-
Tracing Dad’s Ancestry Without His DNA
Editor’s note: This column was originally published May 3, 2013. A common problem that people encounter when trying to trace their roots on a particular parent’s side using DNA testing is that the parent is dead or not available to them. The reader below has encountered this roadblock, but there are ways around it. I…
-
Am I Related to a Confederate General?
(The Root) — “My cousin on my mom’s side of the family has done extensive research on our family background. From what she has obtained thus far, it appears as if my mom’s family are descendants of Gen. Braxton Bragg (Fort Bragg is named after him). There have been a few challenges trying to see…
-
Am I Related to a Blues Legend?
(The Root) — “I have been doing genealogical research on my family, and I’m wondering if I’m related to William Bunch (aka Peetie Wheatstraw), the blues musician. I’ve seen a picture of him, and the resemblance to my grandfather Nelson Bunch is remarkable. When I’ve asked family about it, they all say that my grandfather…
-
I'm White. Did My Ancestors Own Slaves?
(The Root) — “Although we can trace my maternal grandmother’s heritage back to Europe, she periodically received family-reunion invitations from another family with the last name ‘Ellzey,’ which was her husband’s last name. Turns out there must have been a slave owner named Ellzey, too, because I’m pretty sure my grandma was the only white…
-
How Do I Research My Gullah Heritage?
(The Root) — “I have an insatiable appetite for history and so does my father. He was born on Cherokee Plantation in Yemassee, S.C. (the Lowcountry), and that area still has a very rich Gullah heritage. “I have been able to go back to the 1880 census, but a lot of records in South Carolina…
-
Were My Ancestors African or European?
(The Root) — “For nearly two decades I’ve grasped for a connection to my family’s African heritage. I grew up in an ethnically diverse, Northern New Jersey suburb where many of the black students were first-generation Americans or recent immigrants with ancestry from countries like Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal. Now in my late 20s, I’ve…
-
Is Family Legend About a Slave Ship True?
“My maternal family comes from the Georgia Lowcountry — Savannah and a few of the surrounding Gullah islands. The family story that has been passed down to me is that some of our ancestors came in on a contraband ship, and when it was in danger of being caught, some of the enslaved people in…
-
How Do I Research My Fulani Roots?
(The Root) — “I have both maternal and paternal DNA test done by African Ancestry.com. The two tribes indicated in the results point to my maternal roots being Fulani and my paternal roots Ibo, both from Nigeria. Can you suggest which records/archives I can continue my search? “My mother had a middle name she did…
-
How Do I Find My Garifuna Ancestors?
(The Root) — “I am first-generation American born to fifth-generation Honduran parents. Specifically, we are Garifuna (labeled Black Caribs by the British). Before Garifuna settled into the Latin American country, they were in St. Vincent. The complex part is that we are mixed with African and Amerindian people. Still, I can’t trace the lineage back…
-
How Did Vikings End Up in My Family Tree?
(The Root) — Sometimes DNA testing can yield results that will leave you scratching your head, as was the case with the reader below. “I recently did a DNA test using Family Tree DNA’s service, and the results are 10.53 percent European (specifically Finnish, French, Orcadian, Romanian, Russian, with a margin of error of +0.08 percent)…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
