My last name is Moore
Because during the Civil War
My Great Grandfather (age 10) was a slave
On the Gordon plantation, and some jerk with the last name of Moore paid
$500 dollars for a kid that was good with a horse
That transaction split up a family in Tennessee and changed the whole course
Of my family’s history
Beyond ‘emancipation’ the Gordon’s remained a mystery
To our family for a few scores and a century!
Until my father, our family’s genealogist
Did some research online, and discovered historical records at some colleges
Birth and death certificates, and DNA cousins on Ancestry.com
They had an annual family reunion in Nashville and invited my dad along!
Dad said it was so odd to walk around the hotel lobby, where the reunion occurred
To meet so many strangers that looked and sounded like us was almost absurd!
Whose cousin are you? How are we kin, friend? My dad said several folks asked?
My dad replied, ‘We might be related to a young child that was sold as a slave in the not too distant past!’