In the late 1830s, Nathaniel Terry of Todd County, Kentucky died leaving a plantation of fifty slaves. You can also look up Charleston Manifests by Slave Owner These records are also available through the National Archives Catalog (National Archives Identifier 2767350). Dick Lewis Barnett and Phillip Fry were African American veterans of the Union Army during the Civil War. There was often a fluidity to the surnames that enslaved people had. Peneus saved Daphne from Apollos romantic obsessions by transforming her into a laurel tree. I communicate with them on Facebook. The association with the infamous Nero, the fiddling Roman emperor, would be unavoidable. Going back a decade to the 1850 Slave Schedule, both William Wood and Samuel O. If you can identify your ancestor's master, this source will prove of tremendous value to your research. In the early years, especially between the 1860 and 1880s, families even changed a surname several times until they settled on a certain one. Your insight is always welcome and I am glad you shared these posts for other readers to see. I did a post sometime ago about Slavery Studies, where I named some of the top books on the subject. A krio from.Freetown Sierra Leone. Over time, East Tennessee, hilly and dominated by small farms, retained the fewest number of slaves. Melvin, E. Togo Salmon Conference, E. Togo Salmon Conference 1993 Mcmaster University: Goodyear III, Frank H. "Photography changes the way we record and respond to social issues". -Hugh Kingsmill, "No matter what you've done for yourself or for humanity, if you can't look back on having given love and attention to your own family, what have you really accomplished?" My great great grandfather in Mississippi took the surname of the previous SC enslaver, whose widow sold him away. 2023 The Voice of the Black Community in California. Most common last names names: 1-1000 | 1001-2000 | 2001-3000 | 3001-4000 | 4001-5000 New surnames were created from a local regions name such as Smithfield the name taken might be Smith or Field. I am researching the surname Culbert worldwide, and the data can be found at: culbert.one-name.net There are a growing number of African Americans with this surname, which I believe originates in Scotland. There are issues, too, about how to interpret the recorded names, which have been classified in different ways depending on researchers interests. Kindest regards, Delva Our headquarters are located at: 89 South Street, Suite 401, Boston, MA 02111. Societies. In small communities where census takers and county officials knew African Americans personally and their previous owners, they often recorded the former slaves with the surnames of their last owners. -Elbert Hubbard, "Families are like fudge; mostly sweet with a few nuts." Please share, in the comments below, examplesyou have come across of the surnames of enslaved people, especially if it was different from their last slaveholder. Each is present in your body. One of the less well known aspects of the history of slavery is how many and how often non-whites owned and traded slaves in early America. The Language of Names. Here are an even dozen, pretty much forgotten slanglike words or sayings from the 19th century, rediscovered while delving in the archives and with added guidance from James Maitman's 1891 . This blog is where I share family history methods, resources, tips and advice, with an emphasis on slave research, slavery and its aftermath. Also largely unrecorded are the alternative names the enslaved used among themselves, sometimes called country names or basket names; they may also, according to African practice, have had multiple names over a lifetime. They called me OCK. The population was more than 16 million and the industrial revolution was under way, which debunks any perception of a broadly colonial society. You can use the links below to view more common surnames. Interestingly, the five most common American surnames as of 2010 haven't changed that much over time and are Smith, Johnson, Williams, Brown, and Jones. Enslaved people remained legally nameless from the time of their capture until their purchase by American enslavers. . Spanish areas had male Slave names as Francisco, Pedro, and Antonio; and for females: Maria, Isabella, and Juana. Davis: This name is a patronymic of David. The different spellings are due to the non-consistent spelling rules in Norway in the 1700s and 1800s. Distinctively Black names were thought to have risen from the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements, which promoted the use of names with connections to Africa. Thanks for all you to do keeps us all so enlightened! Thanks for commenting and continued luck in your research, I make extensive use of tables for organization, analysis and citation in my research, and they have proven very popular with genealogists. Most did not want to use their former owners surname, even through about 20% did use the slave owners name. In 1800, Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman were able to escape their terrible life of enslavement and were able to help other slaves trapped in a world of forced labour and grant them freedom once again due to the Underground Railroads that helped him, his partner Anna Murray Douglas and many other fugitives sneak away from the horrible Slavery in America was the legal institution of enslaving human beings, mainly Africans and African Americans. For more information about the records covered in this index,please contact the History and Genealogy Department. Thanks for writing this post! Enslaved women were raped, creating children with white fathers who in most cases did not claim them and even sold them away. I have been unable to trace several of his siblings and now wonder if it might be because others did not take that name. It means 'raven'. I especially recommend Mother, Thy Name is Mystery! In French-speaking Louisiana, Slave names reflected the dominant language and thus were generally different from those in the English colonies. 20 August 2022, 1-3:30 pm [PAST EVENT], Eastern Standard Time: Join me for a two-hour lecture and workshop on Using Deed Records. ", "Call it a clan, call it a network, all it a tribe, call it a family. My great grandfather Wilson Percival was born in South Carolina and I believe he took his surname from last slave owners family. Thomas mother, younger brothers and sisters remained with the Black family. 3. The highest percentage of African names was found among male slaves in the eighteenth century, when . 1754 Excerpts from the Courant for June 22 to 29, 1754 at Jamaican Family Search Genealogy Research Library - contain the names of some "runaway slaves" or indentured servants, and information about them. In addition to time and place, a likely variable is whether the birth rate, in a severely overworked and maltreated population, was sufficient to ensure a relatively stable population over several generations, or whether the high mortality associated with slavery led to declining numbers and hence to the frequent acquisition of new slaves. 1760-1810 Persons declared to be "white by law" or "free" (part 1), (part 2) at Jamaican Family Search Genealogy Research Library. It was after emancipation on that I went back to work for Col. Morrow and where I got the name Lottie, as already explained. Besides the Morrows, whom else did you live with in Louisville? In the context of The Bahamas, the surname appears to originate with Denys Rolle, an American Loyalist who re-settled on Exuma, one of the so-called Out Islands of The Bahamas, sometime in the mid-1780s. As enslavement continued through the 1800s, African American culture included naming practices that were national in scope by the time of emancipation, and intimately related to the slave trade. Spencer is a name that has everything: it's both distinguished sounding and accessible, dignified but Spencer Tracy-like friendly. Florence, Fiorella, Fleur, and Flower are translations, but we like Flora best of all. Surnames (not always those of former owners) would then be adopted as family names by former slaves and their descendants. Bernard Meaning: brave warrior Origin: French 4. Many of the former slaves and some free people of color took the first name of their father, mother and sometimes former slaveowner as their last. I am an engineer by day, but my true passion lies in genealogy. A. Feel free to contact me directly if you have more questions or need some assistance. . In order to receive their pensions decades later, these former soldiers and their family members had to demonstrate to the government that they were who they claimed to be. There has been much debate among scholars, historians and genealogists whether enslaved African Americans used the surnames of their last owners, previous owners, or a surname that had no connection to slavery. In my own family history, on my Yarborough side, I believe I have uncovered a pattern that my formerly-enslaved great-grandparents, Calvin and Precilla YARBOROUGH may have used in naming their children. It starts with a young man falling in love with a girl. Edited by Gabriele vom Bruck and Barbara Bodenhorn, 178199. -Kendall Hailey, "If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents and all the generations of your ancestors. It means 'bought land'. ", "No matter what you've done for yourself or for humanity, if you can't look back on having given love and attention to your own family, what have you really accomplished? On all subsequent census records, he is listed as John Lewis. However, a small change to searching on C?lbert, which accounts for the variations in spelling expands that initial list to 877 enslaved people owned by people with those names. He decided that he didnt want to be known as Cap Sherrod and that he would vote and marry under his choice of names. [15] Alice Clifton (c. 1772-unknown), as an enslaved teenager, she was a defendant in an infanticide trial in 1787. Archambeau. Emphasizes the giving and repeated use of names as a performative act of domination. 1-86-NARA-NARA or 1-866-272-6272, Finding Aids for the National Archives at Atlanta, National Archives Catalog (National Archives Identifier 2767350). Mining the Census: Are You Finding Every Clue? ", "Case Overview: Ann Williams, Ann Maria Williams, Tobias Williams, & John Williams v. George Miller & George Miller Jr", "Augustine Tolton: From slavery to being the first black priest", "Cornish (and Other) Personal Names from the 10th Century Bodmin Manumissions", "Gospel-book with added Cornish records of manumissions ('The Bodmin Gospels' or 'St Petroc Gospels')", "Following Brigid's Way The Irish Catholic", Charity Folks, Lost Royalty, and the Bishop Family of Maryland and New York, "The Untold Story of How an Escaped Slave Helped Sir Francis Drake Circumnavigate the Globe", "Slave's 400-year-old grave in Dutch Jewish cemetery now a Black pilgrimage site" by Cnaan Lipshiz, Times of Israel, 6 February 2021, Roman Theater and Society: E. Togo Salmon Papers I, "Professor Says He Has Solved a Mystery Over a Slave's Novel", "Day of history to unfold in Muthill museum", "Cornelius Tacitus, The History, Book I, chapter 13", "An Old Actor's Memories; What Mt. They were Nelson Nunn and George Nunn and they may have changed their names to Crosby too because they were my fathers children.. Middle Tennessee, where tobacco, cattle, and grain became the favored crops, held the . Tell me the name you were called before you met Phillip Fry? Most Popular African Last Names Or Surnames. Almost every major tome on slavery discusses slave naming practices in some form or fashion. And this example from another pension file shows how even the given name of this enslaved woman was held under little regard: Testimony of Mollie Russell (widow of Phillip Fry), September 19, 1911: Q. The name of the tragic mythological Trojan princess who was given the gift of prophecy by Apollo, but was condemned never to be believed, Cassandra has been used for striking characters in movies and soap operas. You could not be signed in, please check and try again. In 1911, Barnett and Frys widow, Mollie, both applied for pensions from the government. In small communities when slaves were sold, they were often bought by someone in the area. I'll illustrate transcribing deeds, show you how to find your county deed records on FamilySearch, and you will receive my PDF Beginner's Guide to Using Deed Records, a $12 value! At your request I have finally made available for viewing past popular webinars! This is another instance of oral history being a key component in tracing African American ancestry. The 2000 U.S. Census counted 163,036 people with the surname Washington. Q. In fact, the previous enslaver widow sold most of the slaves. Copeland This last name comes from Old Norse origin. Slaves are identified by given name under their masters. And please do share posts that interest you. Enslaved peoplethemselves sometimes chose names denoting weather conditions at the time of their child's birth or some distinctive feature of his or her appearance. I was called mostly Lewis Smith till after the war, although I was named Dick Lewis SmithDick was the brother of John Barnett whom I learned was my father . Table 7. 17. Farley, (English Origin) Victorian-era last names meaning "fern woodland". Anouilh. I just cannot imagine (thankfully) the idea of my name being changed with every new owner, with not having any idea of what my parents surnames were, of having a white father but not being able to have a father/child relationship with himand all the other myriad of circumstances that enslaved people faced. My maiden surname is Williams. See flier for more details. How did you ever come by the name of "Mollie"?
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