Priscilla (ancester of Ainsley H)

[Carla]

I noted on the Ainsley Harriet programme that whilst his gt-gt Grandfather was a white man called James Harriet, his gt-gt Grandmother was a black woman named Priscilla (no surname given) and that his gt-grandfather was conceived sometime after the end of slavery. There was no explanation as to why this white man was still having "his wicked way" with a black woman or who she would have been? Presumably she was 'free' by then and so did she do it for money, was she forced or were they actually affectionate? So saying that he want to an estate where his ancestors were both owners and enslaved (on the same estate) may not have been technically true I guess - in the case of the derilict property that he looked at, the Harriet estate. Am I right in all this or getting completely confused?

[Starkissed]

It's a shame they didn't delve into the relationship more. The odd thing though is that James is descended from slaves as his father was mixed race. So maybe James and Priscilla had a genuine relation as he could relate to her through his on ancestry?

[Carla]

Ah, I hadn't realised that James was mixed race. I must have missed that bit. Maybe that explains it. But it would have been nice to know anyway.

[Starkissed]

In those days they had terms for black mixed people depending on how dark or light they are and their parentage. They ranged from mulatto (1/2), quadroon (1/4) with mustee being the lightest, mustees are 1/8 black which is what James father was. If a mustee had a child with a white person their child would be considered white. James mother was a white lady so therefore he was considered white.

[mand]

Just watched the programme again and I also wondered about "Priscilla" . Looked on net and James Gordon Harriott married her c1843 and went on to have at least 11 children with Ebenezer being no 10 per the IGI. Looks the relationship was real