Michelle Obama's Slave Ancestors Discovered

Seattle Times:

Tiny wooden cabins line the dirt road once known as Slave Street as it winds through Friendfield Plantation.

More than 200 slaves lived in the whitewashed shacks in the early 1800s, and some of their descendants remained for more than 100 years after the Civil War. The last tenants abandoned the hovels about 30 years ago, and even they would have struggled to imagine a distant daughter of the plantation one day calling the White House home.

But a historical line can be drawn from these Low Country cabins to Michelle Obama, charting an American family's improbable journey through slavery, segregation, the civil-rights movement and a historic presidential election.

Read the whole story: Seattle Times

Comments

[militarymomforobama]

As a white person (my ancestors are Scots Irish) I feel a deep sense of sadness for those who were brought here against their own will, enslaved, tortured, humiliated, and treated like animals. I can only hope that we, as a nation, can come together and see that this election serves as a reminder that we are a country that CAN change for the better.

[PuddinPie]

My ancestors are Scot Irish and descendents of slaves. America is truly the melting pot.

[Mac18]

I guess it's more of that Elitist background coming out!!

[YouDisgustMe]

LOLOLOL

[neocon666]

Ah, but they left out that the plantation was owned by none other that the ancestors of - William Ayers!

[YR]

So tired. Get a life. Get laid. Change your attitude, Rumplestiltskin.

[YouDisgustMe]

ok...and so....??

pls explain. i really want to understand your logic.

[CRA1]

one who has no logic cannot understand one who does.

[EarthToZoey]

I know you were trying to be funny but... swing and a miss. Sorry!

[marymansour]

That is so interesting. My mother's side is Fraser and they were part Choctaw.

[UnknownSoldier]

Indegious Peoples in the south also owned Africans, Slavery was not solely the priviledge of the Europeans.

[Cinnamonape]

In fact, although a small number, there were manumitted slaves that owned slaves. In some areas before the 1850's before freed blacks were returned to slavery in many areas, there were Census records showing this, but also many mulattos in the Carolinas and Georgia and Louisiana that had slaves.

Slavery as an institution is far more complex and complicated than we would like. But as it became formalized it was easier for the State to take it and erase the exceptions out...mainly because to allow some blacks to be "free" would suggest that they had "humanity". And as the abolitionists increasingly reached to this argument they reacted to remove evidence that blacks could exist as contributing members of the Southern economy.

[PS4OBAMA]

Try Ancestry.com....I have traced both sides of my family back to the 1200's. It is truly addictive to see who are related to through this site. Plus, other relatives that have public trees that help you along the way....I've found that two of my relatives were deserters in the civil war...why, both men had 12 children!!!! Thus deserting....very interesting and as I said, truly addictive.....

[Aesthete]

I can trace my ancestors back to 1847. It helped a great deal that some of them lived to be past 100 and were able to pass on a great oral history going far back. Yes, the ancestors on both sides of my family were slaves---that is an unavoidable reality of American history if one is African-American. I'm not the least bit interested in inflicting a guilt trip on any whites about slavery---I simply feel blessed in knowing my familial roots, family lineage, and personal history no matter what were the circumstances. I've always been a history buff anyway. I find American history to be fraught with fascinating, if sometimes painful, paradox. Even though Washington and Jefferson were both slaveholders, I have reason to believe that, looking down the corridors of time, they'd be proud of Obama's accomplishment. I have come to this conclusion by examining in detail some of their writings.

I was given a great oral history by those who came before me and it is a gift that I cherish. As a writer, I have written about my ancestors because they were more than slaves. They were fascinating as people---people who overcame overwhelming odds and survived---people who prayed and God heard them. I am more prone to calling them "survivors," rather than "victims" (losers), which they were not. I find that whites, as well as blacks, enjoy reading about my ancestors.

[kas70]

Thanks to my Native American (Goshute tribe) grandmother's memory, I can trace that side to 1865, when my great, great grandmother was born. She was first listed in the first US Indian Census of 1885. That's where it ends for that side though.

I'm having trouble with my black side, but still trying.

[PATina]

That was a wonderful story !!! I have only been able to get back as far as the 1870 census in my family (on both sides). I plan on trying to research further... but haven't had the time. Reading your story (and Michelle Obama's) is very encouraging. Thanks for sharing.

[UnknownSoldier]

Jefferson and Washington being proud of Obama??? you should read a little more. They would be very conflicted about Obama. Remember these guys didn't trust the public enough to let them vote, they didn't trust land owners enough to let them vote directly for office of the president. [Electorial College].

Let's not even talk about where they thought women should be......... baretoot and you know the rest, and blacks and indigenous people weren't even considered people they were property and savages.

They weren't perfect men, but they are what we were given as founding fathers.

[jdmba]

Michelle Obama is like every other African-American in her story (well, except we all don't end up in the White House). Slavery is a part of America and we all have stories from our Grandmothers and Great Grandmothers.

That said:

Just don't go there.

I don't care how many Black presidents we have from now until the ending of time, don't make any comments or act like you know. Just as we respect the survivors of the Holocaust, so must we respect AMERICA's slave roots.

[thankulord13]

Amen!

[PATina]

Ditto !!!!!

[YouDisgustMe]

amen to that (and i'm white btw)

[militarymomforobama]

yes

[UnknownSoldier]

Jdmba

So where are her Husband's slave ancestors??? He's an African American right? Everyone with black skin does not have the same story in America.

So please don't over generalize. There are millions of Africans who had nothing to do with Slavery.

[FaceYourFears]

"Everyone with black skin does not have the same story in America."

I'm sure his story is different, but probably just as hurtful being a biracial child in a racist coutnry!

[jdmba]

What's your point? You are going to act like, I, a Black person, don't know about Africans?

Here's your take away point: DON'T GO THERE.

I know d@mn well that Obama's father was Kenyan, and not an American, and therefore he does not apply when we speak of our grandparents and great grandparents stories of slavery.. Clearly, he has not been in this country for generations. That's obvious. SO obvious in fact, that it doesn't bear anything to do with the experience of people who are sdescended from enslaved people and who have to live the legacy of that slavery everyday.

So turn around and walk away.

[YouDisgustMe]

excuse you.....but many africans were enslaved on their own land....slavery is not an "american" thing

[PS4OBAMA]

You are sooo right,,,,

[twohearts]

I think this is a wonderful story! Because really, she WILL be the first First Lady whose ancestors were brought here against their will, enslaved, and who have suffered in one way or another ever since. I believe the country is better than it used to be, in general, but this is still a major event for all of us.

I think Michelle is a fabulous, intelligent & cute cookie & so is her husband!

Looking forward to Jan. 20th!

[roshni]

Very uplifting thoughts.

[bella]

Slavery is a sad reality of our history. Having said that, this is a great, great, American story.

[DCato]

'Twas ever thus. "There is no king who has not had a slave among his ancestors and no slave who has not had a king among his" - Helen Keller. The wheel of fortune is ever turning.

[DaisyDooks]

*Peeping my head in the room to check things out. Slowly backing out and shutting the door.*

[FaceYourFears]

funniest post of the day!

[SeattleKurt]

You got it right FaceYourFears :-)

Funny stuff.

[TwinX]

LOL, it's OK, come back and read the posts.

I run like the wind when it gets to people effing and jeffing or...well, you know, but it hasn't got like that. at all.

[DaisyDooks]

Are you sure? Is the coast clear? LOL

[marymansour]

Yeah, me too.

[jdmba]

LOLOLOL!!!

I'm saying! You are too right.

[YouDisgustMe]

lol...no! don't leave! join the fun :)

[ChicagoSuz]

Remarkable. You can bet that Education will be a TOP priority in the Obama administration.

[AmbivalentGuy]

Lord, I hope so.
At my public university we have lost
60% of our state support over the last ten years
(In UNadjusted dollars). We used to be one
of the most affordable universities for the Chicago area.
I have had the joy of seeing families celebrate their first
college graduate in the family.

Tuition is going up about 10% per year,
new fees added for basic services,
infrastructure that has been waiting 15 years
for a capital bill,

and it just gets worse.

[BSERIUS]

So Barack will have to pay Michelle reparations?

[amistad]

That joke was in poor taste.

[Aesthete]

Oh puhleez! Blacks are not sitting around pining for "reparations" or even "affirmative action" as some of you like to imagine.

[FaceYourFears]

But I'll take it....if offered! : )

[walsenberg]

lol you are a true ingnoramus.... lol

[YouDisgustMe]

omg. you're hilarious......

[YR]

Great story. I've recently begun to trace my ancestors and the story so far begins around emancipation like Michelle's story. Slavery has made it incredibly difficult to go past those years, because it was illegal for the enslaved to learn to read and write, so they didn't keep any records. And plantation records are mainly concerned with counting the labor supply, and not documenting names and relationships.

[kas70]

I can't even get past 1910 when my grandfather was born but I can't find records for it...sigh.

[glorialovelace]

One place to start would be the 1920 census, which you can probably access through Ancestry.com at your local public library. If you enter his name, you'll see all the people by your grandfather's name who were born in 1910, who their parents were, where they lived, and their brothers and sisters were.

[AlligatorShuz]

Blacks were first counted on the 1870 census. If you can get to 1910 then you can go back further... Searching ones family history takes time and patience.
I have been working on my families genealogy search for sixteen years and I have traced my ancestors back to 1847 in Columbia County, Arkansas. I found out my great great great great grandfather and his son were free men of color on the 1860 cesnus. I also found my greatgrand father was on the Dawes Indian Rolls. Then I found out my great grandmother came to the Port of New Orleans from Port of Spain Trinidad. so just take some time a and ask family members and you will find where your ancestors came from. Take a DNA test to trace where your ancestors came from.

[thankulord13]

If you go to ancestry.com and try to go through the British link because they keep great records of people who were apart of the Empire for which the sun had never set. I did this and it gave me information on relatives as far back as 1800's.

[TwinX]

This is a busy site and hardly anyone else will see my reply to you, so I won't feel too bad about repeating myself.

I'm just so glad to see someone else using the term 'enslaved' (accurate) rather than the more usual, and in my view lazy, innacurate and insulting use of 'slave'.

[MizFlagPin]

Yes indeed!!

[AmbivalentGuy]

i hadn't thought about it, but I see your
point "slave" is passive, in the same way that "tall" or "skinny"
are, and slavery is not an adjective - it is an action.
And, the action is "enslavement".

Here's is one white guy that has just changed his vocabulary.

[YouDisgustMe]

never thought about it that way...thanks!!

[ArmyCentrist]

Why so serious? This is called a "human interest story" people...and duh, to whomever wrote it. Most of us (AAs) got here on slave ships, it's no big secret.

[kas70]

"Most of us (AAs)" aren't about to become First Lady.

[RachelMc]

exactly!!

[lisakaz2]

Great family history. Read the whole thing. Wish they knew why Fraser Jr lost an arm, tho.

[glorialovelace]

For more about Fraser Robinson's lost arm, see:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/photo/2008/10/01/PH2008100103172.html?nav=hcmodule

[kas70]

Thanks for sharing that!

[kas70]

I would have liked to find that out too...

[jdmba]

I'm guessing that a white slave master chopped it off, like Kunta's foot?

[kas70]

Childhood illness.