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WEKU
WEKU
Health
Scott Maucione

A landmark study opens a new possible way for Black Americans to trace their ancestry

The remains of Catoctin Furnace in Maryland as seen in 2020. Researchers have now analyzed the DNA of enslaved and free Black workers there, connecting them to nearly 42,000 living relatives. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Crystal Emory never knew much about where she came from. Family members took her from her mother for being in an interracial marriage in 1960s and 1970s, leaving her floating between homes. She spent time in an orphanage in Pennsylvania. These experiences, she says, helped instill a need to find out more about her history.

"I just always wanted to know who my family was, and more about myself," says Emory, 68, now retired from a career in IT. "I just started doing genealogy."

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