i am probably 1 of only a few people who have african american decent at my age(i'm 21), that knows what part of africa i my family came from..now it is unimportant where you came from i just want to know what happened to african slaves when they had children?..didn't they ever pass down any knowledge of where they came from?...or atleast try to remember thier names so they could have done a geonology search or something?.....i happened to be so lucky, my father was very old when i came to be born and my great grandmother was actually a slave, our family came from ethiopia, and i am thankful for knowing where my roots lie....i was just curiuose for those of you know where you came from?...becuase i seem to be the only 1 i know who does...
2007-01-20 19:41:15 · 7 answers · asked by Sydney 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Cultures & Groups ➔ Other - Cultures & Groups
Most slave children were sold away from their parents at an early age so there was little opportunity to pass this knowledge down through the generations. Slaves were also probably not allowed to discuss such things (at least not where the masters or overseers might hear them). Their main concern at the time was probably staying alive and out of trouble, so possible future genealogical searches just weren't high on their lists of priorities.
My family did the search (back in the 70s right after Roots came out) and was able to trace one of our ancestors back to the slave ship. His origin was in West Africa but I'm not sure exactly which country.
2007-01-20 20:20:03 · answer #1 · answered by mztreasure999 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No, unfortunately I'm not aware of this. My parents, grandparents, etc. are now deceased so access to some of that information went with them. I do know that my father's family were in the Caribbeans, and that my mother's grandmothers was a young girl when slavery ended. There is also Indian ancestry (South Carolina and Texas) on my mother's side.
I'm a proud Black American woman born and raised in Los Angeles, CA. and now a native of northern CA.- bay area.
2007-01-21 03:08:41 · answer #2 · answered by Ebony Goddess 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Black slaves working for a white master were concerned with SURVIVAL not a quaint little project like tracing their family trees. Slaves usually were illiterate so they were hardly going to write anything down in English, let alone in their native tongue.
Most slaves who tried to educate themselves were BEATEN TO DEATH. Would you rather live not knowing where you came from or die trying to find out?
2007-01-20 20:11:01 · answer #3 · answered by Ashley 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It has something to do with why many African-Americans are today having a unique names, names such as Shaquan, Latasha, etc. I am from Africa myself too, and I can help you find it. It is very rare to see more Alex Haley alikes among African Americans. Caribbeans are more into their African roots more than African-Americans. Because, African-Americans do not bother to even find their cousins in Africa which is easy to find today thanks to technology. ONE DNA test can prove you that you have cousins, relatives in Africa that you have which you had no clue you had them. Trust me.
2007-01-20 20:15:56 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well I'm from Africa, and just moved here in 2005 from Ghana.
Maybe from some names, I can make some close suggestions.
2007-01-20 19:53:37 · answer #5 · answered by felix 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Canada, and then.. maybe Ireland and Scotland.
2007-01-20 19:48:03 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
i dont. my great grandpa was black but i dunno wat country he was from
2007-01-21 05:20:46 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋