I had to laugh. Mark Starlin is a pretty rare name also. Their are only two others on Facebook (and probably the whole world!) One is an old cowboy who apparently used to play in a band (cool) and one is a young father.
But I once did a Google search for my name and discovered that there was an African American sea captain during the Revolutionary War named Mark Starlin. How cool, I thought. Until I read that he was a slave who was re-enslaved after the war:
“Finally, Capt. Mark Starlin commanded Patriot. Starlin was re-enslaved after the end of hostilities, despite his accomplishments. Capt. Barron wrote that Starlin was “brought up as a pilot, and proved a skillful one, and a devoted patriot.”
“Most enslaved persons, such as Capt. Mark Starlin, remained in bondage, and even free black citizens like James Forten continued to be treated unequally. Nevertheless, thousands of black patriots fought for American freedom, while their compatriots denied them this very freedom.”
