Do you guys have a african grandfather or a grandmother

Question

Do you guys have a african grandfather or a grandmother

Answer 1

Here are two Africans for you, Herman.

Go to

http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/f...

Use this to search:

Census = 1880 USA

Given name = Chas

Last name = Mathews

Birth year = 1820

Year range = 2

State = Pennsylvania

County = Schuylkill

City = Mahanoy City

Once he comes up, click on him, then on "Household View".

Write to me (again) if this doesn't work for you.

I copied off the household view. Chas lives in a hotel. I suspect he is a porter, not a poster. A porter carries bags and sees to things. His wife is a cook. I cut out some of the people in the listing. It is a residential hotel, with many people.

Household:

(Name, Relation, Marital Status, Gender, Race, Age, Birthplace, Occupation, Father's Birthplace, Mother's Birthplace)

S. Chas. King, Self, M, Male, W, 60, De, Hotel Proprieter, Ger, Ire

Sarah King, Wife, M, Female, W, 56, De, Keeping House, Ire, Ire

Chas. J. King, Son, S, Male, W, 21, Pa, Hotel Clerk, De, De

<snip>

Chas. Mathews, Other, M, Male, B, 60, Md, Hotel Poster, Africa, Africa

Henrietta Mathews, Other, M, Female, B, 50, Pa, Hotel Cook, Africa, Africa

Bridget Whelan, Other, S, Female, W, 15, Pa, Domestic Servant, Pa, Ire

<snip>

Chas' entry says

Name = Chas. Mathews,

Relation to Head of Household =Other,

(Most census entries were for homes; relations would be wife, son, daughter, etc.)

M means he is Married,

s*x = Male

Race = B (Black),

Age = 60,

Birthplace = Md (Maryland),

Occupation = Hotel Poster, ("Porter" makes more sense)

Father's Birth Place = Africa,

Mother's BP = Africa

Chas was born in Maryland. Maryland was a slave state before 1865. After 1865 there were no slave states, but there were a lot of dead soldiers from formerly slave states. Chas' parents were born in Africa. He was born in 1820. If his mother was 16 at the time, she was born in 1804. She may have been older, and born earlier. The US stopped importing slaves from Africa in 1806, although some were smuggled in afterwards. There is a very good chance Chas' parents were slaves, and that he was too. His wife Henrietta was born in 1830 in Pennsylvania, a free state, to parents born in Africa. Her parents may have been freed and moved north. They may have escaped and moved north. They may have been rich Nigerians who sailed to Philadelphia to eat cheese steaks and see the liberty bell, then decided to stay. We will never know.

Answer 2

What is it with you and race-related questions?  You have asked this before in the last couple weeks.  In fact, every question you ask in genealogy is race related.