A fascinating read and piece of history I didn’t know. Appreciated some of the background on race identity. Wish there had been more clarity on what was known/passed through oral history and what was the author’s imaginings to humanize the ancestors.

What an amazing story! Rachel Jamison Webster does a wonderful job in telling her own discovery story, intertwined with the story of her ancestors. The historical information is extremely important for us to know and learn and am glad that she has made this available for us. Her own personal journey was also interesting to learn about as she went through this process. ( )

Rachel Jamison Webster is the author of Benjamin Banneker and Us: Eleven Generations of an American Family . Webster discovers from genealogical research and DNA analysis that she is an indirect descendant of Benjamin Banneker, an accomplished 18th century mathematician, Alamac author, clockmaker, surveyor, and an correspondent of Thomas Jefferson. Benjamin Banneker was also Black, descended from enslaved and indentured peoples. This genealogical relationship came as a surprise to Webster. At some point down the Banneker family tree, the branch leading to her had begun passing as white. Webster becomes close to several relatives from the branches that had continued on as Black people. Webster desires to shed more light on Banneker's accomplishments, as the biographical information on him is relatively thin.

Rather than being a outright biography of Banneker and his immediate family, this book is also interwoven with the history of how African Americans have been treated and perceived since the days of slavery in America. Webster worked on her research along with her Black relatives during the Covid pandemic and Black Lives Matter movement. Including this as an element in her story is relevant, and will continue to be.

Researching and writing a book such as this would not be an easy task. Webster succeeds for the most part, except for a couple approaches that are probably more about my personal tastes rather than her execution. She includes a lot of what she considers narrative non-fiction regarding her ancestors, but to me felt more like "historic fiction". I could not always discern what really happened, and what did not, when she uses this approach. She also includes a considerable amount of word-for-word conversations between herself and her relatives. I felt that doing this made the book longer than it could have been. But what they had to say was important.

Overall, however, this is an important book that adds to the dialogue of a portion of American history that has continued, and continues, to be unjust in many ways. ( )

After a DNA test, the (white) author learns that she has African blood and goes on a quest to learn about her ancestors. She manages to track down some "cousins" who have kept track of ancestry, and learns that she is descended from a sister of Benjamin Banneker, a prominent black man in revolutionary days, who corresponded with Thomas Jefferson, and was involved in the surveying of Washington DC. They have researched to a white indentured girl, who married a black man. The history is recounted, sometimes novelized by necessity, along with alternate chapters describing the people she meets as she follows the trail and the further research that they do.
This was interesting, and a fairly easy read, except that the characters were difficult to follow. So many had the same names, and it wasn't always clear which the text was referring to. At one point, i became confused, as it seemed that a couple had taken the woman's last name, and it was never addressed. Some of the conversations she discussed with her cousins seemed difficult to follow and didn't seem to advance the story at all.
I'm not sorry I read it, as it highlights the silly racial issues we see. I would bet that there have been a lot more "passing" over the years, and I think some people would be surprised to learn their own history. ( )

I received this book for free from the Early Reviewers program in exchange for an honest review. I am fascinated with genealogy, and have connected with many distant cousins in doing my own research, so this book was right up my alley. It's particularly interesting in telling the story of free African Americans in the days before and after the Revolution, especially Benjamin Banneker himself, who I'd not known about previously. The author descends from a branch of the family that passed as white, and grapples with what that means for her ability to tell this story, and her sometimes fraught relationships with her Black cousins. A fascinating read. Strongly recommended for those interested in history, genealogy, and the role of race in American history and culture. ( )