...you've been very moved by your reading of Roots; which is good. I've seen you post about it in discussion of mulitiple subjects.
My family has traced their "roots" (which was a very involved project that lasted a few years)... only to find out that the black branch of the family stems from indentured (sp) servants that travelled from the West Indies to Virginia VERY soon after the Europeans began to "settle" on the land -- working off their servitude within 15 years.
Those findings can be considered inconclusive -- because the West Indies was a huge center for trade... especially slave and "human" trade after America began to establish itself; which means they could have been just "passing through" and could actually have come from parts of Africa. There is a slight possibility that they could have actually been West Indian. Who knows?? No documentation can be found that supports anything different.
Anyhow, the whole ordeal just made me realize how AMERICAN I truly am... and how much this country owns my ancestry. Therefore, I again come to the conclusion that life in another country isn't exactly a panacea for me.