Columbus historian finds Valley roots in Liberia while doing film project

Liberia is a West African republic far from the banks of the Chattahoochee River.

Yet, the blood of Columbus’ black ancestry still flows through the veins of many inhabitants.

Matt McDaniel, a Columbus architectural historian, first documented the untold story in his book “Emigration to Liberia,” where he traced the mass migration of more than 500 freed blacks from the Chattahoochee Valley to Liberia after the Civil War. About 447 were from Columbus and 39 from Eufaula, Ala., accounting for about 12 percent of black emigrants from the United States to Liberia during that period, according to McDaniel’s research.

Now, McDaniel is developing a documentary film tracing the historic ties between the two regions through Azilia Films, a start-up company that researches and documents forgotten and compelling stories throughout the globe. He recently took a trip to Liberia and found families with roots in Columbus.

“The Chattahoochee Valley / Liberia Project proposes to illustrate the United States’ profound historical association with the West African republic of Liberia through an educational film focusing on Columbus, Georgia’s unique past connections to that country and its present-day relationships,” according to information provided by the company. “The film will track the post‐Civil War emigration of these African‐Americans ‘back’ to Africa, their assimilation into Liberia’s unique American‐influenced culture, current connections between Columbus and Liberia, and through on‐location interviews and shooting, introduce present‐day Liberian descendants and the difficult conditions, they, their families, and all of Liberia have faced and continue to face.”

One of the people aiding McDaniel with the project is Dr. James Sirleaf, medical director for the Department of Emergency Medicine at Midtown Medical Center. Sirleaf just happens to be the son of the current Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. McDaniel said Sirleaf has no ancestral roots in Columbus, and describes his move to the area as a “remarkable coincidence.”

“When I found out that the president of Liberia’s son lived in Columbus, I was sort of dumbfounded, honestly, because I thought, ‘Here I’m working on this project, and who could be a better advocate if they took an interest in the project than a Sirleaf?” McDaniel said. “Some people helped introduce me to him, and he’s a really great guy who immediately took interest in the project, and he’s on our advisory committee.”

Sirleaf does medical missionary work in Liberia through the Heartt Foundation. McDaniel accompanied him and other physicians on a trip to the country last month. While the doctors worked at the hospital in Monrovia, McDaniel traveled around the country looking for descendants of Columbus settlers.

He soon found families with Chattahoochee Valley roots in communities where the emigrants settled. Most descendants live around a city called Buchanan in Grand Bassa County, McDaniel said. They are located in the villages of Edina, Bexley and Fortsville, supposedly named after Willis Fort, a man from Eufaula. There are also villages called Kingsville and Paynesbury, which McDaniel believes are named after other Chattahoochee emigrants.

“I was only in Grand Bassa County for two days, but right off the bat, I identified seven Chattahoochee Valley descendant families,” he said. “The Forts are still there, and so are the Fraziers, Flemings, Greens, Paynes, Kings, and Harrises. My guess is there are many more. When we go back, we’ll sit down with family members and interview them at length. This first trip was just about making sure they were there—and, to that end, it was highly successful. They’re there alright.”

The black settlers who emigrated to Liberia between 1853 and 1903 were part of a mass migration of blacks back to Africa after the Civil War, many through the American Colonization Society.

“Most sought safety and escape from a still-intact white supremacist society,” McDaniel wrote in his book. “The ready availability of land in Liberia also promised greater opportunities for prosperity there than in the South.

“... Most were farmers, but some tradesmen and clergymen also emigrated,” he wrote further. “All faced many hardships. Some returned to the United States; however most stayed, and a small number prospered. Although the Chattahoochee Valley emigration to Liberia was a disappointment to many, a resourceful few found escape and safety from a white supremacist society and their own land in their own country.”

During his recent trip to Liberia, many of the families were aware of the emigration of blacks from America generally, but not Columbus specifically, McDaniel said. Yet, there were so many families with the same names that he doesn’t believe it’s a coincidence.

“Some of them I didn’t get a chance to meet because, honestly, you can’t drive to some of these villages,” he said. “You have to walk and take canoes to get to certain areas. This is a coastal area, and parts of it are not very developed. So we just didn’t have the time.”

McDaniel said he plans to return to the country later this year to do more in-depth interviews for the documentary. He’s also looking for families in the Chattahoochee Valley with pieces of the history.

“One of the things we’re looking for are stories that may persist here in Columbus or in Eufaula,” he said. “Are there folks who have family stories about Liberia, about an ancestor who went to Liberia, or someone who wanted to go, or even someone who came back?”

McDaniel said there also are many Liberians living in Columbus who have information. One local resident, Paul Yarwaye, is from Grand Bassa County, where the Chattahoochee Valley free blacks settled, and he’s now on the film company’s advisory committee.

Other advisors to the project Silvia Bunn, the head librarian at Mildred L. Terry Library; Virginia Causey, a retired professor of history from Columbus State University; Doug Purcell, former executive director of the Historic Chattahoochee Commission; Nadine Regis, a local emergency medicine physician of Haitian descent; Althea Sumpter, an Emmy-nominated producer and editor and Vanessa “V. J.” Roberts, a local actress and technical trainer at TSYS.

In addition to McDaniel, the project’s principal staff includes Director of Production Hal Pope; Historian Jeanne Cyriaque; Video Editor Dan Quigley, and Graphics Specialist Dan Odom.

McDaniel said the film is a not-for-profit venture. The group already has a fiscal sponsor with nonprofit status, which allows the project to receive contributions, he said. They are looking for community partners and the financial support to complete the documentary.

Since embarking on the research, McDaniel also has learned that Brookstone School and First Baptist Church have been involved with mission work in Liberia for years, which is also part of the story.

“The project is envisioned for public television, and we’ve already approached them,” he said. “They aren’t just interested in it, they are excited about it. They see its potential from a national perspective. America’s connection with Liberia is an interesting story, and one that not many people know about. Columbus is a good case study.”

This story was originally published April 7, 2017 at 6:33 PM with the headline "Columbus historian finds Valley roots in Liberia while doing film project."