An Appalachian Afro-American Family

families: traditions An Appalachian Afro-American Family John E. Fleming When I was a graduate student at Howard University, I proposed a study of blacks in Appalachia. My request for funds was turned down because the scholars reviewing the proposal said that sources on blacks in the region were nonexistent and, consequently, Appalachian blacks did not have a history. As a black Appalachian, I knew how wrong that judgment was, and I was determined to proceed with or without funding. I completed my dissertation on the social adjustment of blacks in a Western Carolina county following the Civil War. I would like here to give you a glimpse into the life of one Appalachian family as it spreads across two centuries of life in the hills. Through the use of rich family histories , we can document the history of blacks in the region, illustrating how black Appalachians are different from blacks in other areas of the country and how these differences have contributed to the cultural diversity of African Americans . Simultaneously, we can gain greater understanding of how blacks in different regions are both similar and different , and we can also gain some sense of those cultural elements that make us all Americans. During the hot muggy days of summer in the mountains of Western North Carolina , I spent hours listening to my grandfather talk about the past. He would reminisce about the good times and the bad times, about growing up in southern Appalachia two decades after the Civil War. My grandfather was retired and had time to spend thinking about the past. His children were too busy making a living , which left his grandchildren, who were anxious to be entertained. So there we sat, on the steps of the front porch of the family house in the cool shadows of the overhanging shade trees, listening, letting our imaginations run wild. Dee Pa, as we affectionately called, him, began to speak of slavery days, a subject many older blacks chose to ignore . He would tell us of Tamishan, our African ancestor, a bright, intelligent man who spoke a number of languages—including Arabic, which he could also read. He was said to have been a prince in his native Africa, prior to being classified as an unruly slave in the rugged foothills of Western North Carolina. My grandfather said that Tamishan refused to bend to the will of a slaveholder and was considered a troublemaker. Anxious to rid himself of this intelligent malcontent, the slaveholder sent Tamishan back to Africa in exchange for four Africans. Refusing to sell his brothers into slavery, Tamishan exchanged the equivalent in gold. This story was repeated numerous times throughout my youth. My grandfather died in 1960, some twelve years before I began searching the history of the Fleming family and our African ancestor, Tamishan. I began with the unknown, by exploring oral traditions within my own family. I began with a series of interviews of family members. As part of the clan, I conducted extensive interviews of family members over several weeks, the data from which formed the basis for my research. Over a year was spent in 9 national, state, and local archives, in order to piece together over 210 years of Afro-American family history. After spending months going through census records, government documents and family papers, I accidentally found a booklet by Thomas George Walton— Sketches of the Pioneers in Burke County History, Being Reminiscences and Sketches, Prepared by the Late Colonel T. G. Walton for the Old Morganton Herald. My grandfather had believed that there was some written evidence which would verify the family tradition of our African origins. This written documentation was never shared with my grandfather. From this written source, oral tradition, and other materials, I was able to piece together the early family history. The family had its origins in West Africa. Practically nothing is known of it prior to the arrival of the first African, Tamishan. He claimed to have been born of a more noble race than the Guinea Negro, and said that he was not only educated but was also a leader among his people. He could speak and write Arabic and several...