Lowcountry Africana

Comment

Comment by Anita Wills on July 22, 2009 at 11:47am

Luckie,
My mother is the one who passed the stories on, as they had been passed to her. In 2000 I wrote to the Guinean Consulate and told the story of my Great-Great Grandmother. I wanted to see how much could be verified. She said that she was 12 and they were at the River mining Gold for her father, who was a King. I still have the response sent to me by President Conte's wife (he has two and this was his Christian wife). She said that the Children had be taken, and they were taken to Bermuda, before being sold in South Carolina. Those children were so important to Guinea, that they continued to search for them. She also told me that they were planning to do a documentary in South Carolina, and she was working with the Governor's office. She asked me if I would be part of the documentary, and I told her I would love to. By the time she took that back to South Carolina, I was out of the picture. I did see a documentary several years later, by some historian (a white man), but they did not go into what the slaves experienced here, or interview descendants. In fact after accepting the offer from President Conte's wife, I did not hear from her again. I have the documentation to prove that she verified the story my Great-Great Grandmother told. The other fact that I want to mention is that my Great-Great Grandmother's tribe were Muslims, who came from Mali. The Malinke Tribes founder was Sundiata Keita (or Keita Sundiata), who lived from 1200 to 1260. They were the builders of Timbuctu, and Muslim Scholars. When my ancestor was taken there was a war between the tribes, which may have sparked the children being kidnapped. My ancestor stated that they were held and put on board a Dutch Ship. She had a lot of details about who she was, and what happened.

My mother told us stories, as we worked around the house. As a female I spent a lot of time with my mother growing up. Back East, the Kitchen was the center of activity for our family, and where my mother shared many stories. In the Winter we sat by a pot bellied stove, to keep warm, and she would tell us stories to keep us quiet (or so I thought). It was not until after roots that I wanted to document the stories my mother told. She did not understand the importance of documenting the stories. She said it is the truth, my mother told me, and her grandmother told her. There were several different versions of the story in my family. None of the census records stated that she was born in Africa. Of course they would not say that because she was not asked, the census taker made assumptions. Her correct age is not mentioned until she is in Pennsylvania, in the 1910 census. Somebody guessed her age to be around 100. Again, the census taker did not ask, he guessed. It is doubtful, given her experience with whites, that Leah would have even spoke to them.

It has taken many years for my family to accept the findings about my ancestor. I am sure there are still skeptics, but I know that my mother was right on the mark. She passed in 2001, knowing that the Great-Great Grandmother Leah's story was being heard.

Thanks to everyone who has put this wonderful site together.

Anita

Comment by Lowcountry Africana on July 22, 2009 at 12:13am

Here's a hearty LowCountry Welcome to Debbra, Selma and Jim! LCA is thrilled to have you join us!:-)

Luckie.
LCA Moderator

Comment by Lowcountry Africana on July 22, 2009 at 12:08am

Welcome to LowCountry Africana Anita and thank you for sharing your Ancestors PHENOMENAL journey with us!

In truth, you've accomplished what most Genealogists can only dream of achieving!

We accept that while the realities may not be pleasant, not knowing and honoring our Ancestors is far worse.

We look forward to sharing, learning and growing as we support one another through this experience.

Thank you so much, your contribution to LowCountry researchers will be invaluable.

Best,

Luckie.
LCA Moderator

Comment by Anita Wills on July 21, 2009 at 5:48pm

Thanks to Joyce for inviting me to join this group.

I am looking forward to sharing information with everyone. My Great-Great Grandmother, Leah Ruth-Warner, was enslaved from Guinea at the age of twelve. She was Kidnapped and sold in 1830, after it was illegal to sale African Slaves in America. Many of those enslaved during that period were taken to the Islands and then resold in America. After her seasoning in Bermuda, Grandmother Leah was purchased by a man named Robert Ruth, who is the father of my Great Grandfather, Samuel Ruth. Her children saw their mother sold on an Auction Block, by their father. She was sold to Hilton Head, and her Light-Skinned children were sold to Savannah Georgia as House Servants. This was in 1857, and Leah would not know her children's father until after the Civil War.

Living on Hilton Head had its' perks, for one thing she was no longer bothered by Robert Ruth. She was also married to the love of her life, Jack Warner. Grandmother Leah called him, Mr. Warner, assigning him a title denied most enslaved African men. They had at least three children together, one of whom a boy was sold away. The other two lived with Leah and Jack at Hilton Head during and after the Civil War. Leah was a part of the Gullah culture there, and it may be why she did not leave until after the death of her husband and son. By that time her daughter had left for Savannah, and Leah was alone. That is when Great Grandfather, Samuel Ruth went to get his mother, and took her to Pennsylvania.

She lived until the ripe old age of ninety-seven, as a Griot to her offspring and family members. She spoke about her life in Guinea, and her desire to return there. She spoke of the whippings she endured and the pain of seeing her children sold away from her. Those stories were passed down orally for several generations. That is what keeps the ancestors alive, not just writing them down, but telling the stories to our young folk. There is something about the spoken word, that no book can duplicate.

I look forward to sharing with everyone.

Anita Wills

Comment by Toni Carrier on July 21, 2009 at 3:02am

Hi Catrina,
Have you searched the SC Death Records on Ancestry for the names you list here? If not I will be happy to. ---toni :0)

Comment by Lowcountry Africana on July 20, 2009 at 3:45pm

Hi Catrina! Welcome!:-)

I ran a search at LowCountry Africana for "James Island" & it returned 2 pages of data - http://tinyurl.com/n4crup

Take a look to see if any of this data meshes with your Ancestors.

LowCountry Africana is a GREAT repository of LowCounty slave data. Please "poke" around while there.

Good luck,

LCA

Comment by Catrina Martin on July 20, 2009 at 2:38pm

I am seeking records of the families living on James Island, SC....

Family names – Washington, Chisolm, Scott

Land owners (abt. 1870): Croskeys Royall Jr., Elias L. Rivers, W.B. Seabrook, Joseph T. Dill, G.W. Hills, E.M. Clark, Dr. R. Lebby Sr., James Frampton, J.P. Lawton, or W.G. Hinson

Thanks!

Comment by Lowcountry Africana on July 20, 2009 at 6:11am

Welcome to the new members of LowCountry Africana!:-)

LCA

Comment by Toni Carrier on July 12, 2009 at 11:49am

The long URL for the Grimke family page did not come out well on the wall post so here is a shorter version that might work better: http://tinyurl.com/kpr5op

Best,
toni :)

Comment by Lowcountry Africana on July 12, 2009 at 11:30am

Thanks Toni! Bill has been busy contributing VERY valuable content across the GWise forum! So glad that we have connected!:-)

P.S. I still can't get emails through AOL?

LCA

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