04/12/2019
Who’s Heritage? OUR Heritage.
Lynchburg, VA and Lower Creek, NC
* My Dad, Melvin Thompson (on his wedding day)
* My Grandmother, Annie Maude Owens (we called her Shanny)
* My Great Grandmother, Georgianne Belle
Great-Grandma Belle, Dad, and Shanny
My paternal grandmother Shanny is bi-racial. Her mystery father, was Irish. This was not spoke of, in the family.
My great grandmother, is African American. She married a black man and had one more child with him. He gave his surname to all of the children. My grandmother’s death certificate data is incorrect. I will try to fix it, someday.
I remember when Strom Thurmond died and his bi-racial daughter came out of the closet to claim her father, my dad watched the announcement on the TV and said “oh! that explains my mother”. I think he recognized the complexion of Strom’s daughter and it reminded him of his mother.
THIS is the legacy of the United States of America. But the so-called “Heritage” that #45 is so interested in saving, also includes stories like mine. Yes, I trolled #45 and Ed Gillespie on Twitter during the 2017 elections in VA. Ed ran on a promise to protect the Confederate Monuments. So, I posted pictures of the slave rolls to remind them that the Confederacy was also a part of MY family history, but for a much different reason. (Thank god Gillespie lost).
My Grandmother and REAL Great-Grandfather
I like to “hope” the inter-racial story of my great grandmother and great grandfather, is not a hateful story, like so many stories in our country. My great grandmother and great grandfather were teenagers when they had 2 children together. It was the 1890s, post-slavery. They were born in the same town, Otter River, VA. and both ended up later in life, in Lynchburg, VA.
We don’t like to talk about the beatings, rapes, killings, the separating of families, etc. that occurred on Plantations. But that did happen too.
The most FRUSTRATING part researching…is that you can totally find your white ancestors and how you are linked to your white cousins, (down to the smallest Centimorgan) but it’s almost IMPOSSIBLE to find our black cousin connections. Since we were slaves, our families were broken up and sold off, ending up in different parts of the country.
My great grand parents were children themselves when they had children. So, I like to call it “forbidden love”. It’s possible. And so is the opposite, not love at all.
I found Georgianna Belle and Walter Sr. in Otter River, VA — both born there in the 1870s, after emancipation. They had two children together, Annie (my grandmother) and Willie. Walter was only 16 and Belle was 18.
Fast forward 15 years and I found them BOTH in a different city — Lynchburg, VA. Belle married Ben Owens and had one more child with him. When I found Belle on the census, I knew I was on the right track, because they made note of her being black with two mulatto children and one black child.
Walter Sr. eventually got married in his 30s, to a white woman. Belle washed the family laundry and lived about 4 blocks away. No one knew that Walter Sr. had children from his teens. But, Walter’s wife did eventually find out about Belle. She left Walter Sr. for a while and moved to Chicago, but eventually returned. I received that story from the son-in-law to Walter Jr’s son. His wife (my cousin) said there was this story in the family, about her grandmother leaving her grandfather. Now they know why.
So, why did Floyd Anderson, the son-in-law contact me?
- because I had the Jr listed as my great-grandfather when it was really, Sr.
- I match DNA with his son, the great grandson of Walter Sr.
- Did I possibly have a picture of my great-grandfather? Unfortunately, no.
But other pictures from the Foster family were shared with me. Can you see the family resemblance between my grandmother, Shanny, and her half-brother, Walter Jr.?
More proof
1900 Census: Georgiana Belle (Anna) married Ben Owens (a black man) at some point (cant find a record). The census lists, 4 black children — Robert, Annie, Willie, John. It is up to the census taker, when marking down their race.
1910 Census: The eldest black son,Robert has moved on, but now there are two mulatto children listed and one black child. Annie is mullato. Willie is mullato. Dennis is black (aka John Dennis). This was one of the FIRST major discoveries that seemed to back what my aunts told me in 1991 at a family reunion. The said Shanny’s dad was Mr. Foster. Then in 2012, after using Ancestry.com to find people, I realized all I needed was the street Mr. Foster lived on. Aunt Jo told me, “Wise St” and sure enough, I found Walter Sr’s house on the 1920 Census. It’s a 6 minute walk from Wise St. to Monroe St., where my family lived.
Monroe street to Wise street
Living Foster Descendants
Now let’s try to find George’s family.
I may have found George Washington Thompson’s, ancestors. His father (my 1st great grandfather) was Henry Thompson. Henry’s daughter, Lula’s Death Certificate, says Henry was born 1851 in Lenoir, NC. And that is how I started my search.
Captain Peter James Thompson b.1746 Scotland d.1823 Lower Creek, Lenoir, Caldwell, NC
DNA Matches show that Captain Peter James Thompson of Lower Creek, Caldwell County, North Carolina is my 4th Great Grandfather. But proving that is difficult, since my connection to him, is through the inhumane act of Slavery.
I have been able to verify many DNA connections to the Thompsons. The connections are all of European heritage (2 DNA connections are of African heritage and they are connected to me AND those other European cousins), so I am very confident we are connected to this family from Scotland & Lower Creek, Caldwell County, NC.
Captain Peter James Thompson Bio:
The picture below shows 45 matches to cousin’s of European descent. Some cousins have not built their trees far enough back, to connect to my Patriot, but they are connected to his descendants.
My Great Grandfather, Henry Thompson, was born into slavery in 1851 in Lower Creek, NC. His father was Sgt. Moses Elkanah Thompson and his mother was an enslaved ancestor, Mary Thompson. These are my DNA matches to Moses.
Below, is a list of 45 cousins, that I have found thru Ancestry DNA Matches.
This is PART of the Family Tree from Henry Thompson to Moses Thompson . The red boxes denote Former Enslavers, verified.
Slave Schedule Census
The Slave Schedules of 1850 & 1860 do not list names, only age and sex — which is an improvement to the “hash marks” under sex and age groupings.
Henry would have been about 15 yrs old when the slaves were emancipated and about 10 yrs old during the 1860 Census. Henry could not read nor write. That may explain some issues with his name (Harry vs. Henry), that could have led me in the wrong direction — AGAIN. But I am pretty confident that I found him.
When I first started my search, I started with the premise that my father’s name of “Thompson”, was a “slave owner name”. I had heard about this possibility in my junior high school years and it stuck with me all my life. Because where else would black people get their last names when they were freed? Their African ancestry was stolen from them and destroyed.
The Colonial Family: Thompsons
My Connection to the Colonial Thompsons
Lucy Reese Cox inherited slaves from her father Matthew Cox (the family owned slaves for at least 4 generations). She married John Thompson. He died in 1855, so the 1860 Slave Schedule is in her name.
Lucy Reese Cox inherited slaves from her father Matthew Cox. When John Thompson passed in 1855, the slaves were found listed on the 1860 Census. Using the Inventory of John’s Will, I was able to match the slave names willed to Lucy, to the 1860 slave schedule.
John Thompson Estate Papers — Inventory
…contains my family
John Steele (my 1st cousin 4x removed)
- 1 negro girl Frankey $787.50
Moses Elkanah Thompson (my 2nd great grandfather)
- 1 black boy Wilson $391.00
Mathew Cox Thompson (my 3rd great uncle)
- 1 old negro man George $5.00
Lucy Cox Thompson (my 3rd great grandmother) —
- 1 old negro man Harry $26.00
- 1 old negro woman Jane $2.50
- 1 negro woman Mary — $466.00 (my great grandmother, Henry’s mom)
John B. Powell (husband of 3rd great aunt) —
- 1 negro boy James $801.00
John H. Thompson (3rd great uncle) —
- 1 negro woman Milly $135.00
Mary Susan Thompson (3rd great aunt) —
- 1 little negro boy Lewis or Harry. (He is listed again in the 1863 guardianship papers, as Henry. Harry is a British nickname for Henry) $37.00
- 1 boy Eli $201.00
Guardianship Papers —
John C. Steele (husband of 3rd great aunt) hands over Henry (Harry) & Eli to Mary Susan Thompson, when she becomes of age to receive them. This occurs in 1863, so that means the 1860 Slave Schedule would show him with Lucy.
In 1863, Mary Susan was about 25. Henry was about 12 yrs old. I think Henry took off, shortly after the transfer to Mary Susan.
Using deduction & reasoning, I picked the Father for Henry & Eli
John Thompson had 4 sons, Peter, John, Matthew & Moses.
- Peter Thompson b. 1823, d. 1887 — moved to Georgia (Not him)
- John Harley Thompson b. 1824, d. 1901 — Moved to Wilkes County, got married and began having his own kids in 1851. (Not him)
- Matthew Cox Thompson b. 1831, d.1880 — lived at home (Lower Creek) until enlisted in Civil War at age of 31. Got married in 1868 at age 37. Had no kids. (Low possibility it is him)
- Moses Elkanah Thompson b. 1836, d. 1912 — lived at home (Lower Creek) until he enlisted in the Civil War in 1662, at age 26. Got married in 1868 at age 32 and had 6 children with his wife. If he fathered Henry in 1851, it would have been when he was still at home in Lower Creek, with Mary (enslaved ancestor). This is the Highest possibility. He was obviously capable of having children.
Henry Thompson moved from Lower Creek, NC to Kings Creek, NC some time between the 1860 & 1870 (1870 Census with Susan Thompson).
His mother Mary Thompson lived with his brothers Eli and John in 1870. Henry eventually moved to Little River, NC (1880 Census) with his son William (from 1st wife Susan) and son, Jon H (from 2nd wife, Mary Sumpter Rankin). Mary Sumpter Rankin eventually had 10 more children with Henry, in Little River, NC.
Connection to John Thompson and Mary Potts
There are some genealogists that say most African Americans in the USA are 75% African and 25% European. And this is why.
Whether consensual or non-consensual, THIS IS OUR AMERICA.
