Comments on: World Archives Project – New project to index

By: alpha

alpha — Wed, 26 May 2010 05:11:55 +0000

I am totally interested in learning more about the lives of my ancestors who were slaves or particpated in sharecropping. I would like to see more decendants of slave masters “step up and come out of the closet”, so to speak. We need more of these people to research their family tree and start providing more pertinent information to help us close the information gap.

By: Nettie at IrishStewTxTies

Nettie at IrishStewTxTies — Fri, 21 May 2010 19:54:21 +0000

Typical; MEN debate the TERMINOLOGY technicalities while we WOMEN jump into the emotional aspects of slavery. In our trees we have found slaves and slave holders, law officers killed during prohibition wars and moonshine whiskey makers, preachers and sinners, ones who served in the military and others who served in state prisions, rich and dirt poor, achievers and quitters, and so on. This program is helping to build ACCEPTANCE in our character and teaching us to EMBRACE our experiences, both GOOD and BAD, as that is WHO we are!

By: Nettie at IrishStewTxTies

Nettie at IrishStewTxTies — Thu, 20 May 2010 19:57:32 +0000

Its wonderful that we CAN discuss these topics openly finally, sad that it took all those yrs until 2010 to get to this point. It is a most liberating feeling to truly let go of past prejudice and meet each other on a human to human level with mutual respect. It must be very difficult to trace roots for many and so glad to see a unified effort of this World Archives Project, etc. I DO believe the office of President and ANY other is open to all whether decendants of slaves, Native Americans or immigrants of all nationalities, or at least I do hope so. I did not say the President was decendant of a slave; I said such a decendant CAN aspire to the highest position in our Country. Our family records show our grandfather who first came to America was sold to a VIRGINIA tobacco farmer for $40. along with other passengers who were EXPLOITED by the ships Captain according to a book I read in the Pontotoc Cty., Miss library and he was from WALES. There is NO justification for the DARK AGES in America with the slavery issue. Those who should have been brought to JUSTICE would be the ones who were to try to JUSTIFY their actions and they are long gone/deceased/passed or as Jay from ENGLAND would prefer DEAD. It is the most horrible scars in our history along with the mistreatment of the Native Americans. To think of the SEPARATIONS that Annette mentioned must have been unbearable! Truth is that nothing is so simple as to be ALL good or ALL bad. Ideally, we EVOLVE to a higher level as humans. Females have been FAIR GAME to males since caveman though EXPLOITED as Annette mentioned by slavemasters as well. Nowadays, women have learned how to do it too! Hopefully, Barbara has been able to find and preserve some of her families stories and history as it would be enlightening and touching to read. All of us who are on this Ancestry program have one very important VALUE in common and that is love of family and desire to be connected.

By: Annette

Annette — Thu, 20 May 2010 13:52:48 +0000

I have lived in the south for the past 16 years and I can testify to the justifications for slavery that still exist here — people turning themselves into human pretzels trying to paint a pretty picture of a vile institution. Whether someone beat their slaves or did not, the fact is that slave masters owned human beings over which they had the literal power of life and death. At any time, children and parents could be separated forever.Female slaves were considered fair game sexually for the master and any other white male. And, yes, it is one of the ironies of slavery in America that the descendants of slaves may have experienced a better life here than if their ancestors had not been enslaved, but, that said, it is not a justification for it. And yes we also know that slavery was not confined to America, or, in America, to the south. It is hard to believe that we are still having this type of conversation in the year 2010.

By: Barbara

Barbara — Thu, 20 May 2010 11:47:20 +0000

The President is a true African American. In order for him to have been a descendant of slaves, a slave would have made the middle passage and returned to Africa to continue the line to the President’s father’s time. If you can prove that happened, I would certainly be interested.

I am of African decent and my ancestors were former slaves. I want to find my ancestors and not debate whether they/we were “people” or “property.” I applaud ancestry for making records available and they can introduce those record in any manner they choose, as long as they keep them coming.

By: Robert E. Martin-Annett

Robert E. Martin-Annett — Thu, 20 May 2010 06:39:20 +0000

It is most unfortunate that you only accept MicroSoft Systems/Platform for your: ‘World Archives Project’. I have several ‘original NAT’ records I would like
to ‘contribute ‘ to this ‘Project’. Let me know when Apple/Mac 10 OSX System/
Platform will accept these records RE: ‘World Archives Project’. Thank-you.
P.S.: There are many other subjects I can ‘contribute’ to but if you cannot
acknowledge the existence of Apple/MAC, suppose this is your loss and the
loss of millions of members (like me) out there… Good luck.

By: Gloria Woodall

Gloria Woodall — Thu, 20 May 2010 04:46:07 +0000

A book worth reading:
Slaves In The Family, by Edward Ball.

By: Nettie at IrishStewTxTies

Nettie at IrishStewTxTies — Wed, 19 May 2010 21:21:27 +0000

OK, People, slavery did not originate in America. ALL thru history, one group conquers another takes its riches and enslaves its people. Slaves built the Great Pyramids. Of American slave practices, know these facts. America couldnt sail the seas at that time. The ENGLISH and PORTUGESE ruled the oceans as merchants. America was just ONE of their retail mkts. Tribes of natives helped merchants capture other tribes for $ and to take over the other tribal lands. Spielberg’s movie AMISTAD is well written. Most human life had NO value at that time, while slaves WERE considered valuable. YEP, Deborah is correct inthat women and slaves were considered property in America. Melanie correct that some NORTHERNERS also owned slaves. Not ALL Southerners BEAT their slaves; many loved them, worked and lived beside them, embraced them. Read our home page story of KANSAS Plantation at Inverness, Mississippi and of our life in South. As it turns out, BLESSED are the decendants of those who made it to America by whatever means. In just a few generations, such a decendant can aspire to the HIGHEST position in the land, President. We must embrace our DIVERSITY as Americans and use it to bring WORLD PEACE. If not us, who will? A sample of EVERY nationality on Earth is represented here! I say MOVE on and get busy with FUTURE. Exploitation is the tool but greed is the demon. Most historical events including ALL wars are motivated by GREED. Mavis is accurate inthat human trafficing is alive and well.

By: Melanie Pennock

Melanie Pennock — Wed, 19 May 2010 19:29:44 +0000

I always knew that some of my family originally came from Jamestown and surrounding areas in Virginia. I just assumed they were not slave owners. Silly me, of course they were, many owned large plantations. I was shocked, to say the least.
I decided that I can no more be responsible for things my ancestors did than they can be for my actions. That said, it cannot be justified in any way! I don’t know how you found descendants of those slaves, Mavis,but you have given me food for thought.

By: Mavis Sager

Mavis Sager — Wed, 19 May 2010 16:29:59 +0000

In my family search I found that my ancestors had slaves, and about 10 years ago or so, our family met with some of their descendants….none of us can change what happened then…only respect each other today…and in parts of the world today, there is STILL slave trade, so it isn’t necessarily all in the past