Author’s ‘story of Black resilience’ traces family in town
GREENWICH — Dennis Richmond Jr. was watching the miniseries “Roots” with his father in 2008 when he was 13 years old, transfixed by the story of an African American family from slavery times to the modern era.
Richmond knew his family had deep roots of its own, though he knew little more than the basic outline.
“And I thought, ‘Wow, I probably had family living during that time,’ ” the budding genealogist recalled. “I didn’t know who they were, but I was curious to know.”
Little did he know how much there was to find out.
The young researcher began delving into his extended family tree in Greenwich and Westchester County, N.Y., over the past decade and came up with a remarkable story of his ancestors in a richly detailed form. The amateur genealogist has combined that research into a recently published
coming-of-age memoir, “He Spoke at My School,” a narrative that recounts the bullying he endured in middle school, his passion for education, what life is like as a young Black man, and his mission to promote Historically Black Colleges and Universities like the one he attended.
Along the way, he met quite a few people from Greenwich who look like him — including a greatgreat-grandfather with exceptional drive and determination, and his enslaved sixth-great-grandmother, “Peg,” whose deed of sale he obtained. The deed was from Daniel Lyon to Nathaniel Merritt Jr. She was later freed from bondage in 1800, and like many formerly enslaved men and women who adopted the names of their previous masters, her descendants took the surname of Merritt, after the prominent Connecticut family whose name was also bestowed on the parkway that runs through southern Connecticut.
Richmond’s work testifies to the new energy coming into the field of family research, part of a wave of younger genealogical enthusiasts pouring over computerized records and census documents. Spurred on by the growth of websites such as Ancestry.com and the popularity of television shows like “Finding Your Roots” hosted by Harvard Professor Henry Lewis Gates Jr., it is driving a generation of young people to connect to the past through genealogy.
Richmond, 25, a resident of Yonkers, N.Y., said he got hooked after he found the names of the parents of his great-grandmothers.
“That was it for me,” he recalled. “What else is there for me to find out? I’ve been doing it ever since . ... I wanted to go back as far as I could, then I wanted to start building the lives of my ancestors, so I had a better understanding. What did they look like? Where did they live?”
Besides doing work on computerized databases, Richmond hit the archives and spent many hours in Greenwich Town Hall. He found the story to be one of durability and triumph, and particularly relevant at a time when there is a national focus on the hardships experienced by the African-American community.
“I think in this climate, it’s a great story, a story of Black resilience,” he said.
Meeting his ancestors across generations in the form of land records and old newspaper clippings created a powerful bond, he said. He found them to be determined and resourceful, with a strong dedication to education. One ancestor stood out in particular: John Sherman Merritt, his greatgreat-grandfather born in Greenwich in 1889. He married in 1909, and was determined that his wife would never have to work. That meant he would have to provide the income for her and the four children they raised through his own labor.
“So for every child, he picked up a new job,” Richmond said, and he eventually worked as a chimney sweep, school custodian, painter and house cleaner. It was a punishing load, and Merritt went to an early grave at the age of 31.
Richmond was struck by his family’s constant desire to own land and homes — “Land ownership was huge, it was always about owning a home.” It was difficult for Blacks to buy housing when restrictions prevented even affluent African-American professionals from buying outside a few select neighborhoods in the suburbs in the 19th and most of the 20th centuries. Owning property, they realized, was the way to maintain wealth and independence across generations, and they were resourceful in accomplishing that, Richmond said.
The research uncovered by Richmond also highlights how much more of a diverse history Greenwich has than is generally supposed. The young author has been collaborating with another researcher, his distant cousin Teresa Vega, who has filled in some of the blanks of the non-white and Native American communities in Greenwich through the centuries.
“I know, without a doubt, that our ancestors are now finally smiling down on us knowing that there is power in numbers,” Vega wrote on her blog about her fifth cousin.
Richmond graduated from Claflin University in South Carolina, one of the roughly 100 historically Black colleges and universities around the nation. He has become an ambassador for the HBCU, speaking at many schools around the metropolitan region — hence the title of his memoir, “He Spoke at My School.” Richmond hopes to give a presentation at Greenwich High School in the not-too-distant future, and he is planning a career in education after obtaining a master’s degree in education from Sarah Lawrence University in Bronxville, N.Y.
He said the historically Black schools, which admit students of all races, offered a good education and imbued graduates with a sense of responsibility to give back to their communities. They also have the best breakfast options a student can get anywhere in the country, he notes in his book.
Richmond has also been feeling the sense of obligation as he pursued his research, knowing what his ancestors accomplished through the years.
“Because they had done so much for me, I had to continue the legacy,” he said, and recalling the labors of his great-greatgrandfather, “Why wouldn’t I want to work at least half as hard as he did?”
“I wanted to go back as far as I could, then I wanted to start building the lives of my ancestors, so I had a better understanding. What did they look like? Where did they live?”
Dennis Richmond Jr., on tracing his family tree to his African American ancestors in Greenwich