Our Roots
An Overview of Ancestral Beginning
If your past or history is destroyed, you have been denied any understanding of your true self. To reach into and understand a family's history holds numerous opportunities and hopes for its future.
Identity is essential in everyone's life as human beings; thus, it is the need and purpose of a family's history.
While much of our past was purposely hidden or has been forgotten through the passage of time, many memories, ancestral names, and of the things we do – our kinship system, our family compounds, our song, dance spirituality reverence for religion, is still a part of the families. Our mutual respect, love, and for each other is a necessity. We must maintain them at all costs if we continue enduring, achieving, and accomplishing as a family.
"Family" means all people related by blood, marriages, or adoption to the same ancestor, tribe, or clan. The foundation or genesis of our clan began with two marriages of Plato Smalls. His first wife, Tammie, gave birth to five children: Sun Smalls, Phoebe Smalls Middleton, Lucinda Smalls, Howard Ravenell, Ned Smalls, and Mammie Smalls Chaplin.
Following the death of his first wife, Plato Smalls married Sylvia Tracey. To them were born seven children: Evelyn Smalls Hood, Hattie Smalls Green, Arthur Smalls, George Smalls, Carrie Smalls Truell, Lizzie Smalls Singleton, and Edward Smalls.
Although at present, eight families are on the family tree logo; the number of family names that belong to the smalls clan is at least 15 as follows: Bradley, Brown, Chaplin, Grayson, Green, Heyward, Hood, Howard, Middleton, Ravenell, Singleton, Smalls Truell, Wilson, and Wing. From the clan's founding on the Wallace Plantation on St. Helena Island, the family members have moved throughout the nation and overseas; those we know of now live in at least 18 states, the District of Columbia, and one foreign country.
We have had considerable growth in our family clan, and the listed directory has attempted to capture the names of most. However, through research, we know and understand that it may have inaccuracies and is not complete. Moreover, the listed family tree may reflect the same. Although research is ongoing, you are kindly requested to provide any corrections and any additional information that will assist in our goal to have the most accurate family information on record.
Written by Nathan Smalls (Deceased)
Edited by Don Glover
“Our family is a circle of strength; founded on faith, joined in love, kept by God, together forever.”
