Category: African-American Genealogy & Slave Ancestry Research

This is my 4th year participating in the A-Z Challenge.  I am writing about people who were born into slavery and  lived to be free, and their descendants.

My grandfather Mershell C. Graham did not share much information about his childhood and family. He was born in Coosada Station, Alabama about 1888.  He did not know his exact birthday and chose to celebrate Christmas day.  His parents were William and Mary Graham and he had a brother named Bill and a sister named Annie.  Aside from that and a few stories about digging sweet potatoes in the rain and sleeping outside the bedroom door of a little white girl he was servant to, I don’t know anything about his childhood.

After I started researching my family history, I wanted to learn more about my great grandparents. I was able to find Mary Jackson in the 1870 census living with her parents and siblings. So far I have not found William Graham in that census.  In looking for more information, I came across the 1860 Estate records for Judge William A. Graham in Autauga County. There were 59 names of enslaved people in the file. I thought perhaps my great grandfather, William would be among those named. Although there was a William in the list but he was 20 years older than mine.

I have found three records for William Graham, a marriage record for 1874, a census record for 1880 and an agricultural census for 1880. He appears on my grandfather’s death certificate and on the death certificates of two others who I believe are my grandfather’s siblings.  Here is what I found from those records.

William Graham was born about 1851 in Alabama. Both of his parents were also born in Alabama. On December 20, 1874 he married Mary Jackson in Elmore County, Alabama. William Bolling Hall performed the ceremony.

In 1880 the couple had two children, five year old Crofford and three year old William. William Sr. was farming. He could read but not write. Mary was keeping house. She could neither read nor write.

The 1880 Agricultural Census showed William was share cropping 16 tilled acres. He had $3 worth of farming implements and machinery and $60 worth of livestock. In 1879 the total value of all the farm products was $250.   He had a quarter of an acre in Indian corn which produced 50 bushels.  There was a quarter of an acre planted in sweet potatoes which gave him 25 bushels. William grew 16 acres in cotton and produced four bales.

His livestock included one mule, one cattle that was not an ox or a milch cow. There were 16 barnyard fowl who produced 12 dozen eggs in 1879. He also owned two other unspecified fowl. Because he was farming in shares, some of the crops went to the person who owned the land. I don’t know how much he ended up with compared to what he would have if they had owned the land.

Both William Graham and Mary Jackson appear as parents on my grandfather’s delayed birth certificate and on the certificates of Annie Graham and Abraham Graham.

Alabama did not require registrations of births until 1908. When someone who was born before that needed a birth certificate, for instance to sign up or collect social security, they had to fill out a delayed birth record and get affidavits from witnesses, or others who would swear that what was in the delayed record was true. The person then had a birth record on file and it would work just like any other birth record.  None of my grandparents or their siblings had birth certificates filled out at the times of their births so they had to get delayed certificates.

I found a William Graham in the 1920 Census living in the County Alms House. He was 70 years old and a widow.

What I would like to find out about William Graham, I would like to find him in the 1870 census so that I could find out who his parents and siblings were. I would like to find later records for him, after 1880. I would also like to find a DNA connection with some of  my grandfather’s siblings descendants and/or a descendant with information that would show us our connection.

This is my 4th year participating in the A-Z Challenge.  I am writing about people who were born into slavery and  lived to be free, and their descendants. I found today’s V offering in a different way than I have found the others. At a doctors appointment yesterday I ran into someone I hadn’t seen in years.  We started talking and the conversation came around to my blog and family history.  She began to tell me about her grandfather who immigrated from Bermuda and ended up practicing medicine in Arkansas. I asked her what his name was and was overjoyed to find that his name was Victor.  I had been wondering who I was going to find with a name that started with the letter V. I came home and spent some time finding him in the records and then Shirley came by with some documents and several papers that he had written. So today I am writing about Dr. Victor James Simmons of Bermuda and Arkansas.

---

The slaves in Bermuda were freed in 1834, Thirty years earlier than those in the Southern United States. Victor J Simmons was born on November 7, 1875 in South Hampton Parish,  Bermuda Island.

“Dr. Victor J Simmons, at the age of 15 years, won a scholarship to apprentice at H.M. Dockyard School, Bermuda Island. In three years he mastered his trade as blacksmith. And at the age of 16 years old, on Good Friday he became a Christian and joined the Catholic Episcopal Church at St. Ann’s Cathedral, Bermuda. He was good and faithful in all his studies, then left home as a young man at the age of 23, September 1, 1900 for the USA to practice medicine, which he accomplished at Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tenn. Then came Arkansas.“

After completing his studies at Meharry in 1904, Dr. Simmons took the advice of a fellow student to locate his medical practice in Pulaski County, Arkansas, outside of Little Rock. He met Mary Morris. They were married in 1906. He was 30 and she was 20. Her father gave them land on which to build a house and raise their family.  There was enough land for fruit trees and a large garden. That land is still in the family.  Over the years, the couple had six children, Lillian, Alena, Victor, McDonald, John and Roscoe. All but one survived to adulthood.

The oldest child, Lillian, was born in 1907 and the second, Alena was born in 1910. Both appear in the 1910 census.  Both parents were literate and they owned their home free of mortgage. Victor had not been naturalized. Everybody else was born in Arkansas.

Victor J. Simmons was described in his WW 1 draft registration as having a medium build, slender with brown eyes and black hair. His granddaughter says he was light complected while his wife Mary was dark, with their children blending the two shades.

By the 1920 census, three more children had been born, Victor in 1912, McDonald in 1914 and Johnie in 1919. In that census it also mentions that he immigrated from Bermuda in 1900, and he had not been naturalized. This is the only census Johnie appears in. He died in early childhood. The school age children were all in school.

In the 1930 census we learn they lived in the country but not on a farm and that they didn’t own a radio. That he was 30 when he married an  d that his wife Mary was 19 (She was actually 20).  The five surviving children were all at home. The oldest, Lillian, was a public school teacher. The rest were all attending school. Everybody was literate. Victor was working as a doctor on his own account. Mary was not working outside of the home.

Between 1930 and 1940, Dr. Simmons became a naturalized citizen. On the 1st page of his Case Journal, which covers cases from December 1, 1933 to January 29, 1934, we can see that he treated cases dealing with a fractured leg, bronchitis, tuberculosis, lumbago, boils, facial paralysis, pneumonia and more. The payments ranged from $0.75 for an office visit to $1.50 and up for a home visit. You can see this page by clicking to enlarge the collage above.

In the 1940 census, Victor Simmons was a naturalized citizen. He owned his home free of mortgage (same home). He had four years of college. (Actually, as a doctor, he had more). His income is listed as $400.00 for 1939. His wife Mary had finished high school. Twenty four year old Victor was still living at home and had completed 2 years of college. He was not employed. Sixteen year old Roscoe had completed one year of high school and was attending school.

On April 17, 1940, one month after the 1940 Census was taken, Dr. Victor J. Simmons died. He was 64 years old.  His home going service was celebrated at Fairview C.M.E. Church.  He is buried in Hickman Memorial Cemetery, Pulaski County Arkansas.

His wife, Mary lived many more years in the family home. She never had to go out to work and lived a comfortable life until she died on August 15, 1973.

I do not yet have his parents names but hope to add that information later.  I do know that several of his siblings immigrated to the United States and stayed in New York.

This is my 4th year participating in the A-Z Challenge.  I am writing about people who were born into slavery and  lived to be free and their descendants. Today I am going to write about Mary Jane Timberlake.  Note: ages given are what was reported on the census form that year. They aren’t always accurate or true.

---

Mary Jane Timberlake was born into slavery in 1825 in Boone County Kentucky.  Her parents were Adelia Yager and Anthony Parker, who were both owned by different slaveholders. While enslaved, Mary Jane was a house girl for the Timberlakes and later the Stevensons. Both the Timberlakes and the Stevensons were part of the same family and lived in the same house.

Mary Jane’s brother Gabriel Timberlake was born in 1828. He made a daring escape from slavery as part of  group in the spring of 1847. After many weeks of travel and a fight and a trial in Cassopolis, Michigan, between Kentucky slave catchers, the escaped slaves and local citizens, Gabriel ended up free in Essex Canada where he changed his name to John Johnson, farmed and raised a family. Some of his descendants still live there.  Click this link for more information 1847 Kentucky Raid. I chose to tell his sister Mary Jane’s less dramatic story.

Mary Jane married John French while still enslaved, in 1846. They lived on different plantations. When Gabriel escaped in 1847, Mary Jane, her husband and her mother stayed behind. When Mary Jane found out she was free after the Civil War, she was wary about leaving the life she knew with the Stevensons when she had no money. She overcame her fears and left Kentucky with her children and mother. I do not know what happened to her husband John.

In 1870 she lived in College Hill Ohio, a few houses from Margaret Lane Alley, who also left Kentucky for Ohio after freedom. Mary Jane was 41 years old, keeping house and unable to read or write. Her eight year old daughters, Emma and Ida were attending school. Six year old Albert was too young for school. Also living in the household was Agnes Gaines who was literate. Relationships are not given in the 1870 census and i do not know who Agnes Gaines was.

Mary Jane was able to visit her brother once in Canada, about 1871. She afterwards returned to Ohio.

By 1880, Adelia Yager, 76 years old, had joined her daughter Mary Jane in College Hill.  Two of her children, Emma and Albert were home. Ida was living away. Both Emma and Ida were in service. Albert was 16 and at home. Five year old nephew James Yaeger was living there too.  I noticed that there were two cases of consumption on that census page, one of them was Margaret Lane Alley’s 30 year old  brother Thomas. Right next door to the French household was a bedridden 17 year old laborer with consumption.  On the other side lived a 48 year old man bedridden with rheumatism.

In the 1900 census Mary Jane Timberlake French was 74 years old. She owned her own home free from mortgage. She said she had birthed three children and one was still living. A 62 year old woman identified as her daughter, Anna Warren, lived there. She worked as a washerwoman.  One year old Mary Warren lived with them.  Neither of the women were literate.

In 1910 Mary Jane was 84 years old living in the same house. She stated that she had given birth to eight children and one was still alive. Her daughter Emma’s husband, Charles Morris is identified as the head of the home, which is owned free and clear. He worked as a houseman for a private family. Emma worked as a cook for a private family. Mary Warren who was one year old in the 1900 census, was eleven and attended school.  Both Charles and Emma were literate. Emma had borne no children.

Mary Jane Timberlake French died of a cerebral hemorrhage March 8th, 1917. She was buried two days later in Mt. Healthy Cemetery.  Her daughter Emma was the informant on the death certificate.

---

I found the information in Census records on ancestry.com and  her death certificate on familysearch.com. Special thanks Lisa Schumann for sharing her Power Point Presentation about Gabriel and Mary Jane Timberlake with me.

This is my 4th year participating in the A-Z Challenge.  I am writing about people who were born into slavery and  lived to be free and their descendants.  Today I am going to write about William Roger Sherman who was my great grandmother’s 2nd husband.

---

William Roger Sherman was born into slavery in 1846 in Maryland. His mother’s name was Charlotte Blackwell. He ended up in Athens Tennessee and that is where he was at the end of the Civil War. On October 31, 1866 he married Jane Ewing. They had three children – Mary, Marsha and John. Sherman was a house carpenter. In 1870 he had $100 worth of real estate and $100 worth of personal property. Both Sherman and his wife could read. Seven year old Alice Cleage lived with them and attended school. As his children grew old enough, they also attended school. Enumerated on the same page as the Sherman’s in the 1880 was Alexander Cleage who had once owned my ancestors and his brother David Cleage.

William Roger Sherman is listed as architect for First United Presbyterian Church, a historic black church in Athens, Tennessee built in 1892. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.

William Roger Sherman married my great grandmother Celia Rice Cleage , in Athens, Tennessee on April 25, 1897.  He was 51.  She was 45.  It was a 2nd marriage for both. In 1900 all of his children were in homes of their own. I found two – Mary was a seamstress and John was a brick layer. Three of Celia’s children – Edward, Henry and Albert were still at home and all were students. Everybody was literate.  Celia’s daughter Josie and her family were living in the house next door. William’s son John and his family lived next door to Josie’s family.

In 1910, William R. Sherman was 64 years old. He rented his house, which seems kind of sad for a carpenter. He hadn’t been out of work at all the previous year. Celia was working as a cook. Celia’s son Charles and his family were sharing the house, as was her son Henry’s eight year old son Richard.  Charles and his wife ran a restaurant. I wonder if that is where Celia cooked. Richard was in school. Everybody except the 2 year old and the infant were literate.

By 1920 the household was broken up. Sherman, age 75 lived with his daughter Mamie in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He was not working. His daughter was a steward at a local school. She was a widow and owned her own home. Also in the household were two of her stepsons and her brother John’s daughter. All of the young people were high school or college students.

Six months later, William Roger Sherman died of tuberculous of the bowels. He had been sick for a year before he died. His daughter was the informant on the record.

My great grandmother Celia lived in Detroit with her son Albert and his family in 1920. She died of a stroke in 1930.  According to their death certificates, both William R. Sherman and Celia Rice Cleage Sherman are buried in Athens, Tennessee. I have been unable to find in which cemetery (or cemetaries) they are buried in.

This is my 4th year participating in the A-Z Challenge.  I am writing about people who were born into slavery and  lived to be free and their descendants.  They are not my ancestors.

While looking for my great grandmother’s father, I came across this document from the Freedman’s Bank. The name was right, Robert Allen and Clara was my great grandmother’s name. However, the county was wrong.  My Clara was in Marion County, Kentucky for the 1870 census and the 1880 census. This Robert was a lifelong resident of Fayette County.  This was not the Robert Allen I was looking for. However,  this form contained a lot of information and I thought it would be interesting to find out more about him for A to Z.

---

Robert Allen was born into slavery about 1824 in Fayette County, Kentucky. His parents were Scipio and Jane. He had no siblings and no children. His wife’s name was Clara. Robert Allen worked as a porter at Apostalic Times.  He was dark complected and 50 years old.  The form was filled out on January 8, 1874.

With all that information, I expected to be able to find him in the 1870 census and perhaps in a directory or in the 1880 census. Maybe a death record. I found nothing. Perhaps he went by a middle name or lived at the end of a road that wasn’t enumerated.

Separated, Not Destroyed

While looking through the 1894 very fragile copy of The Freeman, I came across a column called Lost Relatives. There were many columns like this after the Civil War where people wrote hoping to find family members – mothers, brothers, sisters, children – that were sold away to other plantations.  This column was written 29 years after the war and people were still hoping to find their loved ones.  As my friend historian Paul Lee wrote:

The notices demonstrate that, though slavery inflicted lasting damage on black families by ruthlessly dividing them, it could not erase the love and loyalty that family members felt for one another — even after decades of separation.

The notices make clear that, through all of slavery’s horrors, many bondsmen and -women found reasons and ways to maintain their sense of familyhood, and acted upon it when freedom finally arrived.

This is my 4th year participating in the A-Z Challenge.  I am writing about people who were born into slavery and  lived to be free and their descendants.  They are not my ancestors.

---

One day last month I saw this photo on my friends facebook page. All she knew about it was that the baby held by the servant was her husband’s father. And what was written on the back – Pinkey’s name and the date. I decided to see what I could find. I started by looking for the 1920 census on Ancestry.com.  I found her employed and living in a multigenerational white household  in Petersburg, Virginia. The members of the household were:

Julitte Robinson Head 69
William O Robinson Son 31
James M Turner Son-in-law 49
Sue R Turner Daughter 27
William Turner Grandson 4 mths
Pinkey Porter Servant 25
Maud Macklin Servant 20

Pinkie was born in 1895 in Virginia. Both of her parents were also born in Virginia. She was working as a cook and lived in the family’s home. She was literate.

Next I did what I do and began to search for Pinkie Porter in other records. I found three in the Petersburg City Directories. One for 1907, one for 1909 and one for 1920.  The entry for 1920 gave her name, occupation as cook and the address was the same as where she worked in the 1920 census. In 1907 and 1909 directories, the Pinkie Porter born in 1885, would have been too young to to be listed.

I looked in the marriage records to see if Pinkie had married and changed her name.  I found two Pinkie Porters who married in Petersburg. The first was born in 1885 and married Robert Mcdougold in 1909. I think this was the one who appeared in the 1907 and 1909 city directories.  Pinkie and Robert moved back to his family farm in North Carolina where I found them in the 1910 census. Unfortunately, Robert Mcdougold died of TB in 1914.

The other marriage record was for Pinkie Porter born in 1893 and Alex Martin. They were married in 1918.  Alex appears in the 1922 directory working as a laborer. This could be the Pinkie in the photograph because ages often vary by a year or two (or more) in different records. But if this was Pinkie from the photograph, she would have had to leave her husband, go back to her maiden name and go to work as a cook to appear in the 1920 census.  Which could have happened.

I found only one Pinkie Porter in any of the censuses living in Virginia.  She was born in Surry County, Virginia in 1868. She married William Henry Lestage in 1888 in  Surry County. Pinkie Porter Lestage died in 1900 after giving birth to her fourth daughter.  The baby’s name was Pinkie.

---

I want to thank Becky Leach for sharing her photograph and allowing me to use it in this post.