HOW — AND WHY — TO BECOME CERTIFIED

In the Fall of 2023, the GU272 Descendants Association Board approved eliminating membership levels and payment of dues. Registration as a Certified Descendant had replaced the "Verified Descendant" membership level.

Those who are eligible to become certified are those originating or coming from an ancestral person whose involuntary labor (“owned, rented, and borrowed”) helped establish, expand, and sustain Jesuit missionary efforts and educational institutions until the abolition of slavery in 1865. Descendant certification can include spouses and legally adopted children of direct descendants of those who were enslaved before, during, and after the sale of the 272 by the Society of Jesus in 1838 including descendants of Jesuit enslavement in other U.S. locations including but not limited to Alabama, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Kentucky, Grand Coteau, Pennsylvania and beyond.  

The GU272 Descendants Association was selected by the Descendants Truth and Reconciliation Foundation (DTRF) to serve as a clearinghouse for all Descendant certifications regardless of the institution with which Descendants of Jesuit enslavement in the United States align.

Why should I get certified?

It’s your birthright and you have the opportunity to ensure that this history becomes the legacy that honors the sacrifices of our enslaved ancestors.

The Descendant Truth and Reconciliation Foundation, the Society of Jesus, Georgetown University, and Thurgood Marshall College Fund recognize the Certified Descendant database as the clearinghouse for descendants of Jesuit-enslaved ancestors.

Applications for Certified Descendant are processed by a team of Genealogists and members of the Certified Descendant community.

You can begin the Certified Descendant process by visiting the Certified Descendant Portal.

Establishing Descent

To show that you descend from a person enslaved by the Jesuits, you must submit one of the following four types of evidence:

• Proof that you are a spouse or child of a living Certified Descendant (i.e. Certified Descendant’s certification number)
• An electronic ancestral family tree with verifiable sources (i.e. birth records, baptism records, burial records, marriage records, death records, and copies of original Social Security application and application index records, etc.)
• DNA test results (Ancestry DNA, 23andMe, MyHeritage DNA, Family Tree DNA, LivingDNA) with an electronic family tree
• Professional genealogical research report that includes each of the following:

- A narrative of the research findings; the narrative must cite verifiable sources for each fact communicated in the report

- A pedigree chart illustrating how the applicant descends from the Jesuit-enslaved ancestor

- Copies/images of verifiable sources (documents such as Social Security applications, birth records, baptismal records, marriage records, death records, and burial records) identifying the parents of each of your ancestors descending from the Jesuit enslaved ancestor for our review

Note: You must request the full comprehensive genealogical report from your researcher containing your lineage to submit to the Processing Team for review.

Certified Descendant Application Pre-work

1) Applicant must have a valid email address regardless of age (your email is your unique identifier to be able to log into the portal). Create a Google Gmail account. If the applicant is a child or elder consider using this trick for a Gmail account: Use a + sign (ex. youremail@gmail.com use youremail+child@gmail.com or youremail+elder@gmail.com). 

2.) Complete and get notarized the Identity Verification (IDV) Form. 

3.) Provide ancestral lineage information from your family for ONE branch only of your enslaved Ancestor(s) (Example: JE Family Tree I). Start your FREE family tree using Family Search and use our Genealogical Toolkit to capture data to enter into your electronic Family Tree. 

For more information call the Certified Descendant Hotline at (225) 369-0568‬ or email info_certify@gu272.net.