Welcome to the "Ethnic Origins" pages at martygrant.com. My ancestry,
like most Americans, is mixed. Many of my ancestors arrived on these
shores in the 1600's and 1700's from various parts of Western Europe
(primarily from England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales and Germany). My wife's
ancestors were from the same places, but also Norway, Switzerland, and
France.
In addition to my White "European" ancestry, I also have ancestors who
were darker skinned and of some mysterious origin. Some of them claim to
be "Black Dutch" or Portuguese (i.e. "Melungeon"). Some of them might be
Native American (i.e. Cherokee or some other nation), or part African
American (i.e. "Black"). I'm still trying to figure them all out.
My main purpose for creating these pages is to publish what I know
about my general European origins, as well as my Ethnic origins. Of
course, a task like this is never completed, so these pages will always be
under construction.
Also included on these pages are several census records (1790-1850)
from Western North Carolina for households containing "Free Persons of
Color" (FPC). These households were made up of people that the census
taker thought were other than "white". They might be former slaves, or
persons of African descent. They might be part Indian, or of any number of
Ethnic origins.
I've also attempted to document some of the "FPC" families that were
found in early census records of Western North Carolina, even though I'm
not related to them.