ARRIVING IN AMERICA - DESTINATION THE SOUTH captures Taylor's twenty-five year journey in unearthing the buried history of her maternal and paternal family, trekking the paths of her ancestors, before Emancipation (1863). This journey took her back several generations, from the North, South, East and West regions of Africa, to the thirteen colonies of the United States, and the Southern states of Louisiana and Mississippi. This emotion-filled journey travels down an intricate paper trail of federal, state, and local records combined with a collection of oral interviews that enabled Taylor to methodically place together her family puzzle, in five informative chapters. Lovers of sweeping generational epics will find much to rejoice in here. This is a personal saga, but one played out against the broad canvas of American History. Taylor chronicles the lives of her relatives who were once enslaved. She points out the contributions of European immigrants, with the labor of slaves that made this such a great nation. Taylor discusses intermarriages and intermixing between blacks and Indians, the mulatto children of the master, and how her enslaved family may have obtained their surnames. This book focuses on many unanswered questions, and leave the reader with a burning desire to begin their own journey. ARRIVING IN AMERICA - DESTINATION THE SOUTH is written in a narrative style to inspire, entice and propel readers into the fascinating world of genealogy and historical discoveries.