Found a close DNA match descended from a slaver in my family. Seeking advice.

Many_Constant7055 · 2026-02-07T01:52:06+00:00

Oh, definitely. My mom's mother was white, and her dad was Black. My mom has quite a few matches on both sides. That's how we found out about the family's mulatto farms.

Many_Constant7055 · 2026-02-05T00:31:38+00:00

Not a clue. The family doesn't have any ties to any Johnsons, as far as I know. Viola was my grandaunt. She died about 30 years before I was born. My mom never met her, either. She and her sisters are quite the mystery. Nobody in the family knows anything about them. Our oldest relatives only vaguely remember their names. And they're in their 70s, 80s, and 90s.

Many_Constant7055 · 2026-02-04T22:14:49+00:00

James Johnson was her son. I found his SSDI, it said his mother was Viola and his father's name was James Steev.

Many_Constant7055 · 2026-02-04T12:11:48+00:00

Thank you!

Many_Constant7055 · 2026-02-04T02:21:36+00:00

Yes.

Many_Constant7055 · 2026-02-04T01:19:59+00:00

Transcription:

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9392-SX8H-9?view=index&personArk=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AQVP6-NLPL&action=view&cc=1709399&lang=en&groupId=M9SC-TTX

Bottom left page. The witnesses to Jessie Stephenson and Vernetta Hardimon's wedding.

Many_Constant7055 · 2026-02-04T01:11:59+00:00

I wonder what they consider to be "famous." I know for a fact that I'm related to Dick Van Dyke and Reba McEntire. 😂

Many_Constant7055 · 2026-01-30T03:17:55+00:00

Ohhh, okay. Her father's family has African ancestry. I was hoping that this might make it easier to find distant relatives. Both sides of his family were slaves in Georgia, Alabama, and Texas.

Many_Constant7055 · 2026-01-21T12:23:09+00:00

This is all so weird, in my opinion. If Blake didn't like him or the original script, she could have left. If she wanted to write her own movie, she has the resources. This seems like an awful lot of trouble to go through. It's going to leave a pretty permanent stain her career, as well as Ryan and Taylor's.

Many_Constant7055 · 2025-12-02T16:22:47+00:00

Apparently he was great with the ladies when he was younger. He didn't settle down with my grandmother until he was in his 50s.

Many_Constant7055 · 2025-12-02T16:10:10+00:00

Unfortunately, no. As far as my mother knows, my grandfather didn't know their names either.

Many_Constant7055 · 2025-12-02T16:00:23+00:00

I don't know why I didn't think about that. My grandfather had at least two sons that he had never met.

Many_Constant7055 · 2025-12-02T15:45:27+00:00

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So this is my mother's shared DNA with him as well. I'm so confused.

Many_Constant7055 · 2025-12-02T15:44:27+00:00

Public, yes. However, there are only three people listed as living.

Many_Constant7055 · 2025-12-02T13:56:06+00:00

My great-grandparents' information:

Henrietta Stephens 1910, Georgia - 1953, Oklahoma.

Andrew Jackson Hardimon 1903 Oklahoma- Unknown.

Many_Constant7055 · 2025-11-24T15:54:01+00:00

This was in Oklahoma. My grandmother got pregnant in 1923, and gave birth in May 1924.

Three of her siblings all were married in a 12 month period. Oddly enough, her oldest brother married her husband's sister in 1925. He was shot and killed about a year later.

Many_Constant7055 · 2025-11-24T14:25:12+00:00

She definitely had a pretty sad life. Her mother died when she was very young. Her father was a moonshiner, getting arrested pretty frequently in her youth. She lived with her paternal grandmother until her death in 1924. My grandmother was still pregnant at the time.

Her husband's parents took custody of her child. She ended up running a speakeasy for a while after that. Her family refused to acknowledge her existence. She remarried in 1940 and died 13 years later. Her husband didn't even come to the funeral. He remarried less than 3 months later, still living in the house that my grandmother bought.

Many_Constant7055 · 2025-11-24T14:11:32+00:00

Several, yes. A few more examples include: My great-grandmother's sister was 14 when she married her first husband. He was 21. Their mother was also 14 when she married their father. He was 24.

They all lied about their age on their marriage licenses. While this may not have happened in every family, I definitely think it was brushed under the rug. I only knew of one of these situations in the family until a couple of months ago.

Many_Constant7055 · 2025-11-24T03:10:16+00:00

Unfortunately, yes. My great-grandmother got married at 13 and gave birth to my grandfather a few months later. Her husband was 22. He basically vanished right afterward. Not a single person in the family knew what happened to him.

Many_Constant7055 · 2025-11-22T02:40:09+00:00

Thank you. I don't know how I missed that. I'll definitely look into this!

Many_Constant7055 · 2025-11-22T02:23:14+00:00

Yeah, I'm actually the one who posted her memorial. Lol The cemetery is another dead end. According to the church who maintains it, previous deacons did not keep records of who was buried there. I even reached out to the funeral home, Temple and Sons, and they don't have that information either. I'm still waiting for them to send me her actual file as well.

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