Tracing Michelle Obama's Biracial Heritage

Today's edition of our local newspaper ran a reprint of an article written by Rachel L. Swarns and Jodi Kantor, first published in the The New York Times. The article details the recent discovery that Melvinia Shields, a former slave on an estate in South Carolina, who later lived in Georgia and Alabama, is the maternal great-great-great-grandmother of America's First Lady, Michelle Obama. The relationship was traced back through one of Melvinia's four sons, Dolphus T. Shields. According to the article, three of these sons, including Dolphus, were listed as "mulatto" on the U. S. Census of 1870.

Research for the article was conducted by Megan Smolenyak, a self-described "genealogical adventurer" and an "incurable genealogist who loves to solve mysteries." Megan's credentials are quite impressive. She is the Chief Family Historian of Ancestry.com, President of RootsTelevision.com, and the Founder of UnclaimedPersons.org. And when Megan isn't busy with those duties and responsibilities, she writes a blog, Megan's Roots World, and maintains a website, Honoring Our Ancestors.

The article states "One (child) was born four years after emancipation, a suggestion that the liaison that produced those children endured after slavery." Apparently, Melvinia "gave her children the Shields name, which may have hinted at their paternity or simply been the custom of former slaves taking their master's surnames."

The context of the article continues with information stating "Melvinia broke away and managed to reunite with former slaves from her childhood on the Patterson estate: Maria and Bolus Easley, who settled with Melvinia in Bartow County, near the Alabama border." Later, Melvinia's son, Dolphus Shields, married Alice, one of the Easley daughters. The article goes on to state that Alice Easley Shields and Dolphus T. Shields are Michelle Obama's great-great-grandparents and further identifies Purnell Shields, a grandson of Alice and Dolphus, as Ms. Obama's maternal grandfather. The story is a fascinating one - a story of the legacy of a biracial child born to a slave mother that spans five generations.

African-American genealogy research is certainly not new, and with online resources that are now available to most researchers, family histories similar to Michelle Obama's are not unfamiliar. But large conferences dedicated to bringing African-American research groups together have been almost non-existent. Later this month that will all change. On October 29-31, 2009, the first International Black Genealogy Summitt will be held at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana. According to the announcement, this event "signifies the first time that all of the black historical and genealogical societies in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean will come together to celebrate the joys and challenges of black genealogy."

Today, I read a post published by the You Go Genealogy Girls, nominated this week as one of the 40 Best Genealogy Blogs. One of the authors quoted something that was stated at a recent genealogy conference, and the words caught my eye. The quote read like this:

"Jelly beans are like our family members. Some are sweet and some are more sour. Some of our 'beans' may be white and some may be black, some may have freckles while others may not. Each precious one is an unexpected individual and we love each one for who and what they are. When they are all together, they can become quite a mixed bag......They are the fuel of life ..."

Jelly bean genealogy............I like that!

This Would Never Happen in Mississippi.....or Could It??

I just received an email from Terry Thornton, who writes Hill Country of Monroe County (MS), alerting me to an unfortunate situation that threatens the destruction of an ancient Indian mound in Oxford, Alabama. Thornton read this information today on Deep Fried Kudzu, a blog written by a 7th generation Alabamian named Ginger.

I have now read Ginger's post, in which she details the story of the destruction of the ancient Indian burial place that may be as much as 1500 years old. It seems the dirt from the mound is being used as fill dirt at a construction site in Oxford, Alabama, where a new Sam's Club store allegedly is being built. Interestingly, the property on which the mound is located may be owned by the City of Oxford's Commercial Development Board.

Ginger's post about the situation in Oxford is a comprehensive one that includes photos and links for contacting Alabama officials, including Oxford's city offices and the Alabama governor's office in Montgomery.

I encourage you to read Ginger's entire post here, and if you see fit, please make the appropriate contacts that could prevent further destruction of this site and other similar historical sites.

Thank you, Ginger, for writing the post. And thank you, Terry, for advising other bloggers about the situation.......maybe we can make a positive impact on the history of Oxford, Alabama.

The Pettus Family - England>VA>ALA>MS

Left: St. Simon and Jude Church, Norwich England

My maternal grandmother was Rosa Mae Pettus. She was the daughter of William Elza Pettus and Lucy Lula Trigleth and was born in Holmes County, Mississippi on August 28, 1908. Rosa Mae was married first to Ralph Ernest Netherland, when she was about 18 years old and he was 41. They had two children, a daughter and a son. Their daughter was my mother.

When my mother was 14 and her brother was 11 years old, my grandparents divorced. A divorce in 1940 must have been quite unusual, even an embarrassment for the couple and their families, especially when the couple lived in a small, rural Mississippi town where everyone likely knew everything about the business and personal lives of everyone else. I am uncertain of the exact reason why my grandparents divorced, but my best guess would be that the difference in their ages eventually "caught up" with them and changed the relationship.

When I was 13 years old, I met my grandfather for the first time ever, when he was near death in a hospital in Jackson, Misssissippi. He died of cancer a few days after my family's visit with him in the hospital. My grandmother had remarried after her divorce in 1940, and her second marriage to Frank Parsons, Jr. had ended about 10 years before Ralph died. She never remarried after Frank Parsons, Jr. died. Mr. Parsons, or "Pa Frank" as we called him, was the only grandfather I knew on that side of the family. A few years after Pa Frank died, Grandma moved to Jackson, Mississippi, and went to work in the nursing department of St. Dominics Hospital in Jackson, Mississippi. When she was about 65 years old, she retired and moved near her son in Holmes County. In January 1986, she died peacefully in her easy chair at home near Yazoo City, Mississippi, after driving herself to and from church that morning.

Rosa Mae Pettus Netherland Parsons had been a nurse for most of her adult life. During my mother's early years, she provided "home" nursing visits and often stayed overnight with people in the community who were ill. My mother learned to take care of the house and cook for herself and a younger brother at an early age. I never knew any other family members with the Pettus last name. But what I have found out from research about the Pettus family who emigrated from England to Virginia in the early 1600's is in this post.

The earliest Pettus ancestor I found was John Pettus, born circa 1530, who married Joan Dethick, in Norwich, England, on October 29, 1548. Their children were Sir John Pettus, born circa 1550 in England, and Thomas Pettus, born circa 1552, near Norwich, England. I was unable to locate a spouse's name for Sir John Pettus, but I did find that Thomas Pettus was married to Cecily King sometime after 1588, and he died in June 1620. John Pettus, the father, died on January 12, 1596 and is buried in Norwich at St. Simon and Jude Church cemetery.

It appears that Thomas Pettus is likely my direct Pettus ancestor. He and Cecily King Pettus had a son named William Pettus, Esquire, born circa 1583 in London, England. William Pettus married Mary Gleane, born circa 1585, on December 21, 1607 in London, England. Mary died on July 27, 1631, and William died in 1648. Their son was Colonel Thomas Pettus, who was born in 1610 in Norwich, England. Colonel Thomas Pettus married Elizabeth Durrant, born circa 1615 near Williamsburg, Virginia in 1645. Colonel Pettus died in 1662, and Elizabeth died a number of years later. They had one child, Captain Thomas Pettus, who was born in 1646 in Williamsburg, Virginia. He was married first to Elizabeth Dabney, born circa 1644, and second to Mourning Glen. Captain Thomas Pettus and Elizabeth Dabney Pettus had four children, Dabney Pettus, born circa 1680, John Pettus, born circa 1683, Stephen Pettus, born circa 1685, and Elizabeth Pettus, born circa 1687. Captain Pettus died in 1698 near Williamsburg, Virginia, and Elizabeth Dabney Pettus died several years later.

The old Pettus townhouse is still standing on Elm Hill Street in Norwich, England. Large lettering across the second story can be read easily through a magnifying glass. The first line reads "Thomas Pettus, Gent. of Norwich. 1506." The next line reads "Thomas Pettus, Sheriff of Norwich 1566, Mayor 1590." The last line reads "Sir John Pettus, First Knight of the Family, Mayor 1608."

Near the old Pettus house is Saints Simon & Jude's church and cemetery, where many Pettus tombs and memorial tablets can be seen, and the Norwich guide books call one of these tombs "the sumptous tomb" of the "first knight of the family."

According to my research, I found that Dr. William Jerdone Pettus of Charleston, South Carolina spent some time in England around the turn of the century, and with the help of a genealogist, found the identify of the Pettus emigrant from Norwich to Virginia in 1637. In 1890, Dr. Pettus wrote:

"The name is extinct in England since the death of the 6th Baronet, Sir Horatio Pettus, July 31, 1772. I saw his tomb in Rackheath Church. The last female Pettus in England was his daughter, Charlotte, who married John Richard Dashwood and died in 1804. "

According to Miss Lucile Pettus of Washington who also visited Norwich, a wonderful portrait of Sir John Pettus, Mayor of Norwich, hangs in the Guild Hall there. Several other portraits are owned by Pettus family descendants who still live in the Norwich area and are on display in their private residences.

The research conducted by Pettus family historians has verified the Pettus family was prominent during the times of Elizabeth, James I, Charles I, and Charles II. Members of the family fought under Prince Rupert, according to a book written by Sir John Pettus in 1670 and entitled a "History of Mines." Sir John wrote the book while he was serving as the Royal Commissioner on Mines. He also served as a member of Parliament for 12 years, and whe wrote a book in 1660 entitled "Pettus on Parliament."

The Pettus family became prominent citizens of the Virginia Colony and the State of Virginia, and ruins of the old Pettus Plantation can still be seen along the James River near Williamsburg. As plantation lands had been "farmed out" with tobacco crops during the years following the American Revolution, members of the Pettus family left to settle other parts of the colonies. Some traveled to lands to the west and to the south that had been opened up for settlement in the late 1700's. Some of these family members migrated to the area of the country that became known as the Deep South and settled first near Huntsville, Alabama, in the area now known as Limestone County. One of the landmarks of Alabama, the Pettus Bridge, where photographs taken during the years of desegregation in the South have now been seen around the world, was named for the family that I am proud to call my ancestors.

And then they moved to Mississippi.