Our family has been able to trace the African origins of the Neufville blood line. Eliza, our original ancestor, was born circa 1787 on the Continent. It is an understatement to say that she must have been a strong woman to survive the tortuous journey of the Middle Passage. Unfortunately, we may never know her true African name because she was renamed after landing in Jamaica. Eliza had a daughter, Molly Roberts. Molly married Camu, who was renamed Campbell Neufville. Molly and Camu had at least 10 children, from whom we are all descended.

AfricanAncestry.com conducted a Patri-Clan test of a great-grandson of Camu “Campbell Neufville”, Mortimer Neufville. This test analyzes the Y-chromosome men inherit exclusively from their fathers. Therefore, Mortimer’s results would be the DNA of his father Terrence Vinetta, the same as his grandfather James Christopher, and so on. The results would be applicable to all the children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and so forth of Campbell Neufville. The results were a 100% match of genetic markers identical to the Balanta and Fula people of Guinea-Bissau. Balanta literally translates to “Those who resist”. Notably, Balanta do not typically refer to themselves as ‘Balanta’ but as B’urassa, which translates to “We remain” Here are a few resources to learn more about our African ancestors.