Tag Archive for Brayboy

The Mailman Cometh

April 25, 2009 Craig Uncategorized

“Was there anything in the mail today?” I ask.

“Yeah, a lot of stuff.  But nothing really exciting,” she replies.  “It’s there on the table.”

I look there on the table, and wade through the usual bills, sales flyers, charitable solicitations, junk mail disguised as first class mail, until I finally come to a big brown envelope marked “Louisiana Secretary of State.”

“I thought you said there was nothing really important here.”

“There isn’t.”

As every genealogist knows,  one of the most exciting times of the day is when the mail comes.   The envelope from the Louisiana Secretary of State contained five death certificates which I had found listed on their web site at http://www.sos.louisiana.gov/tabid/640/Default.aspx.  The five death certificates are for:

1. Syntrilla Brayboy LeJay, my great great grandmother who died on July 24, 1923.

2.  Sandy Lejay, Syntrilla’s son, who died on March 10, 1946.

3.  William Brayboy Sr., who died on January 14, 1933.

4.  Jane Jefferson who died on October 29, 1918.

5.  Egans Gines who died on March 8, 1948.

Each of these death certificates may hold the answer to particular secrets that I’ve been researching.  On first blush however they raise more questions than they answer.

Syntrilla Brayboy LeJay was my great-great-grandmother.  She was the mother of Sylvia LeJay, who was the mother of William Edward Gines, who was the father of my mother.  I’ve been trying for awhile to sort out Syntrilla’s paternity.  I had thought that her father was William (Billie) Brayboy (c.1795-?). The death certificate gives her father’s name as Jim.  So the first issue is: might William Brayboy and Jim Brayboy be the same person?

As I ponder that issue, I peruse another death certificate, that of Jane Jefferson. Karen Burney has written a number of times about Jane Brayboy Jefferson at Louisiana Lineage Legacies.  Jane would be Karen’s great-great-grandmother.  According to her death certificate, her mother was Phoebe Morris.  This was no surprise to me, because that’s what Karen’s research has shown. Phoebe Morris had been known as Phoebe Brayboy.  For awhile at least, Karen had the same thought that I did–namely that Phoebe’s first husband had been William or “Billie” Brayboy. But the death certificate gives her father’s name as Jim Brayboy, the same as Syntrilla’s father!  The informant was Issac Jefferson, Jane’s husband.  He certainly would be in a position to know her father’s name, having apparently lived in the same parish.

Another death certificate I got was for a William Brayboy Sr.  He died in Frierson, De Soto parish, on January 14, 1933.  The death certificate gives his age at time of death as 70. That would make his birth date sometime in 1863.  His father is is listed as Billy Brayboy and his mother is listed as “Feebie” Jones.  Could Feebie Jones be the same person as Phoebe Brayboy Morris?

Karen says that nobody really knew the name of Jane’s father, but many surmised it was Billy Brayboy because Jane had a brother named Billy.  Karen also points out that Jim Brayboy is also listed as the father of Boykin Brayboy (1900-1966).  Could the same Jim Brayboy have fathered children nearly 60 years apart?  Well, it is biologically possible.

Clearly, we have some issues that need further exploration.

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Lumbee Tribal Recognition May Come At Last

April 5, 2009 Craig North Carolina

My cousin Karen Burney and I have both told the story of the Lumbee Indians from whence we believe our Brayboy ancestors come. See our posts here and here.

For many historical and political reasons, the Lumbees have not been federally recognized as a tribe.  However they have been recognized by the state of North Carolina.   According to Allgov.com, Lumbee recognition bills have come up 11 times during the last century.  But Congress has declined to extend federal recognition each time.

There’s now a bill before the Congress introduced by North Carolina Congressman Mike  McIntyre, HR 31, which apparently has a chance of passing and exceeding federal recognition for the Lumbees.  The bill got a favorable reception at a hearing last month in the House Natural Resources Committee which has jurisdiction over Indian affairs in the House of Representatives.  Potential passage was helped by the fact that the Department of the Interior now supports Lumbee recognition.

Under HR 31, the Lumbees would not be allowed to conduct gaming activities.

Although the Lumbees identify themselves as Indians, most authoritative sources described them as “triracial isolates.”  They apparently are descendants of European Americans, Native Americans and African-Americans, and perhaps may be descendants of the Lost Colony.  This is in fact related to the issues that have stood in the way of federal recognition.  There has been some tension among blacks and whites and Indians in Robeson County, North Carolina, the ancestral homeland of the Lumbees.  I would hope that if federal recognition is achieved this year that the benefits of recognition will be available to all who are eligible regardless of the apparent dominant cultural identity which they now assume.  Well let me say that more plainly: I’m hoping that the Lumbees adopt a tribal enrollment scheme that does not disadvantage any of the descendants who are eligible to be enrolled regardless of whether those people now are black, white or otherwise.

A couple of informative and fascinating books about the Lumbee people:
The Only Land I Know: A History of the Lumbee Indians
By Adolph L. Dial, David K. Eliades
Published by Syracuse University Press, 1996

The Lumbee Problem: The Making of an American Indian People
By Karen I. Blu
Contributor Karen I. Blu
Edition: illustrated
Published by U of Nebraska Press, 2001
ISBN 0803261977, 9780803261976
298 pages

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I Love Ancestry’s Expanded, Updated City Directories

March 22, 2009 Craig Uncategorized

Last week, Ancestry.com updated and repackaged its U.S. Directories and U.S. Public information databases.  These are now all a part of Ancestry’s “1940 Census Substitute.”   Part of the upgrade was acquisition of  what Ancestry VP for Content Gary Gibb called ” a huge collection of city directories.”   I was excited about this from the outset.  I’ve long understood the value of city directories and have been disappointed to see so few available online resources of this sort.  Ancestry.com’s prior entry in that beauty contest was not all that attractive.

As soon as I read the announcement last week, I went to the  U.S. City Directories Database to see what was new.   Ancestry made me very happy with a truly expanded set of city directories, covering more years and more cities than ever before.  In just a few minutes, I had evidence of the following matters that I had not know before:

  • My great-grandparents, Otis and Bettie Manson, moved to San Angelo, Texas, with several of their children, before they settled in Midland in about 1947.
  • My grandfather, Quentin Manson, worked as a longshoreman in Houston in the late 1930′s.
  • My great-grandfather, Richard William Gines, most likely died before 1936, since his wife Sylvia, is listed in the 1936 Shreveport city directory as living along in the family house at 1540 Ashton street.

I was able to identify a number of my Brayboy cousins and ascertain their occupations and addresses during the period 1935-1945.  I came away from this surf-session thoroughly happy.  I can’t wait for the further refinement of the individual databases that  make up the “1940 Census Substitute.”

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Names, Places & Most Wanted Faces

February 26, 2009 Craig Uncategorized

I started this with a note on Facebook and it was suggested that it would make a good meme for bloggers.  The idea is to publicize your surnames and locales to see if anyone elseknows something about them.  For me on Facebook, I got several research-helpful replies. So how much better to take it to a wider audience.

List the surnames you are researching and the general localities.  Then tell the names of your “Most Wanted Ancestors,” that is, the ones you most want to find behind that brickwall.   (You can tag people if you want; I’ve chosen not to do that here so that all readers are included).   Let’s see your lists; maybe we can each help someone out!

Surnames & Locales:

MANSON: Georgia (Talbot, Taylor & Upson Counties) Texas (Milam, Midland Counties)
BOWIE: Louisiana (Cataholua, Avoyelles, Monroe, Rapides Parishes) Texas (Gregg, Harrison Counties)
BIRDSONG: Georgia (Talbot, Upson Counties)
BRAYBOY: Louisiana (Caddo, De Soto Parishes) South Carolina
BRYANT: Texas (Aransas, DeWitt, Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio Counties)
GILBERT: Missouri (Clay, Jackson, Platte Counties)
GINES: Louisiana (Bossier, Caddo, Tensas Parishes) Mississippi (Claiborne, Hancock, Hinds, Pearl River, Walthall Counties) Texas (Harris, Nacogdoches Counties)
JOHNSON: Missouri (Clay, Jackson, Platte Counties)
LeJAY: Louisiana (Caddo, De Soto Parishes)
LONG: Kansas (Johnson County) Missouri (Jackson County)
MICHEAU/MISCHEAUX: California (San Mateo, Los Angeles County) Illinois (Randolph County) Missouri (St Louis)
SANFORD: Tennessee (Williamson County) Texas (Milam County)

Most Wanted Ancestors: Parents of Sarah GILBERT (b. 1849, Clay County, Mo); Parents of Richard William GINES (b. 1860, Bossier Parish, La); Parents of George MICHEAU (1813-1907; Prairie du Rocher, Ill.)

What about you?

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Where Were They in 1808?

January 28, 2008 Craig Uncategorized

Awhile ago, the challenge issued by Lisa was to describe where one’s ancestors were in 1908. I blogged about that here. Now the topic is where one’s ancestors were in 1808. Many bloggers have written about this already; I’m just getting caught up.

1808 was a signal year for some of my families. That was the year that Congress banned the Atlantic slave trade from the United States. The U.S. Constitution of 1789 had provided in Article I, section 9:

The migration or importation of such persons as any of the states now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person.

This somewhat obtuse sentence was one of the several compromises in the Constitution on the issue of slavery. The importation of slaves could not be banned by Congress for two decades after the Constitutional Convention. Note that states were free to ban slavery at any time; and several had done so prior to 1808.

Manson: Charlotte Manson, the likely first ancestor born in America, was probably still with her Scots-Irish parents in South Carolina or northern Georgia. We have not yet discovered her parents’ names.

Gines: I have no information about the Gines family that goes back to 1808. I do know that they likely came from the Carolinas.

Bowie: James Bowie, free man of color, is believed to have been born in the 1790′s in Catahoula Parish, Louisiana, and probably was living there in 1808.

Brayboy: William Brayboy was born into slavery in South Carolina in the 1790′s. I do not know where in South Carolina.

Johnson/Carpenter: Benjamin Carpenter had been born in 1745 in Gloucester, New Jersey. In 1808, he and his wife, Elizabeth McFarland Hughes, lived in Harrison County, Virginia (now in West Virginia). Their son William, grandfather of Ezekiel Johnson, was born in Harrison County in 1790.

LeJay: I am reasonably certain that my LeJay ancestors were held in bondage in South Carolina in 1808. They were most likely in the eastern part of South Carolina.

Birdsong: John Birdsong III and his wife, Elizabeth Latimer, had moved to Oglethorpe County, Georgia, by 1808.

Sanford: The earliest known ancestor in this family, William Sanford, was born into slavery in Virginia in 1809.

Bryant, Long, Gilbert, Martin: I have no information on these families in 1808.

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Where Was Your Family in 1908?

January 9, 2008 Craig Uncategorized

Lisa, who has the energy to write several interesting blogs, posed the question, “Where was your family in 1908?” on, appropriately enough, her 100 Years in America blog.

A century ago, neither of my paternal grandparents had been born yet, although one, my grandmother Jessie Beatrice Bowie, was just a year away. Her parents, my great-grandparents, Hattie Bryant and Elias Bowie, Sr., had recently met and were living in San Antonio, Texas. Hattie’s and Elias’ parents were also in Texas. Guy Bryant and Maria Martin lived in Rockport, Aransas County, Texas, in 1908. Guy was a butcher. John Wesley Bowie and Amanda McCray made their home in the east Texas town of Longview in Gregg County. They lived at 114 Morgan Street and 63 year old John did “odd jobs.”

My other paternal great-grandparents, Otis Manson and Bettie Sanford, lived on a farm near Rockdale, Milam County, Texas. My great-great-grandmother, Matilda Manson, lived near them. Bettie’s father, Billie Sanford, a 98 year old former slave, was still alive, also in Milam County. Billie would live to be 106 years old.

My maternal grandfather, Eddie Gines, was 10 years old and lived with his parents, Richard William Gines and Sylvia LeJay, at 1540 Ashton Street, Shreveport, Louisiana. Great-grandpa Dick was a fireman at Shreveport’s electric powerhouse. I know nothing of Dick’s parents. Sylvia’s parents were Lewis LeJay and Syntrilla Brayboy. By 1908, Lewis had probably passed away. Syntrilla, however, still lived in De Soto Parish, Louisiana, not far from where she had been held in slavery.

My maternal grandmother, Annie Florida Corrine Long, was six years old and lived with her parents, James William Long and Mary Elizabeth Johnson. Their house was at 2711 Wyoming Street, on the west side of Kansas City, Missouri. Great-grandpa James was a Baptist preacher and in 1908 was the pastor at Kansas City’s Sunrise Baptist Church. His parents, Richard and Pauline Long, were deceased. My great-great-grandfather, Zeke Johnson, was still alive and well in Kansas City. My great-great-grandmother, Sarah Gilbert, may have been alive in 1908, but this is not certain. Zeke’s father, Dan Carpenter, was alive at age 83, in Clay County, Missouri, just north of Kansas City. He died at age 95. There is some evidence that Zeke’s mother, Harriet Mitchell, was alive and living in Johnson County, Kansas, but this is not certain. She would be about 83 years old as well.

In 1908, none of these ancestors could have foreseen me and life as it is today.

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Can DNA Solve "The Lumbee Problem"?

October 29, 2007 Craig North Carolina

How does a group of people who have American Indian ancestry but no records of treaties, reservations, Native language, or peculiarly “Indian” customs come to be accepted–socially and legally–as Indians?

That question is asked on the jacket of the 2001 printing of The Lumbee Problem–The Making of an American Indian People by anthropologist Karen I. Blu (University of Nebraska Press, 2001; copyright 1980, Karen I. Blu). And that’s just the surface of “the Lumbee problem.”

Suppose Scots-Irish settlers in North Carolina in the early eighteenth century came upon a group of people who in some ways seemed to be indigenous, but spoke seventeenth century English and had English names. History or an episode of the Twilight Zone?

Indeed, this seems to be the history of the Lumbee Indians of North Carolina. But who are they really? Are they Indians? What is their origin?

A prominent theory is that the Lumbees are descendants of Native Americans and survivors of the Lost Colony of North Carolina.

In 1587, a group of colonists under Sir Walter Raleigh’s charter landed in the Outer Banks of what is now North Carolina. This was the second or third group of colonists in the area. One group had returned to England with Sir Francis Drake. The latter group was headed by Governor John White. White returned to England to re-supply the colony; his voyage back to America was delayed by the complications of the English war with Spain and the winter weather. When White did return in 1590, the colonist were gone, but strange “clues” were found. The word “Croatan” was found carved in the wall of a structure that had been built by the colonists. The colonists were never found.

In the early 1700′s, Scots-Irish settlers came upon English-speaking people in the interior of southeastern North Carolina. These people appeared to be of mixed race. It is said that in the early censuses, these people were enumerated as “mulattoes” or “free Negroes.” The people themselves claimed to be Indians. They waged a legal and political struggle in t he nineteenth century for recognition as Indians.

The federal government never has recognized the Lumbee as tribal Indians. In the late 1800′s, the state of North Carolina recognized them as the “Croatan Indians.” This name was not fully satisfactory to the people so designated and in the 1950′s, the name was changed to Lumbee.

The truth of the origins and identity of the Lumbee has been complicated by a number of political and sociological problems. Among these problems would be the fact that there were black people in the area where the Lumbees were found and it may be difficult to tease out which of the “mulattoes” or “free Negroes” were Indian and which were of African descent.

There are several distinct surnames that occur among the Lumbee. These include Oxendine, Chavis, Locklear, Dial, Lowry, and Brayboy, among others. Some of these surnames occur with high frequency among Africian-Americans. Brayboy, for instance, is one of the surnames in my family tree.

My Brayboy ancestors lived in Louisiana and South Carolina. They had been taken to Louisiana in bondage from South Carolina. The question, however, is whether they are related to the Lumbees. Perhaps DNA can solve my Lumbee problem.

I understand that DNA generally cannot pinpoint a specific Native American tribe. But the Lumbee are an especially insular people, thought to number about 40,000, mostly in Robeson County, North Carolina. Under these circumstances, perhaps DNA can tell us about links to the Lumbee.

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A Brayboy Challenge

October 5, 2007 Craig Uncategorized

One genealogical feature that I’ve come to enjoy recently is Chris Dunham’s “Genealogical Challenge,” which appears from time to time at The Genealogue. Chris challenges readers to find some interesting or obscure genealogical information about an historical or pop culture figure.

These challenges and their solutions serve to refine research skills and open up many sources that one might not ordinarily look into. [And the subjects of the challenges are always interesting!]

Since I’m a West Coast resident (and a late-rising one, at that!) I’m seldom among the first few to get the right answer. But I take the challenges on without looking at the solutions in the comments anyway!

It occurred to me that perhaps a “challenge” would be a way to have folks weigh in on a difficult actual research problem. Sooo, here we go . . . .

A few days ago, I heard from one of my New England Brayboy cousins. She was trying to figure out the paternal lineage of one Earley Brayboy, who was born in South Carolina on July 10, 1888, and died in July, 1956. He was born in Williamsburg County, South Carolina, and died in nearby Lake City in Florence County, South Carolina.

I’ve written about the Brayboys before. My Brayboy line originated in South Carolina on the Darlington plantation of Boykin Witherspoon. In 1854, Boykin Witherspoon re-located his family and slaves to De Soto Parish, Louisiana. In South Carolina there remain a large number of the Witherspoon family and the Brayboys. The descendants of some of the South Carolina Brayboys found their way to the Northeast.

Anyway, in the 1930 census of Williamsburg County, South Carolina, I found Earley “Braboy,” age 43, with wife, 33 year-old Elma, living in the town of Sumter. Their children with them at that time were Vernell, 18; “Rolley,” 16; Darby, 14; “Blanch,” 12; Willie, 9; “Rush,” 7; Harold, 5; “Cotell,” 3; and “Earl,” 2. [An issue researching the Brayboys is the shifting spelling of the surname].

The 1920 census of Williamsburg County shows “Early J. Braboy,” age 31, with wife Elma, 22; and children, “Vernel,” 8; “Raleigh,” 6, “Darbie,” 4; and “Blanche,” 2.

Then I found the World War I draft card for Earley Brayboy. This document, dated June 5, 1917, indicates that Earley Brayboy had a wife and three children at that time. His occupation is listed as farmer.

After the draft card, records got tougher to find. I went to the SSDI and found death dates for six of Earley Brayboy’s children. Then I went to a newspaper archive and found an obituary for Vernell Brayboy. The obit said that Vernell, the son of “Earl J.” and Elma Montgomery Brayboy, was survived by six brothers, Harold, David, Willie, Darby, Earl, and Kotell; and two sisters, Blanche Burgess and Annie Laura Dupres. I found in the Connecticut marriage records that Annie Brayboy had married Dupres Branch. [Thus, the obit was in error as to her name.] Then I found in the SSDI death dates for Blanche Burgess and Annie Branch.

None of this was leading back to the main issue–the paternal lineage of Earley Brayboy. So I started going back through the census records. No Earley Brayboy turned up. But in the 1880 census, I found a Jacob Brayboy, age 39, in Williamsburg County, South Carolina. He was married to 23 year old Dora. The age of the children listed suggests that Dora was a second wife to Jacob. The children were: Jessie, 20; Ellis, 19; Billie, 18; George, 15; Margaret, 13; Betsy, 11; “Jennett,” 8; “Lela,” 7; “Sofronie,” 6; and Martha, 1. There is also a step-daughter, Sarah Dinckins, age 7.

This Jacob Brayboy would be old enough to be the father of Earley Brayboy, born in 1888. A way to check if this is the right family is to go to the 1900 census, when Jacob would be 59 and Earley about 12 years old. Unfortunately, no Braboy or Brayboy on the 1900 census seems to match up with Jacob or Earley. And the disadvantage of not having an 1890 census becomes apparent right away.

Not only is Jacob old enough to be Earley’s father; he’s old enough to be Earley’s grandfather. Additionally, in 1888, when Earley was born, Jessie would be 28, Ellis would be 27, Billie would be 26, and George would be 23. Thus any one of them might be Earley’s father.

There is one potential hint: in the 1920 census of Williamsburg County, Earley’s family lives next door to one James Braboy and family. James is either a year older or a year younger than Eraley. On the other side of Earley’s house, Dora Braboy lives as a boarder. Then, in the 1930 census, Dora lives with a 32 year old Sam Braboy and is listed as his mother. In 1930, neither Earlery nor James is old enough to have a 32 year old son. So the suggestion here is that Dora is the mother of Sam, James, and Earley. This would make Jacob their father.

Now who is Jacob’s father? The hint is that in the 1850 census, Jacob is listed as a seven year-old in a household headed by Mary Braboy, 52. Also in the household are Samuel Brayboy, 22; Martha Brayboy, 28; Margarett Brayboy, 9; William, 5; and Polly, 3. The 1870 census does not show relationships. There is a strong inference here that Mary is Sam’s mother and that Sam and Martha are the parents of the children.

So with this information, one might surmise that Earley Brayboy’s father was Jacob Brayboy and his grandfather was Samuel Brayboy.

Am I right? How would you bring this within the Genealogical Proof Standard?

UPDATE (10/06/07, 1:45 PM PDT): In the comments, Teresa says:

I think I’ve found your folks on the 1900 census in Williamsburg County, SC (HeritageQuest, Series: T623 Roll: 1544 Page: 286) – Jacob must have passed away by then, but Dora is listed as “Dora Braveboy”, living with son Elliot. On the next page are: Lela Pendergrass, daughter; Samml B?boy, son; James B., son; Early, son; and Lila (or Lula?), daughter.

Thanks, Teresa! I have a couple of comments on the comment. First, I think Teresa is right. This appears to be the family of Early Brayboy. Second, let me eat some crow here. I certainly knew that “Braveboy” was an alternative name (some say it was the original name from which “Brayboy” and “Braboy” were derived). But I had gotten into the mindset of thinking that by about 1900, the spellings and names had somewhat stabilized and that it would be unusual for a family that had been “Brayboy” to go back to “Braveboy.” So much for thinking how smart I am! Third, Ancestry.com does not index “Dora Braveboy” or any of her children on the 1900 census, although as Teresa says, HeritageQuest does!

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A "Relatively" New Blog of Interest

October 1, 2007 Craig Uncategorized

Karen Burney, who’s one of my Brayboy cousins, has a new blog up called Louisiana Lineage Legacies. Karen shares the stories of her 15 years of genealogical research. Although it is focused on Louisiana, she has a wealth of information about her research in other states, like South Carolina. The surnames she’s studied include Brayboy, Morris, Jefferson, Chestnut, Hines, and Pressley, Smith, Green, Greene, and Brittentine, among others. (Brayboy, Jefferson, and Pressley occur in my family tree, too). She’s got a lot of very interesting historical materials from Louisiana and South Carolina on the site, too. And check out so me of her research resources, as well!

I ran into Karen a few nights ago at the Family History Center in Arden Arcade, California, not far from my home in Carmichael. She told me a bit about the family reunion she went to in Kansas City a few weeks after I had been there. And she mentioned this new site. If you have any connections to Louisiana, you’ll find something worthwhile there.

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Research Resource: National Register of Historic Places Nomination Forms

September 16, 2007 Craig Uncategorized

Many are familiar with the National Register of Historic Places. A good resource for research is the set of nomination forms for places on the Register. These are available from the National Park Service at the address on this page.

The Park Service hopes eventually to have all of the nomination forms online. But until then, a e-mail to the Park Service will get you the materials. They responded to my e-mail within a day or two and sent me materials in less than three weeks. I was not charged for the material.

So what does one get? Well, I sent for the nomination package for Buena Vista, the plantation in De Soto Parish, Louisiana, where my Brayboy, LeJay, and probably Gines, ancestors were held in bondage by the Boykin Witherspoon family. The nomination papers included a written statement of significance prepared by the nominator. This statement described the property and included an historical note that contained a transcription of the1859 contract to build the estate. There were also three pages of photographs and two pages of diagrams.

Information similar to this can be found in the nomination papers of any of the properties on the National Register. If your family had any connection to a National Register property, these papers may add to your understanding of the family.

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