I've been sitting with my genealogy app open, staring at faces and dates that tell stories some people didn't preserve.

In the Cayman Islands, the Eden name on one end carries a legacy carved into the island's foundation. Pedro St. James Castle, known as the birthplace of democracy, was built in 1780 by my fifth great-grandfather, William Eden, using enslaved labor.

But while laws were being drafted inside its walls, people like Long Celia {Celia Eden by 'ownership'} were being brutalized outside of them. In 1820, she was sentenced to 50 lashes (11 more than the legal limit!) for telling others what she had heard, that slavery was coming to an end. She spoke the truth and she was publicly whipped. The document bearing this cruel sentence still exists.

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It hurts to know that these ancestors, and the systems they upheld, would make an example out of a woman in this way. And beneath her sentence are the signatures of those who agreed to such an injustice.

I bring this up because the Cayman Islands have recently reinstated Emancipation Day, and I am proud of the leadership of our people. The boldness of a generation to look back and be honest about the past is admirable and freeing in many ways.

Fast-forward through generations of names and records, and you’ll arrive at the beginning of my branch of this Eden family tree.

My great grandfather was John Lytton Eden (William Eden's great grandson), and my great-grandmother, Agnes Virginia Mumby (we believe this is her full name) was a midwife that likely came from Africa. The elders in my family describe her as “black till she blue", a skinny tall lady. But no one has found her records anywhere unfortunately. I long to learn more about her. I only know that she delivered a whole lotta babies, both in Cayman and Cuba, including my dad, aunts and uncles. She expanded entire generations through her hands, yet history barely held onto hers.

Here’s what goes through my mind: Agnes wasn’t enslaved in the traditional sense, but she must have still been vulnerable, even with such an indispensable role. Her and John had two sons, two years apart, and those beautiful babies kept the Eden surname..but I wonder why? I wonder what their relationship was like. Just a year after the birth of my grandfather (James), John left and married someone else and started a new life — seven children, a different story.

I’ve seen his obituary. It lists all of his other children, except his first sons. Maybe that was common back then; perhaps children from another union, especially where race 'complicated' the story, were often left out. I don’t know the full truth, but I choose to name and honor them here.

I choose to honor them by bringing their memory before God, trusting Him to redeem what was broken in their time and to heal what may have been passed down through ours, including rejection or shame.

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My grandfather James became a respected contractor in Cuba, carried himself with regal essence, owned a horse, had the posture of leadership. His brother (my grand-uncle) Elra was the opposite. Rugged. Rooted in nature. An expert crocodile hunter.

Both men had large families: 16 children from James, 9 from Elra. James died young, around 53 years old. He had suffered an eye infection from debris in his contracting work. He also had become paranoid, claiming that people (his own family) were after him. A spiritual attack that had him losing sleep and clinging to his machete. Elra on the other hand lived to 87 but developed Alzheimer’s. One brother was tormented by his thoughts. The other lost all memory of them.

I study these things because patterns repeat until they’re noticed and surrendered to God. What isn’t brought into the light will quietly stay alive in a bloodline.

God Restores

It can get messy when you look into the past, but it’s so necessary. Right now, there are many who are unsettled by the return of Emancipation Day and by Long Celia’s story being told so boldly. They live and thrive in hidden spaces, but the truth cannot stay hidden forever.

With all this being said, the Eden I’m returning to is not in a landmark castle, a surname or proximity to privilege. It’s found in the heart of God, where every forgotten name finds its home again. God’s inheritance isn’t earned by 'perfect' lineage, it’s given by covenant love.

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Genesis 15:5 | Isaiah 61:7

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Questions for Reflection‍

What stories in your lineage are you still trying to piece together? Sometimes the not-knowing teaches us as much as the knowing.

Where do you see patterns of conditional belonging in your own family story? How might those patterns still be affecting how you love and receive love today?

What complicated inheritances are you carrying — things that hold both privilege and pain? How might you transform them rather than simply pass them down?

If shame has been passed down through your family line, where do you see its fingerprints in your own life? What would it look like to choose grace over shame in those places?

What questions about your ancestors keep you awake at night? And how might you find peace with the answers you'll never have?

Take time with these questions. Let them settle. The healing happens not in having all the answers, but in refusing to carry the rejection that others couldn't heal.

‍TL;DR

Main Themes

Legacy and Truth
The Eden name built landmarks and shaped history, but also carries the weight of injustice. The story of Long Celia exposes the cost of power built on the backs of the silenced.

Belonging and Rejection
Through the story of Agnes Mumby, a Black midwife who bore children with John Lytton Eden, the post wrestles with what happens when love, identity, and worth are made conditional. Their sons carried the family name but not its acknowledgment.

Patterns and Inheritance
Some things we inherit aren’t material — they’re emotional and spiritual: rejection, shame, silence. These patterns repeat until they’re brought to God.

Redemption and Restoration
The reinstatement of Emancipation Day and the recognition of Long Celia’s story mirror what God does in the spiritual realm — rewriting erased names, redeeming forgotten lives, and setting things right in His timing.

Freedom and Faith
The “Eden” being returned to isn’t a historical estate or bloodline, but the heart of God — a place where justice and mercy meet, where truth rises, and where every forgotten name finds home again.