This is my first blog post for 2017.
I am very happy to make this blog post about our dream-like family reunion in
Ghana on December 11 & 14, 2016. There will be other blog posts about our spectacular
week in Ghana.
My cousins (R to L),
Dr. Leroy Frazier, Andre Edwards, James Johnson, and I with our host William
Obeng in the middle. My cousins and I all are descendants of Luke Edwards (Ogbar Ogumba) and Lucy Edwards of Panola County (Como), Mississippi.
During
Memorial Day weekend of May 2016, my cousins and I discussed the possibility of
traveling to Ghana at our Edwards homecoming celebration in northern Mississippi. One
of my cousins, Dr. Leroy Frazier, my maternal grandfather’s great-nephew, was
already set to travel to Ghana in December. By Labor Day weekend, I had not
made the final decision if I was going to accompany them to Ghana or travel
there in 2017. I had always wanted to visit Ghana, especially after receiving two
DNA matches to Ghanaians, both on my mother’s father's side. One of the DNA matches is Kweku Folson of London. Both of his parents were Ghana immigrants to
the UK. His family roots hailed from Winneba and Cape Coast, in the Central
Region of south Ghana, and his family are of the Akan people. Kweku’s IBD
(Identity by Descent) match to three cousins from the Reed/Edwards side of my
mother's family on the same chromosome revealed our ancestral connection to the
Gold Coast (Ghana). See this March
2016 blog post for more details concerning this significant DNA match
to my Edwards lineage.
On
September 5, 2016, which was Labor Day, I checked my family's DNA accounts to
see if any new DNA matches appeared. This is something that I do almost daily. Three
months prior, I was able to generate a pseudo-DNA Lazarus kit in GEDmatch for my
deceased maternal grandfather, Simpson Reed, using three of his children,
including my mother, one of his baby brother's daughters, who is 95 years old, a
great-nephew, and 10 Edwards cousins, who had also taken an autosomal DNA test
and had uploaded their raw data files to GEDmatch. My grandfather was the
grandson of Prince Edwards (a son of Luke & Lucy) of Panola County, Mississippi, his mother's father.
While I was scrolling through the list of my grandfather's DNA matches in
GEDmatch on that September day, I came across a foreign-looking name that
appeared to be African. Her name was Nana
Faba Idun. She was also a DNA match to my mother's brother. I immediately
contacted LaKisha David, the person who manages Nana Faba's account, on Facebook.
She responded within an hour!
To my
joy, LaKisha informed me that Nana Faba was an elderly, 81-year-old Fante woman who
resides in Elmina, Ghana, where she was born and raised, and the town where
Elmina Castle, the slave dungeon, was located in the Central Region of south
Ghana. This is the same region where Kweku Folson's family roots are from. She became my family's 3rd DNA match to Ghana! Also to my joy, LaKisha immediately connected me with four of Nana Faba's
granddaughters, Rita Quaigrain Owusu, Rhoda Quaigrain, Efua Martin, and Ivy
Gyaaba Martin, who were also on Facebook. They immediately embraced me and Cousin Leroy. Nana Faba's granddaughter, Rhoda, who resides in Canada, and LaKisha
are best friends. In May 2016, both of them had traveled to Ghana, and while
they were there, LaKisha collected saliva samples from Rhoda's mother and maternal
grandmother, Nana Faba, for the AncestryDNA test. After receiving the results, LaKisha
subsequently uploaded their raw data files to GEDmatch, an effort for TAKiR,
the African Kinship Reunion project.
At this
point, I then decided to make the trip to Ghana in
December with my cousins to see our ancestral homeland. I had only three months to prepare. We arrived in Accra,
Ghana on the night of Saturday, December 10, 2016. Two days before arriving,
Cousin Leroy received the final confirmation that we were going to be able to
meet Cousin Nana Faba Idun and her family. They happily agreed to the
"family reunion." To say that I was excited is a gross
understatement. The adjective "euphoric" doesn't properly describe
how I was feeling! A family reunion with African cousins was something that was
beyond my wildest dreams. Just several years ago, I never fathomed that
something like this would even be possible! But DNA technology and the efforts
of LaKisha and Rhoda, and her grandmother's willingness, made this possible.
One of Cousin Nana Faba's
daughters, Faustina Quaigrain, resided in the suburban village of Kasoa, which is
adjacent to Accra, the capital city of Ghana. Therefore, the first part of this
monumental family reunion was with Cousin Faustina, her husband, Chief Dr. Kennedy Quaigrain, and grandchildren and great grandchildren of Cousin Nana Faba there on
Sunday, the day after we arrived in Accra. What a great way to start our
visit to Ghana!
We were warmly welcomed into their home in the Ghanaian
traditional style. We conversed about the significance of this family reunion,
which was reuniting them with African-American cousins whose ancestors were likely taken
away from the Gold Coast, and our reconnecting with the blood descendants in
Ghana. Cousin Chief Quaigrain discussed the importance of family connections and
maintaining those family ties. We reiterated the effects of the transatlantic
slave trade (The Middle Passage) on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. We
expressed to the family how we are just four out of thousands of African-American
cousins that they have. Chief Dr. Quaigrain also gave us a brief history lesson
about the Fante people of the Central Region of Ghana. The Fante people are a subgroup of the Akan. He
poignantly expressed, "Since you all made the great effort in
traveling thousands of miles to Ghana to connect with us, we take great
pleasure in opening our home and welcoming you all, our family, back home to
Ghana." Hearing those words touched our hearts deeply. I felt my
eyes watering.
With the daughters, son-in-law, grandchildren, and
great-grandchildren
of Cousin Nana Faba Idun in Kasoa, Ghana
Chief Dr. Kennedy Quaigrain discussing the importance of family with us. (Photo by Andre
Edwards)
The
second part of this great family reunion occurred that Wednesday, December 14,
in Cape Coast, Ghana. Our host, William Obeng, and his family planned
a Homecoming Reception for us that night, which was attended by over 100 people
from the Central Region and Accra. We had no idea that the Obeng Family would
literally roll out the red carpet for us! Local dignitaries, their family and
friends, as well as the Ghana media, were in attendance to welcome us
"home." We were simply in awe. Not only that, since Cousin Nana Faba
Idun resided nearby in Elmina, she was able to attend the reception, along with
her daughters and grandchildren.
At the
reception, we laid eyes on Cousin Nana Faba Idun for the very first time. For a
minute, I just sat there and stared at her. I was in disbelief about what was
occurring. I simply could not believe it! To garner DNA matches with African
cousins is colossal within itself, but to meet that relative in person in
Africa took it to a wonderfully greater level that I never imagined. I kept
saying to myself, "Is this happening for real?" It was real.
As we sat
at the table, talking and laughing with the family, our family, we felt a bond
that was no longer hidden and broken. Even one of the camera men stated,
"It seemed like you all have known each other for years." We knew
that the ancestors were happy. It did not matter at all that we did not know
exactly how we are related. This was one of the inhumane effects of American
chattel slavery and the transatlantic slave trade. Nonetheless, just the simple
fact that we were blood family who had returned back "home" to Ghana was
all that mattered. According to LaKisha, Cousin Nana Faba's brother, Joseph
“Kawantwi” Arthur, remembered childhood stories from their elders about
ancestors being taken away from the Gold Coast, never to return. On December
11, 2016, after over 200 years, they returned home through us. I thank God and the ancestors for this
wonderful blessing!
My cousins and I with Cousin Nana Faba Idun, her
daughters, and grandchildren in Cape Coast, Ghana
Cousin Nana Faba Idun of Elmina, Ghana and me
Cousin Leroy talking and laughing with Cousin Nana Faba and
her granddaughter, Rita
People from Ghana at the Homecoming Reception in Cape Coast
Ghana TV News station 3 at the Homecoming Reception
interviewing my cousins and me
