The Linked Descendants working group gathered in May to learn more about what white descendants of enslaver families can do to support African American researchers. We heard stories from Briayna Cuffe, Jennifer Halsey, Patricia Lowther, Melodye Robinson, and Jerrie Stewart about their research experiences, obstacles they encountered, and lessons learned. The unedited video can be found HERE. So many great take-aways, and much to learn.
Briayna Cuffie’s family (& close family friend, on right)
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- Jerrie Stewart’s Paternal Great-Grandmother
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- Jerrie Stewart’s Paternal Great-Grandmother
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- Jennifer Halsey
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- Some Attendees & Presenters
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- Patricia Lowther’s Father & Grandmother Buried Here
We also learned about WikiTree and the U.S. Black Heritage Project from Connie Davis, who will be teaching us more about this resource and how we can contribute to the project, during our June Linked Descendant’s meeting. Sharon Morgan talked about Our Black Ancestry and the ROAR project.
These members are also on our Linked Descendants African American Program Advisory Team, and they created this comprehensive resource, 27 Actions White Descendants Of Enslaver Families Can Take, which can be found HERE. Thank you Toni Broussard; Briayna Cuffie; Jennifer Halsey; Patricia Lowther; Melodye Robinson; and Jerrie Stewart for this fantastic resource. The images below also display this information in another format.
Below you will find bios for those who shared their stories during the meeting, and created the 27 Actions Descendants of Enslaver Families Can Take resource document:
Antoinette Broussard is a professional writer, genealogy researcher, and public speaker committed to the pursuit and documentation of her ancestral roots.
Briayna Cuffie is a strategist, advocate, and future author based in Annapolis, Maryland. She leverages her political expertise, teachings from her elders, and history to help others understand the complexity of Blackness in the United States. Briayna’s website can be found HERE, and an interview on reparations HERE.
Jennifer Halsey describes herself as an on purpose family historian and genealogist, actively researching since 1997. Linking descendants of the enslaved and the enslavers is critical to completing family trees. She has been a member of Linked Descendants since 2019.
Patricia Lowther is a South Carolinian who served in the Peace Corps in Turkey and went on to a career in teaching English as a second language. She has lived and taught in Southern Africa and currently resides in Northern Virginia.
Melodye Robinson is a native of Alabama who spent her formative years in New Jersey. She developed a passion for genealogy at an early age and has been researching her maternal ancestors, the Riley family. She gave her first presentation on her research at the family’s 2016 reunion and is preparing to present again this summer.
Jerrie Stewart grew up in rural West Virginia, went to an HBCU in Richmond, Virginia, and worked in a Fortune 100 company in New York. Her oral family history prompted her to research and document what she learned about her family members so they would not be forgotten.
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A few weeks ago, I discovered both my maiden name and my mother’s maiden name on the Memorial Wall at the Legacy Sculpture Garden in Montgomery, Alabama. I was stunned to see these names which represent my family listed on the Memorial to enslaved people which is part of the garden. However, I wasn’t completely surprised. Being born and raised in Atlanta, GA, and knowing that my ancestors were farmers, I’d always thought my family could have been slave holders, but I was not prepared to really see the confirmation right in front of me. I had been standing in front of the wall for less than one minute before my eyes landed on my maiden name, Thigpen. I felt sure I’d mistaken what I was seeing, but upon closer inspection, it was, indeed, my name. That prompted my friend and me to ask one of the employees to help me find my mother’s maiden name, Snelling. I fully expected to find it, and I did. My heart was in my throat as I tried to sort out my emotions.
After leaving the wall, we entered the visitor’s center where they have interactive search screens where you enter a surname and a state, and it gives you the number of enslaved people with a given surname in the state. I entered the two names, and both returned a number of enslaved people with each name. I then entered my half-sister’s maiden name, Hart, and more results surfaced. It also appears that I am a descendent of Dr. John Woodson, and he was one of the first slaveholders in America from what I can determine.
I have quite a bit of research on my mother’s family, both her maternal and paternal sides. I am going through that research in detail, and I’ve joined Ancestry. Today I received my DNA kit, and I am anxious to do the test and receive the results.
I am wondering how to process all of this information, and how to make it meaningful to more than my just my family. I would welcome any suggestions or resources anyone might be able to offer. I have watched the video on creating an enslaved people group in Ancestry, but I still do not understand how to find more information about them. I am determined to document my discoveries, and to share them, but it seems like a small gesture in contrast to the great suffering my slaveholding ancestors caused.
Kim Carlton
Kim, thank you for being on this journey with us. I’ve sent you a private email.
Thank you all for the work you do. I would like to offer two resources which may be useful to your research https://beyondkin.org/enslaved-populations-research-directory/ and https://www.enslavement-to-citizenship.com/ Both websites are searchable and are being continually updated as new contributions come in. New contributions are also welcome. Sincerely, Martine Brennan (Ireland)
Reconnecting to our ancestors is sacred work, whether in the form of visiting cemeteries, doing archival research, going through photo albums or passing the family stories on to younger generations. Anything I can do to support that work is another way of honoring all the ancestors.