my very southern family history project
I haven't posted much recently due to having gone down the DNA rabbit hole! The "higher math" of DNA comparison and triangulation still eludes me. Maybe that will be a good project for retirement. But, I am pretty good at conventional research, and am able to use DNA cousins to either support or disprove my … Continue reading DNA Discoveries
The Reverend John McKenzie of Suffolk Parish, Nansemond County, Virginia wrote a will in 1754 in which he named his children; John II, Kenneth, Janet, Anne, and William McKenzie. The Reverend gave various tracts of land in Tyrrell and Bertie counties, North Carolina to his sons, and also specified that "my Negroes shall not be … Continue reading So Many Questions
My DNA profile is mostly predictable. I am 99 percent European. But there were two little surprises in the mix. According to 23andMe, I have .06 percent South Asian (India, Pakistan, etc.) DNA, and .04 percent West African DNA. My parents recently tested as well, offering a great opportunity to sort out what came from … Continue reading The Other One Percent
Advice for descendants of slave holders on locating records at Family Search.
The story of the only Bembry to wear Union blue.
It is very common for white genealogists not to know about, or not to know the full extent of, slave holding in their own families. Until a few years ago, I was one of them! One reason is that genealogy websites do not put this kind of information front and center. In fact, it is … Continue reading Hiding in Plain Sight: Slave Records on Ancestry.com
