Gwynn's Island Project
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This website is dedicated to African Americans whose ancestral home place is Gwynn’s Island in Mathews County, Virginia
Gwynn's Island was home to generations of African Americans whose families were
enslaved
Information on this site will help Gwynn’s Island descendants reconnect their roots
and use the knowledge to pursue healing from the legacy of slavery and the atrocities that followed
SOURCE CREDIT: This website is built upon research by John Dixon in Black Americans on Gwynn's Island, published by Gwynn's Island Museum in 2002
PHOTO CREDIT: Family Reunion Photographer -- Debra Dilworth
SLAVERY
Slavery on Gwynn's Island began in 1635
In 1860 -- 3,008 people were held in bondage by 397 slave owners @ Mathews County
DISPOSSESSION
Due to White pressure, the entire Black community left Gwynn's Island by the end of 1920
RECLAMATION
This project reclaims history that was hidden for more than 100 years & culminates with a Black & White family reunion
This website is supported by OurBlackAncestry.com
Non-profit foundation dedicated to providing resources for African American genealogical research, preserving historic assets,
and healing wounds related to the legacy of slavery.
