there, it would be quite difficult to get information from Sierra Leone. “My grandfather’s father was supposedly a half-Scottish, half-Greek man. It’s not clear how or…
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How Do I Find Ancestor From Martinique?
(The Root) — “My name is Linda Brown, and I have definitely hit a dead end regarding my great-grandfather, Firmin Francois Fortier. How do I find out if he was really born in Martinique? The story in the family is that he was born in Martinique on Oct. 27, 1850, to a French father and…
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From Which Port Was Slave Ancestor Sold?
(The Root) — “I’ve completed the African Ancestry paternal lineage test and it says that I have Angolan heritage. I would like to find information about the ports that people from Angola were sold from to the United States — and where they landed —- in hopes of pinpointing where my Angolan ancestors came from. My…
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How Did My Free Bajan Ancestor End Up in North Carolina?
My great-great-grandfather Sandy Powell Sr. moved to North Carolina in the late 19th century. The story is that he came from Barbados after 1865, as a free man. No one knows why or under what conditions. We don’t know from where in Barbados he traveled, either. Was he part of a larger migration from the…
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The Holidays Can Help Your Family Research
Family holiday gatherings provide a wonderful opportunity to learn more about one’s roots. These get-togethers can prove to be a valuable resource for furthering your genealogical research, if you’re prepared to make the most of them. Below are a few ideas to help you get ready. Picture This As the older generations of a family…
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Is There a Mexican President in My Black Family Tree?
“I would like to know if I am related to a president of Mexico. The story told to me was that Jesús Carranza, described as ‘former president of Mexico,’ was assassinated by rebels, and his children had to flee the country as a result. (Jesús was actually the father of Venustiano Carranza, who himself became…
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Who Was My Enslaved Ancestor’s Owner?
My third great-grandfather Cain Dick was born between 1821 and 1824 and died around 1910 in Rock Creek, Guilford County, N.C. I was trying to search for his parents and the origins of his slaveholders, only to run into a complication. I came across three male individuals who had the same surname as my third…
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I Found the Ship My Slave Ancestors Were On. What Now?
I would like help finding the parents of my slave ancestors Edward Wright and Adeline Boston (or Benett, we think). Both of them, my third great-grandparents, were shipped to Savannah, Ga., on separate dates on a ship called the Calhoun. Edward Wright was born in Essex County, Va., circa 1836 and died circa 1887 in…
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Was My Ancestor an Afro-Cuban Railroad Man?
Dear Professor Gates: I am looking for genealogy resources about Afro-Cuban people in the Ohio Valley region (Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, West Virginia and Tennessee). My father’s paternal grandfather, Thomas Regan, was born in Cuba circa 1900. Using Ancestry.com, I found out that he arrived in the United States about 1918 by way of Ireland.…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
