Family Story of Incapacity Planning
Meet my fifth Great Grandparents, Ambrose Hawkins and China Harwell. Grandpa Ambrose was a respected member of his community. So much so that an owner of enslaved persons requested him to journey to Liberia, Africa as part of the American Colonization Society, to assess the situation for enslaved persons he intended to free. On December 9, 1831, Grandpa Ambrose boarded the ship, “James Perkin,” departing from Norfolk, Virginia to Liberia. My family records do not reveal whether Grandpa Ambrose made arrangements for handling his affairs during his absence, but of course such arrangements would have been necessary since his journey required him to leave behind a wife and children, his personal belongings, and likely his business as a shoemaker.
Grandpa Ambrose originally considered relocating his entire family to Liberia, but for reasons unknown, changed his mind. We all would have been a little less “happy” if Grandpa Ambrose had relocated because neither I, nor my likely distant cousin Pharrell Williams, would exist if he did. I have the privilege of knowing more about Grandpa Ambrose thanks to the research of genealogist Megan Smolenyak.