Who Do You Think You Are, Blair Underwood?

January and February have been quite a busy couple of months for me in my research and personal life. I did however make the time to watch the most recent episode of the NBC television series 'Who Do You Think You Are?'.  The episode, which aired on Friday February 24th, I have to say that this was one of the best episodes of the show I've watched since it began airing.  Blair Underwood's maternal family is traced to manumitted Africans  in the state of Virginia in the 1790's and his paternal family is traced through dna to a man in modern day Cameroon. In case you missed this episode, you can watch online at Hulu. Enjoy!

MtDNA Test Results. . .

Back in April, I sent my DNA to be tested by African Ancestry for analysis to determine my Mitochondrial DNA (MtDNA). After what seemed to be one of the longest waits of my life, the results were returned to me yesterday. The maternal ancestry of the Rounds Family originates from the Balanta people mainly of Guinea-Bissau. These results confirm the oral family history of the Rounds family's origins in Guinea.

I spent about 10 minutes trying to wrap my head around the notion of actually knowing what ethnic group I belong to. Its an amazing and indescribable feeling. These results excited me so much and I began to search out information on the internet about. What I found out was so incredible to me because it made me so proud! It also created an entirely new set of questions about the connection between how my ancestors came here and if there were others who shared the same connection between Guinea-Bissau, Virginia and Adams County, Mississippi.

This is what I found on WikiPedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balanta):

The Balanta (same spelling in Guinea-Bissau Creole and Portuguese, balante in French transliteration), meaning literally "those who resist", are an ethnic group found in Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, and Gambia. They are the largest ethnic group of Guinea-Bissau, representing more than one-quarter of the population. But despite their numbers, they have remained outside the colonial and postcolonial state because of their social organization. The Balanta can be divided into four subgroups, (three of which are Balanta Kentohe, Balanta Ganja, and Balanta Brassa) the largest of which are the Balanta Brassa.

Archaeologists believe that the people who became the Balanta migrated to present-day Guinea-Bissau in small groups between the tenth and fourteenth century C.E. During the nineteenth century they spread throughout the area that is presently Guinea-Bissau and southern Senegal in order to resist the expansion of the Kaabu kingdom. Oral tradition amongst the Balanta has it that they migrated westward from the area that is now Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia to escape drought and wars. Today, the Balanta are mostly found in the south and central regions of Guinea-Bissau.

Video introducing Balanta language:




Video of Balantas Dancing

Balanta Dance

The Hinyards of Mexico

I want to thank all of the readers who have been coming to my blog from all over the United States. I appreciate you all reading my blog and following my journey into discovering my ancestry.

My latest discovery in my genealogy has been the Hinyard family of Mexico. I discovered them in my research of my great-great grandmother Roxie McFarland-Earls. She is the paternal grandmother of my maternal grandmother Saint Arby Washington-Thompson. As I indicated in my two previous postings on Roxie Earls, not much was known about her or her family.

I began to take a closer examination at the census records where Roxie's family appeared in Wilkinson County, Mississippi. I took what some genealogists call "a walk around the neighborhood". Using Family Search and Heritage Quest Online, I began to scan through each household grouping listed as a family who were living close to the McFarlands. As I looked at the vital information I noticed that there were other people who were listed as being born in Mexico who lived close to Roxie Earls parents, Peter and Milly McFarland.

I discovered that Thomas Hinyard b. 1836 and Ned Hinyard b.1842 and their families lived in Beat 1, Wilkinson county near Peter and Milly on the 1880 and 1900 census records. Both were born in Mexico as well. Having this information leads me to the conclusion that Milly McFarland may have been their sister. They are the only Blacks born in Mexico on the 1880 census in Beat 1, Wilkinson County.

Thomas Hinyard and Family as they appear on the 1880 Census Beat 1, Wilkinson Co.,MS

Thomas HINYARD Self M Male B 30 MEXICO Farmer MEXICO MEXICO
Rosanna HINYARD Wife M Female MU 34 MS Keeping House MS MS
Ellen HINYARD Dau S Female B 16 MS Farm Laborer MEXICO MS
Thomas HINYARD Son S Male B 12 MS Farm Laborer MEXICO MS
Milly HINYARD Dau S Female B 8 MS MEXICO MS
Mary HINYARD Dau S Female B 5 MS MEXICO MS
William HINYARD Son S Male B 4 MS MEXICO MS
George HINYARD Son S Male B 3 MS MEXICO MS


Ned Hinyard and Family as they appear on the 1880 Census Beat 1, Wilkinson Co.,MS

Ned HINYARD Self M Male B 38 MEXICO Farmer MEXICO MEXICO
Matilda HINYARD Wife M Female B 28 MS Keeping House MS MS
Henry HINYARD Son S Male B 21 MS Farm Laborer MEXICO MS
Jeff HINYARD Son S Male B 18 MS Farm Laborer MEXICO MS
Ned HINYARD JR. Son S Male B 17 MS Farm Laborer MEXICO MS
Stephen HINYARD Son S Male B 15 MS Farm Laborer MEXICO MS
Jim HINYARD Son S Male B 13 MS Farm Laborer MEXICO MS
Matilda HINYARD Dau S Female B 9 MS MEXICO MS
Lizzie HINYARD Dau S Female B 7 MS MEXICO MS
Mary HINYARD Dau S Female B 3 MS MEXICO MS
Abe Lincoln HINYARD Son S Male B 1 MS MEXICO MS


I am so grateful to have been able to make this find and this connection to the Hinyards. This information has opened up the doors to discovering key information about someone in my ancestry whom I knew was named Earls and had four children.

The McFarland Family of Wilkinson County, MS

As many of you who may be into genealogical research understand, each familial connection uncovered leads to a domino effect of wanting to know as much as you can about that family and its members. Since I have uncovered the family of my great-great grandmother Roxana (Roxie) McFarland-Earls and the unique information about her family, I have been spending the last couple of weeks trying to find out about this branch of the family. I made it a mission to discover more about the family of Peter and Milly McFarland. During that research, I also came across some surprising possibilities.

Further research into the McFarland Family led to this information:

From the 1880 Census reports the entire McFarland family with the exception of daughter Roxie, who married John Earls in 1876.

Peter McFarland b. abt 1805 in Virginia
Milly McFarland b. abt 1837 in Mexico
Albert McFarland b. abt 1860 in Mississippi
Julius McFarland b. abt 1862 in Mississippi
Thomas McFarland b. abt 1863 in Mississippi
Mary McFarland b. abt 1866 in Mississippi

I followed each child from the McFarland family, with the exception of Mary and was able to obtain the following information about their families:

Roxana McFarland married John Earls on 17 Feb 1876 and had the following children:
Daughter Kate was born in September 1876 in Wilkinson County, Mississippi
Daughter Millie was born in abt 1877
Daughter Lucy was born in about 1879
Daughter Mary was born in about 1880
Daughter Jane was born in about 1886

Roxie had the following children with Scott Washington:
Son Will Washington born in December 1888
Son Elijah born in about 1892

Albert McFarland married Jane Clayton on 20 June 1884 and had the following children:
Son Leon McFarland born May 1891
Daughter Addie McFarland born October 1892
Son Albert McFarland Jr. born January 1895
Daughther Janie McFarland born May 1896
Daughter Anna McFarland born July 1899

Julius McFarland married Ella Scott on 4 April 1888 and had the following children:
Daughter Sarah McFarland born April 1889
Daughter Milly McFarland born November 1891
Daughter Betty McFarland born September 1894
Son Isadore McFarland born 1897
Daughter Marie McFarland born January 1898

I was able to locate a Tom McFarland in Hinds County, Mississippi who married a Sarah in about 1882 in the 1900 Mississippi census. I'm still investigating this lead on what happened to Thomas McFarland. He appears to have disappeared from any census records in Wilkinson County, Mississipi. There are also city directories, military service records, land deeds and other public records I haven't looked over just yet.

The Rounds Family of Adams County, Mississippi

The Rounds Family of Adams County, Mississippi originated with the marriage of Charles Rounds (b. 1811 in Virginia/Africa) and Charity Rounds (b. 1822 in Mississippi). Charity Rounds was a slave of Dr. William Mercer at the Laurel Hill Plantation. It is unclear at this time where Charles Rounds was enslaved, presumably on the Laurel Hill Plantation also. After the Civil War, Charlie and Charity Rounds continued to reside in Adams County, Mississippi. They purchased the Rounds Plantation (Glen Aubin) in about 1874. The 1870 census showed the members of the Rounds household, they are as follows: children, Andrew, Lucy, Goliah, Flora and Rose, grandchildren Harrison Holmes, Minor Duncan and Joseph Rounds.

An excerpt from the book "African-American Historic Places" published by the National Register of Historic Places:

Like China Grove, Bourbon and Oakland Plantations, Glen Aubin was one of several plantations in southwest Adams county that were purchased by former slaves or their children in the year immediately following the Civil war. Glen Aubin was constructed as the residence of John Odlin Hutchins and his wife, Aubin, from whom it derives its name, on land acquired by Hutchins' grandfather, Anthony Hutchins as an early English land grant in the early 1780's. Coming to Natchez in 1772, Anthony Hutchins was teh area's largest landholdler and planter in the late 18th century. The house appears to date from around 1835 to 1845, with the only major changes occuring around 1850, when the roof was raised to accommodate the second story bedrooms.
In 1874 Charlie and Charity Rounds, who were former slaves or free blacks, purchased Glen Aubin. The purchase was arranged by Wilmer Shields, the plantation manager at the neighboring Laurel Hill owned by William Newton Mercer. The name Charity appears in a list of slaves owned by Mercer, and it is possible that Charity Rounds had been a Laurel Hill slave who, with her husband, was assisted by Shields in acquiring the plantation. From 1874 until 1894, Glen Aubin served as the residence of the Rounds Family, who are responsible for maintaining the architectural integrity of the house, including all original hardware, oak graining and interior and exterior paint colors.

The REAL family story about the Rounds Plantation:
After Charles and Charity Rounds acquired the Glen Aubin home, it was passed to their son Goliah and his wife Dinah. They raised their 10 children in the home and surrounding property. Charles and Charity Rounds are buried on the right side of the Antebellum home. The home did not leave the Rounds Family ownership until it was sold in a shady deal in the 1970's. The land, about 400 acres in all, is still owned by the descendants of Charles and Charity Rounds. It includes a large family cemetary plot where several family members are buried.

The Rounds Plantation



Goliah Rounds (b. 1854), son of Charity and Charlie Rounds