It is possible that my African-American DNA comes from a woman who was born about 1832 at Worth Matravers; one or both of her parents could have been the source of that DNA. In the 1841 Census, her mother had four illegitimate daughters and was shown as 'of independent means'; so, one of her ancestors could have been the child of a male slave owner and a female slave? Many such children were set up for life in the country, away from the prying eyes of friends and family, both in the West Indies and especially in England. It is also possible that her father could have been an African-American sailor, or someone working at the stone quarries? Her mother's father was listed as a stone mason, but official records often hide the real truth; surely a stone mason's daughter is unlikely to have been of 'independent' means, unless he owned a quarry? Most of my other lines have many generations in England and are somewhat less likely to be the source of this DNA; maybe further DNA tests of my close relatives will help reduce the likelihood of it being any other lines. [see My DNA]

Worth Matravers, Dorset, is not far from the sea and the coastal trade at Weymouth, Swanage and Poole Harbour. Also, it is not many miles across land from Bristol and the slave trade. During the 18th Century, some country houses had African-American servants and even slaves in the area; once freed, their descendants could well have settled in Worth Matravers, Dorset.

These three hamlets/villages can be found on the following Ordnance Survey re-print map: Cassini Timeline Historical Map 1811 Map 195 Bournemouth & Purbeck. This is a brilliant series of old maps that are invaluable when studying family histories; so many modern roads just weren't there 100 years ago, sometimes much less, and this makes understanding transport and communication links almost impossible without using these old maps. Original versions are scarce, expensive and delicate; with Cassini re-prints you can always get another one if it gets damaged, or if you want to mark where different members of your family once lived.

This area around Langton Matravers is nationally renowned for its stone quarries that once extracted a local limestone known as Purbeck Marble, this being used during the building of many cathedrals and public buildings as well as local housing. Whilst not an actual marble, it will take a marble-like polish and was used for decorative building work. Some of the quarries were in the fields near Worth Matravers and Langton Matravers, and some new ones have been opened up with special care being taken to protect the natural habitat of plants and animals once the stone has been extracted. There are several old cliff-face quarries along the nearby coast between Dancing Ledge and Winspit, but these are no longer being worked on and are potentially dangerous; some have been sealed to prevent entry, and one is a protected habitat for rare bats.

The south coast below Worth Matravers, Dorset; the lines on the hill top above the quarry are 'lynchets' and are an Iron Age & Medieval method of farming crops on steep hillsides, though the only cattle are farmed there today. The lynchet-covered hills either side of the Winspit valley are known as 'East Man' (pictured above) and 'West Man'.

Corfe Castle is about 4 miles north of Worth Matravers; it was beseiged and raised during the English Civil War by Sir Walter Erle (a Parliamentarian); his descendant married Henry Drax of Ellerton Abbey; they were the direct ancestors of the Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax line.