After spending all day amongst friends to begin the new year, my family and I sat down at our dinner table to celebrate the last day of Kwanzaa. This African-American holiday helps restore and root us in our African culture lost in the Middle Passage. It seemed fitting to end this restorative holiday and begin a new year by listing the names of about 100 slaves I came across while researching my family tree. Hopefully by listing these names found in the Lewis Stirling Family Papers, archived at Louisiana State University, some family researcher will be connected with their ancestors. All of the following people were enslaved to Lewis Stirling of West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana and were listed in a mortgage as collateral. These names and any other of enslaved people I come across in Louisiana will be listed on the page, “Enslaved Communities of Louisiana.”
Ashe.
Wow. Thank you for posting this list – I’m reading from Australia, have read parts of your blog before and have linked it in mine. I have no words for the sadness I feel reading your list.
Michelle
What an amazing & sad list Dionne. What history we have & what a tremendous responsibility to the Ancestors we carry.
May your New Year be blessed & congrats on the FT2011 nod — well deserved indeed!:-)
Luckie
I have to agree with the other posts – what a wonderfully sad discovery.