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It is often mentioned in the Creole community that Prince Rogers Nelson, the legendary artist, commonly known as Prince was a Creole but that truth isn’t found in his ancestral ties. He does indeed has ties to Louisiana through both parents but his folks only moved to Louisiana at the turn of the 19th century and they lived in North Louisiana where it wasn’t a heavy influence of Latin Culture hence the names of Louisiana Cities on opposite sides of the Mason Dixon.
Prince was born on 7 Jun 1958 in Minneapolis, Minnesota to John Lewis NELSON and Mattie Della SHAW, both deceased. Prince maternal grandparents were Frank SHAW of Arcadia, Bienville Parish, Louisiana and Lucille BARNELL of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana. They were married on 30 Apr 1919 in Polk, Iowa. Frank was the son of Preston SHAW of Virginia and Eliza BRITT of Georgia (1). I got their birthplaces from the census although they were listed with different birthplaces outside of Louisiana which doesn’t substantiate the fact that he was born to Louisiana Creoles.
Prince’s father John Louis NELSON was born to Clarence NELSON and Carrie JENKINS. Clarence Nelson is the son of Edward NELSON and Emma HARDY. They were married on 15 Jan 1880 in Claiborne Parish, Louisiana. The 1880 census indicated that Edward, a Mulatto, parents were born in Georgia and Virginia and that Emma’s parents were born in Alabama and Georgia (3). This only meant that Prince’s Nelson family wasn’t a Creole family since they obviously didn’t have any ties to any Louisiana Creole families. Now let’s look at Prince’s paternal grandmother Carrie JENKINS family. Carrie was born about 1883 in Webster Parish, Louisiana to Handy JENKINS and Dinah Phillips. According to the census they were both born in Georgia (2).
Prior to Prince’s death I conducted a genealogy researched on his genealogy because it was rumored that he had ties to the Nelson family of Iberia Parish, Louisiana but the links didn’t connect. People outside of Louisiana (Even inside Louisiana) are that not everybody from Louisiana is Creole and not everybody that is of mixed ancestry is a Creole. BET Ancestry AfriGeneas ~ African Ancestored Genealogy
