Contagious Genealogy: A Pandemic

  JULY 08, 2021 The story of Robert Pearl (1685 – 1765) is one that can help demonstrate just a small fraction of the overall complexities of slavery and freedom in the American colonies. Week 27: Free The Maryland State Archives, Annapolis, Maryland, “A Guide to the History of Slavery in Maryland,” Maryland State Archives ( https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/intromsa/pdf/slavery_pamphlet.pdf : accessed 8 Jul 2021). SLAVE My 7th great grandfather, Robert “Molatto Robin” Pearl, was born into slavery, because his mother was a Black slave in Maryland. In those times in the American colonies, slavery became a hereditary institution passed down from mother to offspring. Robert’s biological father, surprisingly, was not a slave. That man, my 8th great grandfather, was Richard Marsham, a tobacco planter and carpenter. Richard owned Robert’s mother, and therefore, owned Robert (his own son) as well. There were certainly some advantages to being the son of Richard -- despite also being his slave...

  FEBRUARY 13, 2021 This year, Black History Month takes on a whole new meaning for me -- a more personal meaning. The reason being, this past year has revealed who my Black and mixed-race ancestors are in my family tree. This finding was quite extraordinary for a number of reasons! Hezekiah Marshall pedigree chart, screenshot, 13 Feb 2021; online database with images, Ancestry ( https://ancestry.com : accessed 13 Feb 2021). For one, the blatantly clear reason for those that know me, is the fact that I am white. No one would look upon me and instinctively know I have any Black ancestry. This plays right into the famous phrase “Don’t ever judge a book by its cover.” Even I wouldn’t have guessed that I had African ancestry based upon my years of research as a genealogist, were it not for the relatively new technology of DNA testing! It also reinforces the fact that the human race as a whole is much more alike than we are different; after all, we all originated from Africa at some po...

  JANUARY 13, 2021 Week 2: Family Legend It seems nearly every family in America boasts about the Cherokee Indian princess in the tree. And my family is pretty much no exception. Ours may not have been a princess, or even full blooded, and maybe not even Cherokee, but the family legend took hold nonetheless. We had a family portrait that was passed down to my maternal grandmother, Edna (Dean) Millhouse. The portrait, seen below, featured John A. Dean and his wife Margaret Marshall seated in the center, along with six of their grown children. John A. Dean and Margaret (Marshall) Dean and children portrait, West Virginia, circa 1895. My grandmother coupled the portrait with this typed family bio and jotted a note at the bottom: “Our Great Grand father, John Dean (Picture) married to Margaret Marshel who was half Indian.” Edna Arlene (Dean) Millhouse, John Dean family details - typed with her handwritten notes, date unknown, privately held by granddaughter Kira D. Foltz. That was the ...