I Just Wonder.....

Over the last two or three years I've read some interesting accounts by authors who have pursued their lineage that led back ultimately to the plantations of this country and the intersection of blacks and whites, of slaves and masters. One, Slaves in the Family, was especially intriguing, and another, The Hairstons: An American Family in Black and White, was good as well. Would recommend both.

Over the weekend, I watched an interesting documentary of the same sort. David Wilson, an African American from a rough city background goes off in search of his ancestry, and along the way meets David Wilson, Caucasian BBQ entrepreneur from North Carolina. Each can trace his roots back to the Wilson plantation. They meet talk, discuss race, reparations, slavery, and current views on these matters. Here's the link to it.

For several years now, in a personal way, I've wondered similar things. What would it be like to meet people of color that my people once owned. Several sides of my family are as vanilla as vanilla can get, but on one particular side, there was at least what looks like an "upper middle class" family during the early to mid-1800s in the South. This particular family owned property, farmed, and preached. And, they owned several slaves, persons whose names are in my family ancestry files. While my last name is not the same as the slave-owning folks' surname, still, the lineage is unmistakably there.

So, I've often fantasized about meeting African Americans whose name rings throughout my family tree. I wonder what it would be like to meet Black Jeffcoats who could trace their history back to Swansea, Orangeburg County, South Carolina. I wonder what those conversations would sound like. Would there be "leftovers" that would have to be deconstructed. Would there be rage of some sort? Would there be tears?

There are indeed Jeffcoats who are African American, and they come from that area of the country.

Any of you have these experiences? If so, I'd like to hear from you.

I do hope to meet them some day. Until then, I'll just wonder.