text:  Jerry says being able to connect with his ancestors in this way is powerful. Tracing lineage can be challenging for African Americans, largely due to how records were kept during slavery. Jerry not only knows his family ancestry, but he knows where they are. While walking to the headstone where his great-grandfather Henry is buried, he tells a story. During the Civil War, Matterson and his wife Parthena had four children. And one day, Parthena's master told the couple that he was selling three of their children.