How far back does your family tree go?

To answer your question, I know back five generations - to my great great great grandmother, Lydia. My people come from the South Carolina low country - Gullah/Geechie folks - and oral tradition says that we were from Sierra Leone.

My mom and her sisters have done some extensive research to the point of pinpointing the start of at least one branch of the family to a slave in Georgia.

My has not been successful beyond my grandfather. No parents. No siblings.

The same for his wife, my grandmother.

Yet we know there were at least two children, not siblings, who share the family's bloodline.

We cannot yer determine whether they were children of siblings of grandfather, or grandmother.

We believe both their mothers were female since neither carries the Cheste name.

The family resemlance was startling.

When standing beside my father they looked like (almost) like triplets.

I have encountered other Chesters, but none with whom I can determine to be relatives.

In the final analysis, I am of the second generation out of chains.

PEACE

Jim Chester

48 years.

quote:

Originally posted by James Wesley Chester:


We believe both their mothers were female . . .

quote:

Originally posted by MBM:

quote:

Originally posted by James Wesley Chester:


We believe both their mothers were female . . .

Seems like a likely guess, doncha think?

Back to my great, grandfather on my father's father's side. Family [oral] history has it that he and one of his two brothers left Mississippi (Meridan area) one step ahead of a posse led by the other brother, after killing the sheriff and 10 other white men.

Back to my great, great grandmother on my mother's side. Family [oral] history has it that she was a freed mulatto slave from Mississippi. After gaining her freedom, she went passing and settled in Alabama (Pottsville area) where she became a landowner.

quote:
Originally posted by MBM:

quote:
Originally posted by James Wesley Chester:


We believe both their mothers were female . . .






Seems like a likely guess, doncha think?---ricardomath

It does.

We believe both siblings were female.

PEACE

Jim Chester

My cousins have found documentation that shows that my great-great-grandmother on my mother's side was slave in the South who left after Emancipation and at some point met her husband who moved her here to Texas!

Supposedly I have uncles who were there at the Ave. L Baptist Church in Galveston when they delivered the message about freedom in Texas (the basis for Juneteenth) but we have traced some back to the late 1800's (1880's) who went to PVA&M. I guess that would be the great-great grandparent level..............

quote:

Originally posted by James Wesley Chester:

quote:

Orininally posted by ricardomath:

quote:

Originally posted by MBM:

quote:

Originally posted by James Wesley Chester:

We believe both their mothers were female . . .

Seems like a likely guess, doncha think?

It does.

We believe both siblings were female.

Somehow, I had a feeling that you meanr something like that.

Well, at our next reunion, I plan to pool a few family members together and develop a strategy to educate the young in our family of its history. The reunions are fun and the children love to come but do they really know the history as they should?

We adults embellish new information about our past but I am not sure our youth is on the same page. Myabe we can start out with knowledge games and prizes.

There are tons of history out there about us that I never knew or heard of. It seems every Febraury I learn something new about US. An example of that is the documentary, "Hilter to Jim Crow" and actual town names where Black folks had to leave or be killed. And now, I never heard of the Freedman Bank records until this year. I barely remember mention of the Freedman Bureau.

quote:

Originally posted by Diamond:
Well, at our next reunion, I plan to pool a few family members together and develop a strategy to educate the young in our family of its history. The reunions are fun and the children love to come but do they really know the history as they should?

We adults embellish new information about our past but I am not sure our youth is on the same page. Myabe we can start out with knowledge games and prizes.

There are tons of history out there about us that I never knew or heard of. It seems every Febraury I learn something new about US. An example of that is the documentary, "Hilter to Jim Crow" and actual town names where Black folks had to leave or be killed. And now, I never heard of the Freedman Bank records until this year. I barely remember mention of the Freedman Bureau.

An excellent family project.

You are right in all respects.

Our children don't know if we don't tell them.

That disconnect is happening in our family, and similar conversation seems to be leading to the same place.

Any secrets you have, or find, would greatly appreciate and vice versa.

PEACE

Jim Chester

Great Grandparents

My daddy said his family would not answer questions about family members who were not around. I have tried and tried, but lose ground around the Trail of Tears (I'm in Oklahoma - Indian connection).

I have a friend who believes his roots are in Sierra Leone. He looks like you MBM!

My great grandmother and great grandfather on my mother's side were born in and met in Texas. My great grandmother was born in Port Lavaca; of a Black and Native American woman and a Spaniard who apparently found it neccessary to change his last name from Morales to Dickson...(sounds more white). Considering the fact that many Blacks have no clue about their family tree, I think being able to trace it back to great great grandparents is pretty darn good.

We can go back further now that we have a new piece of information. I know a couple of people who can trace their roots to the slave ship they came in on. Some are having a difficult time with proving the Native Indian lineage without the number. Every Indian is suppose to have a number. Does anyone know anything about this?

My 97 year old grandmother in my adoptive family gave me a photo of her maternal great grandmother who was born a slave in Kentucky but was "taken in the middle of the night" to "free negroes" in Ohio as a child. She also knows her father was a slave in North Carolina and was brought north at the end of the war by a Captain Pierce who came through the plantation looking for fresh horses. The captain knew that the young boy would be in danger for assisting him, so he brought him along to Illinois. My grandmother know the area the plantation was located and has traveled ther in the past and found relatives in the area still.

My natural mother (who I met just a few years ago) says that her family can be traced back to Cork, Ireland but she hasn't given me many details yet.

My natural father (who I met last year), likewise, has not given me a lot of details of our family history in West Africa (Nigeria) yet, but I know of at least the line back to his grandfather so far. I assume that there is much more to learn there though. That will have to be be on my next trip.

Just an FYI, for anybody who might have missed it:

Congress Gets Bill in Support of Helping Blacks Trace Their Family Trees

http://africanamerica.org/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/791602...941081792#4941081792

quote:

Originally posted by ricardomath:
48 years.

Just caught that. You adopted Ricardo?

quote:

Originally posted by Diamond:
We can go back further now that we have a new piece of information. I know a couple of people who can trace their roots to the slave ship they came in on. Some are having a difficult time with proving the Native Indian lineage without the number. Every Indian is suppose to have a number. Does anyone know anything about this?

I don't know anything about the numbering.

I was moved to comment by your family having found the ship they were brught on. Same for me (1808.

There is a little irony here. That is the year the Constitution limited the importation of slaves.

By golly, we just made it!!

I haven't pried the info out of our industrious family historian yet, but it is the best we have so far.

I can go back to both my maternal and fraternal great grand parents.

I to have an aunt that is said to know the most about out lineage