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...