DNA helps tell story of first lady's forebears

[lynne]

47. The 1870 Census is full of surprises -

- after the war with slavery gone, I found that my g-g-grandfather had left my g-g-grandmother and their children. The 1870 census showed Grandma and children living with her mother and no mention of my Grandfather. He didn't own any property but was a blacksmith and had slaves working in his blacksmith shop prior to the war. He fought for the Confederacy until he was wounded, his whereabouts after being wounded are difficult to trace.

I started looking in neighboring counties and found him in 1870. He was living a rather secluded lifestyle, in a spot that was mostly mountains. And he was living with the same people that had been his slaves prior to the war. The 1870 census indicated they were working for him.

Not sure what the relationship was between them. Friends? Co-workers? Had he fallen in love with one of the females and wanted to be with her? Whatever it was, it was enough to make him leave his wife and family. They certainly didn't have to be living together but it was obvious that they had all moved to another location and were living as a family-type unit.

The aftermath of the Civil War is not as easily explained or understood as one would think.