What do you think?
Rate this book
Descended: Searching for My Gullah-Geechee Roots
A mysterious name initiates a journey to discover one family's past, and reveals more than was expected
It began with a name. Sancho. Gleaned from the memory of his oldest living relative, that name set author Keith Rushing on a quest to recover his family's story. Rushing came to learn that Sancho was an African name, a common practice among the Gullah-Geechee communities of the South Carolina and Georgia Sea Islands. He found that Sancho had been born into slavery on Hilton Head Island and later fought as a soldier in a war for self-emancipation. Rushing learned that after that war Sancho had become a small landowner. Above all, he discovered that his family's story was richer than he had ever imagined.
In Descended, Rushing recounts his own journey of discovery, and in the process unfurls a dramatic story about the transformation of Hilton Head. Descended is a story about family, place, and the desire to understand where we have been and where we are going.
It began with a name. Sancho. Gleaned from the memory of his oldest living relative, that name set author Keith Rushing on a quest to recover his family's story. Rushing came to learn that Sancho was an African name, a common practice among the Gullah-Geechee communities of the South Carolina and Georgia Sea Islands. He found that Sancho had been born into slavery on Hilton Head Island and later fought as a soldier in a war for self-emancipation. Rushing learned that after that war Sancho had become a small landowner. Above all, he discovered that his family's story was richer than he had ever imagined.
In Descended, Rushing recounts his own journey of discovery, and in the process unfurls a dramatic story about the transformation of Hilton Head. Descended is a story about family, place, and the desire to understand where we have been and where we are going.
240 pages, Hardcover
Published April 15, 2025
3 people are currently reading
24 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 8, 2026
Wonderful. Mr. Rushing covered so much Gullah Geechee history via the personal lens of his family.
March 7, 2026
A beautiful, heartfelt, well-researched book that opened my eyes to the history of the Gullah-Geechee people who made their homes in Hilton Head Island. To say the former slaves who gave so much to the island were mistreated is a gross understatement. The book offers hope, though, to folks around the country, that their family ties will never cease.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews