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Miles Lassiter (circa 1777-1850): An Early African-American Quaker from Lassiter Mill, Randolph County, North Carolina: My Research Journey to Home
Although antebellum African Americans were sometimes allowed to attend Quaker services, they were almost never admitted to full "meeting" membership, as was Miles Lassiter. His story illuminates the unfolding of the 19th-century color line into the 20th. It reminds us that, while traditional texts recount grand events, true history tells of everyday people who do extraordinary things quietly, not even realizing that they have left their mark.Margo Williams had only a handful of stories and a few names her mother remembered from her childhood about her family's home in Asheboro, North Carolina. Her research would soon help her to make contact with long lost relatives and a pilgrimage "home" with her mother in 1982. Little did she know she would discover a large loving family and a Quaker ancestor--a Black Quaker ancestor. This story follows her research journey through records and Carolina countryside as she uncovers her roots.
150 pages, Paperback
First published November 3, 2011
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About the author
Margo Lee Williams
4 books1 followerMargo Lee Williams is an award winning, genealogy and history author. A former editor of the Journal of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, she is particularly interested in community and family histories of free people of color in the southeast, especially those in North Carolina and Virginia, who often had mixed race origins.
Williams has researched and written extensively on her Lassiter family of Randolph County, North Carolina. Her first book, published in 2011, Miles Lassiter (circa 1777-1850) An Early African American Quaker from Lassiter Mill, Randolph County, North Carolina: My Research Journey to Home (Backintyme Publishing) told the story of both her personal and research journeys that led to the discovery of her fourth great grandfather, Miles Lassiter.
Her second book, published in 2016, From Hill Town to Strieby: Education and the American Missionary Association in the Uwharrie “Back Country” of Randolph County, North Carolina (Backintyme Publishing), picks up where her first book left off. From Hill Town to Strieby is a social history that follows the development of the school and church, founded in 1880 by a mixed race, former slave, and 19th century poet, the Rev. Islay Walden. The church and school served the Lassiter Mill and Hill Town/Strieby communities of color in southwestern Randolph County. Her research led to the Strieby Church, School and Cemetery property being named a Randolph County Cultural Heritage Site in 2014.
Both of Williams’ books have won genealogy and history book awards. Miles Lassiter (circa 1777-1850) was the 2012 winner for Excellence in Publishing for a Family History from the North Carolina Genealogical Society. From Hill Town to Strieby has won four awards: a 2017 Gold Non-Fiction Book Award in both history and genealogy; the 2016 Marsha M. Greenlee History Award from the Afro American Historical and Genealogical Society; a 2016 Historical Book Award from the North Carolina Society of Historians; and was a finalist in the African American category of the 2017 Next Generation INDIE Book Awards.
Williams is a graduate of Marquette University, and has her MA in Sociology from Hunter College and her MA in Religious Education from The Catholic University of America. She worked for over twenty years at various churches in the suburban Washington DC area, and another eight years as a National Service Officer with Vietnam Veterans of America. She has one daughter.
Williams has researched and written extensively on her Lassiter family of Randolph County, North Carolina. Her first book, published in 2011, Miles Lassiter (circa 1777-1850) An Early African American Quaker from Lassiter Mill, Randolph County, North Carolina: My Research Journey to Home (Backintyme Publishing) told the story of both her personal and research journeys that led to the discovery of her fourth great grandfather, Miles Lassiter.
Her second book, published in 2016, From Hill Town to Strieby: Education and the American Missionary Association in the Uwharrie “Back Country” of Randolph County, North Carolina (Backintyme Publishing), picks up where her first book left off. From Hill Town to Strieby is a social history that follows the development of the school and church, founded in 1880 by a mixed race, former slave, and 19th century poet, the Rev. Islay Walden. The church and school served the Lassiter Mill and Hill Town/Strieby communities of color in southwestern Randolph County. Her research led to the Strieby Church, School and Cemetery property being named a Randolph County Cultural Heritage Site in 2014.
Both of Williams’ books have won genealogy and history book awards. Miles Lassiter (circa 1777-1850) was the 2012 winner for Excellence in Publishing for a Family History from the North Carolina Genealogical Society. From Hill Town to Strieby has won four awards: a 2017 Gold Non-Fiction Book Award in both history and genealogy; the 2016 Marsha M. Greenlee History Award from the Afro American Historical and Genealogical Society; a 2016 Historical Book Award from the North Carolina Society of Historians; and was a finalist in the African American category of the 2017 Next Generation INDIE Book Awards.
Williams is a graduate of Marquette University, and has her MA in Sociology from Hunter College and her MA in Religious Education from The Catholic University of America. She worked for over twenty years at various churches in the suburban Washington DC area, and another eight years as a National Service Officer with Vietnam Veterans of America. She has one daughter.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 11, 2018
Fascinating history! Very well researched and informative.
February 12, 2021
Great read!
Very informative, well-researched, and interesting! Helpful for genealogists who are beginning their research journey. Also great bibliography of key sources.
Very informative, well-researched, and interesting! Helpful for genealogists who are beginning their research journey. Also great bibliography of key sources.
January 25, 2026
I enjoyed that the book was just as much a story about the research as it was about the man being researched. A must-read for any North Carolinian.
September 25, 2015
Reconnecting With Family
One thing that mortality teaches us is that we will not live forever. Usually it takes the searing process of life experiences to brand this truth upon our consciousness, a fact that usually comes like an awakening. It seems it takes some of us getting older, or the illness of an older relative, as a catalyst for us to want to know more about our family, to the point where we actually do research. I say all of this as personal introduction to Ms. Margo Lee Williams work on the Lassiter Family because I am not quite sure if this is how the process worked for her, though it does, for many.
Part of Ms. Williams motivation comes from the fact that her immediate family moved North, taking them away from, and separating them for a number of years from their roots. Ms. Williams begins her search trying to reconnect with her roots and flesh out her family history. This is a fascinating odyssey as she explains it, taking her into all kinds of family records. Ms. Williams balances this story with some emotion, in a clear and logical manner, leaving one ready to discover what she finds next. The book takes her back four generations to her descendent Miles Lassiter and the land that comes down from him. In the process, one learns some of what life was like for African-Americans in Randolph County in the state of North Carolina. Ms. Williams tells this story in a clear and cogent manner that not only makes her family proud, but anyone (such as myself), who has African-American roots within the county. I think it is quite humorous that Ms. Williams' mother attended First Congregational United Church of Christ in Asheboro as a little girl. I find that humorous because there is a picture of it in Ms Williams' book and because it is the church that I grew up in. See there, connections all around! It is also humorous to me that a distant relative of mine, Isley Walden, appears to have been a contemporary and acquaintance of some of Ms. Williams' relatives, and to have frequented some of the same “stomping grounds.” A fine job, this! This is a book that is well-worth reading and especially a treasure to the Lassiter family.
One thing that mortality teaches us is that we will not live forever. Usually it takes the searing process of life experiences to brand this truth upon our consciousness, a fact that usually comes like an awakening. It seems it takes some of us getting older, or the illness of an older relative, as a catalyst for us to want to know more about our family, to the point where we actually do research. I say all of this as personal introduction to Ms. Margo Lee Williams work on the Lassiter Family because I am not quite sure if this is how the process worked for her, though it does, for many.
Part of Ms. Williams motivation comes from the fact that her immediate family moved North, taking them away from, and separating them for a number of years from their roots. Ms. Williams begins her search trying to reconnect with her roots and flesh out her family history. This is a fascinating odyssey as she explains it, taking her into all kinds of family records. Ms. Williams balances this story with some emotion, in a clear and logical manner, leaving one ready to discover what she finds next. The book takes her back four generations to her descendent Miles Lassiter and the land that comes down from him. In the process, one learns some of what life was like for African-Americans in Randolph County in the state of North Carolina. Ms. Williams tells this story in a clear and cogent manner that not only makes her family proud, but anyone (such as myself), who has African-American roots within the county. I think it is quite humorous that Ms. Williams' mother attended First Congregational United Church of Christ in Asheboro as a little girl. I find that humorous because there is a picture of it in Ms Williams' book and because it is the church that I grew up in. See there, connections all around! It is also humorous to me that a distant relative of mine, Isley Walden, appears to have been a contemporary and acquaintance of some of Ms. Williams' relatives, and to have frequented some of the same “stomping grounds.” A fine job, this! This is a book that is well-worth reading and especially a treasure to the Lassiter family.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews