DNA Links Adopted Child to Jesuit Slave

DNA kits were one of the Christmas gifts I gave to my husband, Jerry, and my daughter, Dana. I was in Cuba when Judy Riffel, the lead genealogist for the Georgetown Memory Project, sent me an email on April 12, 2017. I had no access to WiFi because it was scarce in Cuba. I arrived home on April 16th  , which was Easter Sunday, so needless to say, I didn't check my email until the next day.

Judy stated that a DNA kit I administered to D.J. was a match for Frank Campbell, a man who had been enslaved by the Jesuits of Georgetown and sold downriver to a plantation owner in Louisiana. She also asked me if D. J. was a GU272 descendant, which refers to the 272 slaves sold and the name of the association that the descendants formed. To say I was stunned by this news would be an understatement. 

I immediately sent Judy an email. I told her that D.J. was my daughter Dana Johnson, and I gave her the kit for Christmas. Then I dropped the bombshell: Dana is adopted!  Ordinarily, one would expect my child to be a GU272 descendant because I am a descendant. What are the odds that an adopted child who was born in California in 1971 would be a descendant of a GU272 slave??? We are both GU272 descendants, but descend from different ancestors! My ancestors are the Butlers, and Dana's are the Campbells. I learned of Dana's connection to Frank Campbell on April 17th, the same day an article by Rachel Swarms, published in the New York Times on April 17, 2016, drew worldwide attention to Jesuit slaveholdings.

Who is Frank Campbell? On March 12, 2017, Swarms wrote an article, "A Glimpse Into the Life of a Slave Sold to Save Georgetown," in the NYT. The article was about Frank Campbell, who was a part of the 1838 sale of slaves to Jesse Batey. Frank's photo was discovered in a scrapbook belonging to the Barrow family, a prominent slave-owning family. What is the significance of this photo? It is the only photo that exists of a Jesuit slave who was sold in 1838.

As soon as I learned of my daughter's connection to Frank Campbell, I asked Janette Birch, a member of the Butler Team, to assist me in researching the Campbells in California. I finally had a name to research! Janette sought assistance from Barbara Brazington, another Butler Team member, and a Campbell descendant was located in California. This Campbell is too old to be Dana's father, but he has three sons. The father does not bear the Campbell name, but his mother's maiden name is Campbell. Now all I need to do is determine which of these sons was 20 years old in 1971. 

Another article was published about Frank Campbell on May 24, 2017, "Echoes of Injustices: The image of a slave brings closure to a Terrebonne parish family." This article provided me with the names of the descendants of Frank Campbell. My first reaction was to call, but I decided a letter would be less intrusive. I chose a descendant featured in the article and on TV news, and wrote a letter about my daughter and her connection to their grandfather. I was a little anxious while I awaited a response. Finally, after an agonizing week, I received a response. The descendant agreed to assist me in the search for Dana's father, but needed more information. I looked for my copies of the adoption documents and couldn't find them. They are around here somewhere, probably in one of the boxes in the garage, where it has been since my move to Spokane 12 years ago. I asked my daughter to send her copies, and they are on their way. By the time this article is printed in the Digital Digest, I will have an answer.