Tag Archive for Slavery

Reference Review: African-American Genealogy at a Glance

September 19, 2011 Craig Family History, Genealogy

Just the other morning, a young protege was saying that her research seemed unfocused and that she thought she needed to go someplace other than her usual research venues. I talked a few ideas with her. Then, the next day, I received a review copy of Genealogy at a Glance: African American Genealogy Research. My protege’s dilemma was solved (almost)!

A 2011 addition to Genealogical Publishing Company‘s series, Genealogy at a Glance, this four page reference is by Michael Hait, one of the points of light in the sometimes foggy world of genealogical research. (Wait, did you say four pages? Yes, yes I did say “four pages!”).

Okay, so I was skeptical, too, that such a topic could be adequately and accurately reduced to just four pages of text. But as I studied it, I found it to be concise, easy to understand, yet accurate and comprehensive. Hait covers the field very nearly completely in the space allotted. From “Basic Research Sources” to “Free African Americans in the North and South” the author gives tips and reference citations. He tells where to find the records (many have limited availability).

This reference is useful for novice and experienced researchers alike. It certainly is a road map of sorts for the newcomer; for the old hand, it may jog a memory or inspire a new approach. For all experience classes, it can provide an organizing template for research.

The material really is usable “at a glance.” Hait’s writing is direct and active; the editorial lay out is easy to follow. At the end, he includes a short list of online resources and a “Further Reading” section.

A concession to space, no doubt, was the omission of special collections at academic research institutions such as the Louisiana State University Libraries or the University of Virginia, which house many files of slave-owning families.

But nonetheless, Michael Hait, who writes the African-American Genealogy Examiner column, scores again with this simple, but elegant reference guide. Check out Michael’s own websites at haitfamilyresearch.com and Planting the Seeds.

Genealogical Publishing Company is the world’s leading publisher of genealogical books and CD’s, with over 2000 titles in its catalog.

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“Restore My Name:” The First Edition of the Carnival of African-American Genealogy

March 18, 2010 Craig Family History, Genealogy, Uncategorized

Luckie Daniels, proprietor of Our Georgia Roots, a tenacious researcher and tech expert, has taken on the hosting of the first edition of the Carnival of African-American Genealogy.   The theme for the first edition concerns slave research.   Participants are asked to answer one or more of the following questions:

  • What responsibilities are involved on the part of the researcher when locating names of slaves in a record?
  • Does it matter if the record(s) are related to your ancestral lines or not?
  • As a descendant of slave owners, have you ever been pressured by family not to discuss or post about records containing slave names?
  • As a descendant of slaves, have you been able to work with or even meet other researchers who are descendants of slave owners?
  • Have you ever performed a Random Act of Genealogical Kindness involving slave ownership records? Or were you on the receiving end of such kindness?

Although I am the descendant of slaves and slave owners, I’ve never ben privileged to receive salve ownership records from any slaving-owning descendant.  That is one area about which I have been disappointed in my research.    I’ve come close, though.

One family in my paternal line is the Sanfords of Milam County, Texas. William “Billie” Sanford was born  a slave in about 1809 in Virginia.  He is my 2d great-grandfather.  He was owned by a member of the extended Sanford families who lived in Virginia at that time; most probably James Sanford (1769-1849).  When James Sanford moved his family to Tennessee inm the 1820s, they apparently took William with them.  James Sanford died in  1849 in Williamson County, Tennessee.  His son Reuben Sanford, had died three years earlier, also in Williamson County, Tennessee. Upon James’ death, it appears that his daughter-in-law, Mary (“Polly”) Wood Sanford, took charge of the family property, including the slaves.

In about 1854, Mary Wood Sanford relocated the family to Milam County, Texas, taking the slave William with them.  (A cousin of mine told me  recently that the story is that William walked from Tennessee to Texas pushing a wheelbarrow in which sat some of the Sanford children.)

In Milam County, Texas, William was the property of Rueben Henry Sanford, the sixth child of Mary and Reuben.

I’ve been in contact with several members of the white Sanfords, but none were direct descendants of Rueben and Mary.  They have all been very cooperative and we have helped each other solve problems in our respective research.   I’m glad to have found them.  However, I would love to find direct descendants of Reuben and Mary Sanford, who may have ownership documents or who may have heard stories about William.

Reuben Henry Sanford died on 30 Jun 1910.   His former slave, William Sanford, lived until 20 November 1916, when he died at age 106.  He was described by one source as “the oldest colored person ever to die in Milam County.”  His death certificate states in no fewer than three places that his cause of death was “old age.”

A family member described William to me as having been nearly seven feet tall and weighing more than 300 pounds.

Recently, I was in brief contact with a woman whose ancestors held part of my wife’s family as slaves.  I asked if she had  heard the story of the slaves’ daring escape during a Civil War battle.  She said she had not heard the story, but that she was veyr sorry for the things that those particular slaves had endured.  She seemed regretful but not surprised that her ancestors owned slaves.  I let the matter drop, but now wish I could engage with her a bit more.

I haven’t been fortunate enough to locate any other descendants of slaveownwers relevant to my research. (I do know, for example, that Reese Witherspoon is a collateral descendant of Boykin Witherspoon who held some of my ancestors in bondage.)

I think this budding dialogue between descendants of slaves and descendants of slave owners is a mightily important step for American genealogy and history. It’s time the whole story be told, in all its sorrow, cruelty, complexity, and ambiguity.  That’s the only way we’ll all understand ourselves as Americans who value openness and truth.

I’ve been inspired by the example of Luckie and others to reach out myself to the descendants of those who held my ancestors in bondage.

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Black Catholic History Month: The Knights of Who?

November 30, 2009 Craig Family History, Genealogy

“Claverism” observes 100th Anniversary in USA

Every Catholic and many a non- Catholic recognizes the name of the largest Catholic lay organization in the world, the Knights of Columbus.  This is a group of “practical” Catholic men who do charitable acts.  Indeed, over the last ten years, the “K of C” have donated more than a billion dollars to charitable causes.  The Knights of Columbus were chartered as a fraternal organization in Connecticut  in 1882.

Far fewer Catholics and others have heard of the Knights of Peter Claver.   This organization was founded in 1909 at Most Pure Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Mobile, Alabama.  The organization was founded to give “colored men” a Catholic fraternal organization. (Yes, sadly, there was a time that those other Knights allowed  no “colored men” among them.  Fortunately those days are gone.)  Like the Knights of Columbus, the Knights of Peter Claver are engaged in charitable works.  from their start in Alabama a century ago, they now have over 1000 subordinate units around the country.

CentennialEmblem2KoPC

But who was Peter Claver?

Pedro Claver Corbero (1580-1654) was born in Verdu, Catalonia.  After advanced Jesuit education in Barcelona, Tarragon, and Majorca,  Claver followed the call of God to minister  to slaves in South America.  In 1610, he traveled to Cartagena, Colombia, at the time, the leading slave port in the world.

Claver cared for the poor and the sick slaves.  He created a corps of catechists to teach the slaves the Bible.   It is said that Claver  baptized over 300,000 slaves in his 44-year career.  For his service to the slaves, Claver earned the title of “slave to the slaves.” In 1896, nearly 250 years after his death, Claver was declared patron saint of missions to African slaves.  Today, he is recognized as patron of slaves, Colombia, African Americans, and race relations.

The Knights of Peter Claver strive to carry out their charitable works with the same selflessness as St Peter Claver himself.

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A Unique Story of Ancestors: Spirit of a Choctaw Freedwoman

July 11, 2009 Craig Genealogy

Our Genealogywise friend, Angela Walton-Raji, has produced and narrated a video entitled Spirit of a Choctaw Freedwoman, which tells a very unique story.  The story is that of her great-grandmother, Sallie Walton, who was among a great number of African-Americans enslaved by American Indians.  This is an important and poignant story, well produced.  If you want to understand a difficult part of history about which many myths persist, see Angela’s work at ireport.com.

Thanks to George Geder and Terrance Garnett for the tip.

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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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Abelard Guthrie

April 7, 2007 Craig Uncategorized

Abelard Guthrie was a Kansas “Free-stater” and key founder of the historic town of Quindaro. He was the first Congressional Delegate from Nebraska Territory after passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854. The following is a biographical and genealogical sketch of Guthrie from The Provisional Government of Nebraska Territory and The Journals of William Walker, First Provisional Governor of Nebraska Territory (Nebraska State Historical Society; William Elsey Connelly, ed., 1899), available on Google Books [last visited April 7, 2007].

One fact not mentioned in the sketch is that by the time he married Quindaro Nancy Brown, Guthrie was a rich man, owning more than 1500 acres in Ohio.

Abelard Guthrie was born five miles north of Dayton, Montgomery County, Ohio, March 9, 1814. He was of Scotch-Irish extraction, and was possessed of all the persistency and tenacity of purpose of that hardy people. His parents were born in Pennsylvania, and were among the early emigrants to Ohio. They were closely related to the progenitors of the present Todd (or Tod) family of Ohio and Kentucky.

The following genealogical information concerning Mr. Guthrie’s family was kindly furnished me by my friend, J. V. Andrews, Esq., the wealthy banker, of Kansas City, Kansas. It is taken principally from “Pennsylvania Genealogies,”chiefly of the “Scotch-Irish, and German,” by William Henry Egle, M. D., M. A.; Harrisburg, Pa., 1896.

John Andrews came from Londonderry, North Ireland, to Pennsylvania, in 1737. He located on the Manada, Hanover Township, Lancaster County. His name appears on the first Assessment, for the “East End of Hanover.” He married Miss Jane Strain of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. Among his children were Hugh, Robert, John, and James. John was a physician; he had charge of the Philadelphia Hospital; died unmarried.

Captain Hugh Andrews was born August 31, 1764. He married Ann Speer, who was born October 2, 1764, and died June 25, 1797. Their children were four in number — 1. Isabella; 2. James; 3. John; 4. Margaret.

Captain Hugh Andrews was married a second time, to Miss Elizabeth Ainsworth, who was born August 31, 1780. They were married September 10, 1799, and moved to Dayton, Ohio, where be bought property. He bought, also, two thousand acres of land on Mad River, five miles north of Dayton. He improved this tract of land and built a house on it in which he lived, and where he died May 17, 1811.

Elizabeth Ainsworth was the daughter of John Ainsworth, and the granddaughter of Samuel Ainsworth – all born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The children of Hugh and Elizabeth (Ainsworth) Andrews were: 1. Nancy Speer, who married David Shaw; 2. Samuel Ainsworth, who married Miss Margaret Ramsey; 3. James, who married Mary Cornelia Van Cleve; 4. Eliza, who married Alexander Stephens; 5. Hugh, who married Phoebe Cook.

James Andrews and Mary Cornelia (Van Cleve) Andrews had eleven children, six of whom grew to manhood and womanhood, among whom were John Van Cleve Andrews of Kansas City, Kansas, the banker above mentioned, and who married Miss Mary E. Hill of Lincoln, Nebraska. He lived ten years in Pueblo, Colorado; four years in Topeka, Kansas; then moved to Kansas City, Kansas.

Mrs. Elizabeth (Ainsworth) Andrews married James Guthrie, April 22, 1813.

James Guthrie was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, August 19, 1784. His ancestors were Scotch-Irish Presbyterians who came early to Pennsylvania from the North of Ireland. He came to Ohio in 1809, and engaged in teaching school in and about Dayton. He was an energetic man of somewhat eccentric character, but held in high esteem for his industry, public spirit, and genuine worth. His wife Elizabeth (Ainsworth) died September 1, 1850. He was married a second time; this second marriage caused him and his children much trouble. He died August 3, 1860. He and his first wife are buried in Woodland Cemetery, Dayton, Ohio, with other kindred.

The children of James Guthrie and his wife Elizabeth (Ainsworth) were: 1. Abelard, born March 9, 1814; 2. Eloisa, born June 19, 1817; married Jacob Light; 3. Margaret, born May 19, 1819; married Isaac Strohm.

Abelard Guthrie was married early in the year 1844, in what is now Kansas City, Kansas, to Miss Quindaro Nancy Brown, a Wyandot-Shawnee girl, of the Big Turtle Clan of the Wyandot Tribe and the Turtle Clan of the Shawnee Tribe. Miss Brown was born in Canada West, and was the daughter of Adam Brown, who was the son of Chief Adam Brown, who bought Governor Walker’s father from the Delawares. Miss Brown’s mother was a Shawnee. Mrs. Guthrie was, at the time of her marriage, said to be the most beautiful girl in the Wyandot Nation. She was tall and of faultless form. Intellectually she was a superior woman. She was a faithful wife, a devoted, Christian mother. She died at her home on Russell’s Creek in the Cherokee Country, Indian Territory, April 13, 1886, and is buried in the cemetery at Chetopa, Kansas.

Four of the children of Abelard Guthrie and his wife Quindaro Nancy (Brown) lived to maturity, two sons and two daughters: 1. James; married Grace —– ; they have four children: 1. Lucy; 2. Percy; 3. Hugh; 4. Ray; Lucy is Matron of the Government School at Wyandotte, Indian Territory.
2. Abalura; married Charles Graves; died, leaving one son, Clarence Graves.
3. Norsona; married Edward S. Lane, brother of Hon. V. J. Lane, the veteran editor of the Herald, of Kansas City, Kansas. They have two sons; 1. Marsh; 2. Vernon.
4. Jacob; married Dora —–; they have two children 1. Wade Abelard; 2. Robert.

When Abelard Guthrie married Miss Brown he was adopted into the Bear Clan of the Wyandots, and given the name Tah-keh’-yoh-shrah’-tseh, which means the twin brain, or the man with two brains. The name was given to denote his recognized ability. He was supposed, by the Indian system of name-giving in this particular instance, to possess, after his adoption, the brain of the white man and the brain of the Bear (i. e., the Indian).

He died suddenly in Washington City, of heart failure, January 13, 1873. He was there at the time urging upon Congress the justice of some long neglected claims of the Wyandots and himself, and the Shawnee claim of his wife and family.

Abelard Guthrie was not a large man. In his Journal, February 28,1862, he gives his height as five feet, nine and three-fourths inches, and his weight as one hundred and fifty-seven pounds. His eyes were blue, his complexion fair, his hair auburn. His features of face were rugged and strong; mouth large, mobile, firm. Until the very last years of his life he wore his hair like the Indians formerly wore theirs – long, and falling over his shoulders. He was a man of strong religious nature and convictions. All through his Journals be speaks of his faith and his trust in God. He even writes some of his prayers. Had it not been for his strong belief in the justice of the overruling providence of God, he says often in his Journals, he could not have survived many of his trials and troubles.

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Quindaro, Kansas

April 7, 2007 Craig Uncategorized

A few days ago we reviewed our Fifth Grade history about the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and its de facto repeal with the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854. These two pieces of legislation effectively turned Kansas into the first battlefield of the Civil War long before the secession of the Southern states. People on both sides of the slavery question poured into Kansas to influence elections in that state.

To say that feelings ran high understates the matter. In Clay County, Missouri, just across the river from Kansas, pro-slavery gangs launched raids into Kansas to terrorize and intimidate the “free-staters.” Organizations such as the “Platte County Self-Defense Association” were formed in Missouri as newspapers in Jackson, Platte, Clay, counties editorialized that Missouri should “do its duty” to prevent another free state entering the Union. One source says that a “tidal wave of political hysteria swept over western Missouri.” In a notorious incident at Parksville, Missouri, G.S. Park and W.J. Patterson, editors of the abolitionist journal the Luminary, were threatened with drowning and their press destroyed. “And if they go to Kansas to reside,” said one agitator, “we pledge our honor as men to follow and hang them whenever we can take them.

The frenzy in Missouri was matched in Kansas. Abolitionists arrived in large numbers from Northern and Northeastern states. Violence broke out between the two groups.

Meanwhile, slaves sought to escape to Kansas. However, this was not necessarily a good idea. The newly established towns of Atchison, Leavenworth, and Delaware City were virtually closed to free-stater and abolitionist. As a result, the free-staters sought to establish a safe haven on the Missouri River below Kansas City. The haven became the town of Quindaro.

Much of the land in the area was owned by Abelard Guthrie from Ohio. He was married to a Wyandot Indian named Quindaro, who used her influence with the tribe to acquire even more land. Guthrie named the town for his wife [who was also known as Nancy]. The town was located directly across the river from Parksville, Missouri.

Quindaro [the town] grew rapidly through 1857 and had promise of becoming the largest town in Kansas. It was an abolitionist stronghold and a stop on the Underground Railroad. This letter describes some of the abolitionist activity.

Kansas City and Leavenworth grew very rapidly and soon eclipsed Quindaro as major cities in Kansas. By the 1870′s, most people had moved away from Quindaro. The town had a brief resurgence when Freedmen’s University (later called Western University) was found there. But eventually, Kansas City (Kansas) overtook Quindaro.

Today, Quindaro is a section of Kansas City, Kansas, hard by the Missouri River. A statue of John Brown stands at North 27th and Sewell streets.

Quindaro’s importance as the first free port and Underground Railroad stop in Kansas cannot be underestimated.

Genealogical Research Note: When looking for black individuals in Western Missouri in the late 1800s, don’t forget Quindaro, Kansas! (Regrettably, Ancestry.com has it transcribed as “Quindave” in some places).

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Kansas–Who Knew?!

April 4, 2007 Craig Uncategorized

Kansas is thought of as that big flat place of sunflowers between Colorado and Missouri–a long, boring drive on I-70 from Denver to Kansas City, Missouri. And of course, the location of Dodge City, a lawless Western town tamed by fictional Marshal Matt Dillion on radio and television’s Gunsmoke.

Most folks know or surmise that Kansas is the geographic center of the United States (or at least of the lower 48 states). Who knew how central Kansas was not only geographically but historically to the social development of the United States? Well, just about anyone who recalls the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 from their school days. (Have you seen Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?). That’s not meant to insult anybody–in the last few days as I’ve researched in Kansas sources, I’ve been reminded of the importance of Kansas and learned a number of new things myself.

The American social history of Kansas began with the Missouri Compromise of 1820. This was a deal struck between pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces in the Congress that banned slavery in the former Louisiana Territory except in the proposed state of Missouri and admitted Maine as a free state. The result was that slavery was banned in the area that became the Territory of Kansas adjacent to Missouri. But then, in 1854, Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act that for practical purposes invalidated the Missouri Compromise legislation. The Kansas-Nebraska Act organized the Territories of Kansas and Nebraska, opening new lands for settlement. However, the law allowed the new settlers to decide for themselves the issue of slavery.

The Kansas Territory extended from the Missouri River to the Rocky Mountains (including Denver). Upon the enactment of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, hundreds, if not thousands, of pro-slavery Missourians flooded across the river into Kansas. At the same time, abolitionists organized companies of anti-slavery emigrants from Northern states to travel to Kansas. The ultimate result, political discord, election fraud, and outright violence, presaged the Civil War.

Slaves ran away from Missouri to Kansas; free blacks were kidnapped from Kansas and taken into bondage in Missouri. As the “Free-Staters” struggled with “Border Ruffians,” the territory became known as “Bleeding Kansas.” Such historical figures as Henry Ward Beecher and John Brown rose to national attention in Kansas. The violence actually spread from Kansas to Washington, DC. On the floor of the Senate in 1856, Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts delivered an angry speech called “The Crime Against Kansas” in which he verbally attacked southern senators, including Sen. Andrew Brooks of South Carolina, calling them “hirelings picked from the drunken spew and vomit of an uneasy civilization.” He accused them of “cavorting with the harlot, Slavery.” In retaliation, Sen. Brooks’ nephew, Rep. Preston Brooks, went to the Senate and beat Sumner unconscious with a cane. Sumner was unable to return to the Senate for more than three years.

Ironically, the outbreak of the Civil War eased the tensions in Kansas and it became a free state in January 1861.

One more significant battle was fought in Kansas a century after the Kansas-Nebraska Act. On May 17, 1954, the United States Supreme Court unanimously decided the case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, the most important case for people of my generation. Fifty years later, on May 17, 2004, I was privileged to stand with the President of the United States, the Governor of Kansas, and members of the Brown family, at Monroe Elementary School in Topeka, to commemorate this event.

There’s an old saying in political science that “where you stand depends on where you sit.” When you find where your Kansas ancestors were sitting in the 1850′s, you may have some clue as to where they stood on the issues central to the history of that state and America itself.

Kansas is rich in historical and genealogical resources. Check these out:

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Sarah Gilbert Johnson: A Trip to Kansas, A Step Forward

March 31, 2007 Craig Uncategorized

One of the most elusive of all my ancestors is Sarah Gilbert Johnson. Here’s what I know about her: according to the marriage records of Clay County, Missouri, she married Ezekiel Johnson in September 1867. She appears only in the 1880 census of Jackson County [Kansas City], Missouri. There her age is given as 31 years old. Her birthplace is said to be Missouri. It appears that her father’s birthplace originally was written down as “U.S.” and then stricken through and corrected to read “Mo.” Her mother’s birthplace is listed as “U.S.”

The 1920 census of Jackson County describes Zeke Johnson as widowed, so Sarah apparently died before 1920. I can’t find a death certificate for her in the excellent Missouri State Archives.

For awhile, I knew so little about her that I believed her surname was “Gibson.” I asked Aunt Delorise about her and she said, “I don’t know . . . that’s back when someone was an Indian.” The story has circulated for decades in the family that Sarah Gilbert was an Indian. That’s never been substantiated in any way.

In trying to find Sarah Gilbert Johnson, I’ve concentrated on Clay County, Missouri. There are several reasons for this. First, that’s where she was married. Second, her husband Ezekiel Johnson lived for awhile.

Clay County was a complex place to reside in the mid-1800′s. It was known as “Little Dixie” because a lot of Southerners lived there with slaves. Many of these people came from Kentucky, which may explain why the county was named for Kentucky Congressman Henry Clay. There seems to have been a virtual “sister county” relationship between Clay County, Missouri, and Mason County, Kentucky. Just to the southwest of Clay County, across the Missouri River, is Wyandotte County, Kansas (which under a unified government, is now also Kansas City, Kansas.)

Kansas was not a slave territory–indeed, Kansas was a hotbed of abolitionist activity. Slaves were known to escape Missouri by simply wading a cross the Missouri river. So perhaps it would make sense to look for Sarah Gilbert’s original family in Kansas.

First, however, a couple of preliminary matters: I think for the purpose of this research, we should assume that Sarah Gilbert was not an Indian. And I think before we cross the river, we should check the slave schedules for Missouri.

The 1850 slave schedule show just one Gilbert in northwest Missouri. That’s Abel Gilbert of Weston, Platte County, Missouri. Platte County is adjacent to Clay County on the north and also is just across the Missouri from Kansas. Abel Gilbert has one slave, an 18 year old female. We note this fact; we also casually note that Abel is from Kentucky’s wife’s name is Hannah. We now move on to Kansas.

On the 1880 census in Wyandotte County, we find William Gilbert, age 52; his wife, Hannah, age 55; and their daughter, Magdalen, age 10. William and Hannah are from Kentucky.

On the 1900 census in Wyandotte County, Hannah Gilbert is the head of a household; William seems to have passed away during the intervening two decades. Hannah is described as widowed at age 67; she is said to be fro Missouri. She lives with a daughter, Mary Perkins, who is 49 years old, and two boarders, Charles Frye and Rada Frye, whose father is said to be from Kentucky.

The 1895 Kansas state census shows Kentucky-born Hannah Gilbert, 65 years old. The 1905 Kansas state census enumerated Hannah Gilbert, 73, from Kentucky, with Mary Perkins, 48.

The other Kansas state censuses tell an interesting tale:

1865
Peace Gilbert 38 M M Labor Ky
Hannah ” 38 F B Domest. Ky
Mary F. ” 14 F B Mo
Lourella ” 13 F B “
Anna ” 2 F B “

1875

Wm Gilbert 60 M B Labor Ky Mo (where from to Kansas
Hannah J do 60 F ” do
WH do 28 M ” Laborer do
Mary Perkins 21 F ” servant do
MA Gilbert 7 ” ” Kansas
Maggie do 3 ” ‘ do
Mimi Read 94 ” ” Kentucky Kentucky

I’m inclined to believe that Hannah Gilbert was born around 1832 0r 1833. In any event, she would have been old enough to have been Sarah Gilbert’s mother. I think we have a good working hypothesis that this may be Sarah Gilbert’s original family. The rest of the hypothesis is that the family came to Missouri with slaveowners from Kentucky and at some point, made their way to Kansas from northwest Missouri.

But where is Sarah Gilbert herself? Well, by the time of the 1870 federal census, she was married to Ezekiel Johnson. By the time of the 1865 Kansas state census, she may have been living with the Johnson family in Missouri.

In any event, this is a step forward; now let’s work with the hypothesis and see where we get.

UPDATE (4/1/07, 6:35 am PDT): I’ve just examined the 1870 census and found the family discussed above listed as “Gelbert.” The family is enumerated as follows:

Isaac Gelbert, 53, Laborer, Kentucky
Hannah J., 58, Keeping house, Kentucky
Mary Perkins, 20, Cook, Kentucky
Luella Gelbert, 19, Servant, Missouri
Elbella, 5, Kansas
Minta Ann, 1, Kansas

The family in 1870 is found in Quindaro, Kansas. According to historian and law professor Harriet C. Frazier, Quindaro was “a haven for runaway slaves from places such as Platte County, Missouri.” Runaway and Freed Missouri Slaves and Those Who Helped Them, 1783-1865 (McFarland & C0., 2004), p. 147. Professor Frazier also notes that Quindaro, once a town of 5,000 persons, hosted a stop on the Underground Railroad. Runaway and Freed Missouri Slaves, at 176. Today, Quindaro has been overtaken by the city of Kansas City, Kansas. In her book, Professor Frazier includes a photograph of a statue of John Brown at 27th and Sewell streets in the section of Kansas City, Kansas, that once was Quindaro.

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