BISHOP FAMILY HISTORY
Bishop Family Reunion 2026
Thank you to all who participated in making the 2023 Bishop Family Reunion a huge success. Please consider donating to help with the costs of the next reunion.
The purpose of this website is to celebrate the early history, genealogy, and stories of the African American Bishop family originating in Bertie and Northampton Counties, North Carolina. Samuel Bishop (1834-1875), the earliest documented African American Bishop ancestor, was a slave on the Oakland plantation of William Wiley Bishop, in the town of Roxobel, Bertie County, North Carolina. Samuel’s son David Bishop (1852-1906) married Hannah Ann Elizabeth Cherry (1855-1946) about 1875. Both had been young slaves on Oakland Plantation when slavery ended. Hannah was the daughter of the slave-style marriage of Wright Cherry and Ellen Walton of Bertie County.
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To this union were born eleven children, eight of whom lived to adulthood: Carrie Lee Bishop, James William Bishop, Ellen Devolia Bishop, John Sam Bishop, Paul Andrew (P.A.) Bishop, Barnabas Bryant Bishop, Mary Pearl Dewart Bishop, and Ruby Wilbur Bishop. Following emancipation of slaves, David and Hannah moved their young family to the nearby larger township of Rich Square in Northampton County.
The Bishop family flourished prominently in Rich Square inter-relating with other families of the area; particularly those surnamed Maggett/Majette, Cherry, Walton, Roberts, Ashe, Creecy, Tann, Lassiter, Scott, Gordon, Flood and Walden.
Our early narrative reflects the lives of many Africans unjustly brought to America’s shores. The Bishop legacy emphasized faith, education, ingenuity, hard work, community institution building, and commitment to instilling achiever values in each generation. Although focused on sheer survival, the early Bishops were laying a foundation for advancement in successive generations, a history that is still being written.
BISHOP FAMILY HISTORY PANEL
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This panel was held at the 2023 Bishop family reunion.
DESCENDANTS OF DAVID AND HANNAH BISHOP
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This film was screened at the 2016 Bishop family reunion. It documents the early stories of the Bishop family in Bertie and Northhampton Counties, North Carolina.
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