I traveled to Iberville Parish, Louisiana, for the GU272 Descendants Reunion.
Nearly 600 descendants of 272 Jesuit slaves gathered in Rosedale, Louisiana, on June 9, 2018, to reconnect our families and to honor our ancestors. Descendants traveled to Louisiana from: Arizona, Alabama, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Korea, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Washington State, and Washington, D.C.
Our story began in 1838, when 272 enslaved people were shipped downriver from Maryland to Louisiana. The slaves were placed on three sugar plantations in Ascension, Iberville, and Terrebonne Parishes.
Several of the descendants gave two-minute speeches, and I was one of them. I talked about how the connection to the Jesuits was made. It was the planning of the Hicks/Estes Reunion that led to the discovery of my family's connection to the Jesuits. My ancestors, Nace and Biby Butler, and their 14 children were enslaved on the St. Inigoes Plantation in St. Mary's County in Maryland. I blogged about it, and my blog was discovered by Richard Cellini, founder of the Georgetown Memory Project, in mid-November 2015. My research revealed that we shared kinship with many descendants of GU272.
The reunion was a collaboration between the GU272 Descendants and the television show, "Finding Your Roots" by Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. The descendants were promised that a GU272 descendant would be present. The celebrity, S. Epatha Merkerson, an actress on the Law & Order TV show, was present, but she was not introduced to the audience. Many of the descendants were disappointed. I met her in the back of the hall, where she was surrounded by police, taking pictures with her.
Aside from that, the reunion was great. Food was served. My only suggestion is to have the reunion over two days, allowing for a "meet and greet" where we can spend time talking to our new cousins.
Several of the descendants gave two-minute speeches, and I was one of them. I talked about how the connection to the Jesuits was made. It was the planning of the Hicks/Estes Reunion that led to the discovery of my family's connection to the Jesuits. My ancestors, Nace and Biby Butler, and their 14 children were enslaved on the St. Inigoes Plantation in St. Mary's County in Maryland. I blogged about it, and my blog was discovered by Richard Cellini, founder of the Georgetown Memory Project, in mid-November 2015. My research revealed that we shared kinship with many descendants of GU272.
The reunion was a collaboration between the GU272 Descendants and the television show, "Finding Your Roots" by Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. The descendants were promised that a GU272 descendant would be present. The celebrity, S. Epatha Merkerson, an actress on the Law & Order TV show, was present, but she was not introduced to the audience. Many of the descendants were disappointed. I met her in the back of the hall, where she was surrounded by police, taking pictures with her.
Aside from that, the reunion was great. Food was served. My only suggestion is to have the reunion over two days, allowing for a "meet and greet" where we can spend time talking to our new cousins.
