If you are doing genealogy, don't rely on any information you find on Ancestry or elsewhere that isn't backed up with documentation (census record, birth certificate, marriage document, immigration records, will...). These get much harder to find pre-1800. Half the stuff on Ancestry is made up--people see someone with the same name and copy over a whole tree. You need the documents with dates and parent/spouse/children's names to make sure you've got the right person. At least half the family trees people have compiled on ancestry are wrong once you get back to the 1800s.

Anyone from New Orleans in your tree? I think that the system there was atypical of the norm in America.

have you compiled as much of your family tree as you can, starting with living people and working backward? Genealogy is one of my hobbies, and that's what I usually do. I wouldn't focus (at first) on the 1790s until you have a tree that's as complete as you can make it. It's really hard to use DNA info if you don't know the rest of the picture. Otherwise, it's hard to sort through the results and figure out what to discard and what to focus on. I like to use ancestry.com as a starting point because you can also see if anyone else is researching your family, and the DNA software integrates pretty easily.

The other benefit to this approach is that you can link up with other people who are researching west African ancestors, and once you try the easy resources, they can point you to the more obscure sources. Once you start working on your tree, you can also take it to one of the Mormon research facilities (there are a few in the dc area) and their researches can help too. They're more willing to help if you've done your own research first though.

Reparations

Anonymous wrote:The likeliest situation is that a female slave was impregnated by a white male owner, then her mixed race daughter faced the same fate, until eventually it produced a child white enough to "pass." I doubt there are any happy stories of interracial romance here. If you trace your ancestors far enough back to get to where the information stops, you may have reached the original "passing" person. Slave births won't be recorded.

OP here. Yes, this was what I assumed was most likely.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP here. I'm referring to willing relationships. Not relationships within thbut context of slave master and slave, which is not the same thing. At least in most cases (Jefferson's relationship with Sally Hemmings seemed to have some sincerity).

Yes he started raping her as a child. She was his slave so really couldn't say no. So sincere. So loving.

+1

Anonymous wrote:PP here. I'm referring to willing relationships. Not relationships within thbut context of slave master and slave, which is not the same thing. At least in most cases (Jefferson's relationship with Sally Hemmings seemed to have some sincerity).

Yes he started raping her as a child. She was his slave so really couldn't say no. So sincere. So loving.

PP here. I'm referring to willing relationships. Not relationships within thbut context of slave master and slave, which is not the same thing. At least in most cases (Jefferson's relationship with Sally Hemmings seemed to have some sincerity).