"Honoring Our Ancestors: Haley Family of Roots Fame Joins the DNA Game,
by Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak
Chris Haley
Many of you have probably heard or read about the entry of Ancestry into the genetic genealogy world. And some of you may have also heard that one of the first in line to get tested by DNA Ancestry was Chris Haley, Director of the Study of the Legacy of Slavery in Maryland at the Maryland State Archives and –oh, yeah–the nephew of Alex Haley.
The Haley Line
While we strongly associate the Haley name with “Roots,” the classic book that has inspired so many avid genealogists, that particular book isn’t actually about the Haley line. But “Queen,” a later book by Alex Haley and David Stevens, gives a brief accounting of this branch of the family tree:
“Following the common custom among slaves, Alec had taken the name Haley from his true Massa, although his real father’s name was Baugh. William Baugh was an overseer . . .”
Alec was the grandfather of Alex and the great-grandfather of Chris. And his father had been an overseer. So to the best of the family’s knowledge, the progenitor of the Haley line was of European origin, not African."
Continued here: http://blogs.ancestry.com/circle/?p=2025
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