The first Africans who arrived in present day Virginia in 1619, were kidnapped from their villages in what is present-day Angola, and forced onto a Portuguese slave ship, the San Juan Bautista. Towards the end of this voyage, the slave ship was attacked by two English privateers, The White Lion and The Treasurer, in the Gulf of Mexico and robbed of 50-60 Africans. The two privateers then sailed to Virginia where The White Lion arrived at Point Comfort (present-day Hampton, Virginia) in August 1619. John Rolfe, a prominent planter and the colony's secretary recorded and documented the arrival of some 20 negros to Point Comfort.
This year marks the 400th anniversary of their arrival. While there are still some that question the details of this part of American history, the fact still remains that there were 20 negros accounted for and documented as arriving in Virginia during the summer of 1619, and that alone is worth celebrating. There have been celebrations across the United States in observance of this significant part of our country's history, including AAHGS 40th Annual National Conference – 1619: 400 Years of African American Passage - October 10-12, 2019 in Hyattsville, Maryland at the College Park Hotel and Convention Center.
Ric Murphy, AAHGS Vice President - History, says it best when he tells people that 'All roads lead to Virginia'. I remember the first time I heard him talking about it in 2015 at my first genealogy conference. He was sitting a few chairs down from me with six or seven people around him. He told someone that they probably have ancestors from Virginia because all roads lead back to Virginia 1619. I didn't know what he meant by that at the time. I remember I had to look up Virginia 1619 because as far as I knew my ancestors weren't from Virginia. A couple of years later as I continued my research, I discovered that my ancestors whom I had thought were from Alabama, were indeed from Virginia; they had migrated south with their slaveholder family in 1810 and settled in Alabama.
One of the things I love about AAHGS is the organization is equal parts history and genealogy. Family history is not just about learning about your ancestors. To get an honest and clear picture of them, you have to know about their community and the history of the times they were living in. What's your 1619 story? How are you celebrating 400 years? Share your story with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram with #AAHGS1619story Visit our website to read more about 1619.
Written by
AAHGS Member and Blogger
Trisha Mays-Cummings
http://journeythroughthegenerations.com
