Posts Tagged With: kanuri ancestry

Christiana's Life Narrative

2025-Jul-17

The remarkable story of Christiana Long, born in England in 1832 to a Kanuri woman from Africa and an impoverished English sawyer, whose descendants concealed their African heritage for over a century until DNA testing in 2002 revealed their connection to the Kanuri people of Lake Chad.

In early 1853, one year after their marriage, Luke and Christiana set sail from England; however, rather than sailing west across the Atlantic with the other Saints going to Utah, Luke and Christiana sailed south around Africa bound for Australia. It appears, that Luke and Christiana had decided they would conceal Christiana's African heritage, and they apparently decided to sail the long way around the world to Utah rather than travel in the company of any English members of the Church who might know Christiana's true heritage.

Calabar and the Weight of Chains (pt 2)

2025-Jul-10

A raw account of visiting Calabar’s colonial-era museum—where the brutal history of the Middle Passage becomes personal, and a beautiful city transforms into a site of sorrow.

Calabar was the slave port through which the largest number of all African slaves were shipped. . . .Our FAMILY passed through that same spot where I was so revolted last night. . . .Unfortunately, what until last night was a beautiful place has now become something to despise.

Calabar’s Ghosts: Tracing My Family Through a Slave Port (pt 1)

2025-Jul-07

A reflection on visiting Calabar’s slave museum—where grief, ancestral connection, and an unexpected conversation with a historian bridge past and present.

As we entered the museum, I had a sudden revulsion, as it dawned on me that this was likely the port from which the slaves from Kanuri land would have been shipped. . . .Tonight, for the first time, I felt a gulf between me and the Africans. The gulf was simply that we were looking at the same exhibits but our experiences were from opposite ends: my family left as slaves while theirs stayed behind.

Returning Home to Borno

2025-Jul-03

Nearly 200 years after my family was carried out as slave, I returned home to the Kanem-Borno empire.

I have finally made it to Maiduguri, Borno State, which is the main city in Kanuri-land here in northeast Nigeria. This is the area to which we likely trace through Christiana's line. I am rather at a loss of words to describe Maiduguri or what it means to be here.

Discovering My African Ancestry: A DNA Journey

2025-Jun-30

A personal account of uncovering African heritage through DNA testing and oral family history, and exploring the historical and social implications of mixed ancestry.

In my case, the mitochondrial DNA test revealed a match with the DNA samples taken from the Kanuri tribe of northern Nigeria. This DNA marker is a maternal marker, and it is passed from mother to daughter. This means that somewhere back on my direct matrilineal lineage, I have an African (Kanuri) grandmother and a European grandfather.