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Meet 1619 Jamestown, Virginia's, Johnsons; and other Christian, People of Color...
...with first names like John, Anthony, Antonio, Maria, Isabell, and Francisco; and last names like, Johnson, Tucker ,Pedro, Graweere, Cornish, and others.
The story, "The First Black Americans: The Little-Known Story of the African Slaves who built Jamestown", by Tim Hashaw, is in the current edition of U.S.News & World Report's special collector's edition of "Mysteries of History". It originally appeared in the January 29 to February 5, 2007, issue of the magazine.
In 1619, 350 Christian Africans, men, women, and children, arrived at Jamestown, Virginia. Tim Hashaw's wonderful story says the "Names of Bautista Africans first appear in the 1625 Jamestown census, and from the anonymity of Rolfe's 1619 general description of "Negroes" emerge John, Pedro, Anthony, and Mary Johnson; Antonio and Isabell Tucker and their young child, William; along with John Graweere, Margaret Cornish, and others".
The next two decades some farmed and purchased their freedom. They married, some fellow blacks, and others European settlers. Slavery was not fully established in Virginia until 1705. I, Jim Miller, who call's your attention to Tim Hashaw's story; is under the impression that early 1600's black arrivals were legally treated, as were whites; under the then prevailing indentured servants legal concept? By the 1650's, according to Hashaw, the Johnson family became wealthy, remaining free. John Graweere was an officer of the Jamestown court; and John Pedro, a legislator and militiaman.
One reason this story especially interests me is my great, great grandfather was Shadrack "Shade" Wooten (1801-1891) of Johnson's Mills, Pitt County, North Carolina. His parents were William Wooten, Sr., and Nancy Forbes. If memory serves; his father was John Wooten (Sr.?) who wed the daughter of 1730's Pitt County, Shadrack Johnson, from southeastern Virginia? From the 1720's southeastern Virginia, to 1650's Jamestown, Virginia, is not long in distance, and less than a century in time. In terms of human generations, it's but three and one-half generations.
If the 1650's slave owning mulatto Jamestown Johnsons continued to marry the advantaged "up" way--that is married "whites"--by the 1730's Pitt County, North Carolina, that would be four or five generations white blood dilution of black blood (yes, both really "red" blood); and likely easily "passing for (the more advantaged) white". And no one from now geographically distant Jamestown to remember.
Could my Shadrack Johnson have had Jamestown origins? I don't know beyond him. My genealogy DNA test mentioned no black DNA. But my Shadrack Johnson was five great grandfathers ago; add three more generations down to me, if I am included (my sister has grandchildren). If Shadrack Johnson had four or five more generations of whites back to Jamestown; would one black ancestor's DNA show up in a test 12 or 13 white generations ago. Does anyone know?
Has anyone followed down the Jamestown mulatto Johnson lineage? Has anyone followed up, the "white" Shadrack Johnson lineage?
The story, "The First Black Americans: The Little-Known Story of the African Slaves who built Jamestown", by Tim Hashaw, is in the current edition of U.S.News & World Report's special collector's edition of "Mysteries of History". It originally appeared in the January 29 to February 5, 2007, issue of the magazine.
In 1619, 350 Christian Africans, men, women, and children, arrived at Jamestown, Virginia. Tim Hashaw's wonderful story says the "Names of Bautista Africans first appear in the 1625 Jamestown census, and from the anonymity of Rolfe's 1619 general description of "Negroes" emerge John, Pedro, Anthony, and Mary Johnson; Antonio and Isabell Tucker and their young child, William; along with John Graweere, Margaret Cornish, and others".
The next two decades some farmed and purchased their freedom. They married, some fellow blacks, and others European settlers. Slavery was not fully established in Virginia until 1705. I, Jim Miller, who call's your attention to Tim Hashaw's story; is under the impression that early 1600's black arrivals were legally treated, as were whites; under the then prevailing indentured servants legal concept? By the 1650's, according to Hashaw, the Johnson family became wealthy, remaining free. John Graweere was an officer of the Jamestown court; and John Pedro, a legislator and militiaman.
One reason this story especially interests me is my great, great grandfather was Shadrack "Shade" Wooten (1801-1891) of Johnson's Mills, Pitt County, North Carolina. His parents were William Wooten, Sr., and Nancy Forbes. If memory serves; his father was John Wooten (Sr.?) who wed the daughter of 1730's Pitt County, Shadrack Johnson, from southeastern Virginia? From the 1720's southeastern Virginia, to 1650's Jamestown, Virginia, is not long in distance, and less than a century in time. In terms of human generations, it's but three and one-half generations.
If the 1650's slave owning mulatto Jamestown Johnsons continued to marry the advantaged "up" way--that is married "whites"--by the 1730's Pitt County, North Carolina, that would be four or five generations white blood dilution of black blood (yes, both really "red" blood); and likely easily "passing for (the more advantaged) white". And no one from now geographically distant Jamestown to remember.
Could my Shadrack Johnson have had Jamestown origins? I don't know beyond him. My genealogy DNA test mentioned no black DNA. But my Shadrack Johnson was five great grandfathers ago; add three more generations down to me, if I am included (my sister has grandchildren). If Shadrack Johnson had four or five more generations of whites back to Jamestown; would one black ancestor's DNA show up in a test 12 or 13 white generations ago. Does anyone know?
Has anyone followed down the Jamestown mulatto Johnson lineage? Has anyone followed up, the "white" Shadrack Johnson lineage?
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Lowcountry Africana on
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Hi James,
Thank you for posting here, hope your doing so connects you with other Jamestown and Johnson researchers!
Toni -
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