Septemblog - 2 Things Can be True

Reuben Melvin is one of my 16 great-great-grandparents. I was introduced to him via the Family Bible that a cousin had. There he was on the 'birth' page’ second line.Born 1756 - Died 1860. He made the 1860 U.S census; age 105!That’s before the American Civil War.In fact, he was listed as ‘head of household’ in the 1840 and 1850 U.S. censuses.Reuben Melvin was a minister in the AME church in the early 1820’sThis all took place in New York State which abolished slavery in 1827. That means he spent, at least, the last 33 years of his life as a ‘Free Person of Color’. Maybe more. The oral history states that Reuben Melvin was a slave and his wife, Iantha, 44 years younger, was an Indian from a tribe on Long Island, New York. What say ye? Ase! Peace & Blessings, "Guided by the Ancestors"