June is National Caribbean-American Heritage Month. I have been researching my ancestry and thought this is the perfect time to share my findings. The dynamic of my family really intrigues me and I’m always wanting to learn more about my heritage. I truly embrace my culture and try to share what I have learned and am continuously learning with my children. I’m a first generation American born to two West Indian parents, both born in Jamaica. My mother is the result of a Blasian (Black & Asian), Maroon mother and Black & German father. I’m currently on a personal journey exploring my maternal side and will soon follow up with my research and findings on my paternal side. I intend to chronicle this journey and share it with friends, family and my online community. If you are interested in doing the same thing for your family, I can share tips and information that have helped me. So I’ll begin with my maternal Great Grandmother…
My maternal Great-Grandmother was named Ida Carroll and she was born in Jamaica and descended from the maroon background. Maroons were and are present day decendents of slaves who were brought to Jamaica from West Africa. Maroons gained and were recognized as independently governed people living within the already established government of Jamaica which still exists today. My maternal Great-Grandfather Tom (Mai Jung) Young was Chinese, of the Hakka People and came from Dongguan a village outside of Canton, China. He came to the west in the early nineteenth century among laborers solicited from China during the time that the Panama Canal was being built. He subsequently contracted Malaria and was shipped to Jamaica by a hospital ship. My Great-Grandfather was placed in the Chinese Sanitarium to be treated and this is where his life in Jamaica began.
My Great-Grandmother and Great-Grandfather met by chance. Ida Carroll lived in the country (Trelawny Town, Jamaica) and would go into town to take care of business frequently and that’s how she met Tom Mai Jung. My Great-Grandfather was in the Chinese Sanitarium for some time and even spent time there frequently after he was released. My Great-Grandparents were never legally married but, they were recognized by common law marriage and had six children together. Three girls and three boys … (Tom, Akim, Asang, Daisy, Gladys, and Iris Young). The girls were all named after flowers and Iris Louise was the youngest and my grandma! My maternal Grandfather Herbert George’s dad… John Edmund Gunter was a white German Jew that came to Jamaica after fleeing from the Auschwitz Nazi Concentration Camp.
John Edmund Gunter was a Barrister and was heavily into politics. He did so much pro bono work that he died a pauper. His obituary read that he was “One of the BEST known of our legal practitioners” He fled Jamaica due to political controversy and went to Belize where he made a life for himself. He later returned to Jamaica where he returned to work but, died suddenly. He’s partly responsible for starting the Poppy movement in Jamaica that still is recognized to this day. Poppy Day was created to celebrate veterans that fought in World War II. I don’t know much about my Grandfathers mom but, she remarried and my family ended up with the hyphenated sir name. I am still trying to put pieces together but, I am very proud of all the information I have already recovered with the help of relatives and am able to piece together. I plan to explore further with ancestry.com and/or 23andme.com to get more detailed information and trace my ancestry.
Funny thing, my Grandmother Iris Louise Young met my Grandfather, Herbert George Anderson-Gunter at a Bashment (party) in Kingston, Jamaica. He had to get through my aunt Daisy Mae who was the eldest to get to her because my grandmother was the baby, but once he did everything was good. My mom Carol Marie named after her grandmother Ida Carroll and my Uncle Jeffrey Anderson-Gunter were a result of their union. My grandfather was a master joiner in the art of wood work, I remember him carving beautiful figurines from pieces of wood. He made all of his own furniture. I still have some of my grandfathers beautiful carvings. Now, we’re getting more current to where I enter the family tree. Both my parents relocated to the United States as teenagers, and met in their young adult life. My father used to work in his uncle’s Jamaican store in the Bronx, my mom and grandma used to frequent that store and that’s when it all started…
I’m going to stop this trip down memory lane for now because I’m sure I can go on forever but, I’m going to share more stories about my Caribbean-American Heritage throughout this month for Caribbean-American Heritage Month. The journey of my ancestors is amazing to me and gives me a good record of exactly where I’m from! Next Up… How I was raised and grew up in a household with Jamaican parents and grand parents. Stay Tuned… Have you ever traced your roots? If so, were you surprised with your findings?