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A Long Way to Tennessee

documenting my very southern genealogy from the plantation to the frontier

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Category: African-American Connections

Nansemond Connections

January 3, 2022January 4, 2022 ~ Kelly ~ Leave a comment

For the last few weeks, I have been working on Miles Bembry's FAN club in an attempt to finally topple that Bembry brickwall. I've gathered a ton of information! But I am starting to confuse myself by now, and so I think I need to take a step back to properly organize and summarize it … Continue reading Nansemond Connections

Looking into North Carolina Bembrys

October 20, 2020October 21, 2020 ~ Kelly ~ Leave a comment

A couple of weeks ago I started on another pandemic-inspired genealogy project. While it didn't lead to a fully conclusive result, I did learn some interesting things along the way. I have always wondered whether the black Bembrys who come out of eastern North Carolina are connected to "my" Bembrys. As Bembry is such a … Continue reading Looking into North Carolina Bembrys

DNA Discoveries

February 6, 2020June 30, 2020 ~ Kelly ~ Leave a comment

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

So Many Questions

October 1, 2019June 30, 2020 ~ Kelly ~ Leave a comment

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

The Other One Percent

March 18, 2019June 30, 2020 ~ Kelly ~ 3 Comments

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

Thomas Bembry of the U.S. Colored Troops

February 15, 2019July 1, 2020 ~ Kelly ~ 2 Comments

The story of the only Bembry to wear Union blue.

John Bembry: the Plot Thickens

February 2, 2019June 30, 2020 ~ Kelly ~ 5 Comments

John Bembry, oldest son of Miles Bembry, was a colorful character. In 1831 he stabbed a cousin, Littleton Bryan, to death, apparently over some kind of property dispute. Wanted notices were were posted all over Georgia and Florida by Littleton's father, Moses Bryan, who offered a substantial reward for his capture. However, there is no … Continue reading John Bembry: the Plot Thickens

Kenneth Bembry’s “Colored” Children?

May 7, 2018June 30, 2020 ~ Kelly ~ Leave a comment

Recently, I wrote about how Kenneth apprenticed a free boy of color named William Williams. Well, of course I had to find out more about his mother, Fanny Williams! Which led me into an entirely new (for me) area of genealogy: that of "free people of color" in the antebellum South. Fanny Williams deeded her … Continue reading Kenneth Bembry’s “Colored” Children?

Kenneth Bembry’s Very Interesting Apprentice

May 5, 2018June 30, 2020 ~ Kelly ~ Leave a comment

Fanny Williams, a "free woman of color," indentures her eight year old son to Kenneth Bembry.

Recent Posts

  • Bits and Pieces on Miles Bembry
  • Miles Bembry as Plantation Overseer
  • Maybe He Just Needed Killin’
  • Carroll County, Tennessee Sunday School class
  • Nansemond Connections

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Anderson Bassano Beasley Bembry Bennett Borodell Brewster Bryan Bullard Burney Butler Cain Carlisle Cate Chandler Chesstnut Churchill Clark Cole Collings Collins Cunningham Darnall Deming Denison Dicken Dickenson Dickerson Dickinson Duncan Fisher Fleming Foote Garrett Gilbert Glasson Glosson Griggs Griswold Hall Halle Hamilton Hamner Harder Harris Harrison Hart Hendricks Henley Hobbs Hodges Holland Hood Houlihan Johnston Jones Kelly Lanier Lashley Latimer Lay Lee Liles Martin Mayo McKenzie Merkj Neal Oldham Op den Graeff Parker Pearce Peay Perry Reeves Rives Robinette Rowland Sarver Saunders Savage Shaw Simpson Smith Sowter Strickland Sumner Taylor Thompson Tillman Townsend Turner Uptigrove Walker Walton Wentworth Wiggins Williams Wolcott Wrede

Researching Slave Holders

  • All Posts with Records of Slavery
  • Adding Enslaved People To an Ancestry Family Tree
  • Reconstructing an Enslaved Family from Court and Probate Records
  • Hiding in Plain Sight: Slave Records on Ancestry.com
  • Researching Records of Slavery at Family Search
  • On Researching Slave-Holding Ancestors
  • Records of Slavery: A Sweet Dose of Truth
  • Suggestions for White Descendants of Slaveholders (from Reclaiming Kin)

View My Family Tree

My family tree is publicly viewable at Ancestry.com.

Are We Cousins?

dnaLook me up on Ancestry, 23andMe, or GEDmatch.

Looking for Bembry Roots?

All content from the Bembry Roots blog has been merged into this site. Please use the surname tags above to locate Bembry records.

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All content on this site © 2014-2021 by Kelly Bembry Midura.

Please feel free to use anything on this site for your own research purposes. You may use excerpted content as well, but I do ask that you credit the author (me) and link back to longwaytotennessee.com when practical to do so. Thank you!

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