Moonstreet
Proud Member
I found this Discover the captivating legacy of Michael Jackson, the “King of Pop,” and his enigmatic French ancestral roots that continue to spark curiosity. on another forum and I decided to do a bit of a deep dive in Michaels' paternal family tree.
This is a summary of that article from the other forum, I didnt write this.
I have used the follow colour codes
Black Text = French Huguenot Plantation Owners
Black - - - - - - - = Legally Married French Huguenot Plantation Owners
Black | = Child of Legally Married French Huguenot Plantation Owners
Red Text = Enslaved People
Red - - - - - - - = Enslaved People Relationship
Red | = Child of Enslaved People
Brown Text = Free Black American People
Yellow - - - - - - = Legally Married Free Black American People
Yellow | = Child of Legally Married Free Black American People
This is a summary of that article from the other forum, I didnt write this.
- The family always believed that their ancestor July "Jack" Gayle was born to a Native American father. But turns out he was in fact the son of his French slave owner, James Joel Richbourg.
- The article points out that July still could have had Native ancestry from his mother, but since he was born into slavery we know his mother was definitely at least partially Black.
- The slave owner/rapist/father died in 1804 and in his will he left July to his daughter Mary.
- The daughter Mary married a man name Josiah Gayle and July took his name, that's where the name July Gayle originated from.
- July went by the nickname “Jack”. His son, Israel, was nicknamed Nero. People called Nero “Jack’s Son.” Nero eventually adopted the surname Jackson for himself and passed it on to his descendants.
- The cousin Thomas Jackson III is also a descendant of Israel "nero" Jackson. But through another one of his wives named Angeline and their son Mitchell Jackson (b. 1887-1976.)
- Thomas was trying to confirm the native origin for July Gayle but couldn't find any trace of the family on any Native American rolls. But he was able to trace them back to the Richbourgs in records.
- He took a DNA test and matched with one of the Richbourgs male descendants, Their Y-DNA traces back to France and that's how he figured out the truth about July's origins.
- Since Michael Jackson and Thomas Jackson III both descend from Nero, this would mean that Michael and Thomas would also share the same haplotype.
I have used the follow colour codes
Black Text = French Huguenot Plantation Owners
Black - - - - - - - = Legally Married French Huguenot Plantation Owners
Black | = Child of Legally Married French Huguenot Plantation Owners
Red Text = Enslaved People
Red - - - - - - - = Enslaved People Relationship
Red | = Child of Enslaved People
Brown Text = Free Black American People
Yellow - - - - - - = Legally Married Free Black American People
Yellow | = Child of Legally Married Free Black American People