Slave genealogy extends its roots

Author shares expertise in tracing ancestry BY KEILANI BEST Florida Today Mary Fears' ancestors were slaves owned by farmer John McCrary during the 1800s. She traced them from South Carolina through four counties in Georgia. Some of the McCrarys participated in the Revolutionary War. Three of them, to be exact. They owned about 33 slaves in all, some of whom were related to Fears in some way. McCrary died about 1854. In 1855, the Georgia Journal ran an advertisement announcing his property would be sold, but did not list any slaves. Interesting. With more research, Fears found out McCrary's slaves were to be divided among his heirs. Those slaves included Lovinia McCrary, 90, Abraham Johnson, 28, Missouri Johnson, 17, and little Matilda, 6, according to the 1870 Census. No one knows their exact ages, Fears said. The slaves themselves didn't even know. As sobering as these facts may be, many blacks are willing to find out about their enslaved ancestors, who suffered through a myriad of unspoken afflictions, emotional heartache and divided families during slavery. Slave ancestral research has become so popular there is an extensive Web site, afrigeneas.com, devoted to it. This time of year, when many blacks are putting the finishing touches on their family reunions, the desire to know their family tree is even more poignant. Full Story: http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050621/LIFE/506210307/1005