Lawrence Jackson went through most of his life not knowing much about his family history. He didn't even know the names of his great-grandparents. That didn't bother him until he had kids and wanted to share with them stories about their ancestors. So he began a search, armed with only early boyhood memories, from his home in Baltimore for Pittsylvania County, Virginia, to try to find his late grandfather's old home by the railroad tracks in Blairs, Virginia. Jackson describes his journey in a new book, "My Father's Name: A Black Virginia Family after the Civil War." Read More … [Read more...]

It may sound strange, but for William Holland, 43, of Atlanta, incorporating the long-lost African members of his family into this year’s family reunion is a reality. From the first DNA test he took in 2004 to his upcoming reunion this Memorial Day, Holland has accomplished the seemingly impossible through patience and sheer determination. Tracing his family line all the way from the Virginia plantations where his American forefathers worked to the Oku people of Cameroon, Holland then discovered that several members of his "African side" were closer than he ever imagined — living in … [Read more...]

If you're an African-American, tracing your roots back to the ancestral continent is hard enough — but tracing them back to the ancestral family? That requires genetic testing, plus family-history scholarship, plus trips to Africa, plus a little bit of faith. William Holland has filled all of those requirements, and to celebrate, he's planning a cross-continental family reunion for Memorial Day weekend in Virginia, where his ancestors were once held as slaves. "Memorial Day is a time for remembering the loved ones you lost, right?" Holland said. "So it's a good time to remember all those … [Read more...]

Slave owner John Little wrote in June 1862 that his young slave Lucy "is perfectly sound and healthy, good tempered, honest, willing and industrious, a good house servant and her children are very promising." He described her as "a bright mulatto tall and good looking." Her fellow slave John, Little wrote, "is sound, strong, & healthy a first rate farm hand" with "no moral mental or bodily defect or infirmity." The two, he estimated, were worth a total of $3,200. Little's frank descriptions are included in a petition he submitted to the U.S. Treasury for payment after his four … [Read more...]

Ever wondered where you get some of your habits, traits or cultural practices from? For instance, what made the girl serving your $5 extra-hot latte place what appear to be “plugs” in her ear lobes? Are you sure what the true meaning of your recent tattoo is, and furthermore what made you decide where to have the design placed on your body? Have you ever thought about why you were so interested in a distinct pattern or design, or why you style your hair in a certain way? According to Rozenia Johnson, founder of the MDUBA Associates, you are practicing “adornment,” which is … [Read more...]

Cory Booker, the Mayor of Newark, today calls New Jersey home. But in the first episode of the new PBS series, "Finding Your Roots," Mr. Booker explores his genealogy with the help of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr.  Skip Gates reached out to me and said he'd like to use me as a subject matter—I felt like I'd hit the lottery! Read More … [Read more...]

Thirty-nine lashes “well laid” on her bare back and an extension of her indentured servitude was Elizabeth Banks’s punishment for “fornication & Bastardy with a negroe slave,” according to a stark June 20, 1683, court document from York County, Va. Through the alchemy of celebrity and genealogy, that record and others led to the recent discovery that Banks, a free white woman despite her servitude, was the paternal ninth great-grandmother of Wanda Sykes, the ribald comedian and actress. Read More … [Read more...]

Mary Walker was a former slave who escaped her owner, fled north, and came to owna Cambridge landmark. Recent celebrations at the Blacksmith House have brought generations of Walker’s descendants to the Harvard Square home. It’s the first time they visited with the knowledge that the home is part of their own family heritage. Fifteen of Walker’s descendents have come from as far away as New Jersey and Michigan, as well as right here in Massachusetts. The house is relatively new information for Clare Kenney, of Midland Park, N.J., now 85 years old. She gingerly climbs the stairs … [Read more...]

Sisters Marion Buck and Elizabeth Johnston are determined to make sure their family’s historic legacy is preserved. The nonagenarian members of the Still family — South Jersey’s best-known African-American dynasty — are links in a chain that began with ex-slaves Levin and Charity Still, who settled in Burlington County around 1800. “I want people to know all the great things my ancestors did,” said Buck, 94, who in January moved to Spring Hills, a new luxury assisted living facility in Cherry Hill, along with Johnston, 91. Read More … [Read more...]

Like so many others, Patricia Watts longed to find out more about her family history. For several years, she searched databases and made numerous trips to local libraries to research her family tree. It was during an exhaustive search of her mother's side of the family that she received an unexpected gift. A New York-based historical society contacted Detroit genealogist Dale Rich, looking for the Detroit family of decorated former slave John W. Jones. Searching government records, Rich discovered Watts is a descendent of Jones, who was responsible for helping to lead more than 850 … [Read more...]