Who was Lou Pope Cumbo?
Louisa “Lou” Pope Cumbo was my great-great-great grandmother. She was born around 1832 in Northampton County, North Carolina to a free family of color. Her fat...
Tag: Genealogy
Discussion: Cumbos as Lumbee
There’s been a substantive discussion on my Cumbos as Lumbee Indian blog post both in the blog’s comments section as well as in the various genealogy comm...
Who was Bug Cumbo?
Who was Bug Cumbo? He was my great-great-great grandfather. I never knew anything about him until I started tracing my Cumbo ancestry. My family’s knowle...
A Mixed-Race, Mixed-Marriage
My great-great grandparents Edward Biggs and Florence Cumbo were both listed as Colored on their 1890 marriage license. So why am I classifying their union as a...
The Cumbos as Lumbee Indian
Bloggers note: Lumbee is a modern day term. This blog is about Cumbo ancestors whose descendants currently make up the modern Lumbee tribe. Who are the Lumbee...
Cumbos as Free People of Color
If I were to ask you, “Who were free people of color in America?” how would you answer? If you were to survey say 100 Americans with a reasonable gr...
Charting Cumbo Migration Patterns
In a previous post I explored the origins of the name Cumbo and uncovered its beginnings in Africa and Italy. In this post I will explore Cumbo residence and m...
Were the Cumbos Melungeon?
The origins of the American Melungeon have always been considered mysterious. Melungeons are generally known as a group of families from relatively unknown but ...
My Cumbo Ancestry Video
About a year ago the Ancestry products team reached out to me and invited me to record a testimonial video for a chance to star in an Ancestry TV spot. I thoug...