Ancestor trouble : a reckoning and a reconciliation Maud Newton

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Newton, Maud, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Newton, Maud.

Newton, Maud--Family.

Newton family.

Genealogy.

Genetic genealogy--United States.

Genetic genealogy.

Racism--United States.

Racism.

United States--Race relations.

United States.

Families.

Race relations.

Genre:

Autobiography.

Biography.

Autobiographies.

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xviii, 378 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, genealogical table ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Random House, [2022]

Summary:

"Maud Newton's ancestors have vexed and fascinated her since she was a girl. Her mother's father, who came of age during the Great Depression in Texas, was supposedly married thirteen times, and survived being shot in the stomach by one of his wives. His father purportedly killed a man in the street with a hay hook, and later died in a mental institution. On her father's side, a Massachusetts ancestor was accused of being a witch, who cast sickness on her neighbor's ox and was later tried in court for causing the death of a child. Maud's father had a master's in aerospace engineering on scholarship from an Ivy League university and was valedictorian of his law school class; he also viewed slavery as a benevolent institution that should never have been disbanded, and would paint over the faces of brown children in her storybooks. He was obsessed with maintaining the purity of his family bloodline, which he could trace back to the days of the Revolutionary War. Her mother was a whirlwind of charisma and passions that could become obsessions; she kept over thirty cats and birds in a tiny two-bedroom apartment, and later started a church in her living room, where she would perform exorcisms. Maud's parents' marriage was acrimonious, their divorce a relief. But the meeting of their lines in her was something she could not shake. She signed up for an online account and began researching her genealogy. She found records of marriages and trials, wills in which her ancestors gave slaves to their spouses and children. The search took over her life. But as she dabbled in DNA testing and found herself sunk in census archives at 1 o'clock in the morning, it was unclear to her what she was looking for. She wanted a truth that would set her free, in a way she hadn't identified yet. This book seeks to understand why the practice of genealogy has become a multi-billion-dollar industry in contemporary America, while also mining the secrets and contradictions of one singularly memorable family history"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Pt. 1. Genealogy. A doorway

Not forgotten

Like a lenticular print

Pt. 2. Genetic Genealogy. Skeletons and magnolias

Family secrets

DNA sleuthing

A universal family tree

Taking a bite

Pt. 3. Nature and Nurture. It skips a generation

An impulse to leap

The idea of heredity

Genes expressing themselves

Pt. 4. Physicality. Grandma's eyes

The family face

Mugshots from DNA

Pt. 5. Temperament. Grudging kinship

Chasing the dream

Emotional recurrences

Pt. 6. Inheritance. Heirlooms and disinheritance

Monstrous bequests

Not racist

Disconnection

Unacknowledged remains

Pt. 7. Spirituality. The witch

Generational curses

Veneration

Lineage repair

Pt. 8. Creativity. The namesake

Beneficial and malignant creativity

Roots.

Notes:

Includes bibliographic references (pages 331-364) and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Newton, Maud. Ancestor trouble.

ISBN:

9780812997927

0812997921

OCLC:

1259585367