THE HATIAN GULLAH-GEECHEE CONNECTION

A Story Woven Across Waters

When we talk about the Gullah Geechee heritage, we’re often drawn to the familiar landscapes of the Lowcountry, the Sea Islands, and the cultural treasures preserved by our ancestors. But hidden within that tapestry is a lesser-known story—a story that stretches across the Atlantic and ties the Gullah Geechee people to the Haitian Revolution in powerful, human ways.

Norice Wilkinson: From Haitian Revolutionary to Gullah

Islander

One of the most striking pieces of this connection is the life of Norice Wilkinson, born in

northeastern Saint-Domingue (modern-day Haiti) in 1786. Through circumstances that still

remain unclear, Wilkinson was captured and sold by slave traders during the final year of the

Haitian Revolution and brought to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

But Wilkinson was not just any captive. He fought in Toussaint Louverture’s army, witnessed the revolution firsthand, and carried the spirit of freedom with him across the sea. According to his own account, which he shared with abolitionist A.F. Pillsbury during the last year of the

American Civil War, Wilkinson was fluent in both French and Spanish and could recite “La

Marseillaise,” the French national anthem—a song that had become a revolutionary anthem in

Haiti as well.

His story is a living testament to how the Haitian struggle for freedom did not just inspire people from afar—it physically brought Haitian fighters into Gullah Geechee spaces, where they contributed to the cultural mosaic of the region.

Tracing the Language: Katie Brown’s Family Memory

But Wilkinson’s story isn’t the only thread. Through continued research, we find cultural echoes passed down in Gullah Geechee families.

Katie Brown, the great-granddaughter of the famous Muslim scholar Bilali Muhammad, once shared that her grandmother, Margret, used to say “deloe” for water and “diffy” for fire. These

terms closely resemble the French words de l’eau (water) and du feu (fire), which are also

embedded in French-based Creole languages spoken throughout the Caribbean, including Haiti.

This linguistic survival hints at Caribbean, possibly Haitian, roots within the Gullah Geechee

community. It shows us how language, even in fragments, carries deep ancestral memory and

serves as quiet evidence of migration, mixing, and resilience.

Family Relics from Santo Domingo

Additional evidence of Haitian-Caribbean ancestry surfaces in personal heirlooms and oral

traditions. One remarkable account tells of an elderly man living in poor circumstances who

inherited objects passed down from his grandfather—a man who had come to the United States from Santo Domingo, West Indies. Among these objects were old coins, a pistol, and a

pocketbook made of shells clamped with metal bands. However, the most significant item was a

carved stone fig, crafted with skill and carried as a protective charm by the man’s ancestor.

Though the exact origin of the fig remains unknown, it stands as a cultural artifact linking this

family’s lineage to the Caribbean and possibly to African spiritual practices carried over through

Haiti.

This story offers tangible proof that Caribbean migrants brought not just language and

revolutionary ideals but also sacred objects, family traditions, and ancestral memories that

continued to live in Gullah Geechee households.

More Than Just Inspiration: The Shared Fight for Freedom

The Haitian Revolution was more than just a spark for freedom-minded people in the

Americas—it became a beacon of possibility. Haitian fighters, culture, and language physically

entered the Gullah Geechee world, shaping it in ways we are still uncovering today.

Scholars like Matthew J. Clavin in his book Toussaint Louverture and the American Civil War:

The Promise and Peril of a Second Haitian Revolution explore how Americans, both Black and

white, were intensely aware of Haiti’s impact. The Gullah Geechee people, many of whom were

stationed at key port cities like Charleston, would have been at the crossroads of that

information, trade, and migration.

A Living Connection

The Gullah Geechee and Haitian connection isn’t just a historical footnote—it’s part of our living

story. It shows us that the African diaspora is not confined by borders. It is a braided lineage of

language, resistance, cultural artifacts, and memory that traveled across the waters and left

footprints on these shores.

As we continue to explore these links, we honor those who, like Norice Wilkinson, carried

revolutionary fire with them. And we preserve the stories of families like Katie Brown’s and the

unnamed man whose family treasures hold keys to diasporic history