Without doxing myself and equally my family. My great grandma lived on a reservation alongside her family before marrying a Black man (paternal paternal) and this is where the story gets sticky-no one knows how they moved. My Dad talked about how she always talked about the reservations, etc but refused to teach her kids anything about the language (assimilation). Her children had actually been labeled as colored which is documented in my family but everything predating her marriage is not documented in her family. They say it’s not uncommon for families to loose connections like this.
My paternal grandma comes from a history of immigrants with some that intermixed with indigenous people and equally with another non white culture.
I actually have family all over due to this and it’s quite interesting the range of skin colors.
My mom’s side of the family actually has documents dating back to the reservations. And I know for mom side the intermixing was a survival which after being displaced it was just a game of survival. Since my great great grandma was also an enslaved indigenous woman the children she had with almost all of them being non consensual. My grandma (great) never met her dad but she knew he was a biracial man (not Black and white but something else). She then moved her kids eventually and came to the state I’m in. Since her children had different ranges of skin color and hair types she thought it would be better than constantly have their safety jeopardized.
Because of this my great grandma continued to pass down traditions from her mom onto well the family. She was always open about our heritage.
My family actually wants to get reconnected but we lost a lot of things due to a house fire.
My thing is while I know the myth of being Black and Indigenous is extremely prevalent. I do wonder how can we get back fully connected with our roots.
I am researching a long-standing family mystery involving my great-grandfather, Albert Swartz (possibly not the original surname), who immigrated to Canada in the early 1900s.
Through DNA testing and chromosome analysis using Ancestry, MyHeritage, and 23andMe, I have identified a cluster of matches connected to descendants of:
• Nikolai Polakov (“Coco the Clown”)
• Valentina Novakova / Polakov
The DNA evidence strongly suggests that Albert Swartz was biologically connected to this family line, likely as:
• a half-brother
OR
• possibly an uncle
to either Nikolai or Valentina.
The ages and shared DNA amounts do NOT support Albert being their father, but they do support a close extended-family relationship.
The biggest challenge is that I believe:
• the surname may have been changed,
• locations may not be accurate,
• and some identities may have been altered after immigration.
DNA ethnicity estimates repeatedly point toward:
• Belarus
• Lithuania
• Latvia
• Eastern Europe/Russian Empire regions
I am especially searching for:
• descendants of Polakov / Polakoff / Polyakov families
• Novakova / Novikova / Novakov families
• circus performer families connected to Eastern Europe
• Belarusian Jewish or Lithuanian Jewish family connections
• immigration records involving altered surnames
• relatives connected to Latvia, Belarus, Lithuania, or Russia in the late 1800s–early 1900s
Known timeline:
• Albert Swartz born approximately 1878
• Nikolai Polakov born approximately 1900
• Valentina approximately 1902
• Family later connected to circus performance history in North America
I would greatly appreciate:
• historical insight
• surname suggestions
• immigration theories
• DNA match comparisons
• or anyone familiar with these families or regions.
This has become an incredibly interesting genealogy puzzle, and I believe the answer may involve hidden identity changes, half-sibling relationships, or migration between Eastern European regions before immigration to North America.
Thank you for reading.
