Tag: African-Candian

An African Canadian Family History Mystery – UGA DNA

A scientist in Ottawa, wants to know what his real last name is. The family lore? The great grandfather, Samuel, was adopted by an African-Canadian gentleman, Abraham. The adoptee, Samuel, was the son of Abraham’s wife’s sister. Family photographs of Samuel’s children reveal Anglo-Canadian boys. Taking all the information from a family Genealogy done previously and adding aspects of traditional, forensic and genetic genealogy we will extend the story, finding the truth to this family’s rich history. Along the way we will discover their real identity, and their story, beyond Samuel Gorge and into the dark history early African families in Ontario.

I’ll be webinaring (new verb) one of my best-loved talks, An African Canadian Family History Mystery on the 26th of this month. Not that I am bragging or that the presentation is all that good (it is), but it’s the conversations it starts that make it so powerful.

It’s the story of a family who in this day and age had heard rumors of something “different” in their ancestry. It was an adoption dating back to the early 1800’s. The wife of the couple was reported to be the aunt of the lad, and he was adopted because his father was “not nice” to him. This is a story in and of itself, but add in that the adoptive father was an African Canadian man, the boy took his name and the rumors of blood cousins who might be African Canadian as well?

Today this story still makes a difference in how this family tell their story. so much so, one descendant asked me a simple question. Is my name really what it is? This spurred months of research and a whole hornet’s nest of family lore vs. the truth. A Truth that is still being uncovered by family DNA testers today.

Join me for this one gang, it’s an incredible story!

Timezone is MST – 6-7pm MST (8-9pm EST)