SOULS

Souls is about the author's search for her African American ancestors who were brought to this country in the 1700s, and possibly before. Some were amongst the first indentured servants and slaves in this country. Many were free people of color. They dwelt on the East Coast of North America where most of their descendants still live. They were born, raised and lived mainly in the North; Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. They also were born and raised in the mid-Atlantic, Baltimore, Maryland and Washington DC. Some family members were born and raised in the South, specifically Virginia and North Carolina. The author sets out on a journey to trace the movement of her ancestors who had arrived in this country almost 250 years ago. Some of the unknown ancestors may have been here even longer. She studies the places in which they lived in order to get a better understanding of the plight and challenges confronting the African American during those days. She never imagined that she would be able to develop a story worth sharing. She never imagined that some of her ancestors' stories had already been documented, and they had been recognized because of their unique achievements. Her ancestors were driven by their desire to be treated equally in America. They were determined to gain dignity, respect, and freedom shared by those who were of non African or non Indian descent. Her ancestors helped to found some of the first African American churches, schools, and communities. They owned land and businesses and even sold real estate in the early 1800s. They were among some of the earlier African American attendees and employees at Yale University. Not many African Americans have charted their ancestors as far back and in such a historical manner. The surnames consist of Dubois, Hatcher, Odrick, Riddle, Brown, Jackson, Frisby, Brooks, Jones, Moore, and possibly Rose. During her search, the author has met some descendants for the first time. She is anxious to meet more. Souls features ten or more families who were joined together by marriage. They were mostly mixed people of African descent. These families kept education and a strong spiritual life at the forefront. They believed both to be the key to freedom and equality. Education and a deep belief system contributed to their success. Consequently, they were instrumental in paving the way to freedom for other African Americans. The author recounts the development of her family while also telling the story of the rise of the African American people and their prior struggles. She captures the African American’s strife and accomplishments by following her family's footsteps from New Haven, Connecticut, to Hempstead, Long Island, New York, places in Massachusetts, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In the process, she discovers that slavery did exist in the North though the existence of this institution was much shorter and, at times, minimal when compared to what was endured by those in the South. DNA results on her paternal side place her African origins in Madagascar, Sierra Leone, Senegal, and Ghana. This book contains seven chapters. Each chapter covers the impact of slavery in the particular area inhabited by her ancestors. New Haven, Connecticut is her first stop. The author’s paternal ancestors from Connecticut were listed as free people of color. This reality was shared with her as she was growing up. New Haven is where her third great-grandfather, Alexander Dubois, grandfather to W. E. B. Du Bois, was a businessman, and he owned a grocery store. He cofounded St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in New Haven, Connecticut, thought to be the third oldest African American Episcopal Church in this country. Other paternal family members were born in Hempstead, New York, where slaves were brought from the West Indies, Madagascar, and other places in Africa. This book describes the events and the laws that applied to the Indian and African slaves until they were finally freed. The author then travels in the direction of the south to the mid-Atlantic where more of her paternal ancestors were born and lived, Baltimore, Maryland, and Washington DC. She discovers more of the same about slavery and servitude, though there were some notable differences. These ancestors also were listed in ancient records as free people of color. Her search ends in Fairfax County, Virginia, and Guilford County, North Carolina. Her third great-grandfather, Alfred Odrick, was a former slave, a carpenter, and a landowner. He has been recognized by the Commonwealth of Virginia as establishing one of the first African American communities in Virginia. It has been historically marked as Odrick’s Corner along with the former Odrick’s School and the current Shiloh Baptist Church. Odrick’s Corner is located in what is now McLean, Virginia. Her second great-grandfather, William Hatcher, lived and owned land in Odrick’s Corner and was married to Alfred’s daughter, my second great-grandmother, Sallie Odrick Hatcher. In 1895, William Hatcher cofounded and was one of the first trustees of the historic Pleasant Grove Methodist Episcopal Church located in McLean. The author’s maternal family was born and raised in North Carolina where they owned land. There were close to seventy children in one generation born to the Moore seed. Her grandmother was one of the seventy. Of these seventy, almost thirty were her grandmother’s siblings to the full and half degree. The earliest ancestors in this family seed were most likely indentured servants who had been freed and given land in accordance with the law in the mid 1600s. As a result of this likely descent, the Moore family owned a vast amount of farmland in the 1800s. Souls contains quite a bit of information about the African American experience on the East Coast of America. These African Americans intermingled with the Europeans and the Indians who might have also been indentured servants or slaves. They produced a number of children together. This book contains a wealth of information about these earlier times, some collected by others and cited accordingly. It is highly recommended that you read this historical book.