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Am I Related to the 1st Black NY Yankee?
There is a legend in my family that we are related to Elston Howard, the first African American to play for the New York Yankees. Proving this is difficult, and needless to say I have hit a huge wall. Elston’s bio says he was born in 1929 in St. Louis and died in 1980 in…
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When Did My Ancestor Buy His Freedom?
Family legend says that my great-great-great-great-grandfather Isom Ellis was a free man of color who bought his freedom and later that of his wife, Patience Bynum. I’d love to know more about him. He was born in 1802 in Wilson County, N.C. I believe he had a son named Robert. —Kevin J. Hagan Jr. Your…
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Help Me Trace the 3 Enslaved ‘Wives’ of William Dawkins
How can one find the place where one’s ancestors originated when the names of locations change over time? My family oral history indicates that William Dawkins (1790-1872), who died in Union County, S.C., went from his plantation in Fish Dam, S.C., to a place called Maddox/Mattox in Virginia and brought back four enslaved women. Dawkins,…
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Help Me Find My Hidden Black Ancestor!
I am white, but DNA testing at both 23andMe and Family Tree DNA has turned up a small amount of African ancestry. So far, my attempts to find a black ancestor have failed. Family Tree DNA is showing that I’m 1 percent sub-Saharan African, and 23andMe is showing between 1.2 percent and 1.4 percent sub-Saharan…
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Are Slave Narratives Useful to My Family Tree Research?
Dear Readers, In the past we have advised you to take advantage of holiday gatherings and the summer-reunion season to collect information from your relatives about family history. Get your kin talking, pull out a digital voice recorder, and before you know it, you will have begun a collection of oral histories that will provide…
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How Can I Get the Most Out of Online Genealogy Sites?
I believe I have discovered that I come from free black mulattoes who lived in Tyrrell County, N.C., in the 1700s to 1800s. Their last name is Hill. The last people I have confirmed in my family tree on that side are Charles Hill (born circa 1827), Joyce Bryant (born circa 1831) and her father,…
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Was My Ancestor the Only Civilian Killed at Appomattox?
My great-great-grandmother Leah Ballard Ancrum Williams was born circa 1840 and died in 1917 in Camden, Kershaw County, S.C. It was said that she bore 18 children, some before and some after slavery ended. We recently discovered her 1917 death certificate listing her mother’s name as Hannah Reynolds. This was great news to us, since…
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Not Even a ‘Jenious’ Can Trace My Family Name. Help!
I have a rather unique last name: “Jenious.” My paternal grandfather’s name was Otto Jenious. I have found some census, death and military records of my grandfather and some of his siblings; however, the trail seems to disappear after that. I would like to find out where the name might come from and how far…
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Was a Slave-Owning Politician My Ancestor?
I wonder if I am related to a slave-owning politician in North Carolina, Stephen Cabarrus. One of my maternal great-grandfathers was named Lawrence Cobbaris (also spelled Cabarrus or Cabarras). He was born in or about 1832, enslaved in North Carolina. He purchased land in Emantha, Fla., in 1892, according to a homestead certificate I am…
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Does My Ancestor’s Name Change Hide a Paternity Issue?
I’d like to get to the bottom of a puzzling name change in my family’s past. My great-grandfather Jeffrey Bedard (born circa 1856) started life as Jeffrey Nesmith, according to the 1870 census of Turkey, Williamsburg County, S.C., where he lived with Prince and Peggy Nesmith, listed as his parents, and several siblings. Then, in…
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