Fletcher Claytor (1859-1949): Born Enslaved, Died Free

Fletcher Claytor was born enslaved in 1859[1]. When the 1870 census was enumerated Fletcher lived in the household of Gloster and Irena Claytor. In the same household were three daughters born after the Civil War and assumed to be the daughters of Gloster and Irena. Also in the household were three  teen-aged boys -- George, Jack, and Fletcher. Perhaps Irena is their mother; we just don't know for sure who their parents were. This Claytor household lived in the Locust Grove district of Floyd County, Virginia. We know from cohabitation registers held by the Library of Virginia, several people formerly enslaved by Harvey Claytor,[2] a large landowner in Franklin County, Virginia, settled in Floyd County.

Fletcher Claytor (1859-1949); courtesy of Daryl Watkins
via Jane Lawry

By 1880 Fletcher Claytor left home as he was not enumerated with Gloster and Irena but I have been unable to find him in that decennial census. Fletcher married Serena A. Reynolds, daughter of Harvey A. and Nancy (Guerrant) Reynolds, on 26 August 1888 in Floyd County. When the 1900 census was enumerated Fletcher owned a farm free and clear with no mortgage, and he and Serena had five children.

In September 1908 Serena became a patient at the Central State Hospital in Petersburg, Virginia. The institution was originally known as the Central Lunatic Asylum and was the first such institution established in the country for "colored persons of unsound mind." Patients of the hospital were admitted for being demented, tubercular, epileptic, criminal, suicidal or suffering from psychosis. Until 1915 some of the supposed causes of psychosis included abortion, masturbation, or typhoid fever. Before the Civil War the enslaved who deserted, were emancipated, or married without permission could be diagnosed as psychotic and committed!

Central State Hospital building for chronically ill females; courtesy of
Wikipedia

Fletcher remained on his farm in Floyd County with three of his five children. Ulysses (born about 1894) and Junie V., (born about 1897) were not listed on the 1910 census or on any later record so it is assumed they died some time between 1900 and 1910. Fletcher's wife, Serena, died on 24 October 1918 at the Central State Hospital of acute dysentery.

By 1930 all of the children had left home. Fletcher continued to live on his farm. A married couple also lived on the farm and helped with farm labor and housekeeping. In 1940 a different married couple helped out with the farm and Fletcher had boarders.

Some time after 1940, Fletcher Claytor moved to Garten, West Virginia, where his daughter, Sadie May (Claytor) Ritchie lived with her husband and children.

On 7 January 1948 Fletcher wrote his last will and testament:

I, Fletcher Claytor, residing in Garten in the county of Fayette and State of West Virginia being in sound mind and disposing memory do make and ordain and declare this to be my last will and testament, by revoking all former wills and codicils by me made.

In the Fayette Co. National Bank is $3,000.00. I bequeath to the heirs of my oldest son, Leonard ($1,000.00) one thousand dollars.

To my son, O. M. Claytor, I bequeath ($1,000.00) one thousand dollars and to my daughter, Sadie Ritchie, I bequeath ($1,000.00) one thousand dollars.

I loaned to the Mt. Zion Baptist Church of Garten ($1,500.00) one thousand and five hundred dollars, which will be due in Nov. 1948 with 6% interest making a total of $1,590.00, one thousand five hundred and ninety dollars. This is to be divided equally among the heirs named above $530.00 each.

Lastly, I evoke[?] constitute and appoint my son, O. (Orestes) M. Claytor to be the executor of this my last will and testament.

In witness whereof I have hereunto subscribed this the 7th day of January in the year of Our Lord one thousand nine hundred and forty-eight.

Fletcher Claytor (signed)

The Children

HIRAM LEONARD CLAYTOR was born about 1891 in Virginia, likely Floyd County. He married Isabelle M. Chambliss on 20 January 1924 in Princeton, West Virginia. Hiram, who went by Leonard, was struck by an automobile on 21 August 1933 in Princeton and died the next day from a fractured skull. He and Isabelle had two sons: Hiram Leonard, Jr., and Clarence. Isabelle married Arthur Joseph Forney, a widower, on 17 October 1936 in Tazewell County, Virginia.

ORESTES MEREDITH CLAYTOR was born on 21 June 1892 in Floyd County. He served with the U.S. Army during World War I as a private in Company I, 802nd Pioneer Infantry. Pioneer infantry regiments were trained in infantry tactics but also combat engineering. Twenty of the 37 Pioneer infantry regiments in World War I were filled by African-Americans.

802nd Pioneer Infantry breaks stone to build roads so that guns can be brought
up to be placed in position. Chappy Meuse, France. Oct. 12, 1918; courtesy of
the U.S. Army

Orestes sailed from Brest, France, on the SS Nansemond on 28 June 1919 and was honorably discharged the following month. Some time before the 1930 census was enumerated he married, but his wife's name is not known at this time. On 1 September 1954 in Charleston, West Virginia, he married Lera Alice (Kidd) Berger; both were divorced. Orestes died in on 12 November 1975 in Charleston. He was interred in Spring Hill Cemetery in that same city. No children were mentioned in his obituary.

ULYSSES S. CLAYTOR was born about 1894 in Virginia, likely Floyd County. He died some time between 1900 and 1910.

SADIE MAY CLAYTOR was born on 8 November 1905 in Floyd County. She married Samuel James Ritchie on 17 August 1913 in Raleigh County, West Virginia. Samuel died on 25 June 1965 in Raleigh County and Sadie died on 21 July 1976. They had ten children: Goldie May, Lurinda, Dorothy Evelyn, Henry Orestes, James Leroy, Joseph Edward, William Orswell, Thomas Demaurice, Samuel Vatelle, and Harold Lonelle.

JUNIE V. CLAYTOR was born about 1897 in Virginia, likely Floyd County. She died some time between 1900 and 1910.

________________
NOTE: A Letcher Claytor born about 1860 lived in the household of David and Letitia Claytor in Franklin County, Virginia, in 1870 and 1880 but I have discounted him as being this Fletcher Claytor as other records consistently indicated Fletcher was born in Floyd County. At least that is my current working theory.

[1] Based on his age at death which was 89 years, 8 months, 15 days.

[2] Some think Fletcher Claytor was the son of Harvey Claytor and the family cook, Letitia, who was also enslaved. However, in 1870, he did not live in the same household as Letitia but rather in the household of Gloster and Irena Claytor. I have several DNA matches with descendants of Harvey Claytor and Letitia, but do not with descendants of Gloster or Irena Claytor. Harvey Claytor's mother was the daughter of my five times great grandfather Robert Mitchell (c1714-1799).

In Celebration of Black History Month (or More DNA Discoveries)

Peaks of Otter Presbyterian Church Petition

The Peaks of Otter Presbyterian Church was established in 1761 by a group of Bedford County, Virginia, settlers who were of Scottish descent. The Mitchell and McMullen families, and perhaps others had immigrated from Northern Ireland, where they had been planted by English kings in and effort to quell the "unruly" Irish Catholics. They typically arrived in Philadelphia and settled in Lancaster and York counties before eventually taking what became known as the Great Wagon Road through the Shenandoah Valley and settling near Peaks of Otter in Bedford County.

My five times great grandfather, Rev. David Rice[1], served as part-time minister of the church from 1766 until he removed to Kentucky. My four times great grandfather, Rev. James Mitchell[2] was also a minister of the Peaks church. So I have also become interested in the history of church.

While reading Peter Viemeister's book, From Slaves to Satellites: 250 Years of Changing Times on a Virginia Farm, I learned that the church petitioned the House of Burgesses in 1774 for permission to own slaves:

First page of the petition from the Peaks Church to the House of
Burgesses as printed in The Virginia Magazine of History and
Biography, Vol. 12, No. 4 (April 1905), pages 417-424

Petition of the Peaks of Otter Presbyterian Church, 1774

To the Honorable Mr. Speaker and Gentlemen of the House of Burgesses, --

The petition of a number of Presbyterians, members of a Presbyterian church congregation, in the county of Bedford known by the name of the Peaks of Otter humbly sheweth, that your petitioners have in time past and are still willing to contribute their quota in support of the Church of England as by law established in this Colony of Virginia; which they do with the more cheerfulness as they have hitherto enjoyed their rights and privileges and free exercise of the religion as Presbyterian Dissenters unmolested : nor have they any fears or doubts of being disturbed therein by this honorable House while your petitioners duly obey the laws of their country, continue good subjects of their most gracious sovereign, and are useful members of the community.  And as they look upon obedience to laws, and protection from the legislature be reciprocal, they therefore pray the protection of this honorable House in the future in the free exercise of their religion, which they humbly conceive is well calculated to make men wise and happy hereafter; to enforce due obedience to their lawful Sovereign, and to live in proper subjection to the laws.

While they thus implore your protection and favorable notice, they beg leave to inform this honorable House that they find it very convenient to support clergy of their denomination by the usual method of subscription, therefore a number of well disposed persons in said Presbyterian church or congregation, have made contributions to purchase therewith lands and slaves for the support of stated minister of their said congregation : but not believing the Elders or church session a body sufficiently corporated by any express law of this Colony in which to vest the freehold of the land and slaves in trust for the purpose of raising a salary and the same being in obeyance they would be liable to various trespasses without redress for remedy whereof your petitioners further pray that this honorable House would pass a law empowering the Elders of said congregation to dispose of the benefactions that now are or hereafter may be given for the support of a minister of the Presbyterian profession, in the purchase of land and slaves or to place the same or any part thereof to interest as shall seem most for the benefit of the congregation, and vest in the said Elders and the successors the freehold of the said land and slaves, to the use of said minister as long as he continues in the doctrine and subject to the discipline of the Presbyterian church as held and exercised by their sessions Presbyteries and synods; with power to withhold the profits of the said land and slaves and the interest of the money whenever the minister shall deviate from the doctrines or disciplines according to the judgment of the judicatures and if the profits of the said land and slaves and money should at any time exceed the salary agreed upon with the said minister, the Elders are to dispose of the overplus as also the profit, arising from the lands, slaves and money between the death or moval of a minister and the admission of his successor, according to the rules of the Presbyterian church, as shall be directed by a majority of the congregation : that the Elders shall have the power to sell any lands or slaves that may be thought less useful, and with the money arising from such sale to purchase other lands or slaves of more value to the same uses : that the said members of the Presbyterian church according to the doctrine and discipline thereof, and that shall be annually accountable to the minister for his salary or so much thereof as shall arise from the profits of the land and slaves, and the interest of the money, that the elders keep a fair book of all their transactions in the said trusts and render a just account thereof to such persons as shall be chosen by a majority of the congregation when thereunto demanded, and on refusal or default be liable to suit of the said persons so chosen with the consent of the said majority.

This our petition, being solely intended for promoting religion and virtue amongst the Presbyterians in this part of the Colony, is humbly left to the serious consideration of this honorable House to confirm or make such suggestions and amendments as you in your great wisdom shall think expedient, and your petitioners as in duty bound, shall ever pray.

Signatures of congregant petitioners*

[Endorsed]: Bedford. Petition of the members of the Presbyterian church, praying that Elders thereof may be enabled to take and hold lands and slaves, to the use of the minister, under proper regulation.

17 May 1774,
Referred to the Committee for Religion

21 May 1774,
Reported reasonable

Appended to the end of the petition is the following note from then editor of the Virginia Magazine of History and Biography[2]:

"This was one of the oldest Presbyterian churches in Virginia. Though Foote[3] does not give the date of the organization, he states that in 1766 Rev. Rice , afterwards known as the "Patriarch of Presbyterianism in Kentucky," became its pastor and continued in charge until 1783...

...As the petition was reported on favorably on the 21st of May and Dunmore dissolved the Assembly on the 25th, it is probable that no act was ever passed in accordance with the wishes of the petitioners."

The Enslaved People

Since we know the the congregants of the church purchased four slaves and acquired or were gifted a tract of land about 100 acres in size, either the House of Burgesses passed the petition before they were dissolved or the congregation of the Peaks of Otter decided to proceed without authorization once the legislature had been dissolved.

According to Peter Viemeister, the enslaved were Jerry, Kate, Tom and Venus. "In 1783, trustees Robert and William Ewing, William and Jon Trigg, and David Rice attested that the church now had clear title not only to the initial four adult slaves, but also their ten children: Nancy, Ishmael, Sall, Moses, Herod, Cyrus, Pharez, Jinney, Milly and Charles."[4]

*Signers of the 1774 Petition (Names have been alphabetized for ease of searching. If the same name appears more than once, then there were multiple congregants with the identical name.)

Jesse Abslon
William Adams
William Adson
Alexander Armstrong
John Armstrong
William Armstrong
John Beaney
Adam Beard
David Beard
Samuel Beard
James Boyd
William Boyd
Henry Brown
James Brown
John Burk
Charles Campbell
Samuel Campbell
Thomas Campbell
Merry Carter
William Cenedey
Charles Cobbes
Robert Cowan
Alexander Davidson
George Dickson
Abrah Dooley
George Dooley
George Dooley
Jacob Dooley
John Dooley
Thomas Dooley
Thomas Dooley, Jr.
John Downing
Willia Downing
James Edger
Jonas Erwin
Andrew Evins
John Evins
Abraham Ewin
Caleb Ewing
Charles Ewing
Robert Ewing
Robert Ewing, Jr.
William Ewing
John Ewinge
Samuel Farr
Thomas Feely
Michael Gilbert
Issack Groce
Dannal Gudane
William Handy
Peter Harman
David Harvey
Robert Hill
Abel Holmes
Thomas Howard
Andrew Irwin
Robert Irwin
Jarvis Jackson
Joseph Jackson, Jr.
Joseph Jackson, Sr.
Robert Jarvis
James Kennedy
John Kennedy
Thomas Kennedy
William Kennedy
James Kerley
William Lamme
Joseph Linn
Adam Linn
Adam Linn
John Low
Frederick Mayberry
Henry Mayberry
John McFarland
Charles McGlaf, Sr.
Lawrence McGuire
Thomas McHandres
Moses McIlvain
Nicholas Mene
Andrew Mitchel
Daniel Mitchell
Daniel Mitchell
Enos Mitchell
James Mitchell
James Mitchell
John Mitchell
Robert Mitchell
Robert Mitchell, Jr.
Robert Mitchell, Sr.
Stephen Mitchell
Robert Myers
John Patterson
Francis Read
Thomas Read
Francis Reed
James Reed
Slowman Rees
Benjamin Rew
Daniel Robinson
James Robinsone
Dudley Roundtree
Michael Roxer
William Rutherford
Adam Sharp
John Sharp
Abraham Sharpe
John Slayner
Polsin Smal, Jr.
Edmund Smith
Lege Stone
Isham Talbot
W. Tathane
William Thompson
John Todd, Jr.
William Trigg, Jr.
Thomas Williams
Benjamin Witt
John Wood
Thomas Wood
Michael Yocum
James Young
James Young

11 May 2018 Update: While reading The Ewing Genealogy with Cognate Branches, by Presley Kittredge and Mary Ellen (Williams) Ewing, I learned the following:

"The records of Bedford County, disclose a deed, dated 28 July 1783, recorded 25 August, of which Robert Ewing was the first signer, and from its vigorous style, probably the author, conveying certain slaves or their issue to be used for supporting a regular minister, and for such other church purposes as the elders and a majority of the congregation might agree upon."[5]

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[1] Rev. David Rice was of English descent and his parents were Anglican as was the law in colonial Virginia during the time they lived. David Rice converted to Presbyterianism as a young adult.
[2] Rev. James Mitchell was of Scots descent and married a daughter of Rev. David Rice, Frances Blair Rice.
[3] Rev. William Henry Foote, author of Sketches of Virginia: Historical and Biographical, published in 1856.
[4] These enslaved people have been released on the Slave Name Roll Project.
[5] Ewing, Presley Kittredge and Ewing, Mary Ellen (Williams). The Ewing Genealogy with Cognate Branches: A Survey of the Ewings and Their Kin in America, (unknown location: Presley K. Ewing, 1919), page 43.

Memoirs of Rev. David Rice (1733-1816): His Comfort and Success Among the Peaks of Otter
Pray Together, Stay Together
Apostle of Kentucky

If you find names of enslaved persons in your research, I encourage you to consider contributing the information to the Slave Name Roll Project.

Slave Name Roll Project: Releasing Betty, Billy and Mary

I have had an abstract of the last will and testament of Benjamin Jennings, Sr., for years and knew that he bequeathed his personal property to be divided equally among four of his children. From the will abstract I also knew that personal property included "Negroes."

A few weeks ago I found the probate package for Benjamin Jennings in Virginia, Wills and Probate Records, 1652-1983, collection held by Ancestry.com. Benjamin Jennings wrote his will 27 March 1815. It was brought to the Powhatan County Court to be proved and filed on 19 July 1815 and an executor was approved by court and tasked with conducting an inventory and appraisal of Benjamin's personal effects. The executor submitted that appraisal on 24 July and the three enslaved people were identified by name:

A snippet of the inventory and appraisal of the estate of Benjamin Jennings, Sr.;
courtesy of Ancestry.com

And so I am releasing Betty, Billy, and Mary, formerly enslaved by Benjamin Jennings, Sr., in Powhatan County, Virginia.

The 1783 Powhatan County Tax List indicated Benjamin had no "black" people in his household. However, the 1810 Census showed that three slaves were part of his household. My assumption is those three people were Betty, Billy, and Mary. Unfortunately, the 1810 census did not ask about the age ranges or sex of enslaved persons.

_______________
Benjamin Jennings, Sr., (c1740-1815): Last Will and Testament
Slave Name Roll Project

Slave Name Roll Project: Tracing Descendants of Former Slaves

On 3 March 2015 I wrote a post about the Slaves of Harvey Claytor (1800-1871) of Franklin County, Virginia. I used Cohabitation Registers I found in the digital holdings of the Library of Virginia. These registers are often the first time that a former slave appeared officially in a public record and included extensive information about their families and former owners, enabling researchers to perhaps link a former slave to the 1870 census. These records also included the surname used soon after emancipation.

According to an Out of the Box, a blog written by staff members of the Library of Virginia, post, "Virginia provided no legal recognition for slave marriages. The commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands directed assistant commissioners of states to order the county clerks to make a registry of such cohabitating couples in 1865. A year later the Virginia General Assembly passed an act to amend the Code of Virginia to legalize the marriages 'of Colored Persons no Cohabiting as Husband and Wife'."

I found four people formerly enslaved by Harvey Claytor, my first cousin five times removed, in the Floyd County registers. After watching the educational video entitled Documenting the Enslaved with Crista Cowan, I decided to handle the slaves owned by my ancestors in the manner outlined in the video. I went through all the blog posts I wrote about named slaves. As I created a person in my tree for each for each named slave and associated wills, estate inventories, probate documents, deeds, letters, and other documents to those people, I would search for additional records about their lives after they were freed.

Web links added to owners and enslaved people when there is no known
blood relationship. Also included is a blog link with more information;
image courtesy of Ancestry.com

Facts added to formerly enslaved Samuel "Sam" Henry Claytor. Most of
this information came from the Cohabitation Registers but I have not yet
made a source citation; image courtesy of Ancestry.com

I had success with two families I found in 2015. This post is about:

Samuel Henry Claytor and Adaline Lemons, Floyd County, Virginia

Samuel "Sam" Henry Claytor[1} was born on 13 February 1845 in Franklin County, Virginia, and was born into slavery owned by Harvey Claytor. In 1866 he began cohabitating (marriage between slaves was not legal) with Adaline Jane Lemons[2], who was born about 1849 also in Franklin County, and was enslaved by Creed Lemons at the time of her birth. On 27 February 1866 when the cohabitation registers were created, they lived in Floyd County, Virginia, but had no children.

The 1870 census indicated Sam and Adaline lived in Jacksonville, Virginia; Sam worked as a day laborer. In 1880 the family remained in Jacksonville, but Samuel may have run afoul of the law and served time in the county jail. He was also enumerated with his family in Jacksonville. By 1910 Sam's family owned a farm on Franklin Turnpike in Floyd County and he farmed his land while several of his children worked outside the home. Adaline had eleven children during their marriage and two were no longer alive. In 1920 Sam and Adaline were still living and working on their farm. Three of their sons worked the farm with them and several other children had married and left home.

Adaline died on 25 October 1922 of apoplexy and Sam died on 9 September 1923 of broncho-pneumonia following a bout with the flu. Adaline's death certificate indicated she was interred at Robertson Graveyard in Floyd County.

• Baltimore "Balty" Claytor, born 3 October 1866 in Floyd County; died 4 June 1936 in Floyd County; married Judie Loretta Banks, daughter of Bruce and Ellen Banks, on 18 December 1909 in Floyd County. Two children: Ada M. Claytor (about 1900) and Mary E. Claytor (about 1903)
• Mariah Jane Claytor, born in 1871 in Floyd County; died 9 November 1935 in Floyd County. Never married
• James Claytor, born 11 May 1873 in Floyd County[3]
• Peter Claytor, born about 1875[4]
• Adelaide Claytor, born on 30 November 1875 in Floyd County; died 10 March 1961 in Floyd County; married Doctor "Dock" Simpson Turner, son of Stephen Turner and Frances Patterson. No children.
• John Claytor, born about 1878[5]
• Mary Claytor, born 20 June 1879 in Floyd County[6]
• George W. Claytor, born about 1882 in Floyd County; married Clyde A. Jones[7], daughter of Richard and Edna Jones, on 4 November 1906 in Floyd County. No children.
• Palmer "Pal" Claytor, born 20 March 1885 in Floyd County; died 29 June 1957 in Floyd, Virginia; married Eva Baker on 11 March 1914 in Mercer County, West Virginia; divorced before 1920
• Anna "Annie" Claytor, born about 1889 in Floyd County; died 7 March 1961 in Floyd, Virginia; married Falos Morris Akers, son of David and Albina Akers, divorced; married Elliott Pritchett. One child: Vernon Akers
• Minnie Claytor, born 15 February 1897 in Floyd County; died 21 August 1958 in Radford, Virginia; married William Reed Columbus Ingram, son of George Ingram and Laura Beaver or Moran, on 6 October 1938. He was married previously with several children; Minnie had one son: Oscar Claytor.

In reviewing the Member Connect feature available through Ancestry.com, many people have some of this information, but not all of it. It appears they have worked their family trees backwards in time, as is recommended. However, I worked from the 1867 Cohabitation Registers forwards and in this particular case, it enabled me to break through the 1870 census which is frequently a brick wall for African-American family historians and genealogists. I hope this information will help descendants of Sam and Adaline (Lemons/Menefee) Claytor break through their brick walls. 

_______________
[1] The Claytor surname is often written in records as Clayton.

[2] Adaline's maiden name was often recorded in documents about her children as Menefee. Her death certificate listed Steven and Harriett Menefee as her parents. However, she was listed in the cohabitation registers as Adaline Lemons. I do not know the origins of the Menefee surname.

[3] Information about James Claytor is from the Virginia, Floyd County Births, 1873-79.

[4] Information about Peter Claytor is from the 1880 Census.

[5] Information about John Claytor is from the 1880 and 1900 Census.

[6] Information about Mary Claytor is from the 1900 Census and the Virginia, Floyd County Births, 1873-79

[7] Clyde (Jones) Claytor married James Lemuel Redd in 1923. I do not know if George W. Claytor died before that date or if they divorced.

Slaves of Harvey Claytor (1800-1871) of Franklin County, Virginia
In Celebration of Black History Month (or More DNA Discoveries)

Will of Alexander Kerr (1726-1813) Caswell County, North Carolina: Releasing Caty, David, James

Alexander Kerr (1726-1813) married my first cousin seven times removed, Mary Elizabeth Rice. Alexander wrote his last will and testament on 4 April 1810. The will was proved in the Caswell County, North Carolina, court in January 1814 and an inventory of his estate was conducted on 7 January of that same year.

This post is my monthly contribution to the Slave Name Roll Project.

Will Records, Caswell County, North Carolina
Repository: Caswell County Courthouse
Book F, Pages 387-388

January Court 1814

In the name of God Amen, I Alexander Kerr of the County of Caswell and State of North Carolina, being in a state of perfect health and strength both of body and mind, but taking into consideration the shortness and uncertainty of this transitory life and that it is appointed for man once to die, do constitute and ordain this my last will and testament, in manner and form following first and principally I recommend my soul into the hands of Almighty God, who gave it me and my body I commit to the Earth from whence it was taken to be buried in a decent Christian burial, at the discretion of my Executors hereafter named, and at the expense of my estate, and as to such worldly goods as it has pleased God to bless me in this life with, I dispose of the same in the following manner impremis,

I give and bequeath to my son John Kerr all the lands that I now own, also my negro woman CATY and her child that is now born with all her increase that she may hereafter have and my feather bed and furniture that is now at his house, and also my wearing apparel to him and his heirs or assigns forever.

Item: I leave my negro man DAVID to be appraised by three men no ways connected with my family, and for my son-in-law George Barker to take him by paying up to the praise value into the hands of my Executors within twelve months from the time he receives said Negro DAVID if it is his choice to take him on them terms, but if not, the said Negro DAVID may have the privilege of choosing which of my other two sons-in-law William Gooch or William Slade he chooses to live with. The one he chooses to live with may have him on the same conditions.

Item: I give and bequeath to my daughter Sally Gooch my feather bed and furniture that is at her house to her or her heirs and assigns forever.

Item: I give and bequeath to my daughter Nancy Spencer thirty dollars to her or her heirs and assigns forever.

Item: I give and bequeath to my daughter Susannah Taylor thirty dollars to her or her heirs and assigns forever.

Item: I give and bequeath to my daughter Patsy Slade my feather bed and furniture that is at her house to her or her heirs and assigns forever.

Item: I give and bequeath to my daughter Frances Barker my feather bed and furniture that is at her house to her or her heirs and assigns forever.

Item: I give and bequeath twenty dollars to be equally divided between the four daughters of my deceased daughter Molly Spencer to them their heirs or assigns forever.

Item: I leave my Negro man JAMES to be sold to the highest bidder among my own heirs, or others that he the said Negro JAMES my be willing to serve, but by no means to be sold to any man out of my family that he is not willing to serve, and the month arising from the sale of said Negro James with an addition of forty dollars to be made up out of my estate, I leave to be equally divided among the children of my deceased daughter Betsy Richey or their heirs or assigns forever.

Item: I leave all of the rest of my estate to be sold at twelve months credit to the highest bidder, and the money arising from such sale with all the rest of the money belonging to my estate to be equally divided between my son John Kerr, and the children of my deceased daughter Betsy Richey, and my daughter Sally Gooch, and my daughter Susannah Taylor, and my daughter Nancy Spencer, and my daughter Patsy Slade, and my daughter Frances Barker, to them or their heirs and assigns forever.

Lastly, I nominate and appoint my son John Kerr and my sons-in-law William Gooch and George Barker whole and sole executors of this my last will and testament to be performed, in witness whereof I do hereunto set my hand and affix my seal this seventh day of April in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ten.

Signed, sealed, published and declared in presence of John Henslee and Betsey Henslee
Alexander Kerr (seal)


State of North Carolina
Caswell County January Court 1814

The execution of this will was duly proved in open court by the oaths of John Henslee and Betsey Henslee the two subscribing witnesses there to an ad on motion ordered to be recorded -- at the same time John Kerr and George Barker qualified to execute the same and letters of testamentary issued accordingly.

Test ad Murphey CL


Book F, pages 391-392, Caswell County, North Carolina

Inventory of the estate of Alexander Kerr deceased, taken 7 January 1814
-Two Negro fellows, JAMES and DAVID
-Cash on hand one hundred and sixty dollars and fifty cents
-One note on Joseph Benton for two hundred dollars bearing date 23 December 1812, due 25 December 1813 with a credit of ten dollars
-One note on Jesse Hollis for fifty dollars bearing date 1st January 1812, due 12 months after date with a credit of two dollars and fifty cents
-One note on William Clifton amount twenty dollars bearing date 1 June 1811, due two months after date with credit of two dollars paid 12th July 1812
-One note on George Barker amount fifty dollars, due on demand, bearing date 13 day of July 1812 specifying in its face to be paid without interest
-One note on William Slade amount sixty dollars bearing date 12th September 1812, due on demand
-One note on John Simmons amount fifty dollars bearing date 31st July 1813, due 1st January 1814
-One note on Robert Martin amount twelve dollars bearing date 28th May 1813, due six months after date
-One note on Wylie Yancey amount twenty dollars bearing date 1 October 1812, due one day after date
-One note on James Yancey amount twenty-six dollars
-One feather bed
-Two sheets
-One blanket
-One countersign
-One bolster
-One beadstead
-One large trunk
-One small trunk
-One saddle and bridle
-One chair
-One quart mug
-One chamber pot
-One small table

John Kerr
George Barker


State of North Carolina
Caswell County January Court 1814

The above inventory was duly returned to court on oath by the Executors and on motion ordered to be recorded.

Test
Ad Murphey CL

_______________

Slave Name Roll Project

Slave of James O. Taylor

James O. Taylor was born in 1825 in Virginia. He married my sister-in-law's four times great aunt, Mary Ann Z. Tucker, and died on 10 September 1860 in Terrell County, Georgia. He wrote his will on 20 August 1860 less than a month before he died.

State of Georgia
Terrell County

In the name of God, amen. I James O. Taylor of said State and County knowing that I must shortly depart this life I deem it right and proper both as regards my family and myself that I should make a disposition of the property with which a kind Provider has blessed me, therefore make this my last will and testament hereby revoking all others heretofore made by me.

Item the first. I desire and direct that all my just debts be paid without delay by my Executors herein after appointed.

Item the second. I give and bequeath and devise to my beloved wife, Mary Z., all my property both real and personal including everything which I may be possessed of during her lifetime provided she does not marry and if she marries she can keep it all by her and her husband giving bond with good security for the forthcoming of said property at her death to be disposed of as herein directed. Never [illegible] she can [illegible] said property or a sufficiency of it so far as her own comfort and necessity may require.

Item the third. I devise and direct that my negro boy WILLIE, about ten years old, be sold by my Executors after my wife, Mary Ann's death and equally divided between Martha M. Tucker and Lucy A. Tucker[1].

Item the forth. I desire and direct that Elijah Tucker[2], son of John H. Tucker, have fifty dollars out of my estate.

Item the fifth. I desire and direct that if my wife should have a child or children by a future husband then and in that case said child or children shall come in and share as follows --

Will of James O. Taylor; image courtesy of Ancestry.com

Item the sixth. I desire and direct that after my wife, Mary Ann Z., breech or on failure of her and her future husband giving bond and security as required in the second Item that then all my property then remaining be sold by my Executors and divided and divided as follows: I desire and direct that Jesse Tucker and John Tucker sons of Thomas Tucker and my sister Frances Morris Samuel Morris Johnston Morris Robert Morris William Morris and such children as my wife Mary Ann Z. may have by any future husband, shall share thus, the said Jesse Tucker and John Tucker shall have two thirds of said estate and my sister Frances Morris six youngest children as above named to have one third of my estate to be equally divided amongst said youngest six children provided my wife has no children but if she has child or children then they come in and receive and equal share with said Jesse and John and my sister Frances Morris six children as aforesaid the said six children standing as one heir or legatee.

Item the seventh. I desire and direct that if my wife Mary Ann Z. should marry and fail to give bond and security as required in the second Item, the the heirs or legatees which I have willed my property to shall give bond and security to my said wife to furnish her with such an amount or property or money as she may choose as will make her reasonably comfortable during her life. All the said legatees to furnish her with equal in proportions to what they receive from said estate.

Item the eighth. I desire and direct that if either Jesse Tucker or John Tucker should die without [illegible] or a wife then the property shall be divided amongst the other legatees in proportion as I have willed my estate.

Item the ninth. I hereby constitute and appoint my beloved wife Mary Ann Z. Execturix and my worthy friend Jesse Tucker John Tucker and Samuel Morris Executors of this my last will and testament and if the said Samuel Morris should die before executing this will then I hereby appoint the next oldest of his brothers which may then be living this 20th day of August 1860.

James O. Taylor

Signed sealed declared published by James O. Taylor as his last will and testament in the presence of us the said scribers who subscribed our names hereto in the presence of said Testator at his special insistence and request and of each other this August 20th 1860.

R. C. Martin
Chas. E. Hayner
Samuel Denton [illegible initials]

Recorded 15th day of October 1860.

[illegible signature]
Ordinary Terrell County

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[1] Martha M. Tucker (born about 1847) and Lucy Ann Tucker (1850-1888)were sisters of James' wife, Mary Ann Z. Tucker. 
[2] Elijah Washington Tucker (1857-1936), nephew of James O. Taylor.

Slave Name Roll Project

Slaves of Samuel Kelly, Greenville County, South Carolina

My 89-year-old uncle's DNA matches are slowly but surely revealing clues to records about my seven times great grandfather Thomas Rice (1656-1711). An account of his life, written by his grandson, Rev. David Rice, stated Thomas had nine sons and three daughters. Various public trees have as many 17 children associated to him.

The following are children proven through the vestry books of baptisms in St. Peter's Parish in New Kent County, Virginia, which included the names of the parents:

1. James Rice, baptized 4 April 1686
2. Thomas Rice, baptized 24 June 1688
3. Edward Rice, baptized 17 April 1690
4. Mary Rice, baptized 15 July 1694
5. John Rice, baptized 18 September 1698
6. Alice Rice, baptized 29 September 1700
7. Marcy Rice, baptized 5 July 1702

As I was researching the other ten supposed children of Thomas Rice, I came across a Maryann Rice who married Samuel Kelly. Samuel's will was probated in Greenville County, South Carolina, in 1819.

In his will he made the following bequests:

First it is my will and desire, that my beloved wife Maryann Kelly ... also one negro woman named GRACE to have and to hold during her natural life, then to return to my grandson Samuel Forrester.

It is my will and desire that my grandson Samuel Forrester shall have one negro girl named FANNY,  this girl to remain with my wife Maryann Kelly till he shall arrive at the age of twentyone years, then to have and to hold said girl to him and his heirs forever.

The will was signed by Samuel Kelly's mark on 17 February 1819 and was probated on 24 April 1819.

Slave Name Roll Project: Releasing Nancy

Lawrence Van Hook was my 1st cousin seven times removed and the great grandson of Arent Van Hoeck, who came to the Dutch New Amsterdam colony with his second wife on 19 April 1655 aboard the De Bonte Koe. Lawrence's grandfather, Laurens Van Hook was a lawyer and a judge in Freehold, New Jersey, dying 50 years before the Revolutionary War. Lawrence's father, Aaron Van Hook, moved his family to Orange County, North Carolina before he wrote his will in 1760.

Lawrence, who was born in 1723 in the city of New York made the move to North Carolina with his father. He married Bridget Loyd in 1787 in Caswell County, North Carolina, and remained in that county until his death in 1801.

Caswell County, North Carolina, slave quarters; courtesy of NSCU Libraries

Another Ancestry member found and transcribed Lawrence's will, which was written on 6 April 1797.

The will was interesting in that he left a fairly extensive estate and appeared to have disinherited one of his daughters. Only one slave was listed by name in the will, though there are references to others:

3rd Item -- I appoint that in case Zachariah Jones and his wife Elizabeth die without issue either begotten by the two above mentioned, or by death and after intermarriage none begotten, then in that case a certain negroe woman named NANCY which I lent to said Zachariah and Elizabeth shall return and belong to my five children, or successors...

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Slave Name Roll Project

Germantown, Pennsylvania

Germantown is now a neighborhood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, part of which is included in the Germantown Historic District. It was originally established by German Quaker and Mennonite families on 6 October 1683. The borough was absorbed into the city in 1854. Germantown is located about 6 miles from the city center. Today, German-American Day is celebrated on the same day as Germantown's founding.

The abolitionist movement began in Germantown in 1688 when four men met and wrote a two-page condemnation of slavery, which they sent to their Quaker governing body. It was not until 1770 that Pennsylvania passed the first Abolition Act in the British American colonies.

During the British occupation of Philadelphia during the Revolutionary War, they housed some of their troops in Germantown. The Continental Army attacked on 4 October 1777. Citizens joined the fighting by firing on British troops as well. In the confusion caused by the battle American troops began firing on themselves and quickly retreated. The battle was initially considered a loss for the American side, but news soon arrived that British General Burgoyne had been defeated at Saratoga with the French recognizing the United States soon thereafter. The loss at Germantown was quickly forgotten.

Engraving of the Battle of Germantown by Christian Schussele; courtesy of
Wikipedia

My six times great uncle, Rev. Samuel Blair lived in Germantown with his wife, Susan (Shippen) Blair and their children during the Battle of Germantown. In fact, one of their daughters, Frances Van Hook Blair, named for her father's mother, was born seven short months before the battle. And president George Washington stayed at the Deshler-Morris House during the Yellow Fever epidemic of 1793. The house is now part of the Germantown White House National Park.

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Shippen-Blair House
Pray Together, Stay Together
Revolutionary War Chaplain, Rev. Samuel Blair (Jr.)
British Surrender at Saratoga
1793 Philadelphia Yellow Fever Epidemic

Slave Name Roll Project: Releasing Milla

My three times great grandmother was Anna Mariah (Waldron/Walrond), married John W. Jennings, Sr. The Waldron/Walrond family can be confusing. There were three men named Benjamin Walrond living in Virginia in 1810. Two of them were father and son and third married John W. Jennings' sister, Elizabeth. In the course of trying to untangle these three men, a long-time Walrond family researcher sent me the following transcription of a Pittyslvania County, Virginia, deed.

Pittsylvania County, Virginia
Deed Dated: 30 January 1797
Deed Recorded: 19 June 1797
Book 11, page 97

Grantor: Benjamin Walrond [NOTE: He was born before 1765 and died before 1820; married to 1) Elizabeth (maiden name unknown) and 2) Lucy Ellington.]

Grantee: Beloved children, Polly and Sally Walrond for the price of love and affection and good will.

Item Deeded: one negro girl named MILLA about 13 years old and her increase, and whatever property may hereafter be lotted to me of the estate of Jeremiah Ellington, deceased, be the same land or other property.

Witness: Thomas Tanner, Jesse Bupray, and David Ellington

Signed: Benjamin Walrond

[Jeremiah Ellington was the father of Benjamin's second wife, Lucy (Ellington) Walrond]

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Did John W. Jennings (c1777-1858) Marry His Niece?


Slave Name Roll Project

Slavery in Illinois and the Slave Name Roll

One of the prized possessions in my genealogy book collection is my two-volume, Centennial History of Madison County, published in 1912.  From it I learned the French first brought slaves to the land that became Illinois as early as 1719. When the Illinois territory split from Indiana in 1809 it adopted an Indiana code, which permitted a modified form of slavery. The code allowed slaves to be introduced into the territory and held as "indentured slaves." This enabled Southerners moving into the Illinois territory to bring their slaves with them as long as they indentured them for a term of years. There were thought to be about 900 slaves in Illinois when it became a state in 1818.

Illinois came into the United States as a free state under the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. However, the pro-slavery people believed the ordinance could not abrogate the rights of property guaranteed by the 1763 treaty in which Virginia ceded the land. So the slavery issue roiled the state for several years.

In the 1820s pro-slavery elements tried to call a convention to legalize slavery. A referendum held the next year indicated 60 percent of citizens were opposed. It was during this period that a possible[1] Riggin descendant joined an anti-slavery association. In 1853 a law was passed which prohibited African-Americans, including free persons, from settling in the state.

From the Centennial History of Madison County; personal collection

The Centennial History of Madison County included an example of a Record of Indenture:

"Be it remembered that this day, to-wit the 15th of March in the year of our Lord 1815, personally appeared before me, Josias Randle, Clerk of the County Court of Madison county in the Territory of Illinois, JACK BONAPARTE, a man of color, and Joshua Vaughn, both of the county of Madison, and the said Jack now being the property of said Joshua, and for other considerations, doth hereby agree and freely oblige himself to serve the said Joshua Vaughn, his heirs and assigns, ninety years, as a good and faithful servant, and the said Joshua Vaughn obliges himself, as long as said Jack continues with him, to furnish the said Jack with good and wholesome food, necessary clothing and all other necessaries suitable for a servant. In testimony thereof both parties have hereby agreed to the forgoing bargain in my office the day and year aforesaid.

Josias Randle, County Clerk of Madison county
Entered 1815, Term of service: 90 years. Jack Bonaparte will be free in 1905.

Test.
Fielding Bradshaw"

The 1820 tax list indicated that 20 people owned indentured slaves in Madison County. One of them was Isom Gillham, father of John C. Riggin's wife, Mary Adeline Gilliam. That must have made for some interesting discussions over dinner. Isom owned an unnamed indentured slave valued at $700 and his son-in-law was a founding member of the Madison Association to Oppose the Introduction of Slavery in Illinois. John C. Riggin's father, Reverend James Riggin, had manumitted his slaves when he converted to Methodism and became a preacher.

If you find named slaves in documents about your ancestors, will you consider participating in the Slave Name Roll Project? The project is a collaborative, continuous effort to help those with slave ancestors break through brick walls in their research by putting slave names in places that make them available to Internet search engines.

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[1]There were two different Riggin families in Madison County in the early days of the county's history. Descendants of Rev. James M. Riggin claim those families were unrelated. However, I have a DNA match with a descendant of Rev. Riggin's youngest son. So my Riggin family, which begins with a John Riggin who married (and divorced) Margaret Farris, are likely related to the other, more prominent Riggin family in some undetermined way.

A Slave Named Alexander

A few months ago I was at my local Family History Center looking through several reels of microfilm I had ordered. I was searching for additional documentation for several marriages in Bedford County, Virginia, and one death in Amherst County, Virginia. I was hoping the death registration information would include the parents' names of my great great grandfather, Powhatan Perrow Jennings, adding yet another piece of proof to my Daughters of the American Revolution application. That column was blank on the entry in the register of his death. So I might have walked away with nothing had I had not looked at every page on the reel.

There in the early section of the register for the year 1857, I found this entry:

Amherst
page 68

28
Name in full: Alexander
White:
Colored / free:
Colored / slave: 28*
Name of the owner of slave: P. P. Jennings
Sex / male: 14**
Sex / female:
Date of death: October 23
Place of death: Amherst
Name of disease or cause of death: Typhoid fever
Age / years: 12
Age / months:
Age / days:

* This column was a cumulative count by race for the year.
** This column was a cumulative count by sex for the year.

Of the tenth deaths recorded on 23 October 1857, four died of typhoid fever -- all slaves.

Amherst County Register of Death entry for Alexander, the 12-year-old slave
owned by Powhatan Perrow Jennings; image courtesy of the Family History
Library

I was not surprised to learn Powhatan owned at least one slave as he owned and farmed a 200-acre piece of property and 15 acres were in tobacco in 1850. Tobacco was a very labor-intensive crop to grow and harvest; it was the cash crop in Virginia at the time and for years before and after.

No, what surprised me was seeing slave names on the same register page as their owners. The few of us in the Family History Center that morning puzzled over this for quite some time. If slaves were property, why were their deaths treated in such a fashion, especially as the right to own slaves was hardening in the South at that very time? We all thought if any record of a slave death was made, it was done in the owner's property records.

The FamilySearch catalog provided the answer:

"Register gives full name of the deceased, race, sex, death date, place of death, cause of death, age, parents' names, birthplace, occupation, name of spouse, and sources of occupation. Between 1853 and 1863, the name of the slave owner was also given. Information is not always complete."

And so, I am releasing the name of Alexander, a 12-year-old slave owned by Powhatan Perrow Jennings, who died of typhoid fever on 23 October 1857. In another eight years he would have been a free 20-year-old man with nearly his entire life in front of him.

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Slave Name Roll Project

If you have ancestors who died in Virginia between 1853 and 1863, I encourage you to request the microfilm from the Family Search Library and look at the source document. You may have an opportunity to add too the Slave Name Roll Project and that would be a wonderful way to collaborate and share your research...Just a thought.

The Court Case Regarding the Slaves of Mary (Mitchell) Beard

Mary (Mitchell) Beard of Bedford County, Virginia, died 28 July 1843, twenty-nine years after the death of her husband, Samuel Beard. He had served on two separate occasions in the Revolutionary War and during his last term of service as a Captain. Mary had collected a military pension since 1839. Together Samuel and Mary had seven children who lived to adulthood and were heirs to their estate. Part of the property in the estate included four slaves held in dower by Mary (Mitchell) Beard.

The four named slaves were: HENNY, WALLACE, DICK, and RACHEL.

The children of Samuel and Mary (Mitchell) Beard and heirs to their estate, which included the above mentioned slaves, were:

• James Harvey Beard married 1) Mary McMullin or McMullen and 2) Rhoda Parker
• Elizabeth "Betsey" Beard married Rufus Thomas
• Robert Mitchell Beard married Nancy C. Webb
• Nancy A. Beard married Mitchell Ewing
• Frances G. Beard married William C. Mitchell
• John Beard
• Mary "Polly E. Beard married Bird S. Webb

Robert Mitchell Beard had moved from Bedford County and became a professor of religion in Franklin County, Virginia. There he married Nancy C. Webb. Robert died on 19 January 1837 at the age of 53 years. His widow was a native of Franklin County and she left with their children, likely the year after her husband's death, for Missouri in a wagon train. Bird S. Webb and Robert's widow were siblings and Bird's family joined the wagon train.

Conestoga wagon; image of painting courtesy of Wikipedia

Robert and Nancy (Webb) Beard's children were entitled to their father's portion of the estate of Samuel and Mary Beard since their father was alive at the time of Samuel's death. Polly (Beard) Webb was also entitled to a portion. That was a problem for the other siblings; they had no idea where those heirs were. The other issue they had was how to equitably distribute four slaves among the 13 heirs (children of Samuel and Mary Beard and children of Robert Mitchell Beard). The children of Robert Mitchell and Nancy C. (Webb) Beard were:

• Abner Beard married Martha Hale
• Samuel A. Beard
• Ferdinand Beard married Mary Wyatt Howell
• Sarah Ann Beard married Henry S. Howell
• John C. Beard married Mildred A. Allen
• Amanda Beard married Henry S. Howell after the death of her sister, Sarah Ann
• Robert H. Beard
• Harvey C. Beard married Tabitha M. (Jacobs) Howell, a widow

So the siblings who lived in Bedford County took the matter to Chancery Court and filed an initial bill of complaint soon after Mary (Mitchell) Beard died. In that bill, they asked the court allow the slaves to be sold so the proceeds could be distributed among the lawful heirs. They also wanted the heirs of Robert Mitchell Beard to be named as defendants so that a notice could be published which would seek their whereabouts. The requested notice was published in the Lynchburg Virginian on two successive months. The heirs for Robert M. Mitchell did not respond.

Heirs of Samuel and Mary (Mitchell) Beard and their relationship
to the decedents.

Some explanation is likely in order. Those people with a relationship to RMB are the children of Robert Mitchell Beard, a son of Samuel and Mary (Mitchell) Beard. Abner Beard remained in Franklin County and his location was known to his aunts and uncles. As a result he was a plaintiff in the case. Mary "Polly" (Beard) Webb moved to Franklin County when she married and she and her husband went to Missouri, thus while a daughter of the decedents, she became a defendant in the case as her whereabouts were also unknown to her siblings. Robert Mitchell and Nancy C. (Webb) Beard had a son named Harvey C. Beard in 1837. He was likely born shortly after his father's death. I believe he was not named in the case because his existence was unknown to the plaintiffs.

As a result of that non-response the court appointed two commissioners to oversee the sale of the slaves and conduct the sale at the best possible time and with the best publicity possible. Those commissioners conducted the sale on 20 February 1844 at the Bedford County Courthouse in Liberty.

Snippet from Chancery Cause No. 1852-049 (page 14), which was
the Commissioners report to the court regarding the sale; image
courtesy of the Library of Virginia

John Beard purchased HENNY for $58.

Richard D. Watts purchased WALLACE for $402.

Robert Allen purchased DICK for $475.

Rufus Thomas purchased RACHEL for $16.25.

There is no record of the proceeds being distributed to the heirs. The last page in the file was an affidavit from the administrators of the long-lost heirs, the children of Robert Mitchell Beard. In that affidavit they wanted to know how much money the heirs they represented would receive.

So while we learned who the new owners of the four slaves were, which may help their possible descendants, those descendants of the defendants have no idea whether their ancestors received a portion of the proceeds. Granted, a small loose end in the grand scheme of things.

The big thing for my research is that this court case proves James Harvey Beard is the son of Samuel and Mary (Mitchell) Beard, which is all I needed in order to submit Samuel to the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) as a proven Patriot.

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Slave Name Roll Project
Proving James Harvey Beard's Father

Wordless Wednesday: Governor Dick, Runaway Slave

Pete and I spent a long weekend in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, learning about the Amish and doing several interesting tourist-y things. One afternoon we ventured into Lebanon County and visited the Cornwall Iron Furnace. The furnace produced iron from 1742 to 1883; the process required many employees from unskilled to very skilled. Early in its history slaves were used to cut down the timber required to turn wood into charcoal.

Cornwall Iron Furnace main building, which dates from the 1850s; image
courtesy of Wikipedia

One such slave, DICK, also known as GOVERNOR DICK, ran away in 1796. An advertisement was placed in the newspapers for his return; hence, we know his name.

One of the exhibits at the Cornwall Iron Furnace
Visitors' Center; personal collection

TWENTY DOLLARS REWARD

Ran away from Cornwall Furnace, Dauphin County. on Sunday the 17th of April last, a Negro man, called Dick, (alias) Governor Dick: he is an elderly man, bald headed, about five feet ten inches high, stout made, has a down look, is slightly marked on each side of his temples with the small scores usual to some of the natives of Africa, has large feet, and a remarkable scar on the great toe of his right foot, occasioned by its bulging split with an axe. He is by trade a rough carpenter, and values himself greatly on his dexterity in that occupation. Had on when he went away, a new drab-colored coat, with metal buttons, jacket and overalls of the same, a new wool hat, and took with him some old clothes. As he lived in the early part of his life in Hartford county, State of Maryland, it is probable he has shaped his course to that quarter. Whoever secures the said Negro so that the owners may get him again, shall receive the above reward, and reasonable charges, if brought home.

Rudolph Kelker, Jr.
8th July 1796

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Slave Name Roll Project

52 Ancestors #30: Proving James Harvey Beard's Father

Ancestor: James Harvey Beard (1780-1869) and a host of other Beard men!

I always knew my four times great grandfather Benjamin Jennings (c1740-1815) served during the American Revolutionary War because my grandmother and father mentioned it often whenever our family history was talked about around the dinner table. I had no idea when I took over Dad's genealogy research that I had another patriot ancestor. At that time I didn't even know his name.

When Dad was unable to continue researching due to health reason, he had recently learned the name of his paternal grandmother, Effie Davis (Beard) Jennings. Her name was where I started my Beard research.  I didn't have much luck with Effie -- a 1900 census when she was already married to my great grandfather, and two Find A Grave memorials. I found nothing that revealed who her parents may be.

So I looked at public family tree matches for clues. Using those trees, I was able to find a possibility for Effie's father, a David Fleming Beard, Sr., and her grandfather, James Harvey Beard. I was able to confirm who these men married and that they were son and father but couldn't get any further back than James Harvey Beard or definitively connect Effie as the daughter of David Fleming Beard, Sr.

One of my fellow genealogy bloggers wrote a post about Virginia Chancery Court records. There, I found pay dirt -- a case where Effie's half-sister sued she and her siblings over land owned by her father. There were fifty pages of documents related to the case, which drug on for ten years. I now had the proof Effie was David Fleming Beard, Sr.'s daughter.

Case No. 3555, which proves David F. Beard was the father of Effie
Beard; image from the Library of Virginia.

Now, I had to get to work on the parents of James Harvey Beard. He was born in 1780 so I surmised his father might have been the right age to serve in the Revolutionary War. I went to the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Genealogical Research System (GRS) and searched for any Beard patriots from Bedford County, Virginia. There were eleven but only one from Bedford County and one with no county listed. With the information about those two patriots listed on the search results page, I started learning about those two men.

The one from Bedford County, Virginia, was John Beard (1705-1780). I found his last will and testament, which listed his wife, a couple of his children, and several grandchildren. Once I had sorted out who they all were, their relationship to each other, and entered them in my tree, I got more hints. All that led me to suspect, Samuel Beard (1750-1814) was James Harvey Beard's father.

I went back to DAR GRS and purchased the application for Samuel Beard. After downloading it, I saw why it had a "Future applicants must complete" message.

DAR GRS search results for Samuel Beard

The application included a lineage but no dates or supporting documentation! Applying to DAR was a heck of a lot easier in the 1960s than it is today!

DAR application for May Julia Jopling, who used Samuel Beard as her
patriot ancestor.

It wasn't particularly helpful other than giving me a clue about the unit in which Samuel Beard served. I had taken a class by Craig R. Scott about researching ancestors in the Revolutionary War period. I contacted him and he recommended two books that were very helpful in adding additional details about Samuel Beard's military service all of which was later confirmed by 30 pages of muster rolls and pay stubs as well as his wife's war pension application.

I learned by searching for all the Beard last will and testament documents listed in Rowland D. Buford's book entitled Bedford County, Virginia: Index of Wills, from 1754 to 1830 that Adam Beard was the son of John Beard and father of Samuel Beard. Adam (1725-1777) predeceased his father, which was why he was not mentioned in John Beard's will. In Adam Beard's will he stated:

"Item. I give and bequeath to my son Samuel Beard all of my lands of [illegible] and south of Lurray I now live upon together with my Negro GEORGE and his mother [illegible] to him and his heirs and assigns forever."

And there is where the connections between generations ends. I have no documentation that proves James Harvey Beard is the son of Samuel Beard and Mary Mitchell.

Simplified family tree showing where I have an issue in
my research trying to prove my lineage to Samuel Beard

I have proof that I descend from my father, Charles Theodore Jennings, Sr., who descends from Marvin Edward Jennings, Sr., who descends from Effie Davis (Beard) Jennings. She descends from David Fleming Beard, Sr. and he descends from James Harvey Beard. All this I have proven.

I also have this index record of James Beard's death, which lists his parents as Samuel and Mary Beard. The wife listed is James' second wife, which is not Effie Beard's mother. However, James' middle initial is incorrect. I have ordered a copy of this microfilm record from the Family History Library. If it is for the correct James Beard, I believe I have enough to prove Samuel Beard is my direct ancestor and that he served in the Revolutionary War.

Death index record for a James S. Beard, which may be my James Harvey
Beard; record courtesy of Ancestry.com

If not, I will plan a road trip to Bedford County to visit the genealogical and historical societies as well as the county courthouse. If that fails, I will go to Richmond to visit the Virginia Historical Society and the Library of Virginia.

This is my entry for Amy Johnson Crow's 52 ancestors in 52 weeks challenge optional theme Challenging.

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Slave Name Roll Project
Slaves of John Beard
The Court Doth Adjudge, Order and Decree
Newly Discovered Photos
The Mother Nobody Knew
George Washington Spoke to Him

Worldwide Genealogy: Slave Name Roll Project -- How It Started and Thoughts on Its Future

As some of you may know, the Slave Name Roll project was launched on the last day of February as a way to foster continuous collaboration between descendants of slaves and descendants of slave owners. One month on, it's been keeping me quite busy adding the contributions from many people who contribute by leaving links of named slaves as comments on the page. It's a good problem to have as the response is gratifying.

I contribute to Worldwide Genealogy -- A Genealogical Collaboration on the 25th day of every other month. Today I wrote a post describing how two DNA matches led me ancestors who owned slaves, how the Slave Name Roll Project began, and the thoughts I am starting to have about its future. I hope you will click over and read it and provide your thoughts on what the future of the project should be.

Image of a watercolor entitled "Old Plantation (Slaves Dancing on a South
Carolina Plantation) circa 1785-1795 attributed to John Rose; courtesy of
Wikimedia Commons

Slave Name Roll Project

Slaves of Harvey Claytor (1800-1871) of Franklin County, Virginia

Harvey Claytor reportedly owned 3,000 acres of land in Franklin County, Virginia, and perhaps as many as 100 slaves. He was my first cousin five times removed and according to a DNA match was the father of William Armstead Claytor, with the family slave cook Letitia. After the Civil War William Armstead Claytor moved to Floyd County, Virginia, with his mother and several siblings. That information led me to the a record collection held by the Library of Virginia called the Register of Colored Person...cohabiting together as Husband and Wife on 27 February 1866. I could not find Letitia and her husband Henry in the register, but I did find three other slaves who were formerly owned by Harvey Claytor.

Husband: SAM CLAYTOR, 20, Farmer, born in Franklin County, Virginia, residing in Floyd County, Virginia, last owned by H. Claytor in Franklin County
Wife: ADALINE LEMONS, 17, born in Franklin County, Virginia, residing in Floyd County, Virginia, last owned by Creed Lemons in Franklin County
No children
Began cohabiting in January 1866

Husband: JOHN CLAYTOR, 51, Farmer, born in Bedford County, Virginia, residing in Floyd County, Virginia, last owned by H. Claytor in Franklin County
Wife: MILDRED CLAYTOR, 34, born in Bedford County, Virginia, residing in Floyed County, Virginia, last owned by H. Claytor in Franklin County
Children: FRANCES, AMANDA, SUSAN, BIRD (13), MATILDA (12), LUCY (10), SARAH (5)
Began cohabiting in 1847

Husband: ENNIS LEMONS, 43, Farmer, born in Franklin County, Virginia, residing in Floyd County, Virginia, last owned by Creed Lemons in Franklin County
Wife: JANE CLAYTOR, 32, born in Franklin County, Virginia, residing in Floyd County, Virginia, last owned by H. Claytor in Franklin County
Children: TAS (10), SARAH (9), MONROE (17), EDMUND (14), KITTY (12)
Began cohabiting in October 1835

Prior to the close of the Civil War, Virginia law provided no legal recognition for slave marriages. On 27 February 1866, the General Assembly enacted a law that entitled formerly enslaved people who had married during slavery to all of the rights and privileges as if they had been duly married by law and declared all of their children legitimate, whether born before or after the passage of this act.

Cohabitation Registers held by the Library of Virginia

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In Celebration of Black History Month (or More DNA Discoveries)