African Roots American Fruits”: The Lightfoot Family Roots
and Miria Lightfoot gave birth to five sons (Alex, Major, William, George,
and Lafayette, Jr. who was also called ‘Faith’) during the mid-19th
century somewhere in the upper Mississippi delta, possibly Clarksdale. The
name ‘Lightfoot’ was derived from the Blackfoot Indian tribe, which
was one of the many African and Native American communities formed during
early colonial America by two peoples who suffered oppression at the hands
of European settlers. Eminent historian Carter G. Woodson called the
relationship between Red and Black people “one of the longest unwritten
chapters in the history of the United States”. He thought Africans found
among Indians a means of escape and sanctuary from slavery.
are not sure of all the details, but legacy holds that Lafayette, Sr.
drowned as a young man in Mississippi. Miria later migrated with her
family across the Mississippi river to Arkansas where she met and married
Amos Rice with whom she had twin children, Amos and Hester Rice. An 1870
census tract from Chicot County in Lake Village Arkansas lists the four
older Lightfoot brothers who were between the ages of 14 and 21. A copy is
included for your review in the Millennium Reunion Souvenir Book.
Lightfoot brothers proved to be a prodigious bunch, producing at least 54
male and more than 18 female children. As they grew and raised their
families, the Lightfoots became well known in the towns of Lake Village,
Pine Bluff and Little Rock, Arkansas.
Many southern Black families, in search of increased employment and
educational opportunities, migrated to the industrial cities of the North.
The Lightfoot family was no different. They gradually moved north to
cities like Chicago, Illinois; Detroit, Michigan; Gary and Indianapolis,
Indiana; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin; where they opened businesses, pastored
churches and rallied for civil rights. The Millennium Reunion Committee
extends a charge to any family member, young and not so young, to further
explore the Lightfoot family origins and document its influence on the
fabric and development of American history.
Lightfoots Meet and ‘Keep Up’ with the Joneses
and Magalene (Maggie) Jones met and married in New Bern, North Carolina.
God blessed their union with fourteen healthy children.
9 of them (Christopher, John Amos, Irene, Mary, Martha, Rachel,
Carrie, Minnie and Eddie were born in North Carolina. The younger 5
(Bertha, Pearl, Minerva, Wardell and Elnora) were born in Newellton,
Louisiana. In the Latter part of 1890, the entire family moved to Lake
Village, Arkansas where they settled in the Yellow Bayou section of town.
was inevitable that two such large families living in a small town would
eventually connect through the marriage of one or more of their offspring.
That’s just what happened. Miss Carrie Jones was betrothed to and later
married Mr. Isaac Lightfoot, creating a lasting bond between the two
families that endures to this day. Melba Jones, a direct descendant of
Carrie and Isaac, has written an essay and created a pictorial tribute to
Some of the Jones children began migrating to the North as early as 1910, first to Evanston and then to Chicago, Illinois. Around 1920, John and Maggie followed their children to Chicago where John passed away in 1921 and Maggie in 1930. To date, their descendants number well over a hundred and, we suspect, are represented in several cities and towns throughout the United States.
Note: We hope that someone can really tell a complete story of this family. If you can or have some information regarding the Lightfoot family history, please complete the form below and submit to the Lightfoot Family History Committee.