Finding Your Roots: GU272 & the Louisiana Connection

When the Jesuit priests of Georgetown College were short on cash one summer in 1838, they elected to sell their most valuable assets: the 272 men, women, and children who worked their tobacco plantations. The priests raised about $115,000 (approximately $3.3 million today), and altered the lives of families for generations to come. Researchers have found that 206 of the slaves were sent to Louisiana, split between Iberville, Terrebonne, and Ascension Parishes. 

The GU272 Memory Project and the GU272 Descendants Association were both formed in recent years to trace and reconnect the descendants of these displaced peoples. This month, LPB and the East Baton Rouge Parish Library will host an evening focused on this history, which will include a short screening of Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates Jr., followed by a panel discussion by experts such as Karran Royal, the Executive Director of the GU272 Descendants Association. Hosts will also discuss strategies on how to find out if you are a descendant. 7 pm–8:30 pm. Free. RSVP at lpb.org/findingyourroots.