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Acknowledgments

An endeavor such as this volume cannot be achieved without the support, goodwill, and shared knowledge that characterizes a vibrant community of scholars. I would like to begin, therefore, by acknowledging my gratitude toward the scholars of Indian Ocean studies and African diaspora studies who helped me on the journey of this book’s realization. The hospitality that these scholars offered me, via suggestions for sources, reading drafts, and countless discussions, reflects the warmth and enthusiasm typical of the scholarly milieu of African studies in our era.

This book would not have been possible without the generous correspondence and suggestions of Dr. Lorena Walsh and others of the Williamsburg Colonial Foundation. In addition to the critical input from Dr. Walsh, I received a fellowship from the Williamsburg Colonial Foundation that allowed me uninterrupted time to do research at the Rockefeller Library and the libraries of the College of William and Mary.

Professor and scholar Sulayman Nyang was perhaps the first to discuss the project with me and to join Sheila Thomas and myself on an early field trip to rural Maryland. Thanks to Professor Nyang, and to Professor Robert Edgar of Howard University for his observations on Cape Town and his facilitation of contact between Malagasy researchers and the Gregory clan. My gratitude is also expressed here to historian Michael Gomez, who commented on my ideas for the research and offered me encouragement in the first stages of the project. Paul Finkelman, from the Albany Law School, was very helpful and made me think harder about the effects of the post-1808 illegal slave trade to the United States. Thanks to Mustafa Toure and Moulaye Keita of Dakar, Senegal, for research assistance, and to Judith Scales Trent, Alice Morton, Sylviane Diouf, Michael Lambek, and Erin Augis for readings of earlier versions. Pier Larson, Richard B. Allen, and James Armstrong were encouraging and generous in their commentaries and guidance to sources. I also thank Joseph Miller and fellow participants for fruitful hours at the National Endowment for the Humanities “Roots” seminar at the University of Virginia in 2007. Special thanks must go to the anonymous reviewers’ excellent critiques and suggestions, to the editors at Ohio University Press, and to Director Gillian Berchowitz for her faith in this project and her expert advice. I thank Mary Ann French, Jennifer Yanco, and Christine McVay, who kept me working for better ways to say what I sought to share. Thanks also to the Morgan family for the use of their ancestor’s image for the book.

This volume was preceded by a monograph that was the result of a memorable and unique scholar-community collaboration that took place in Ashland, Virginia, with the assistance of Professor Reber Dunkel of Randolph-Macon College, local historian Ann Cross, and the Clark, Winston, and Gordon families of Ashland and Hanover, Virginia. Through their efforts we received support from the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, the Hanover County Black Heritage Society, and the Hanover County Historical Society to put on an exciting community event that brought diverse people together who shared a common history and the desire to learn more about the state’s ties to Madagascar. Dr. Diedre Badejo assured support from Kent State University’s Department of Pan-African Studies. At the Library of Congress, Joanne Zeller took the initiative to organize our Madagascar ancestor workshop. Likewise, the librarians at the Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, Virginia, were of immense help. The Embassy of Madagascar staff, particularly Eulalie Ravelosoa, were consistently interested and supportive collaborators, and provided an invitation to the Gordon, Clark, and Winston descendants to the embassy for meaningful and fraternal evenings of discussion and Malagasy hospitality. My gratitude is here expressed to them, as well as to colleagues at the National Archives, and at the University of Antananarivo, in Madagascar, particularly to Dr. Julie Ratsimandrara, chair at the Center for Language Study of the Malagasy Academy.

Among those who have been critical to my understanding of Madagascar, Emmanuel Tehindrazanarivelo, is here sincerely acknowledged for his insightful and challenging discussions, his critical input in field trips in Madagascar and Frederick, Maryland, and his leadership in the Library of Congress sponsored Malagasy Ancestors project. Michael Lambek, Gwyn Campbell, and other colleagues at the Madagascar Workshop at the University of Toronto were very helpful in offering their commentaries and remarks on a working paper on the subject. My thanks also go to my maternal aunt Sheila Thomas, who led the way in the Mahomet family history research, followed by journalist and Columbia University professor and cousin, June Cross. I am indebted to librarians at the Virginia Historical Society, the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia and at the Library of Congress, including but not limited to Angel Baptiste and Joanne Zeller. I extend my thanks to members of the Washington, D.C. Genealogical Association, and countless others who shared their stories with me. Finally, the completion of this work would not have been possible without the critical support and stimulating scholarly discussions of Andrea Smith, Ana Luhrs, and other colleagues at Lafayette College, where I have received funds for the completion of the manuscript and, as important, intellectual sustenance. I would like to acknowledge John Clark, data visualization GIS librarian of Skillman Library, for his expertise and discussions about maps, geography, and databases. My thanks go out to all of you, and to all the participants in this project, which has stretched over many years and many miles. I apologize for the unintended omission of any particular person who has helped me along the way.

I am very grateful for the awesome patience of my sons, Aziz, Pap Souleye, and Habib. They encouraged me through all phases of the research and book and gave me the space to think and write even as they engaged me with their own projects. They have been, as always, an inspiration.