The Black Patriots Project is working to uncover the history of African American soldiers who fought in the Revolutionary War. Dymond Bush, a librarian and member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, discovered she was a direct descendant of two Black Patriots who fought in the war.
Uncovering Hidden History
Bush spent years researching her family tree and found that one of her ancestors, Michael Anthony, was a free Black man who fought in Rhode Island’s 1st Regiment. Another ancestor, Ishmael Titus, was an enslaved person who was sold to a man in North Carolina and later enlisted in the Continental Army to fight in his place.
Taryn Kennedy, a Research Specialist for African American Genealogy with the DAR, said that researching the history of Black Patriots can be difficult due to a lack of documentation. Many enslaved people did not have birth or death certificates, and were often listed in deeds and wills as property.
Despite these challenges, the Black Patriots Project is working to uncover the stories of these forgotten soldiers. The project has dedicated teams of researchers who are working to uncover more information about the Black Patriots and their contributions to the war.
The DAR has a section on their website with tips on how to research Patriots of Color, and Kennedy recommends talking to older family members about names and stories as a good place to start when researching your family tree.
Original reporting: KRDO (Colorado Springs metro) — read the source article.
