Learn how DNA led Cox family from ‘myth-tery’ to history in Asheboro library talk

 ASHEBORO – After years of thinking they were descended from Native Americans, one Randolph County family found out the truth through recreational DNA testing.

Join Lindsey Cox for “When Family History Turns Out to Be A Family Myth-tery,” 6:30 p.m. Monday, September 23, at the Asheboro Public Library.

Cox’s talk is free and the public is invited.

Cox will discuss about how her family found that the truth was far different than stories that had been passed down for decades: the family in fact was descended from an enslaved man named Frank Lytle.

Lytle was one of six children of Thomas Lytle, a white man who owned a plantation along Caraway Creek, and an enslaved Black woman whose name is not known.

Thomas Lytle acted to emancipate his children. Frank was freed in 1795, but his brothers and sisters had to wait until the death of Thomas Lytle’s wife in 1815.

Even then, the children and grandchildren of the sisters remained enslaved. The families were broken up in 1829 in the largest single sale of enslaved persons in Randolph County history.

As the families of Thomas Lytle’s children grew through the generations, they followed different paths. Some remain in Randolph County, but most migrated north and west. Some came to identify as white, and some as Black. Now, Lytles can be found all over the country.

Cox will share how her family — direct descendants of Frank, uncovered a remarkable family history.

The library is located at 201 Worth Street. For further information, call 336-318-6803.