Malone, Williams, Terry, Dowell, Taylor, & Harris Families

“…my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.” Hosea 4:6

I was shocked! Eyes wide opened. After testing five different branches from my maternal and paternal sides, using mitochondrial and patrilineal DNA testing, they all came from an area known as the Bight of Biafra.  This includes parts of Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon. What is the significance of this area? Why the Bight of Biafra?

Back in the day, 1870 was the end of the line for verified family history and genealogy for African Americans. If you wanted to go back further, you needed a diverse problem-solving tool kit like MacGyver, complete with data analytics to find the hidden shadows of ancestors in the 1850, and 1860 slave schedule census. Followed by a detour up and down the trees and histories of their enslavers, looking for evidence of their presence in bibles, last wills and testaments, and church records just to name of few of the golden treasures. The guided journey seemed like a tour led by God and the ancestors themselves! 

Both my parents, born in Tipton County, Tennessee, have deep roots there. This site uncovers and explores the hidden history of their ancestors and the great brilliance they brought to America.