Who Was Benjamin B Bruce?
I have a big unsolved mystery in my family tree. I am about as white as I can be. But, how did I end up with one percent of my DNA matching with people from Cameroon, the Congo, and Western Bantu Regions? I have taken two different DNA tests, and both show some African ethnicity, pretty far back. Where did that come from? And how might that knowledge change how I think about myself and my family?
My first step in trying to solve this mystery was figuring out which branch of the tree might be the source of my African ancestors. Lucky for me, both my parents are still alive, and I had each of them take a DNA test. In addition, at the time I first started looking into this mystery, my grandma, Evelyn Myers, was still alive, and I had her do the test too. My Dad’s parents both passed on before I had access to DNA testing, but he had a living aunt on his dad’s side and an uncle on his mom’s side. This was enough information to narrow it down.
My grandma Evelyn, who died ten years ago, was one of my favorite people in the world. She and my grandpap, Donald, lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and because Grandpap worked for the railroad, Grandma was able to take Amtrak to visit us in Wisconsin for free. We would meet her at the train station and she always had candy for us.
Every holiday Grandma Myers would get us thoughtful gifts, and always more candy. It was her love language. We were her only grandchildren, and she was so proud of us. I don’t think I ever told her that her DNA test came back with 3% African DNA, from Cameroon/Congo/Bantu and also Senegal.
Each census asks different questions, and almost every census asks about race. So the next place I looked was in the censuses for my grandma’s grandparents. My grandma was born Evelyn Roll, and her Roll grandfather’s parents both immigrated from the Alsace region of Germany. I have records for that. Her Roll grandmother was born Mary Burns, with Northern Irish roots, so I narrowed it down to her mom’s side.
Evelyn’s mother was born Alma Reeder, and Alma’s mother, Hannah Price, was born to Peter and Jane Price, who immigrated from Wales. So that narrowed it down to my great great grandfather, Charles Reeder, who was born in 1863 to Solomon Reeder and Virginia Elizbeth Bruce. The Reeder line goes back to Colonial Pennsylvania and every person is listed as white in the censuses. I looked in the census records and found that Virginia Bruce was born to Benjamin B Bruce and Julia Love, and Benjamin was listed in Virginia as “free colored” in 1830 and 1840, and “white” in 1850, 1860, and 1870 (West Virginia). Bingo.
So Benjamin B Bruce (born 1799) was white enough to pass as white in some of the censuses, but had enough African ancestry to be listed as “colored” in some of the censuses. He was also listed as “free,” and his profession was listed as “cooper.” He made barrels, a profession he passed on to his son-in-law Solomon Reeder. I found Benjamin’s will, and at the time of his death in 1872 he owned property that was passed on to his family, including $135 that was given to his daughter, my great great great grandmother, Virginia Elizabeth Reeder (nee Bruce).
To pass as white in 1850 Virginia, Benjamin probably had half or less African DNA. That might have given his grandchild, Charles Reeder, about 6–13% African DNA, and my grandma Evelyn 1.5 to 3% African DNA. This fits with my grandma’s DNA test. That makes my most recent African ancestor most likely my 5th or 6th great grandparent.
Beyond Benjamin and Julia, the trail goes cold. There are no documents, only listings in the family trees of other people, which can be unreliable. The censuses before 1850 only list heads of household and it becomes harder and harder to be certain that a particular census record fits a particular person. And there are no censuses available before 1790. So for the Colonial period, we rely on people’s family trees, written histories, and legal documents.
One other person’s tree has Benjamin having parents named James Bruce Jr (1780) and Sarah (1779). Benjamin’s middle name was either “Burley,” “Barly,” or “Bailey.” These are common last names — and many people of the time would be given the mother’s last name as their middle name. So perhaps Sarah’s last name was Burley, Barley, or Bailey.
Another person’s tree intriguingly has Benjamin’s birthplace listed as “Patrick Henry’s Plantation.” Wait, what? The guy who said “Give me liberty, or give me death!” had a plantation?
It is almost certain that even though he was listed as free in 1840, Benjamin would have had recent enslaved ancestors, and perhaps he was born enslaved. During the Colonial period, the vast majority of Africans who came to the Americas were brought here in slave ships.
Africans who were enslaved had their names taken away and were given the last name of their enslaver. Families were often separated, and children were sold off to other places. African languages and religions were forcibly replaced with English and Christianity. Their families and family histories were literally stolen from them. This is one of the reasons why I have hit a brick wall trying to find Benjamin’s story.
This is where my genealogical question intersects with the history of race and slavery in this country. Although there are a wealth of documents and family trees available for white colonists, people of African ancestry have next to nothing. If enslaved African people are listed on early censuses, they are tick marks and not names.
It is not lost on me that genealogy is a hobby that is mostly practiced by white people of European ancestry, like me. Throughout U.S. history, the necessary documentation for genealogists has been mostly attached to white people, especially white men.
The systematic erasure of non-white stories means that we end up having to generalize about the stories of enslaved ancestors. DNA helps somewhat, but without the documents it is hard to dial in enough to add a name to a family tree with any confidence. It is a privilege for me to have so many ancestors with lines traceable to the 1700s and beyond.
Enslaved people were valuable property in Colonial America. This means two things for white people like me who have African ancestry from that period. First, most mixed race children of that time were the product of a white male and a black female. Usually the white male owned the black female. Second, the relationship was likely non-consensual. White owners raped black women and girls, both to make more enslaved people and grow their wealth and because they could.
I want to distance myself from these realities. I grew up in Wisconsin, a state which fought to preserve the Union in the Civil War. I have white ancestors from Illinois and Pennsylvania who fought in the Civil War on the side of the Union. The Union victory effectively ended legal slavery in the U.S. I identify strongly with those parts of my family.
I can’t ignore my DNA.
I use my study of family history to hold up a mirror to myself and how my family and I were shaped by history. Sometimes I don’t like what I see in the mirror. I don’t like that I am descended from people who enslaved other people. I am also aware that I live in a country that systematically erased family connections for people held under slavery and considered my African ancestors less than human. But by looking in an honest mirror, I can begin to see a full picture of who I really am, and this puts me in a position to do something about it.
What can I do with my knowledge of my African ancestry? First, I can acknowledge the fact that I most likely am descended from a white person who owned black people. I will keep digging into this personal history. Second, I can learn the general history of that time period from multiple perspectives, especially what life might have been like for my enslaved ancestors. Third, I can work in the present to prevent further injustice to BIPOC. And lastly, I can support efforts to repair the damage to families done by slavery, knowing that at least one branch of my family directly benefited from the enslavement of others.
Dear readers, each of us has family history that is also connected to the history of the places our ancestors lived. Each month I take a dive into some piece of genealogical research, and I bring you along for the ride. I would love to help you with your family tree. Contact me to find out how to get started. <gaertner.andy122@gmail.com>
Photo below:
Gravestone of Benjamin B Bruce and Julia Love, Sand Hill Methodist Cemetery, West Virginia
Photo found on the Find-a-Grave website
