One way we white #genealogists can actively break through our old conceptions & #WhiteSupremacist notions of history is to publicize our enslaving ancestors. As we see how many we have, we'll come to understand the prevalence of enslavement in white history. #blacklivesmatter ./1

This may take the form of #microblogging on @instagram or @Facebook, or posting here. I will be posting my enslaving ancestors on all 3 - in pairs, because husbands & wives were equally culpable. I'll start with direct ancestors, then go ancillary. Join me? #familyhistory /2

My 5th ggparents enslaved 3 humans in Rankin MS, 1840 - 1 boy under 10, 1 girl under 10, 1 woman 24 - 35. They had no enslaved persons listed in 1830 - they must have been "ascendant." Interestingly Joseph & Elizabeth were illiterate. #familyhistory #racism #HistoryMatters

In 1820, William Williams & Ruth Pickard enslaved 9 humans, 1 per family member. By 1830, they had 0. Ruth's parents were cousins. William's 2nd wife was also a Pickard. Orange NC & Lewis/Maury TN were full of Pickards who enslaved. #familyhistory #racism #HistoryMatters

In 1820, Samuel & Polly enslaved 1 girl aged 14 - 25 on a "farm" in Overton TN. In 1830, that rose to 2 boys <10, 1 girl <10, & 1 girl 10 - 23. Why did they have #enslaved children? House servants? Were any Samuel's kids? #familyhistory #racism #historymatters

Many of my #ancestors did their own labor, but I'm posting these to provoke a question in the minds of all white #genealogists: to what extent were our ancestors complicit in a system of unpaid, enforced labor that not only built their economy, but today's economy? #familyhistory

Insurance companies got their start insuring the #enslaved as property. They're huge in our current economy. Those who traded goods, oversaw on plantations were also complicit. Some were simply vocal in favor of enslavement, in politics or journalism. Food for thought & research.

Did your family move from a city to suburbs in white flight? Were their neighborhoods redlined so blacks couldn't move in? Did your ethnicity tie your ancestors together in a culture of anti-black racism? Did they use old-world slang for "black" & hand it down? That's #racism.

Examining my #enslaving #ancestors I see the ages of the enslaved, my ancestors' education levels, whether they willed enslaved ppl to the next gen. I'm learning more abt the texture of their lives but more importantly, I'M LEARNING MORE ABOUT THE NORMALIZATION OF #slavery.

Please, PLEASE, never say "my ancestors were too poor to enslave ppl," as if that's a ticket out. Also, "they only had 1." And "they were nice enslavers" is . It's lazy nonsense. Privilege exists NOW. If you say these, I'll have to rip you a new one, and I'm really very busy.

I'm keeping this thread going as long as I have ancestors or thoughts. My last thought of the night: #IWelcomeAllCousins. I have black cousins though I'm 100% N/W European bc my male ancestors raped enslaved women. I want to find those common ancestors. If our DNA matches, DM me.

I want to help my cousins understand their complex history. I want us to be family if they choose. Our job as #genealogists is to seek truth diligently. White folks, pls use this time to wake up to your ancestors' truths & use that knowledge to grow & help others. #familyhistory

Mary Ann said she hoped her life pleased Almighty God, then willed "1 negro girl named Charity & her increase" to son Samuel "& heirs forever to be delivered when he reaches the age of 21 yrs." Samuel was 4. Sister Sarah Philpott got Hettie when reaching 16yrs, in 1772. #slavery

Mary Ann's tx to Sarah incl all of Hettie's increase & was for all of Sarah's heirs 4ever, too. She didn't see enslaved people as temporary staff until they had enough kids to do the farm work - this was absolutely a way of life. Mary Ann couldn't read, btw. #familyhistory

Who were the 4 & 10yo kids who expected to run enslaving households that young? How did Charity & Hettie feel, being willed like chairs to children of an illiterate white woman? #BlackLivesMatter #RacismInAmerica #HistoryMatters

1820: They enslaved 4 boys <14, 1 man 26 - 44, 2 girls <14, 1 woman 14 - 25, 1 woman 26 - 44; 9 each family & enslaved. 1830: 14 family members, 0 enslaved. Only one of their children was an enslaving householder. #slavery #familyhistory #HistoryMatters

I don't know what this means. Did the Williams' see slavery as an optional workforce? They certainly benefitted from it, regardless. Also, the Census says "persons engaged in agriculture"& only counts the white folks. Because only white folks were PERSONS. I JUST noted that.

A video about what I'm doing and how I'm doing it. Also, an invitation to white #genealogists to do the same. #reparations #genealogy #FamilyHistory #WhitePrivilege #racism #slavery #enslavement #Patreon . @Patreon https://www.patreon.com/posts/38107015 

Wiley Odom was born illegitimate to Elizabeth Williams in 1867. He grew up in his gparents' house. A few years ago, my uncle's #DNA helped me locate his dad, Isaac Brown Odom. Since then I've connected to a nexus of intermarried enslaving families. #genealogy #HistoryMatters /1

Those surnames incl Tullos, Odom, Thornton, Cook, Purvis & more from SC > MS > TX. Hopefully this will aid black #genealogists in finding their #ancestors. SHARE YOUR RESEARCH. #FamilyHistory #ReparationalGenealogy #GeneticGenealogy #BlackGenealogy #enslavement #slavery /2

Cousins. 1820+30 censuses show they enslaved 1 man in Maury & Lawrence TN. Henry's 1833 will left "my son Absalom my waggon and our black man." A nameless, enslaved man with no term to his bondage & a wagon. #HistoryMatters #BlackHistoryMatters #BlackLivesMatter #familyhistory

My 6xggps of Leatherwood VA enslaved ppl. 1830: 110-23; 1840: 110-23, 136-54. 1850: they're on the Slave Schedule, but #Ancestry won't show specifics. These women must have been houseworkers. #Genealogy #BlackHistoryMatters #BlackLivesMatter #HistoryMatters #familyhistory

I've just made a critical change: no more "slaveholder" - that still imputes a slave identity to the forcibly enslaved. From now on I'm using "enslaver." Please feel free to use this graphic. #WordsMatter #HistoryMatters #enslaver #enslavement #slavery