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Jefferson Research
Robert Jefferson of Indianapolis, Ind., has been my favorite research subject for the past few years. Following his life and those of his family and descendants introduced me to African American genealogy research, and ultimately has taught me a lot. DNA research and contemporary writing shows that Robert was a son of President Thomas Jefferson, but not bySally Hemings, shattering "conventional wisdom" about slavery and slaveholders. American history can be as grotesque as it is impressive.
Catching Up
It's been awhile ... The original letter, transcribed below, resides in the family collection curated by Bill Roberson, a...
Jul 13, 20235 min read
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Everyone. Everywhere. All at Once. Part 2
In my previous essay, I wrote about the connections Robert Jefferson had to other prominent Black men in Indianapolis, as well as his...
Apr 17, 20235 min read
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Everyone, Everywhere, All at Once
Easily Overlooked, Connections Really Are Important Good morning, Class! Our word for today is “connection.” In terms of personal...
Apr 7, 20237 min read
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Indy's Prominent Colored Citizens, 1880, Part 5
Anderson Lewis, blacksmith, freed from Slavery by 13th Amendment Another interesting man is Anderson Lewis**, a blacksmith. He was born...
Mar 15, 20234 min read
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Indy's Prominent Colored Citizens, 1880, Part 4
The Bagby Family: Henry and sons, Robert B. and James D. Among these pleasant homes is one that owned and occupied by the Bagby...
Feb 28, 20235 min read
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Backlash: Newspaper disputes Robert's paternity claim
In 1884, two years after Robert Jefferson died, the Indiana State Sentinel published a full broadsheet page of articles and pieces of...
Feb 24, 20236 min read
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Indy's Prominent Colored Citizens, 1880, Part 3
JOHN G. BRITTAN/BRITTON (1) The man who claims to be the oldest living colored citizen, in point of length of residence in Indianapolis,...
Feb 21, 20232 min read
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Check it out!
The February 2023 issue of Indianapolis Monthly includes this article that I wrote about my research into the life and family history of...
Feb 20, 20231 min read
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Indy's Prominent Colored Citizens, 1880, Part 2
James Sidney Hinton "A man of great influence among his own people, and occupying a prominent place in Indiana politics as well, is James...
Feb 15, 20234 min read
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Indy's Prominent Colored Citizens, 1880
On Tuesday, Jan. 6, 1880, the Indianapolis Journal, published 4,500-word essay on prominent Black citizens living in the Circle City....
Feb 6, 20237 min read
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Meeting the Descendants: Margaret Anderson & her sisters
In early August 2022, I had the honor of meeting and spending time with Margaret “Peggy” Anderson, one of the Robert Jefferson...
Jan 17, 20234 min read
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Meeting the Descendants: Bill Roberson
William Neff "Bill" Roberson, 84, of Los Angeles, California, poses with a portrait of his father, William Anthony Roberson – a 1986...
Aug 17, 20229 min read
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Research Trips: Dreams Do Come True!
Dreams do come true. This summer, I am receiving grants that will allow me to travel to do more research on Robert Jefferson and his...
Jul 23, 20224 min read
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Part 12 – Harriet Christian, Were you Really a Washington?
So, I have a hypothesis about Harriet Christian and who her family was. Using the few clues I’ve found in the various legal ads that I’ve...
Apr 2, 20224 min read
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Part 11 – What was William P. Flood up to in 1836?
Searchable databases of digitized pages of American newspapers are literal goldmines when it comes to historical research. If it wasn’t...
Mar 24, 20225 min read
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Part 10 – New information found ...
So, by renewing my subscription to GenealogyBank, another site that offers searchable content from old newspapers, I was amazed to find...
Jan 7, 20223 min read
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Part 9 – William Clinton Thompson, M.D.
In the fall of 2020, when I began to research the events and people mentioned in the 1879 article published in the Indianapolis Journal...
Jan 3, 20226 min read
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Part 8 – Why Canada, Robert Jefferson?
Why did Robert Jefferson travel north to Canada after receiving his freedom papers, signed by then-Mississippi State Senator Otho R....
Jun 19, 20216 min read
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Part 6 — O.R. Singleton
There are several men in the periphery of Robert Jefferson’s story. These include Thomas Jefferson Catchings, M.D., who had owned...
Apr 2, 20215 min read
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Part 5 – Reflections of a Researcher
"Fasten, your seatbelts, kids; it's gonna be a bumpy ride." (With my sincerest apoligies to Bette Davis in "All About Eve" and devout...
Mar 29, 20218 min read
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