Woman discovers Black American patriot ancestor

MORRISVILLE, N.C. — Genealogy research led a North Carolina woman back to the Revolutionary War and her ancestor who was a Black patriot.

“I did a lot of genealogy on the general public, but I did not have the time to focus on my family,” Saundra Russ Cropps said.

What You Need To Know

Saundra Russ Cropps recently discovered her ancestor is Black American patriot who fought in the Revolutionary War

It took Cropps seven years to find her ancestor Harris

She used ancestry.com and Family Search

Cropps is a part of the Wake County Genealogical Society and was recently inducted into the Society of the First African Families of English America organization in Philadelphia

Cropps is a Durham native who loves history and genealogy. As a member of the Wake County Genealogical Society, she decided she wanted to use her research skills to learn about her own family history.

“By doing my grandmother’s, who is my father’s mother, by doing her genealogy, I realized that her father was named Jesse Harris, his father was named Jesse Harris. And my patriot’s name is Jesse Harris,” Cropps said.

That’s how she found out about her ancestor Jesse Harris, a Black patriot with the Continental Army who fought in the Revolutionary War.

“I had to be really careful when I did my research and pay attention to the birth and death dates so I could distinguish between the three. And as a result, I was able to connect back to Jesse Harris, the Revolutionary War patriot,” Cropps said.

By using ancestry.com and Family Search, it took Cropps almost seven years to find her ancestor, a challenge that many Black Americans can never overcome because of the lack of documentation of their enslaved ancestors.

According to the Museum of the American Revolution, between 5,000 and 8,000 people of African descent served with the Continental Army. Many are often forgotten.

“There are ways to get around the fact that census may not have included us, but just a dash or a slash. And oftentimes you have to look up the slave holder. But there are ways to get around it,” Cropps said.

Research and resilience, that’s what it took for Cropps to find her ancestor. And now this Fourth of July will feel a little different.

“We should embrace it because, you know, the United States history is our history, and our history is the United States history. And you can’t separate them. You can’t erase it,” Cropps said.

Because of Cropps’ ancestor, Jesse Harris, Cropps was inducted in the Society of the First African Families of English America organization in Philadelphia.

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