Article 1, Volume 6 Published: December 30. 2015
The story of blacks being descendants of whites and not Indians
As children growing up in Suffolk, Virginia we were always told that our fore parents were mixed with Indians. I had no reason to believe anything else. Most of us accepted that explanation from our parents and older relatives as truth. Looking back, I believe that they just told us what they were told.
As I became older, I just got more curious. I wondered, if I'm part Indian, how come I don't see any Indians in the families, neighborhood, or city mingling with the black families? I mean, with the large population of us black folks, there should be some Indians present.
My grandmother, Ada, mother of ten children,on my father side was a member of the Hayslett's family from the southern end of Nansemond County(now Suffolk City) near Gates County, N.C. My limited research disclosed that the family was rooted in Europe. It was often said that some members of the family could pass for white.
Her husband, my grandfather, Paul was clearly a descendant of an African family. I believe his ancestors were from Ghana or Nigeria.
My grandmother, Emma, on my mother side was from the Eure family in Gates County, N.C. (it borders Suffolk). She had some features of an Indians but her roots, I believe, were blended in with the white Eure family in Gates. In fact, there is a town in Gates County, named Eure. My fair skinned grandmother, Emma, was the mother of seven children, was well taken care of by her white ancestors. She received a huge inheritance of land. (No, no, no, none of it reached my mother or her children).
My information on my mother's side of the family is sketchy. I just couldn't get anybody to tell me much. But then, I suspect, they ( the persons I was asking) didn't know much.
Although we were told that grandma Emma was part Indian. Maybe part, but my limited research disclosed that her ancestors were European with African blood in the mixed. My research is still active.
You may ask, Why bring it up? Does it really matter?
No, it really does not matter from some viewpoints. However, history is what it is. It is good for our children to know the truth as they try to explain things to their children.
The Hayslett family is not the only mixed family near the North Carolina border. Other known mixed African- Americans and Caucasians with European roots are the Boone, Skeeter and Brinkley families. This information is available in the history books pertaining to Suffolk, Virginia.
The history of these families can be traced back to the 1700's or earlier.
The student body at East Suffolk High, the high school for Colored Children (that is what we were recorded as back then. If somebody call somebody black, he or she would be sent home by a teacher or the Principal), consisted of about 20 percent of us fair skinned students. Most of us, I believe, thought we were descendents of Indians, even though we had never had any association with Indians. The only Indians most of us saw, were the Indians in the cowboy movies.
The history of these families can be traced back to the 1700's or earlier.
The student body at East Suffolk High, the high school for Colored Children (that is what we were recorded as back then. If somebody call somebody black, he or she would be sent home by a teacher or the Principal), consisted of about 20 percent of us fair skinned students. Most of us, I believe, thought we were descendents of Indians, even though we had never had any association with Indians. The only Indians most of us saw, were the Indians in the cowboy movies.
History is what it is.
In Part 2, I will discuss the Afro-American, Indian and Caucasian relationship from a broader base.
Copyright 2015. Grady E. Bryant, Sr. All Rights Reserved.
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