Jayson’s Journey: A Slave Schedule Story

Slave schedules are censuses taken in the 1850 and 1860 U.S. Federal Censuses that contain the slave-owners’ names and the age, sex, and color of each of their slaves. Columns also report the number of fugitive and manumitted slaves. There is also a column that noted enslaved people who were “deaf, blind, insane, or idiotic.”  Unfortunately, very few names of the enslaved were recorded. First names were only recorded for most who were 100 years old or older. The slave schedules are available for Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Virginia. They are not available for other states.

This week, author and genealogist Robyn Smith and I talked about historians’ frequent usage of the slave schedules in the TLC television series, Who Do You Think You Are, as well as Henry Louis Gates’ PBS television series, Finding Your Roots. This has been and continues to be a frequent dialogue in the genealogy community; many researchers express their concerns about how the slave schedules are used and what conclusions should not be drawn from them. I decided to present this hypothetical research story as an eye opener. I use the word “hypothetical” because the research scenario itself and Jayson are fictional, but the ancestors, documents, and conclusions presented in this blog post are factual. This scenario is a common occurrence.

Jayson Boyce, a journalism major in the Department of Media, Journalism and Film at Howard University, was given an assignment in his sociology class to write a comprehensive research paper. The class had a choice – either a research paper detailing a social aspect of a community or a research paper uncovering the history of a family, from slavery to the present. The class had to utilize primary sources. Since Jayson had always been curious about his family roots, he chose the latter. He was confident that his father’s father could get him started.

Two weeks later, Jayson flew home to Cleveland, Ohio to talk to his grandfather, who was 81 years old. His grandfather relayed to him how his father, Willis B. Boyce, was born in 1909, near Poplar Grove, Arkansas, but his family moved to Cleveland in the mid-1920s, when Willis was a teenager. Jayson did not know that his family was originally from Arkansas. However, his grandfather gave him another piece of valuable information. He shared that his father Willis always talked about a cousin named Tony Boyce who would often come to Arkansas from Mississippi to visit them. He was famously known as “Cuttin’ Tony from Como.”

After gathering these important tidbits of oral history, Jayson went to Ancestry.com to see what he can find out. With relative ease, he was able to find his family in the 1900, 1910, and 1920 U.S. Federal Census records. They were living in Phillips County, Arkansas. By the 1930 U.S. Federal Census, the family resided in Cleveland, Ohio, confirming his grandfather’s account. Jayson also observed that his great-great-grandfather, John Boyce, was reported in the 1900 U.S. Federal Census as being born in January 1872 in Mississippi. Several of John’s siblings were also in his household, and they were born in Mississippi, too. Jayson discovered that his family had migrated to Arkansas from Mississippi around 1885.

Since much of the 1890 U.S. Federal Census was destroyed in a fire, Jayson tried his luck with the 1880 U.S. Federal Census. He found his great-great-grandfather John Boyce in the household of his father, Mack Boyce, as well as two of John’s siblings who were in his household in Arkansas in 1900. They resided in Tate County, Mississippi. Jayson observed on a map that Tate County is adjacent to Panola County, where the town of Como is located just five miles from the Tate-Panola County line. Therefore, he successfully traced back to his three-times-great grandfather, Mack Boyce, whose age was reported as 35 in 1880. South Carolina was reported as the birthplace of Mack’s father and mother, as noted in the last two columns of the 1880 U.S. Federal Census. Undoubtedly being born around 1845 in Mississippi, Mack had been enslaved, and the family’s roots go back to South Carolina.

The 1880 U.S. Federal Census of Tate County, Mississippi – the Boyce Family

Two of Tony Boyce’s children, Mack Boyce and Nancy Boyce Rice, lived next door.

1880 U.S. Federal Census; Census Place: Beat 1, Tate, Mississippi; Roll: 665; Family History Film: 1254665; Page: 169D; Enumeration District: 181

Jayson couldn’t help but notice that Mack’s next-door neighbors were an elderly couple named Tony Boyce & Lucy Boyce (see above). Tony’s reported age was 64, and his birthplace was noted as South Carolina. Jayson concluded that Tony Boyce was Mack’s father and therefore his 4-times-great grandfather. He also discovered that “Cuttin’ Tony Boyce,” who used to visit his great-great-grandfather John in Arkansas, was also another grandson of Tony Boyce whom he was named for. Jayson was excited. Since his research paper should start with slavery, he decided to gather more information on Ancestry.com pertaining to Tony’s history, if possible.

Unfortunately, Jayson couldn’t find his family in the 1870 U.S. Federal Census, which is a pivotal census for slave ancestral research. He was disappointed since that census is very often the first official record that recorded formerly enslaved African Americans by their first and last names. But Jayson didn’t let that deter him. He decided to see if the Boyce surname came from a Boyce slave-owner.

Only one Boyce showed up in the area from his search of the 1860 U.S. Federal Census. A man named John Boyce, who was also born in South Carolina, resided in the Como district during slavery. Columns 8 and 9 of the 1860 U.S. Federal Census reported John Boyce’s real estate value as being worth $41,000 and his personal estate value as being worth $34,000. Therefore, Jayson theorized that John was a fairly wealthy man who likely owned slaves, including his family.

1860 U.S. Federal Census of Panola County, Mississippi – John & Martha Boyce

Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com, 2009; Census Place: Panola, Mississippi; Roll: M653_589; Page: 275; Family History Library Film: 803589

Jayson soon learned about the 1850 and 1860 Slave Schedules and decided to research those records, too. John Boyce was reported as owning 30 slaves in 1860 in Panola County. Among those 30 enslaved people is a 42-year-old Black male. This closely fits the profile of his 4-times-great grandfather, Tony Boyce, who was born around 1816. Jayson knew that the ages for enslaved people or former slaves were often estimated. 

Jayson was very elated with his research findings. He organized his numerous sources and wrote his 18-page research paper that documented his family, starting with Tony Boyce as likely being enslaved by John Boyce during slavery in South Carolina and Mississippi, to sharecropping on a farm in the Arkansas Delta, to being part of the Great Migration to the North, and to the present in Cleveland, Ohio. He added a lot of anecdotes from his grandfather. He also included maps showing the migration pattern of the Boyce Family, from South Carolina to Panola County, Mississippi to Phillips County, Arkansas, and then to Cleveland, Ohio. Jayson’s professor was impressed with his research paper and gave him an A.

A year and a half later, Jayson noticed that a researcher named Melvin Collier also has Tony Boyce in his family tree on Ancestry.com. He contacted Melvin to see how he is related to Tony. Melvin revealed to him that Tony Boyce was an older brother of his great-great-great-grandmother, Clarissa Bobo. This made them to be 5th cousins once removed. Mississippi to Africa: A Journey of Discovery details how this relationship was uncovered.

Like Tony Boyce, Clarissa also resided in Tate County, Mississippi in 1880, just a few miles from Como. Melvin also communicated to Jayson that Clarissa had been enslaved by Dr. William J. Bobo, who brought her and her family to Panola County, Mississippi in 1858 from Union County, South Carolina. Clarissa had been previously enslaved by Dr. Bobo’s father-in-law, David Boyce (1781-1830) of Union County. Two of David’s daughters, Margaret and Mary Marjory Boyce, married two brothers, Dr. William Bobo and Barham Bobo Jr., respectively. Melvin also e-mailed to Jayson more information that documented Tony Boyce in slavery. This is what Melvin revealed to Jayson.

EVIDENCE #1: Thirty (30) enslaved people appraised on the inventory of David Boyce’s estate, February 23, 1831, Union County, South Carolina (transcription)

Toney was inventoried in the late David Boyce’s estate in 1831. His estate record show that David Boyce’s wife, Agnes Turner Boyce, inherited Toney from the estate. David died intestate (without having made a will) on Nov. 22, 1830, and 25 of the 30 slaves went to Agnes. She later moved to Panola County, Mississippi with some of her children around 1845.

South Carolina, Wills and Probate Records, 1670-1980; Author: South Carolina. Probate Court (Union County); Probate Place: Union, South Carolina; Estate of David Boyce, 1831.

EVIDENCE #2: The 1850 U.S. Federal Census for Panola County, Mississippi, Agnes Boyce

This census shows Agnes Boyce as the head of household, with her daughter, Mary Marjory Boyce Bobo, and Mary’s son, Barham Bobo, living with her. Mary was the widow of Barham Bobo Jr. of Union County, S.C., who died shortly after their son’s birth.

Ancestry.com. 1850 U.S. Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com, 2009; Census Place: District 13, Panola, Mississippi; Roll: M432_379; Page: 341A; Image: 303.

EVIDENCE #3: The 1850 Panola County, Mississippi Slave Schedule, Agnes Boyce

This slave census shows that Agnes Boyce owned 37 slaves in 1850 in Panola County, Mississippi.

Ancestry.com. 1850 U.S. Federal Census - Slave Schedules [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com, 2004; Census Place: District 13, Panola, Mississippi; Roll M432; Page: 157.

EVIDENCE #4: Slave Deed, Dec. 31, 1857, Panola County, Mississippi (transcription)

This deed record was found while researching microfilmed Panola County deed records at the Mississippi Dept. of Archives and History in Jackson. This deed shows that 21 named enslaved people, including one named TONEY, were transferred from Mary Marjory Bobo to her son, Barham Bobo, in Dec. 1857. This deed also states that Mary had acquired them from her mother, Agnes Boyce, on May 2, 1855. Agnes died two years later on Dec. 28, 1857.

EVIDENCE #5: Southern Claims Commission Record, Barham Bobo, Claim No. 16710, Sept. 17, 1872, Panola County, Mississippi

Southern Claims Commission. Roll: scc_1071_1248_0001; Place: Panola, Mississippi; Claimant: Barham Bobo; Claim Number: 16710; Claim Date: 17 Sep 1872; www.fold3.com.

On March 3, 1871, Congress established the Southern Claims Commission to compensate individuals who claimed to have had stores and supplies, such as horses and crops, taken by or furnished to the Union Army during the Civil War. Testimonies were taken by neighbors, friends, and former slaves to prove their claims. Additionally, hundreds of African Americans filed claims, and their files contain extraordinary personal data.

In 2006, Footnote.com digitized and released the Southern Claims Commission records. Their online database contains images of every claim and all accompanying paperwork. Barham Bobo was one of 22,298 claims that were filed. His papers, dated Sept. 17, 1872, stated that several mules, mares, and horses, valued at $1,900, were taken during the Civil War by the 11th Illinois Calvary Regiment from the plantation of his mother, who died on Sept. 15, 1870. Being her only child, Barham was the administrator of her estate. His claim was denied.

However, on the line for the “Names and residences of witnesses who will be relied upon to prove the other facts alleged in the foregoing petition” were the following names: Tony Boyce, Jeff Williams, Wat Boyce, William Boyce & others. This document was additional proof that Tony Boyce was enslaved on the plantation that was once owned by Agnes Boyce and that fell into the hands of her daughter, Mary M. Bobo, and grandson, Barham Bobo.

Conclusion: One might understand why Jayson Boyce was confident that his 4-times-great grandfather, Tony Boyce, had been last enslaved by John Boyce. It was easy to conclude that. However, more research revealed that Tony’s last enslaver was Barham Bobo III (1833-1900). He chose to retain the Boyce surname likely because he had been born on David Boyce’s farm in South Carolina, and he had remained enslaved by David’s widow, Agnes Boyce, after his death, up until 1855. He was eventually transferred to Agnes’ grandson, Barham Bobo, in 1857. Tony was not the 42-year-old Black male reported for John Boyce in 1860. Therefore, slave schedules should never serve as direct proof of one’s enslaved ancestor and their enslaver, simply because they don’t contain the names of the enslaved.

Genealogy Has Become a Name Collection Game

 

Like many others, I will take time to click on the green leaf that’s attached to an ancestor or family member in my family tree on Ancestry.com. I am often led to others’ family trees who have claimed my ancestor/family member as their own. Sometimes the claim is accurate. Unfortunately, many times my ancestor/family member is not theirs at all – two different people with the same first and last names. They failed to verify the connection, their family trees are then consumed with errors, and those errors are duplicated via those green leaves. Sadly, this is a growing phenomenon with online family trees, especially on Ancestry.com. Genealogy research seems to be becoming a name collection game – people getting a thrill at seeing their family tree expand, copying others' family trees – errors and all – and not verifying the information. Next thing you know, you have numerous incorrect family trees out there.  Don’t get me wrong, I like the green leaves. I am just cautious with them.

Unfortunately, inaccurate family trees may mean that many people are “digesting” and passing on false information about a family’s history. I say this because I have personally heard others, who consider themselves as the family historian, say something like, “I have been researching my family’s history for several years and have traced back to the 1700s.” Then, after further conversation with that person, I realize that the researcher has never turned off the computer from viewing online family trees, along with cursory and non-analytical views of census records, and has never visited any local, state or federal Archives, genealogy libraries, family history centers, cemeteries, courthouses, or other places for records or clues of verification that are not online. The researcher has also not actively explored the many other digitized records on FamilySearch.org, fold3.com, and other sites that can add to their reasonably exhaustive search. Additionally, the researcher has not even taken the time to read books, blogs, articles, etc., or has not viewed any webinars, videos, or other online resources on conducting effective genealogy research. Unfortunately, “researching” seems to have become a name-matching sport for many.

My blog posts are usually about how I solved a genealogical mystery or made a cool discovery via genealogy research and/or DNA, to serve as a case study for researchers to learn from. However, I was compelled to write this post because of a recent dialogue that I found troubling.  Last week, I had an online “debate” with a young lady who claimed my great-grandmother's brother, Robert “Bob” Ealy Jr., as her ancestor. Her family was from Craven County, North Carolina and eventually migrated to New York. No records were attached to her family tree. My Ealy family is clearly in Leake County, Mississippi and had been there since c. 1835, when my great-great-grandfather Robert “Big Bob” Ealy’s enslaver, William W. Eley, brought him to Mississippi from Nash County, North Carolina. But because the two men had the same name, she attached my great-granduncle Bob Jr., his parents, and grandparents as her ancestors too and defended her reasoning.

One of her reasons was because she has DNA matches with people either with the Ealy surname or have an Ealy in their tree, as well as my surname, too. My surname (Collier) came from my Dad's adoptive father, George Collier. My family tree, that’s attached to my and my Dad’s DNA profiles, shows my Dad’s biological father, Hulen Kennedy (grandson of Big Bob Ealy). In essence, she concluded that Uncle Bob Ealy Jr. maintained two families at the same time – one in Leake County, Mississippi and one over 800 miles away in Craven County, North Carolina – and died in New York City, while I have documented Uncle Bob Jr., from his birth around 1855, in Leake County, Mississippi, until his death on Oct. 28, 1939, in Leake County, Mississippi. I had found Uncle Bob’s death certificate at the Miss. Dept. of Archives and History over 15 years ago. She seemed to have presumed that my information was inaccurate. Sadly, as of this blog post, she has not corrected her family tree. My concern is that many, who are in her Ealy family, may believe that they also descend from Grandpa Big Bob, and that’s certainly not the case at all. Many have my great-great-grandparents as their ancestors, and they aren’t.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t take time to include some tips with this blog post. Genealogy research is a broad subject, so feel free to offer other tips in the Comments section:

TIP #1: Don’t assume that someone with the same name as your ancestor is probably yours, too. If the locations don’t match, seek verification, i.e, direct evidence and/or a collection of circumstantial evidence that proves that he or she is actually your ancestor. Even if there's a location match, still seek verification. Verify, verify, verify!

TIP #2: A woman, who is reported as the wife to the head of household, was often not the mother to all of the children in the household or to the older, grown children in their own households. Try to locate a record that documents the parents’ names in order to verify. Analyze the censuses, marriage records, cohabitation records, or other sources to determine if she became the wife prior to a child’s (or children’s) birth.

Especially apply this tip with former-enslaved people who are found in the 1870 and 1880 censuses, and who likely “jumped the broom” into holy matrimony during slavery. For example, Grandpa Robert “Big Bob” Ealy had a daughter, Mary York (wife of Jordan York), around 1840, prior to “jumping the broom” with my great-great-grandmother, Jane Parrott, around 1845. According to my family’s oral history, Mary was known as “Aunt Sis” York, who was Big Bob’s daughter only. The identity of Aunt Sis’s mother is unknown. But since Grandma Jane is Grandpa Big Bob’s documented wife in the 1870 and 1880 censuses, many family trees incorrectly show Grandma Jane as Aunt Sis’s mother, even though Grandma Jane was around 10 years older than Aunt Sis.

TIP #3: If someone’s online family tree on Ancestry.com doesn’t have censuses and other records attached to an individual to document his/her existence and connection, don’t add that individual to your family tree as your ancestor, too.  Verify, verify, verify!

TIP #4: Don’t immediately assume that because you are a DNA match to a person or individuals who have a particular surname in their online family trees, that it confirms your ancestral connection to someone with that same surname. It doesn’t. First, people can be related via other lines. Secondly, not everyone with a particular surname are actually related. Thirdly, that person’s family tree might be wrong as two left shoes. Do the research!

TIP #5: A computer program can’t determine who your ancestors are. Therefore, all of the green leaf hints should be analyzed. Verify, verify, verify!

TIP #6: Try contacting the creator of a particular family tree to verify if their ancestor/family member is indeed your ancestor, especially if it’s not obvious. At times, you might even discover that their displayed ancestor is not their ancestor at all.

In other words – verify, verify, verify! It deserved repeating….

A Blog Interview with my African DNA Cousin

Maame Durowah Okai

(Used per permission)

I am elated and honored to feature one of my African DNA cousins, Maame Durowah Okai of Amsterdam, Netherlands, on my blog. If someone had told me five years ago that I will be doing this, I wouldn’t have believed them. DNA technology has allowed many of us to learn something about our African ancestry and connect with African cousins.

Many geneticists recommend that one of the best ways to get a glimpse of our African roots utilizing DNA is through DNA matches to living Africans who have also taken one of the autosomal DNA tests – AncestryDNA, 23andMe, MyHeritage, and Family Tree DNA. Many African Americans and Afro-Caribbeans are matching people from the Motherland, and these matches are celebrated. This is to be expected since we are the descendants of many Africans who were taken from an area of West Africa, stretching from present-day Senegal to Angola, as well as from present-day Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Madagascar. Check out Fonte Felipe’s insightful blog post, “How to find those elusive African DNA matches on Ancestry.”

Maame Durowah Okai’s family roots are from Ghana. Her father is Ashanti and her mother is from the Obo Kwahu people, who descends from the Ashanti Empire. Interestingly, historians believe that Harriet Tubman’s African maternal grandmother, Modesty, descends from the Ashanti people. Cousin Maame Durowah took the AncestryDNA test last year, which identified her as 97% Ivory Coast/Ghana, 2% Benin/Togo, and 1% Mali.

Incredibly, she is a DNA match to both my father and me at 13 cM (centimorgans). According to the International Society of Genetic Genealogy (ISOGG), that amount of DNA is in the range of a fourth cousin or further. My chances of figuring out exactly how Cousin Maame Durowah is related on my father's side is astronomically slim. But that's OK. It doesn't matter. What matters greatly is that we carry an identical strand of DNA that originated from a common African ancestor, who was most probably from the Gold Coast (present-day Ghana).

Cousin Maame Durowah is doing wonderful works in the Netherlands, and I am proud that she is my African cousin. To spotlight her, I asked her the following four questions about herself, her family, and her thoughts about DNA testing. She graciously took time out of her busy schedule to e-mail me the answers to them.

Question 1. What are your current endeavors in Europe?

I was born in the 80s in the Netherlands on a Sunday morning. I was raised in Amsterdam South East by my Ghanaian parents, Nana Yaw Okai & Mercy Ayirebi. I had influences by my Dutch grandma, who is from the Netherlands, named Will Ottens. She lived downstairs and helped my mom out when she rang the bell and when nobody wanted to open the door (due to the Sunday morning). It was only my Dutch grandma that opened the door; this was in the 80's, and knowing the time in the Netherlands with the migrants. My grandma took the chance and helped my mom out and I become part of the family. She had an amazing influence in my life (learning about the Dutch culture up close - best of both worlds). This also gives me the chance to teach and educate people on diversity in the Netherlands; currently writing a project on that.

I am a social worker and a family coach. I have been active in social work and community development. I am the founder and project manager of the Brighter Day Foundation, an international social and community development organization. The Brighter Day Foundation develops creative, social, and community projects to raise awareness, impact, and speak out on social issues.

I am working as a family coach/counselor in a youth team (9-5 job). I don't see it as a 9-5 job. My purpose in being there is to break generational trends by helping people to think beyond the “system” and be self-reliant. My main statement when it comes to my work is, “No one can pay you for the job you do because we give more than we are paid for.’’

In 2018, I will be starting a tour called “The Kingdom Citizen: I Have Never Become Who I Am,” which is based on my book. The aim is to share my story on how I discovered purpose by highlighting different life stories. The teaching element at hand is to show how one can creatively discover purpose through the obstacles in life and maximize their potential by making their “stories” known. This will take place in five major cities in Europe. I am not all knowing, letting one know their Purpose that is in God's hands yet being a tool to discover is a calling. I accepted my calling as a pastor at the age of 30. Before that, I was actively involved in ministry from age 23, becoming serious in the Faith when I was 19. I was raised by a Christian mom; my Dad joined the faith in a later stage.

My faith in God is my foundation and my source of success in life I can proudly proclaim. I travel around as an international speaker, teaching and sharing about the full gospel of Jesus Christ. Kingdom-minded and focused on missions around the world, I mentor the broken and rejected and raise up leaders. I am a woman wearing a mantle of many colors; a signature that reveals myself via my various activities. I am a 'Kingdom' representative breaking the status quo!

(Used per permission)

Question 2.    Why did you take the DNA test and what are your thoughts about it?

On February 15, 2017, I decided to do an Ancestry DNA test just out of curiosity. I saw it several years ago when the African Ancestry DNA stories came out on the internet. My curiosity was about how God can create us with such an amazing DNA and link us to a specific country, yet all being connected some way. I knew I was full Ghanaian, but I was still curious what could come out of it. I had heard about Mali being a part of the history of the Ashanti Empire from my Dad but to know that there is a Mali percentage in my DNA was fascinating!

One thing is for sure, I am a Kingdom Child of God, and I know where I come from. Yet I was given a nation in the land of the living. While sitting on the bus on my way home from London, I received an email with my DNA results. “Well, well,” I exclaimed. This was an interesting combo! Being 97% Ivory Coast/Ghana, 2% Benin/Togo, and 1% Mali was interesting! What made the story more interesting were the 15 people who were directly connected to my DNA, surprisingly.

Question 3.    Tell me something about your family roots in Ghana?

Mercy Ayirebi Kwahu (Obo Kwahu) is my mom’s name. She was born to Mr. Alfred Kofi Ayirebi & Mrs. Alice Abena Owarewah (daughter of Kwaku Nyame Danquah and Akosua Tiwah Donkor). My Dad is Nana Yaw Okai - Ashanti (Bonwire). My Dad’s lineage can be traced to Yaa Asantewaa. (Read more about Yaa Asantewaa here). I was told this as a young girl. Grandpa Afrani, we are still on the trace. Mrs. Yaa Durowah, who I was named after, is the daughter of Mrs. Efua Brempomaa & Nana Kwaku.

I was introduced to Ghana at age 10 and fell in love. I celebrated my 11th birthday in Ghana and the plan was for me to stay in Ghana and go to school. But my parents decided to keep me in the Netherlands. That one trip changed my life – my people, the food, the language. I became more interested about my background. We spoke Dutch, English and Twi at home, but learning my dialect became more of interest when I got to age 15. Forcing my parents to teach me the right way, I got myself into the culture, traditions, languages, food, my tribes…everything. I started going there every year, to even twice a year. The vision of the Brighter Day Foundation was born in Ghana. I lived in Ghana while doing my thesis but I had to come back to the Netherlands to finish school. I made up my mind 4 years ago to move to Ghana for a period of 5 years to build up a youth center, but my ways got an encounter, and I came back to the Netherlands to say yes to my calling.

I don’t have an English name. I was named after my Dad’s mother, Maame Durowah. I was born on Sunday - Akosua. In Ghana, they call me Ako or Akosua Durowah. Maame means lady or mother, so that is a general name before your name, which is Durowah (female) in my case. Durowah means medicine which comes from the word Oduro (male version). I was named after my Dad's mother out of love and respect. Okai is my paternal grandfather’s name. I do a lot of first and second generation analogy at work, but lately I am trying to do one of my own family genealogy, and every time I do it, I get to know more.

Maame Durowah Okai’s paternal ancestor, Queen Mother Nana Yaa Asantewaa

(Source: Black History Heroes)

Question 4.    How do you feel knowing that many people of African descent in America are your distant cousins?

It was really surprising when you sent me a private message saying that I was your DNA cousin in America. Even though it’s a small percentage, it is still a match. I have family members by marriage who are African-American, but knowing that, through the DNA test, many others are DNA matches is an eye opener. It opens another chapter of your life; you hear the voices of the unheard and share stories untold.

Maame Durowah Okai in Malta in 2017.

Appearances Can Be Deceiving

Cousins Mack Danner and his sister, Henrietta Danner Bacon, two of the five children born to my great-grandmother’s brother, Alexander K. Danner (1865-1905), and his wife, Lou Anna Brunt Danner of Panola County, Mississippi

Many of us genealogy hobbyists and genealogists warn people about the "mulatto" notation in the censuses. It doesn't automatically mean that the person had a parent of a different race. Most times, the census-taker saw a person who wasn't racially "pure." Check out this case.

Uncle Jack, the oldest of my great-great-grandparents' 12 children, who was born in slavery c. 1846, was consistently reported as "mulatto" in the 1870 and 1880 censuses. The rest of his household were noted as "Black". Also, the rest of the 12 children were always reported as "Black" in the censuses.

Many of us probably have family cases where the oldest child (or not the oldest) was fathered by a white man, but the mother's husband raised that child as his child, too. Thus, that "mulatto" child took the stepfather's surname. Was this the case with Uncle Jack? Let's see. This is the evidence at hand:

(1) Oral history, that was told by family elders in the 1970s and recorded in the family reunion booklets, noted Uncle Jack as one of my great-great-grandparents' children.

(2) None of the family elders living within the past 15 years ever said anything about Uncle Jack not being the biological son of my great-great-grandfather.

(3) DNA: At least 5 great-great-grandchildren of Uncle Jack took an autosomal DNA test. All of them match my father, from 60 cM/6 segments to 149 cM/9 segments. Uncle Jack and my father's grandmother were siblings, therefore they are my father's second cousins twice removed (2C2R). According to ISOGG, the average amount of DNA for 2C2R is 53 cM, the same as 3rd cousins. So the average for half 2C2R would be 26.5 cM. Therefore, the DNA sharing amounts with these cousins don't suggest a half relationship with Uncle Jack.

(4) DNA: A "father-to-son" great-grandson of Uncle Jack's younger brother took the 23andMe test, which provides a paternal haplogroup that is passed down from father to son for many generations. His paternal haplogroup is E-M54 (African), which would be my great-great-grandfather's paternal haplogroup. Recently, a "father-to-son" great-great-grandson of Uncle Jack took the 23andMe test. His paternal haplogroup is also E-M54.

(5) DNA: My great-great-grandfather was taken away from Nash County, North Carolina and brought to Mississippi. It is clear that he left behind close kin in N.C. My father is sharing very good amounts of DNA (119 cM, highest amount) with people from Nash County. Those N.C. DNA cousins are also sharing DNA with Uncle Jack's descendants.

(6) DNA: Although my great-great-grandfather had at least 12 children with his wife, my great-great-grandmother, he also fathered children by other women during slavery. Descendants from those children have also taken an autosomal DNA test. Most of them are sharing DNA with Uncle Jack's descendants. There is even the phenomena of overlapping DNA segments (triangulation) with both groups, which indicates descendancy from a common ancestor. (Will show this in a future blog post.)

Conclusion: I haven't gotten a Y-DNA test done on the two male cousins mentioned in No. 4, and that would serve as the ultimate DNA proof. However, the evidence at hand very strongly indicates that Uncle Jack was simply much lighter-complexioned than the rest of his younger siblings and was my great-great-grandfather's biological son. (Note: European ancestry has been detected in my great-great-grandmother's lineage).

The Family Was Broken but the DNA Wasn’t

In 150 Years Later: Broken Ties Mended, I wrote the following about how I learned that a man named Pleasant (Pleas) Barr (1814-1889) of Tippah County (Ripley), Mississippi was the father of my mother’s paternal grandfather, William “Bill” Reed (1846-1937) of Tate County (Senatobia), Mississippi. Grandpa Bill’s death certificate provided his name. He, his sister Mary, and others came to northern Mississippi in 1866, from Abbeville, South Carolina, shortly after gaining their freedom. Grandpa Bill Reed told stories to his children and grandchildren about his experiences as a slave in South Carolina. Many of those stories are in the book. Here’s one account:

After discovering Pleasant Barr, I called Cousin Ike and expressed ecstatically, “I found out Grandpa Bill’s father’s name!  It was Pleas Barr!”

The name jarred his memory. He immediately shared, “Yeah, that’s right!  Boy, you are sure digging up some history! Grandpa Bill told us that his father was named Pleas, and that’s where Uncle Pleas’ name came from.”

“So he talked about his father,” I questioned.

“Oh yeah, all the time! He told us that his father was sold away, and they never saw him again. He used to talk about the day it happened. He said that they loaded his father on a wagon, and as the wagon was leaving the place, Grandpa just stood there and watched until the wagon was out of sight. It crossed some creek near the place where they were at, and it went down into a valley, and went off into the sunset. His father was gone but not forgotten. He talked about that so often because he always wondered where they took him. He was a young boy at the time.”

I was floored by this vivid account but saddened by what it gave an account of.

“What about his mother? Did he talk about her, too,” I asked with grave curiosity.

Bewildered, he stated, “You know, he didn’t talk about his mother much. He talked about an older sister that took care of him, but I don’t recall much of anything ever being said about his mother. I don’t know what may have happened to her.” 

Apparently, Uncle Jimmy Reed also did not know much about Grandpa Bill’s mother since the words “not known” were written on his death certificate.

Cousin Ike’s account sent chills through me like water flowing down the mighty Mississippi River. He continued, “Grandpa sure did love his father though. I remember him telling us how he was such a fun-loving man who would always joke around with the other slaves there on the place. You know that was really hard on him to be separated from his father like that, never to see him again and never knowing where his father was at. He would always say that he watched his father being taken away, off into the sunset.” (Chapter 3, “Gone But Not Forgotten,” pp. 44-45)

In 150 Years Later: Broken Ties Mended, I chronicled how years of connecting the dots through oral history, genealogy research, and slave ancestral genealogy research enabled me to reconstruct Grandpa Bill Reed’s family story and family tree – one that got broken in 1859 in Abbeville, South Carolina. That year, his father was sold away and taken to Ripley, Mississippi, and William Barr Jr. took his mother, Isabella Barr, his paternal grandmother, Fanny Barr, and his father’s sister, Sue Barr Beckley (born c. 1812), her husband Jacob Sr., and their twelve children to Pontotoc County, Mississippi. Barr had sold Grandpa Bill and his sister to his first cousin, Lemuel Reid, there in Abbeville. Grandpa Bill never laid eyes on them again, but he told his family about them, particularly his father, Pleas, and his first cousin, Cannon Beckley, with whom he had a brother-like relationship. I told the story of this discovery and presented a great amount of documentation.

Although the preponderance of evidence was quite abundant, I would sometimes ask myself, “What if?” Sometimes, the truth is not always what the paper records indicate. What if I misinterpreted my research findings? What if I had missed something? What if I saw something that really wasn’t there? What if I drew the wrong conclusions? These were usually just quick thoughts because the amount of genealogical records and oral history I presented in the book left my shadow of doubt at a very low 5%.

Now we have autosomal DNA testing (AncestryDNA, 23andMe, or Family Tree DNA) to not only learn about what is in our DNA and who our biological relatives are, but we can also prove some of our research through DNA matches. We can also connect with family branches of our family tree that we never knew existed. We can add more narrative to our ancestors’ stories. This is what makes autosomal DNA and genetic genealogy very exciting for me. As descendants of enslaved people of African descent in America, African Americans will undoubtedly have numerous DNA matches to people whose ancestors were forcibly separated from their loved ones during slavery.

DNA now has my shadow of doubt at ZERO percent with Grandpa Bill Reed’s family roots. When his father was sold and taken to Ripley, Mississippi, Grandpa Pleas Barr continued on with his life as best as he knew how. He remarried to a widowed lady named Amanda Young, and they had one child together, Elijah Barr, who was born about 1866/1867. I can’t help but wonder if Grandpa Pleas told Elijah about his children back in Abbeville, South Carolina. Sadly, before he died in/around 1889, Grandpa Pleas never learned that Grandpa Bill Reed and Aunt Mary Pratt had left South Carolina shortly after slavery and were just sixty miles away from him, over near Senatobia, Mississippi. They were so close but still so far.

Uncle Elijah Barr eventually moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where he married Lula Winston on March 16, 1908. Before Elijah died in 1918, he and Lula had two children: Frances Barr Evans (1909-1991) and Rev. James Matthew Barr (1913-198?). His descendants, via his daughter Frances, were finally found last year after I clicked on a “Shaky Leaf” family tree hint in ancestry.com. That “Shaky Leaf” led me to a family tree uploaded by Ivy of California, indicating that the same Elijah Barr was her great great grandfather! Soon afterwards, another descendant, a great great grandson named Keith of Chicago, shared pictures! One of them included this old picture of Elijah’s widow, Lula, and their two children.

Elijah Barr’s widow, Lula Winston Barr, and their two children, Frances & James Barr. Shortly after Elijah’s death, she and her children moved to Chicago, Illinois. Shared by Keith Evans

Subsequently, I also learned that another descendant, a great great granddaughter of Elijah, had taken the 23andMe DNA test. Lo and behold, Jessica was among our DNA matches, matching me, my mother, my aunt, and their paternal first cousin Armintha on overlapping segments on chromosomes 3 and 4. To add, and not shown here, she also matches my mother's paternal first cousin's grandson, Dr. Leroy Frazier, at 23 cM.

As mentioned earlier, William Barr Jr. took Sue Barr Beckley and her husband Jacob and their twelve children to Pontotoc County, Mississippi. The preponderance of evidence led me to conclude that she was Grandpa Pleas Barr’s sister and both of them were children of Lewis Barr (born c. 1780) and Fanny Barr (born c. 1790). To date, at least six descendants of Sue have taken an autosomal DNA test, and they are DNA matches.

(1)  In AncestryDNA, wa7860 shares 42 cM over 2 segments with my mother. Sue is his 4th-great grandmother via her son, Cannon Beckley (1840-1903). He and my mother are third cousins three times removed.

(2)  In AncestryDNA, kismo7185 shares 30 cM over 2 segments with my mother. Sue is her 3rd-great grandmother via her son, Cannon Beckley (1840-1903). She and my mother are third cousins twice removed.

(3)  In AncestryDNA, M.G. shares 28 cM over 4 segments with my mother. Sue is her great great grandmother via her son, Cannon Beckley (1840-1903). She and my mother are third cousins once removed.

(4)  In AncestryDNA, OnreaR shares 30 cM over 2 segments with my mother. Sue is her 3rd-great grandmother via her son, Cannon Beckley (1840-1903). She and my mother are third cousins twice removed.

(5)  In AncestryDNA, J.R. shares 8.5 cM with my mother. Sue is his 3rd-great grandmother via her son, Cannon Beckley (1840-1903). He and my mother are third cousins twice removed.

(6)  In 23andMe, Arlene shares 21 cM with my uncle and my aunt on overlapping segments. Sue is her 3rd-great grandmother via her son, Clay Beckley (1846-1903). They are third cousins twice removed. Arlene also shares DNA with Jessica at 25 cM. They are fifth cousins.

Since Ancestry.com has refused to provide their millions of DNA customers with a chromosome browser, like 23andMe and Family Tree DNA have done, and since three of the seven haven’t uploaded their raw data files to GEDmatch.com, I am unable to do more DNA triangulations. But there’s no doubt in my mind that this is DNA from Lewis & Fanny Barr, our Most Recent Common Ancestor (MRCA), that is shared among them. The family was broken during slavery, but the DNA wasn’t. 

1880 Pontotoc County, Mississippi Census: Grandpa Bill Reed’s paternal grandmother, Fanny Barr, was still alive when the 1880 census was taken. Her age was reported as being 100 years old. She was living with her grandson, Rev. Jacob Beckley Jr.

The Miracles of DNA: Our Family Reunion in Ghana, Africa

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