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Cuffee Family geneology pitfalls

Cuffee Family geneology pitfalls

Posted: 30 Aug 2007 7:03AM GMT
Classification: Query
Surnames: Cuffee Cuffe
In my many years of researching the Cuffee name, I recently came across many pitfalls that I want to enlighten others about that may also be doing geneology research.

I am sure a lot of people are familiar with the Captain Paul Cuffee lineage. It started with an African named Kofi who was captured in Africa and sold to a man named Ebenezer Slocum. Kofi worked hard for many years. Eventually he was able to buy his freedom from Ebenezer's nephew John Slocum.
Kofi Slocum married a Wampanoag Indian woman by the name of Ruth Moses. Kofi and Ruth had 10 children (4 boys and 6 girls). The boys names were Paul, John, Johnathan, and David. Right there, that is 4 possibilities for Cuffee lineages. Little is known about the offspring of John, Johnathan, and David but Paul Cuffee had six children (Paul Jr, William, Mary, Ruth, Alice, and Rhoda). Paul Cuffee married an Indian woman as well named Alice Pequit. Paul Jr and William both followed in their father's footsteps as seaman and became Captains in their own right. Paul jr sailed at sea for 35 years and a few books document his travels and at times he is mistaken for his father in those writings. Paul jr married a woman by the name of Mary or Polly Cook. Census records show Mary and a book about him says Polly.

There was another Paul Cuffee lineage totally unrelated to Captain Paul Cuffee. That is Reverend Paul Cuffee. He was a Shinnecock Indian. He was famous for very moving sermons. There was a Paul Cuffee church for many years on the Shinnecock land. I do believe a lot of Cuffee's in Virginia are indeed related to this Paul Cuffee and not Captain Paul Cuffee. The Shinnecocks lost a lot of land to whites by use of legal trickery and forgery. So I believe a few Cuffee Shinnecocks relocated to Virginia to start over.

In the 1840s and 1850s, a few Cuffe's landed in New York from Ireland. These were of course not black Cuffe's. There is record of at least two of those Irish Cuffe's relocating to Virginia as well. It is possible that some of those Cuffe's married or had relationships with blacks and created Cuffe's lines that may be thought to go back to Captain Paul Cuffee as well.

So all of these things are possible pitfalls if one doesn't have enough facts to link to the correct lineage and with all these factors and difficulties with African geneology, it is especially challenging.



Re: Cuffee Family geneology pitfalls

Posted: 8 Jul 2013 7:12AM GMT
Classification: Query
Surnames: Cuffie/Cuffee
Dear Mr. Cuffee
My name is Penny and I am a great-grand-daughter of Wickham Cuffee of the Shinnecock Reservation. I read your post and I have learned your information some time before. But There are a great deal of Indians who have intermarried with black people and I am a proud product of that rich line. My grandfather married an African decendant mixed with Cheroke indian woman and he was a shinnecock indian man. There are a lot of people who do not like to admitt that but I am not one of them. My great-grand parents were Wickham Cuffee and Ellen Kellis Cuffee. If you have any information on them please share them I would like to know how far back my ancesters go.I believe we are Cuffee's kin to ship merchant.

Re: Cuffee Family geneology pitfalls

Posted: 8 Jul 2013 2:32PM GMT
Classification: Query
Make sure to check the other Paul Cuffee the reverend as well. Like I said in my post, many Cuffee incorrectly assume they are related to the Captain Paul the ship merchant. I believe I am related to Wickham because his resemblance is very strong to my father.

What is your email address?

David

Re: Cuffee Family geneology pitfalls

Posted: 10 Jul 2013 3:27AM GMT
Classification: Query
Surnames: Cuffee /Cuffie
Hi David
Thank you for responding to my message. My email address is brooklynsevenc@yahoo.com I noticed you said you maybe related to wickham Cuffee can you share with me how via email. I'd really appreciate it. Thank you in advance and I look forward to hearing from you soon. My relation with Wickham is very close in the line.
Penny

Re: Cuffee Family geneology pitfalls

Posted: 19 Aug 2013 3:22AM GMT
Classification: Query
Surnames: Cleburn, Slocum, Cuffe
My name is Heather Marie Spears Olsen. I am of member of the Wampanoag tribe, and a descendant of Ruth Moses and Cuffe Kofi Slocum, through their daughter Mary Cleburn's marriage to Primus Slocum. My question to you is whether you know why Mary's last name is Cleburn when all of the other children listed as siblings carry the last names of Cuffe or Slocum? Also, has any research been done to find Kofi's family roots in Ghana? I am just beginning to research this line and would appreciate any information that you may have.

Thank you,
Heather Olsen

Re: Cuffee Family geneology pitfalls

Posted: 19 Aug 2013 3:28AM GMT
Classification: Query
I don't know anything about Mary. I just know that Slocum was the white family that captured Kofi. The man that captured him was Ebenezer Slocum. Ebenezer sold Kofi to his brother. Kofi's sons didn't want to have anything to do with the slave master name of Slocum. So they changed their name to Cuffe(e) to be similar to their dads first name. I know that Kofi was a member of the Ashanti tribe.

David

Re: Cuffee Family geneology pitfalls

Posted: 19 Aug 2013 4:00AM GMT
Classification: Query
That has been my understanding as well. I think Mary Cleburn may or may not be the same person as Mary Slocum. I need to track down more original records.
Thanks for your information!

Re: Cuffee Family geneology pitfalls

Posted: 27 Dec 2013 8:08PM GMT
Classification: Query
Edited: 27 Dec 2013 8:10PM GMT
Surnames: Cuffee, Cufffe, Horton
I am a descendent of Paul Cuffe. He is my grandmothers, Bessie Horton (Cuffee), great grandfather, from my understanding. I am trying to learn more about my family and myself. I REALLY appreciate the information you have posted. Thank you SO much. Is there anything else you might know?

Re: Cuffee Family geneology pitfalls

Posted: 27 Dec 2013 8:50PM GMT
Classification: Query
We are related through this blood line as well. I am the 5x great grand daughter of Paul Cuffee. Did you find all of your information on this site or was it passed down information? My grand mother didnt even know that her birth name was Bessie Cuffee. She thought it was Williams like her father until a few years ago when she needed to find her birth certificate and they told her that the one she had was incorrect. (crazy, i know) So now i am on a hunt to find my family, my blood line. Any information you can pass on will be great. I pretty much got to Paul Cuffee and that is where the path ends. I learned that he was my blood line when i went to the Museum of City History here in Portsmouth, VA and saw his free papers. I have been searching ever since.

Re: Cuffee Family geneology pitfalls

Posted: 29 Dec 2013 3:52PM GMT
Classification: Query
Here is page 1 of 3 of Paul Cuffe's Last Will and Testament
Attachments:
per page

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