Photo by Lorikay Photography
Historian and genealogist Michael N. Henderson
When Michael N. Henderson was nine years old, he was confronted with a question that would set him on a decades-long genealogical journey.
Henderson, who was born and raised in Algiers, was among the first African American students to attend Holy Name of Mary Elementary during the turbulent 1960s. One day, a group of boys approached him, asking him why he was there, attacking him with racial slurs and leading to a physical fight.
“At the time, I didn't realize how much of an impact it was going to have on me as a child,” Henderson said. “Not being able to explain why am I here, what is my purpose of being here.”
It was not until years later, after earning the rank of Lieutenant Commander in the US Navy, that the surname of his grandmother, Nellie Mathieu, would reveal a remarkable connection between his enslaved fourth-generation grandmother, Agnes, and one of the most influential figures in Louisiana history: Spanish Governor Bernardo De Gálvez.
“I don't have to explain who I am, why I am. My family's story speaks for itself.”
—Michael N. Henderson
Featured in a 2010 segment of the PBS Program History Detectives, Henderson discovered that Agnes had gained her freedom on December 16, 1779, with the assistance of Mathieu Devaux dit Platillo, a French national, and the Revolutionary War hero, Gálvez. He also uncovered a seven-page manumission document at the New Orleans Notarial Archives, written entirely in Spanish, detailing Agnes’s year-long struggle to win her freedom, and bearing the Governor’s signature at the bottom.
“That's like finding the Emancipation Proclamation with your ancestor's name on it, signed by Abraham Lincoln,” Henderson said.
On August 22, Henderson will tell Agnes Mathieu’s story at Gálvez Rum Tasting Room and Distillery in Jackson, Louisiana.
“We live in a country where our history is multi-ethnic, multidimensional, very, very diverse, but we all have stories that bring us together,” Henderson said.
During a year that marks the nation’s 250th birthday, Henderson is proud to tell his ancestor’s story in a way that sheds light on the country's history of slavery and racial struggle.
Henderson's written account of his ancestry, "Got Proof! My Genealogical Journey Through the Use of Documentation"
“As an African American, one of the challenges of doing this type of research is coming to terms with the fact that you descend from an enslaved individual in this country,” Henderson said. “I embraced the side of my enslaved ancestry. It allowed me to understand the work that we still need to do to help those individuals who want to deny that aspect of American history.”
Through his presentation, Henderson, the first African American member of the National Society, Sons of the American Revolution in Georgia, offers a living testament to Gálvez's lasting impact and an answer to his longstanding search for identity.
“My military history, my family's history, connects me to the history of being an American,” Henderson said. “I don't have to explain who I am, why I am. My family's story speaks for itself.”
For more information about Henderson’s story, visit michaelnhenderson.com. For details on the August 22 event, visit galvezrum.com/tasting-room.
