Episode 477 - Reunion! Descendants of the GU272 Enslaved Families of Georgetown University Get Together; What Grandmother’s Asylum Records Told One Genie

Host Scott Fisher opens the show with David Allen Lambert, Chief Genealogist of the New England Historic Genealogical Society and AmericanAncestors.org. The guys begin with some encouraging news from our friends at MyHeritage.com, based in Israel. Then, David shares the story of a recent discovery, prior to the war, of an ancient burial in Israel. 23andMe has made some very concerning news as hackers have accessed their site to obtain information on roughly one million DNA testers of Ashkenazi Jewish descent. The hacker’s intentions are not known. In Norway, a woman lost an earring, and in the search for it found something much more interesting. Hear what it was. For some people, it has been a long time since hearing the voice of a parent. Hear what one man recently discovered that gave him back those voices… from 1946! Then, hear about what Conde Naste Traveler magazine has to say about the most haunted places in the US.

Next, Fisher visits with Julie Hawkins Ennis of Maryland. Julie learned in recent years of her family connections to the so-called “GU-272,” the 272 people, identified so far, who had been enslaved at Georgetown University and then sold to buyers in Louisiana in 1838. The sale of these people bailed GU out of financial troubles. The story, which broke in 2016, has led to massive research to identify all the principals in the affair, as well as as many descendants as can be found. Recently, Julie played a key role in the organization of the first reunion of these descendants.

Then, Julianne Mangin talks with Fisher about her finds in a mental institution in Connecticut. She knew about her grandmother… but not all the others! Hear about Julianne’s journey to learn of her family’s trials and particularly the impact they had on her mother.

David then returns for another round of Ask Us Anything.

That’s all this week on Extreme Genes, America’s Family History Show!