My 6th Great Grandfather York Was Free During Washington’s Presidency by Dennis Richmond Jr.

As a historian, you should tell the truth. We live in an era where people like to distort facts to fit their narrative. Trying to bury history is wrong and trying to change facts is corrupt. Good or bad, I always tell the stories of my ancestors. I’m excited to share the story of my Grandpa York. America knows the story of slavery all too well. People talk about it, many historians have debated about it, and Americans never agree on its details. A lesser-known fact in American history is that of quasi-free Black Americans. Prior to the Civil War, not every Black person experienced slavery. My maternal ancestors come from a history of slavery in Berkeley County, South Carolina. My paternal ancestors, however, go back decades in this country as quasi-free Black Americans. My great-grandmother Adele Matilda Merritt was born on Saturday, September 27th, 1913, in Greenwich, Connecticut. The President at the time of her birth was Woodrow Wilson. Adele was the daughter of John Sherman Merritt and Lelia Bell Robinson. John and Lelia were a beautiful couple. Adele’s grandmother, Mary Elizabeth Roselle Glover, born in 1871, was a poet. Adele’s great grandmother, Huldah Peck, was born on July [...]

My 6th Great Grandfather York Was Free During Washington’s Presidency by Dennis Richmond Jr.
As a historian, you should tell the truth. We live in an era where people like to distort facts to fit their narrative. Trying to bury history is wrong and trying to change facts is corrupt. Good or bad, I always tell the stories of my ancestors. I’m excited to share the story of my Grandpa York. America knows the story of slavery all too well. People talk about it, many historians have debated about it, and Americans never agree on its details. A lesser-known fact in American history is that of quasi-free Black Americans. Prior to the Civil War, not every Black person experienced slavery. My maternal ancestors come from a history of slavery in Berkeley County, South Carolina. My paternal ancestors, however, go back decades in this country as quasi-free Black Americans. My great-grandmother Adele Matilda Merritt was born on Saturday, September 27th, 1913, in Greenwich, Connecticut. The President at the time of her birth was Woodrow Wilson. Adele was the daughter of John Sherman Merritt and Lelia Bell Robinson. John and Lelia were a beautiful couple. Adele’s grandmother, Mary Elizabeth Roselle Glover, born in 1871, was a poet. Adele’s great grandmother, Huldah Peck, was born on July [...]