A CLOSER LOOK AT THANKSGIVING
As we come closer to celebrating Thanksgiving, I wonder if this holiday means the same today as it did for our African American relatives. There is a growing discussion of whether people of color should observe the holiday because we were not a part of that first Thanksgiving claimed by the founders of Plymouth Rock (Massachusetts). For this blog I wanted to look at how Thanksgiving fits into the African American narrative. In this post I will include ( ** ) to point out historically how our family fits in to the noted dates.
THANKSGIVING 1621 - PRESENT
Some people grumble that roses have thorns; I am grateful that thorns have roses.” Alphonse Karr
To give some perspective, the first African slaves were brought to America in 1619.
The first Thanksgiving probably originated in 1621 with the settlers of Plymouth colony in celebration of the harvest. In 1637, Governor John Winthrop declared an official “Day of Thanksgiving” to celebrate the return of the colonists from the Pequot war which killed around 700 Pequot natives. So the colonist gave “Thanks” to celebrate a slaughter over the indigenous people during the Pequot War.(https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pequot-War) Which later colonists created a narrative of peaceful Native Americans (Wampanoag tribe) and settlers coming together to share a meal to honor their friendship. We all know the myth of that peaceful dinner between the pilgrims and native Americans was a story perpetuated by pilgrim descendants in hopes to gain more power in the colonies. A good read is David J. Silverman book This Land is Their Land. (https://vimeo.com/374977805)
It is likely that slaves during this time found this celebration as a day of rest from the toll of hard labor, but they most likely did not observe the holiday.
** Harford, CT was founded in 1635 with John and George Steele listed as original founders.
On November 15, 1777 the newly formed 13 colonies celebrated victory at the Battle of Saratoga and congress passed the Articles of Confederation. A Thanksgiving celebration was declared. In 1776 there were approximately 500,000 enslaved Africans in the 13 colonies. 5000 – 8,000 served in the American cause. Many African slaves would have joined in this Thanksgiving celebration which still included a celebration of the harvest.
** Jane Gilbert Mitchell (Brooks) our matriarch was born sometime between 1773 and 1776.
In 1808 the import of slaves was outlawed although the practice continued illegally. During Thanksgiving (after the harvest) this was also the time many slaves decided to escape because it was the end of the crop season and they might be able to leave unnoticed. In many colonies this was a day off from labor and slaves were able to hunt for wild game for their Thanksgiving dinner.
**Ralph B. Steele was born in 1800, William Steele was born in 1804 and George Steele in 1812. **Sally (Sarah) Brooks Keen was born in 1828 and gained her freedom along with Jane and her four siblings in 1837. **Katherine Broyle Rainey was born in 1848 and David Henry Reid in 1842.
On January 1, 1863, President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. In the same year in October President Lincoln signed a proclamation making Thanksgiving an official holiday. **The Brooks family Frank, Charlie, Addie, Augustus, and William began to use the last name Steele which was first recorded on the 1870 census. *Warren Charles Bell was born in 1862 and Mary Louise (Molly) Reid was born in 1867.
After 1863 with Thanksgiving being an official holiday African Americans adopted the holiday with the hope of a better future for FPOC and previously enslaved people.
After “deliverance” from American slavery on November 30, 1876, (Thanksgiving) the noted African Methodist Episcopalian cleric, Reverend Benjamin Arnett preached to a predominantly black congregation with the following Bible inspired words:…we call on all American citizens to love their country, and look not on the sins of the past, but arming ourselves for the conflict of the future, girding ourselves in the habiliments of Righteousness, march forth with the courage of a Numidian lion and with the confidence of a Roman Gladiator, and meet the demands of the age, and satisfy the duties of the hour…”
Since the Thanksgiving holiday was centered around the end of slavery it brings us to a holiday celebrated in Texas in the African American community Juneteenth Day June 19, 1865.
There was a lot of awareness and conversation about Juneteenth day this year. It was first celebrated in Galveston, TX two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. Because the federal government relied on the states and the Union troop to enforce the end of slavery, freedom spread slowly especially in those states far away from the capital and states that refused to acknowledge the loss of the south. Juneteenth Day originated in Black communities in Texas as a celebration. It was also called Freedom Day or Jubilee Day. In 2020 it became a nationally recognized celebration with major companies giving employees the day off. We should acknowledge this as our second Thanksgiving!
As we head into November during this unusual year, we should remember that Thanksgiving can be what we want it to be. Being thankful should not be focused on just one day out of the year.
Other researching news.
As I continue to follow up on leads and research, I noticed I had two new matches on my Family Finder DNA site both of them Broyles from Virginia. You might remember the story of Katherine Broyles Rainey. Katherine (Aunt Kate) was sold at a very young age to the Rainey family. She traveled to Eatonton, GA from Woodstock, VA leaving behind her brother Ambrose. Through stories from Aunt Ella and Roslyn, Kate always claimed that her father was a Broyles.
Kate Broyles Rainey
The Broyles (Breuel) family came to the Virginia colony in 1717. Head of the family was Johannes Breyhel or Breuel from Dußlingen, Württemberg (now Baden-Württemberg, Germany. They were traveling with a group of other German families enroute to Pennsylvania when they were kidnapped and forced to work as indentured servants in Virginia for Alexander Spottswood who was the governor of the Virginia colony. The area where they were taken in Virginia was known as Germanna and is located between Culpeper and Fredericksburg, VA. They were eventually freed as indentured servants and moved several miles west to Madison County, VA.
I have more research to do but once again family tales ring true!! I hope to find which Broyles family might have recorded Kate or Ambrose as property.
Please Vote! Our Ancestors Fought for this Right!
No matter what side of the aisle you sit on politically, imagine what our forebears must have felt as they fought for the vote (4th Amendment 1868) or to still be denied only to fight for protection to exercise that right (the 15th amendment 1870). Or as a female trying to get their voice heard (19th amendment 1920). So please honor their memory and vote.
The most important thing is that we are still here. Family is IMPORTANT as we share stories of the past and as we look to the future. We are an American tale.
Happy Researching! And have a HAPPY THANKSGIVING. T
