JACKSONVILLE, Texas — Hidden underneath or alongside Lake Jacksonville’s 1,300 flooded acres is part of the land to which a growing number of descendants are convinced they have a claim.
"We’re all kind of just meeting each other actually,” Byron Butler said.
Butler is among those who trace their ancestry to an enslaved woman named Gracy who had children with her white slaveholder, Albartus Arnwine.
Old records and a grandson, Sterling Arnwine’s, oral history suggest Arnwine left land to Gracy when he died in the 1850s.
"We want the will to be administered as it should have been,” Butler said.
Historians told KHOU 11 that intimate relationships between slaveholders and the enslaved were not unheard of nor was the bequeathment of land. However, highly prejudicial court and legal systems usually stood in the way.
“I was, like, 'wow,'” Kimberly Crockett said.
That was her reaction after recently learning the story. She lives about two-and-a-half hours north of Jacksonville and Cherokee County and feels more connected to her past than ever before.
"And, you know, it’s not a money thing for me," Crockett said. "It’s recognition, you know? To make sure people get the proper recognition about something.”
An online petition is drawing attention to the family’s fight while a fundraiser aims to raise money for an attorney. Meanwhile, several cities where either ancestors or descendants have ties have issued certificates or other honors since our first story last February.
The family said it hopes to publish a book very soon.
“I’m sure it’s going to end up being a movie,” Butler said.
Legal experts said trying to claim long-lost land or the monetary equivalent would be a time-consuming and costly endeavor.
Meanwhile, the family would like a marker or memorial at Lake Jacksonville.