Nothing can be better than a series of coincidences that land a good feature in the lap of a journalist. I refer to one in particular occurring for me during the year just ended.It pertains to a vibrant and charismatic Canadian-born Anglican priest, the Rev Roslyn Macgregor, who was on a ‘roots search’ to Bermuda which is her ancestral homeland. She had good reason to believe her ancestors were partially of African and North American descent, intermingled with a soldier stationed in Bermuda with the British garrison about the time of Emancipation of slavery in 1834.Ros, as she likes to be called, intensified her Bermuda search at the suggestion of her Canadian-born brother who remarked one day about her hair being curly on the top, and different at the sides. It was Bermudian friend, Judith Corday, who put Ros in touch with St.Clair ‘Brinky’ Tucker whose book “St Davvid’s Island: Bermuda, Its People, History and Culture” had not long been published.It soon became clear that Brinky and Ros were cousins. Brinky being the good friend and brother that he is, felt Ros and I should meet. Our rendezvous was at the home in Pembroke of my fiancée, Mrs. Joan Margaret Marie Moore (nee Paynter). And lo and behold, it turned out that Ros and Joan were also cousins! Their ancestors also had some garrison connections and Stokes Point links, particularly with the Bartrams.Now back to Ros. She was born in Montreal, October 31, 1946. She grew up there, and at age 21 entered an Anglican Convent in Boston, remaining there until 1976, when health reasons set her on a different course. Two of those convent years she spent in Haiti.Returning to her Montreal home in 1983, Ros completed her studies, earning a BA in Child Studies and Education; a Diploma in Theology and a Masters in Pastoral Studies. She was ordained a deacon in 1991 and a priest in 1992. For two years she worked in Lachine as curate. In 1995 she began ministry half-time at Mile End Community Mission and simultaneously in the small parish of St. Cuthbert, St. Hilda and St. Luke.Prior to her latest trip to Bermuda, Ros was able to delve deep into a treasure trove of her great-grand mother, and together with what she had gleaned from her own deceased mother, the priest was able to put together facts about the family lineage which connects her on one side of the family with the North American forebears of Brinky Tucker, and on the other side with Joan’s African ancestors and the latter’s first cousin, well-known Cut Road, StGeorgian Mrs Dorothy Esdaille.Ros discovered the following:Isaac Virgil/Virgin and Margaret Burrows were both born about 1785 in Bermuda and had three children, Violet, Joanna and Matilda. Joanna Virgin was born about 1815 in Bermuda. She died at Stokes Point 1846 and is believed to have been buried there. Joanna had a daughter, Susan Jane Smith about 1832 with Jacob Catlin Smith (born about 1802, son of Julius Smith and Julia). Susan Jane was baptized at St. Peter’s on July 28, 1834. Jacob Catlin Smith died 29 November 1880 at St. David’s Island.Joanna Virgin married John Benjamin Smith, was baptized 1832, listed as coloured slave of Miss Lovey Fox on July 3t, 1834 and they began married life “free.” They seem to have worked at Stokes Point.Joanna Virgin and John Benjamin had a number of children, one of whom was Belinda Margaret Smith who married Israel Thomas Jones, from whom Ros believes her Jones/Bartram relatives are descended. Their daughter, Susan Joanna (Ann) Smith had three children with John Taverner Bartram Joanna Virgin is listed as buried at Stokes Point. They were slaves (and then servants?) of Miss Elizabeth Hayward at one point. Joanna and John Benjamin Smith’s daughter Belinda Margaret Smith married Israel Thomas Jones and their daughter Susan Joanna (sometimes Ann) lived and worked for John Taverner Bartram at Stokes Point and had three children with him.Ros’s great- great-grand mother, Susan Jane Smith, had two daughters: Joanna Susan Maria Smith Dudgeon and Laura Mary Edwater Smith Dudgeon. The priest said she has no idea where the name Dudgeon came from. Susan Jane was Smith when she married a young English man in the military James Woodier in 1880 they had a son who died as an infant in Bermuda before they moved in 1881, to Runcorn England where Susan Jane died in 1892.Laura Mary had a son, Eustace Charles Burden, with John Henry Burden (military private) in 1872. She married another young military man, Thomas Stephen Spicer of Brighton, England in St. George’s on October 29th, 1876. They had a son, Roland Thomas Spicer on October 24, 1880 and two daughters, my grandmother, Emily Millicent Spicer born October 13, 1891 in St. George’s. And Lillian Jane Spicer born November 1, 1893 in St. George’s. They left Bermuda in 1904 looking for work and education in Liverpool, where Laura Mary’s son, Charles Burden lived. In 1908, they emigrated to Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where my mother was born, and I was born.I have letters from this time, mostly to his mother in St. George’s, for instance from Roland when he did an apprenticeship as a young lad at the Bermuda Dockyard in the 1890’s and early 1900’s as he also went to England with a group to represent Bermuda at the coronation of Edward V11 after Queen Victoria’s death.Rev. Ros is continuing her roots search, and is hoping readers of this article can help her determine, as she put it, “were our people came from as we are clearly of African and of American Indian descent. My DNA shows 6% African and more strongly American Indian in my maternal (Bermuda) line. It’s curious - my Gram’s sister and both of her brothers had ‘Fine-ish’ features. Gram is the one whom we can say certainly had Indian and perhaps black ancestors. Surely everyone in Bermuda knew he was a person of colour whose Dad was English and had been in the army. Plus Uncle Rollie was tall, slender, sort of fine features, who I guess ‘passed’ for white.’I have letters sent by him to his mother in St George’s as well as photos from the archives of “Miss Virgin” and another of my Gram’s brother, Rollie (Roland) Spicer. Gram twice refers to him as white, and being one of 7 white men/boys who went over to England.They were interested in knowing if one could make out family connections through facial features. If they were American Indian with slender long faces, dark hair, then Gram’s wide face, high cheek bones and so-called ‘spade teeth’ that maybe would narrow us down to Pequot? Those were some of the concerns of Rollie deduced from his letters,:.While on the subject of ‘coincidences,’ in late December I received the following alert from Rev. Rosalyn:She wrote: “Yesterday the strangest thing happened. I do therapeutic swimming to keep myself in check and a new person joined our group. I told her about my retiring, and wanting to write. She asked what I wanted to write about. I said - our family story, like about our being descended from Black and Indian slaves in Bermuda. Oh my gosh, she says - my grandmother was from Bermuda. Her name was Helen Kelly. She died a few years ago here (in Montreal) aged at about 86, and born in early 1920’s I guess. Anyhow, she was born in St George’s, still had a home in St.George’s. When she died the house came into the rest of the family here, but government being what it is, I think there are hassles about it. I’m waiting for more info.”