Who was Rebecca

Most everyone has heard stories about the Native American Indian heritage that lies somewhere in the family. I know I have, on and off, throughout the years. I have relatives in Texas and Kansas that typically participate in native ceremonies and pow wows. If you were to come to my house, all the paintings on the walls have Native American themes by artists such as Bev Doolittle, JD Challenger and Cindy Jo. Whenever we go visit family in Albuquerque, we always pick up some native art work. People have come in our house and asked if there is American Indian blood in the family. I have never been able to answer that question, so I am hoping in my search for the diversity in me I will be able to come to some definite conclusion.

The closest that I have come, and I have hit a hard block, is my 7th grandmother, Rebecca Stewart born about 1717. I suspect she was born in North Carolina and ended up moving back and forth across the border from North Carolina to Virginia. Most of the information that I can fine on her is on a web site which talks about a community in southern Virginia and refers to the Lost Creek Stewart Families. I also found information in the book by Paul Heinegg titled “Free African Americans of North Carolina, Virginia and South Carolina from the colonial Period to about 1820 Volume 1” and the web site FreeAfricanamericans.com. Most of the history on Rebecca is in the Dinwiddie County area in southern Virginia. Unfortunately, this is what is known as a burned-record county. Meaning, when the Union soldiers came through the area, they burned all the official records they could find. I don’t understand why this happened, but I am sure it made some sense in that time of war. Some of the neighboring counties do have some records and that search continues.

None of these references list who the parents of Rebecca are, only that she had possibly 8 children. Her son James Stewart born in 1750 is the linage I am from. There is a story in all three about Rebecca:

"Rebecca Stewart, born say 1717, sued Charles Hix in Brunswick County, Virginia court in September 1738 for her freedom and a certificate for the same, but the court dismissed the case in February 1738/9 when she failed to appear."

I am uncertain and unable to find how she was bound to Charles Hix. There are 3 different theories on the who Rebecca was. The first is, at the time when she is thought to have been born, 1717, the first ships carrying indentured Jacobite Scottish men landed in Virginia in 1616. I did manage to find the manifest of the ships and there were listed several indentured Stewarts, but I can find no record of who they were all bound to for their indenture time. It was common practice to have the indentured Scottish and Irish men and women mate with the African American and native American slaves to produce a continued line of slaves.

“The colonists began to breed Scottish and Irish women and girls with African men to produce slaves with a distinct complexion. These new mulatto slaves brought a higher price than Scottish and Irish livestock and likewise, enabled the settlers to save money rather than purchase new African slaves."

The theory is that Rebecca was a child of this type of mating. The second theory is that Rebecca is part of a long line of Stewarts that were mixed race African American and Native American that resided in the Dinwiddie area. There is quite a bit of history concerning the Stewarts that were mixed race and descended from the Saponi or Nansemond tribes. The third and probably most true theory is that Rebecca had children with an African, Indian or mixed person(s), and this started the Lost Creek Stewart Line. The reason is that Rebecca is listed in the colonial Virginia records as “Free white female.” This would bolster the theory that she was born of one of the bonded indentured Jacobite families and was bonded to Charles Hix. Since census records on her sons as born in Virginia and race as mulatto, this would indicate a mixed-race marriage.

In Virginia In October 1705, the Acts of Assembly in Virginia defined “mulatto”, “as the child of an Indian, the child, grandchild or great-grandchild of a Negro”.

Therefore, the term “mulatto” encompassed many varieties of ethnic mixtures.

So, the question is still out there. Is there native American blood running in me. I believe so, I just must keep looking. My Ancestory.com results say 1% Native American and my 23andme.com results also say 1%. So that heritage may be way down the line, but the journey continues.

#diversity #Rebecca #Dinwiddie #Nansemond #Saponi #NativeAmerican #African #Scottish #Irish #Indian #Colonial #Virginia

Unconscious Biases

The other day I was reading an article on Implicit Bias posted on the blog of Minority Professional Network dated 06 October 2018. This article, like most, refers to the impact to companies and how understanding and training for unconscious bias can help the bottom line. The article has good points that can help a company succeed. As I read the article, I thought, why can’t these same points be used by an individual in their personal life as well as their work life.

For example – Beauty Bias – When one associates a person’s physical appearance with a specific personality type or stereotype. Imagine if people understood this as one of their biases and learned to identify it and then take corrective action. What impact would this have on prejudice due to skin color or clothes someone wears.

Let me tell you a story of where I was guilty of unconscious bias. Some years back I was sitting at a bar in London’s Heathrow airport waiting on a flight back to the U.S. I was having a nice pint of lager and watching darts on the tv. I looked up into the bar mirror which was facing the open area of the airport and spotted a young black male. He was dressed to the tee in matching sweats, Air Jordan sneaks, gold chains dangling and a baseball cap with NY on the front. I could tell he was headed towards me at the bar as there was no else at the bar except me. My mind was prepping. I automatically assumed a young brother from New York. I was prepped for the New York accent and the greeting as he got closer. When the young man reached me, he asked me if I had the time. I had to pause about 15 seconds while my brain readjusted. The gentleman had the heaviest British accent I had ever heard. The accent threw me way off because I had assumed, based on skin color and the clothes he was wearing that he was from New York and a New York accent of some type. I was actually a little ashamed and embarrassed because I had made an assumption like that. At this time, I had been in the U.S. Navy for about 7 years and should have known better. Nothing like a little unconscious bias…Beauty Bias. I recognized the unconscious bias within me and identified it as something that needed to be dealt with. Every since this happening I have made every effort to ensure I don’t judge people by just looking at them. I still have Unconscious Biases I know, but I try and recognize them quickly and correct myself. I hope everyone gets to take a class on unconscious bias and not only use it at work but in your own personal life as well.

27 Kids !!!

As I venture forward to understand the Diversity in Me, I have come across a lot of information. The federal and state census is proving interesting. Seeing where relatives lived at various times in their lives is pretty cool. Misspelled names and noticing peoples race changing from time to time is pretty wild. Old newspaper articles on relatives - some good and some no-so good. I was forewarned that there will be surprises that will pop up and to be ready for the good and the bad.

Obituaries have been interesting. The way things were spoken and written in the 1800s and early 1900s would get people fired in today's society. Here is one example concerning the death of my great-grandfather, James Stewart. Article was in the Hutchinson News, Kansas, 14 March 1901. My great-grandfather lived in Stering, Kansas.

He was an "old colored man." He could count 14 pickannies without leaving his own house. I hadn't heard the term "pickannies" in years. I don't believe a lot of people even know what the term refers to. His "race" is superstitious about odd numbers, especially the number 13? Really, and when have you ever hear of someone so getting on their knee and singing Down on the Suawnee River in order to have more kids? I think this was a little journalistic license here.

Anyway, one of many interesting articles to come. Let me know what you think.