Working On African-American Genealogy

The lady, and good friend, that I share an apartment with is African-American.  She knew nothing of her family's background other than the names of her grandparents, that they were born in Louisiana, and that her maternal grandmother was described as a Creole and had lightly colored skin.  For her Christmas present, I gave her a 23AndMe DNA kit.  She received the results, and I started working on her family tree about three weeks ago.  My original set of names were of  11 people, Beatrice and her four siblings, their parents, two aunts, one uncle, the paternal grandfather, and the maternal grandmother.  It's been slow going, but the family tree now includes 111 people, tracing back to 1604.
   One difficulty is the "advantage" taken of young women of color in the American South.  Several women were single mothers and the father s of their children were often married men, or men of another race.  I have the names of the fathers listed on birth certificates, but there are several men who have those names in each community - unless something suddenly appears, I am at an impasse with those individuals.  The surnames are: Bell, Byrd, Jones, Michaux/Michot, and Tickled/Tickles.
    With the instance of the Creole grandmother, I was able to find her with her parents in an earlier US Census, and then found her grandparents in the 1880 Census.  In the 1880 Census, my Bea's great-great-grandfather was listed as a mulatto, his wife was listed as black, and his three sons (of 12 children) were listed a mulatto.  What was interesting was that the man was also listed as a "planter," which meant he owned at least 100 acres (it was 160 acres in actuality) - which was rather rare in 1880 in Louisiana.  So I had his surname, but with him listed as a mulatto, I felt that his father was white.  So I started looking into his surname....
    Then I found a fantastic posting on a DNA discussion panel - a great-great-grandson of the mulatto planter had received his DNA results, which showed he was a direct male descendant of a white, French settler.  This white French settler also had the same surname.  And in that man's inventory of possessions after his death, his slaves were listed by name and age.  In that 1816 inventory was listed the name of the great-great-grandfather, two of his siblings, and his mother.
   Luckily, the name of the French 3rd-great-grandfather is well known in French, Spanish, and American Louisiana.  That is how I have been able to trace the family back to 1604 in northeast France, and their connection to the Bouvier family of France/Switzerland that produced Jacqueline Bouvier, who married John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
    I was able to find the death certificate for the wife of Bea's paternal grandmother on-line, which gave me the names of Alice's parents.  I was able to then find her grandmother's grandparents - both born into slavery.  I have their names (Priest Tickled and his wife Charlotte), but I am still looking for their parents and families.
   I am still also seeking information regarding the 12 children of the mulatto planter, Luc De'Clouette.  I have been able to find four of them - Edouard, Hyacinthe, Luke and Peter. It was Luke's great-grandson who took the DNA test; and Bea is descended from the son Peter.
   Three nights ago, I found a copy of Luc's obituary on-line.  It stated that he had stayed with "his mistress"  after he was freed from slavery, and that during the Civil War he had protected her and the plantation from Federal troops. Later, it was "his mistress" that gave him the 160 acre farm that had been a part of the plantation.  In looking into this matter, I found that Luc's "mistress" was his older half-sister, sharing the same father.   Why am I not surprised at his "devotion" to his "owner"?

Bits and Pieces

We have flocks of birds visiting the feeders, and Bertrando, the squirrel, is sprawled flat across the top of the telephone pole, soaking up the sun.  The skies are blue, with a few high clouds, but the view of the Flatirons, less than 1.5 miles away, is already hazy.  I changed my hair color yesterday - it is now a deep burgundy, with purple highlights.  I'll keep it this color through the summer, and then go back to being a grey, almost totally white, haired old lady again.
   It looks like a very interesting field building up for the Belmont Stakes on Saturday - Patch, the one-eyed horse; Tapwrit, Lookin At Lee, Epicharis, Irish War Cry, Hollywood Handsome, J Boys Echo, Senior Investment, and, possibly, Gormley.  The post position draw will be held Wednesday.
    One of my client's said she'd be staying at home this summer - she told me that in mid-May.  I dropped her off at the airport the third week of May, and picked her up the last week of May; then she flew out on 1 June, and back yesterday.  I'll take her to the airport on Friday, and she says she thinks she'll be back around the 24th of June...  Of course, it isn't "really" summer until June 21 - but I always think of summer as June, July, and August...  I'll have to see what happens in later months.  The client's gentleman friend, who is also a client, left on 31 May and returns 7 June, only to leave again on 9 June, with his lady friend.  I know he has to be in California in late June - but don't know when he'll return from the 9 June trip.  Gotta say that this job is always interesting, and never the same any day!  The first client's daughter, who is currently living with her Mom, will be going to a wedding the last weekend of June - and I have been asked to care for the family house and critters for that weekend - but the Mom said she'd be back then - but that's the weekend the gentleman leaves for California - I'll just have to wait and see what happens....
    Beatrice, my roommate, is African-American.  Her maternal grandmother was a Louisiana Creole named Annie DeClouette.  I'm working on her family tree, since we've received her DNA results from 23andMe.  I've been able to trace her DeClouette line back the Governor of Bienvienido, Cuba in the 1700s.  Her paternal line I have been able to trace back to a slave named Priest Trickles, who was born in South Carolina in 1820.  We're heading down to the African-American History Library in Denver today to do more research...
    Foals are popping out all over the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge on Assateague Island.  Although we have lost two of the babies, 51 have been born so far (as of yesterday evening, anyway).  The latest was a chestnut pinto sired by Hoppy, and out of Carol's Little Freedom.  Thetis and Wild Thing's bay pinto colt (born May 14) is as bold as brass - and bugles challenges to the tour boats full of tourists.  He certainly give pony lovers' their money's worth!  I also double-checked with the intrepid photography couple, Steve and Darcy Cole, who told me that my buy-back filly, Surfer Princess, has apparently settled into Tornado Legacy's herd.  Her previous best buddy, Badabing, is now content with Ajax.
    My heart goes out to the people of England - first the vehicular attack outside of Parliament, then the suicide bombing outside the concert in Manchester two weeks ago, and now the vehicular attack on London Bridge with three men then going on a stabbing rampage.  Most of my ancestors were from England, and I love that small strong country dearly.  London is one of my favorite cities to visit and explore.  As the old World War signs stated, "Keep calm and carry on," is the country's mantra - and it's perfect in these times of escalating terrorism.
    And, again, the current President of the United States is a complete and total asshole.