I am african-american but don't know if i'm fully african american. My mom is light (looks white) but is african american. My mom's parents(my grandparents) are both african american. My grandparents have light skinned parents.(my great-grandparents.) My great grandmother on my grandfather's side has caucasian type hair and it is straight. My great grandmother on my grandmother's side also had caucasion type hair and was light skinned.My grandfather has curly hair, so does my mom and so do i. my hair doesn't seem fully african american hair but it reacts to humidity the same way. On my dad's side everyone seems to be fully african american. my mom's maiden last name is Boykins and my dad's last name is Slater. please tell me where i'm from.
2006-09-15 16:19:51 · 16 answers · asked by bri_star_ jones 3 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Genealogy
Funny, I knew a girl back in Junior High with that last name in Ohio. Her first intial was M.
2006-09-15 16:24:45 · answer #1 · answered by sweetpea 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Is there a possibility that you're a United States citizen? When you ask where your ancestors came from, it doesn't matter what kind of hair your great grandparents had. What you need to do is try tracing your family tree. Not always easy, because many of today's African Americans were registered as belonging to their owner, instead of under their own names. However, you have a couple of names to begin with. If your grandparents and great grandparents are still alive, ask them to tell you everything they can about their earliest memories, including songs that their parents may have sung. Even if they can't remember all the words, that might be a clue that could lead you to the language they spoke, and that could tell you what part of Africa they came from originally.
Have you read Roots? It's a magnificent story, and tells about tracing a family back to Africa.
The first thing to do is get as much information from your grandparents and great grandparents as you can, while they are still living.
Good luck to you in your search.
2006-09-15 16:31:35 · answer #2 · answered by old lady 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
You need to ask your great-grandmother on your grandfather's side of the family where she thinks her ancestors came from. You said she 'has caucasian type hair', which leads me to believe she is still living. And you should ask now, let her know you are interested in your family's history, and she will open up and tell you probably more than you can write down or remember. Trust me, once they can't answer your questions, it's a lot harder to figure anything out!
Don't be afraid to ask, everyone needs to know about their families' histories, lest we all forget.
2006-09-15 17:03:33 · answer #3 · answered by Another Guy 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Get as much information from your ancestors as you can and then go to ancestry.com and look in the us census records and the social security records for a start. With names like slater and boykin, you ought to find some good leads. Hamrick.com has name origin maps that are fun to look at.
2006-09-20 09:48:07 · answer #4 · answered by rac 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The only way to find out is to start tracing. This category is chock-full of good links. It is also chock-full of stupid questions and inane answers, so you'll have to winnow the grain from the chaff.
Surnames are not reliable. To take an extreme example, if Olaf Olafson, a full-blooded Swede, came to the US and started farming with slaves in 1840, then freed them in 1860, they might all take his surname in gratitude. So, you'd have African-Americans named Moses Olafson.
Hair characeristics aren't reliable either. Tracing your ancestry is sort of reliable, unless GG grandma had a fling with someone who looked like her husband and never told.
2006-09-16 03:39:06 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
No clue. But on the national geographic website they have this ancestry research by testing male family members dna. It costs money but it would be well worth it if you could get a male member to participate. They are tracing family lines all the way back to when everyone originated in Africa.
2006-09-15 18:58:38 · answer #6 · answered by helpfulhannah 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Star-- as much as the slave owners thought nothing of thier propery, the enjoyed having sae with the pretty ones. That is way most american african amerians are, to some extent mixed race.
thos ewere trange times
2006-09-17 08:50:54 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
This is something you need to ask your oldest living relatives. THEN try ancestry.com and similar sources...not before. Trust me on this. Not only is it more fun, rewarding, and a great chance to connect with past generations, it's also good info straight from the horse's mouth.
2006-09-15 16:29:52 · answer #8 · answered by Sea Bass 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Does it matter where your from? I have no clue where I come from. Heck! My great-great-great grandmother was a full blooded Indian. I think it's cool but where I come from doesn't make who you are inside. You need to find out who YOU are inside! The rest shouldn't matter to you or anyone. It's cool to know but not important. (Unless you were adopted then you have to find out or you will never forgive yourself).
2006-09-15 17:03:01 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Remember if your ancestors were slaves at one point, they took the last name of their masters. You might have some Caucasian in you as well
2006-09-20 08:42:24 · answer #10 · answered by katlvr125 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋