I know I’m African! I know I’m West African. Based on my ancestry DNA results I am 92% West African and 8% European. Inside I’ve always felt like I was Nigerian, Igbo to be specific. I have a great Igbo friend who lives in South Korea. In all of our conversations, I always boldly claim to be from his tribe (he said they are NOT a tribe but a nation). He would chuckle and I would just laugh. Well what if I told you that I proved myself RIGHT??!! 

MY ANSESTRY DNA RESULTS >>> Here

I love doing family research. I give lots credit to my cousin Chloerissa and my Auntie Eileen they did lots of work on our family tree. They are simply amazing! I currently have a family tree that I built that has over 600 people to date. I’ll explore many of them here. I found two African born ancestors (for us in the diaspora that’s a big deal). I reached all the way back to my 13x great grandparents, The Winterhays they are European. I even discovered that I’m related to a very heinous person. We don’t get to pick our family after all. Trust me the tea about them is piping hot. I will be exploring many of these folks in my future blogs. So let’s dig deeper. 

GOLDENROCK PLANTATION St.Kitts West Indies:

Many of my maternal ancestors were enslaved and worked on the Goldenrock Plantation on St.Kitts in the West Indies.

Goldernrock Plantation can be seen on this historic Map of St. Kitts published in the year 1753.

Golden Rock plantation can be seen on the the historic Map of St.Kitts 1753 

This plantation was located where the former Goldenrock airport was in Basseterre St. Kitts. This is where the current Robert Lewellyn Bradshaw Airport is now. I always feel a special sense of elation and gratitude when I return home and I land at the airport. Now I know it’s the ancestors welcoming me home with the warm breeze that feels like a hug.

The plantation was owned by absentee British planters Sir William Templer Pole and Henry Combe Compton. In later posts I will take a deep dive into these owners of the plantation; the actual people who literally owned my ancestors.

FANNY GOLDENROCK

I will start with Fanny Goldenrock. She was my 5x great grandmother. Typically enslaved people were give the last name of their owners. Fanny appears to have the plantation’s name as her last name. The first time I encountered her was in “An Appraisement of the Negros and stock on the Goldenrock Planation.” This census-like record was taken in 1806. Fanny was listed in a small gang. She was about 11 years old at the time. She is listed with young children but separate from infants. Yes! the children and infants were given a valuation in £. Later I will find Fanny Goldenrock listed on a formal census.

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St. Kitts Census of 1817

An Act of Parliament to abolish the British slave trade was passed on 25 March 1807. As such the British did not want any more enslaved Africans to be imported into the islands. As a result, they asked that there be a census taken to ensure that this Act was being enforced. Thusly, the Census of 1817 was taken. At this time Fanny is listed as Young Fanny. She listed as a black woman, 28 yrs old, who is a ‘Creole of St. Kitts‘. This means that she was born on the island. For her job she is listed as a field slave.

Search 1817 Census on the Island of St. Kitts 

https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1129/

I was amazed to see that Fanny was still alive. Unfortunately, The life expectancy of enslaved people in the West Indies was very short. As I was pouring over the document with a fine toothcomb. Here is where things get very interesting. Above Young Fanny was Old Fanny. At the time of the census, Old Fanny is listed as a black female, African meaning she was born on the continent of Africa, she is 70 and is classified as “useless”. {After all her years of toil in the sugarcane fields she was classified as “useless”. This broke my heart.}

What I missed prior was right next to her place of birth…three letters ‘Ebo”. OLD FANNY MY 6X GREAT GRANDMOTHER WAS IGBO…Ebo was a common spelling also.

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For many of us in the Caribbean who descend from enslaved ancestors, the truth is painful: we may never ever find the families we lost in Africa. Different Tribes were deliberately mixed up together with people who were culturally and linguistically distinct—specifically to create division and prevent unity. That mixing wasn’t accidental; it was strategic. So I know I didn’t just descend from Igbo and/or Youruba people nor even from where modern day Nigeria is located. (On ged match they linked me to the Lemba people the Jews of Southern Africa. That too was a huge ah ha moment for me).

When I look at my ancestry results, I often think, wow—I’m essentially a beautiful West African salad. There’s pride there, but also grief. So let’s pause for a moment to honor those who were taken, and those who were left behind—carrying the weight of absence, with holes in their hearts and homes that were never filled.

Here is some feedback I received on Ancestry from two my Nigerian cousins that I matched with by DNA. Perhaps this will get me closer to where my ancestors are from in Nigeria.

My 4th cousin AG, told me “I am from Ijebu Mushin, in Ogun state, which is in the Western region of Nigeria. I am from the Yoruba tribe…”

ME my 3 cousin 1x removed, stated “I’m Igbo. Both my mom and dad are Igbo. As for the state, I was born in Abia state but I believe my dad is from IMO state. Both of my parents are from Imo state. My mom is from Ideato and my dad is from Orlu”

If you are Nigerian and wish to help me connect with my ancestry email me at reneeclarke593@gmail.com