One thing we should keep in mind is that the practice of referring to enslaved people by a given name only was a part of the attempt of the system of slavery to dehumanize them..to other them. It was after emancipation on that I went back to work for Col. Morrow and where I got the name Lottie, as already explained. Students consider how US history books, films, and other works of popular culture have misrepresented the history of the Reconstruction era. I was bornthe child of Phillis Houston, slave of Sol Smith. You can read the introductory maps for a high-level guided explanation, view the timeline and chronology of . I am generally called Cap Sherrod but I was married under Cap Ross and have voted under the name Ross, A good many people call me Cap Sherrod because I belonged to Sherrod but I calls myself Cap Ross.. It gives the age and sex of the slave and the number of slaves of each age and sex. Abel, the name of Adam and Eve's unfortunate younger son, compensates with positive connotations: capable, competent, ready and willing. A. I was first called by that name in the family of Col. Morrow in whose service I was in Louisville, Ky., just after the war. But there was also the detective Nero Wolfe, hero of many mystery stories. I think mostly about family separationas a mother now myself, the very idea that my dear child could be sold to who knows where, never to be seen again..just reduces me to tears anytime. At your request I have finally made available for viewing past popular webinars! There was often a fluidity to the surnames that enslaved people had. Besides the Morrows, whom else did you live with in Louisville? Your insight is always welcome and I am glad you shared these posts for other readers to see. Societies. Hi Rodney, 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. Instead a wide variety of surnames came about that would be the family name for future generations. 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! Besides the Morrows, whom else did you live with in Louisville? With mythological names rising, the handsome son of Zeus and god of medicine, music, and poetry among many other things might offer an interesting, if high-pressure, option. This is true in some cases but not all. Extensive records of slaveholding over several generations exist for a number of North Carolina plantations, most notably the Skinner and Hayes plantations in Chowan County; Pettigrew plantations in Tyrrell, Washington, and Wake Counties; Bennehan-Cameron plantation in Orange County; Hargrove plantation in Granville County; Arrington plantations in Nash and Edgecombe Counties; Avery plantation in Burke County; and Lenoir plantation in Caldwell County. Now, that parents surname could very well be the surname of the most recent slaveholder or an earlier slaveholder. .When I got home after the war, I was wearing the name of Lewis Smith, but I found that the negroes after freedom, were taking the names of their father like the white folks. i have no way to confirm this. -Elbert Hubbard, "Families are like fudge; mostly sweet with a few nuts." Robyn, Unraveling the origins of FPOC and slaves in Francophone Louisiana takes some thinking outside the fact, meticulous research ,familiarity with the local culture, history and a bit of serendipity on your side. BRATHWAITE - This name was derived from a geographic location in the north of England. Once the slaves were freed they found they did need another name besides a given name. One frequently occurring name is Rolle. I would appreciate any constructive comments on this question, which can be posted to me via my website address above. Olympic speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno might inspire some parents. Col. Joshua John Ward of Georgetown, South Carolina: 1,130 Known as "King of the Rice Planters," Ward had 1,130 enslaved Blacks on the Brookgreen plantation in South Carolina. Wonderful to have first hand account that help shine light on the attitudes of our ancestors. I am the applicant for pension on account of having served in Co. B. Another myth is once African Americans were sold they never saw their families again. The first published African-American poet & author Phillis Wheatley was born in West Africa. Women tended to have two names, and slaves often just had one. I make extensive use of tables for organization, analysis and citation in my research, and they have proven very popular with genealogists. . Enslaved women were raped, creating children with white fathers who in most cases did not claim them and even sold them away. This old French surname has Germanic origin, and means 'noble'. Table 7. Practices undoubtedly varied, and different archival sources may yield different conclusions. Letter to Armistead Burt of September 1, 1831, sfn error: no target: CITEREFCalhoun1837 (. . The last U.S.census slave schedules were enumerated by County in 1860 and included 393,975 named persons holding 3,950,546 unnamed slaves, or an average of about ten slaves per holder. One thing I envy about the Catholic church is the baptisms available for even the enslaved people there. It means 'clerk' or 'secretary'. Its knowledge that I think most Americans (not even just white Americans) dont have and it is endlessly fascinating and sobering both at the same time. I make extensive use of tables for organization, analysis and citation in my research, and they have proven very popular with genealogists. common last names for slaves in the 1800s. 19. The name James has been a popular Victorian male names in the 1800s. Slave Names Below are some best cute and catchy slave names: Infirm Mite Lunn Amanda Walter Garner Hannah Delia Bastard Inferior Weevil George O'Hanlon Jordan John Owen Rachel Fetid Spider Betty Nathan York John Wright Wicked Whelp Thornton Dick Field Robert Dick William Hunter William Sam Kiner Augustus Dick a/k/a Richard Ferguson Foul Beast I have done quite a bit of genealogy for my own family, and it was difficult enough, but what you are doing, is incredible work. Other common surnames included Jones, Matthews, Sinclair, and Bennett, Price, and Gray.. My father would be 105 if he were alive. 2023 The Voice of the Black Community in California. 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. I am sure your father would also be very proud of your interest in family history. Start your year off with tips and strategies that can help you in the new year & beyond. When slave owners married, they often received slaves as wedding gifts and inheritances from their wifes family. One given name the childs family selected and kept secret and one the child was known by given by the slave owner. 7. CAs Push to Restore Voting Rights to System-Impacted Individuals Still in Custody, Eli Lilly to Cap Out-of-Pocket Insulin Costs, Asm. I truly believe they used surnames of each of their former owners for some of their childrens middle names. Join my mailing list below to learn about upcoming webinars. Some of these examples come from the wonderful book, Voices of Emancipation: I served [in the War] as Henry Lock, the Lock being my old Massas name but since the War I have taken name of Rollie., [Edward] was owned by Drury Stovall and went by the name of Edward Stovall. You could not be signed in, please check and try again. Unfortunately, I am not knowledgeable enough about African and Caribbean research in the areas you name. In 1836, William Turbeville died leaving an estate with several slaves who were brothers: Turner, Nelson, Simon, Jordan, and Jacob. Thank you, my dear friend, for adding this about enslaved people owned in the Caribbean is really important, as some of the customs were certainly different. . 1. Many Welsh surnames follow this pattern, with Jones (from 'John's son) being the most common. Q. Best of luck to you, How lucky you were to find that Freedmans Bank document! They were all sold to different owners: Connell, Rose, Johnson, and Hughes respectively. Thanks for all you to do keeps us all so enlightened! I was called by that name all the time I was with the Morrows. 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. Through Reclaiming Kin, I share tips on genealogy skillbuilding for all genealogists, and on researching slavery and the enslaved. No superior alternative has yet been found." This lively Old Testament nature name (belonging to one of the three beautiful daughters of Job) may be missing from the current US Top 1000 list, but it ranks highly here on Nameberry making it one to watch! Of course my mother wasnt a Bradley fore she married. I liked the name better than Octavia, and so I took it with me to Danville, and was never called anything else there than that name. There are certainly methods you can used to try to verify some of the storyyou can look for Carrington and Williams slaveholders in the area in which your ancestor lived in the 1870 census. And my goodness, how kind of you to suggest a TED talk, maybe one of these days;) Genealogys pull is what initially pulled me into studying slavery, and also introduced me to the new understanding that historians are uncovering. Names of prominent slaveholderse.g. Eliza Moore (1843 - January 21, 1948) Source = Pinimg. He identified father, mother and siblings in a Freedmans bank deposit in 1873, when he was already in New York City. My fathers name was John Crosby and he lived in the town of Geneva, Alabama, I had two brothers and one sister. Both comments and pings are currently closed. A. Mr. Thomas Jefferson of Louisville, bought me when I was three years of age from Mr. Dearing. By examining periods of violence during the Reconstruction era, students learn about the potential backlash to political and social change. I also have a Slavery and Freedom Collection available for $20. The poster on each page *provides the link to the handout* for that lecture, so be sure to copy it. -Unknown, "If you can't get rid of the skeleton in your closet, you might as well make it dance!" . When I was born my mother was known as Phillis Smith and I took the name of Smith too. Join me as I present this NEW webinar that covers why we miss our ancestors in these records and presents numerous strategies to assist in finding every clue in census records. Plus, Jonah comes with a ready-made nursery-decorating motif. My mothers name was Octavia Smith and it was from her that I got it but where the name came from to her I never knew. ", "The great gift of family life is to be intimately acquainted with people you might never ever introduce yourself to had life not done it for you. I liked the name better than Octavia, and so I took it with me to Danville, and was never called anything else there than that name. common last names in the 1800s Patronymic surnames such as Jansen/Janssen, Hansen, and Petersen are the most common names in the far north (Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein). Although it is not widely known, some African Americans used surnames before they were emancipated. At her death when Thomas was ten, he was sold to Solomon Cobbs who lived nearby. The table below shows the most common last names with statistics on the heritage and ancestry of those with the surname. Special slave censuses were kept in the early 1800s. Abel, et al. Brutus) and a private name (e.g. Hi Jann, The surname Williams occurs roughly 550 times per 100,000 people in the U.S. You can find explanations for each of the table columns below, or use the following links to view more last names for different ancestries. Hello Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Slavery. A valuable and incisive discussion, both theoretically and historically informed, of slave naming in two African societies, the Caribbean, and the American South. . Love you, Location the owner of ones ancestor is crucial for an African American genealogist to trace his family before 1870. I especially recommend Mother, Thy Name is Mystery! Recently, I was looking for more information on Wesley Thompson, who was born about 1835 and who was living in Morgan County, Alabama with his wife, Nellie, and five children in 1880. For example, I know of one Louisiana family whose surname of Poulard evolved from a ancestor of the Poular nation(aka Fulani). Join my mailing list below to receive my posts and get a free PDF with some of my favorite tips! It is these single names that have been most often studied. Seating is limited. Robyn. Chapter 4 gives a brief and introductory outline of naming in the United States during slavery and its consequences in African American culture. Index by slave owner's name | Surname unknown or illegible. I have been a researcher, writer, lecturer and teacher for over twenty years. This phenomena makes research very complicated when you dont know the mothers surname. Abebe: The genesis of this Ethiopian name is Amharic, and it means 'flower' or 'blossom'. These require Microsoft Word and a Windows platform. Slaves were generally listed with just one name and thus with little to none of the genealogical information recorded for free whites. 18. Derived from the word anull that is the Catalan language dominantly used in southern France, Anouilh means 'slow worm'. I was born in Montgomery County, Ala. the child of Phillis Houston, slave of Sol Smith. Of the 972 names of male Slaves recorded between 1619 and 1799 the leading ones were Jack, Tom, Harry, Sam, Will, Caesar, Dick, John, Robin, Frank, Charles, Joe and Prince. 1412 S. Spoede Rd., St. Louis, MO 63131-2557. please contact the History and Genealogy Department. A. I was first called by that name in the family of Col. Morrow in whose service I was in Louisville, Ky., just after the war. Best of luck to you in your research, You can use the links below to view more common surnames. . I did a post sometime ago about Slavery Studies, where I named some of the top books on the subject. Whereas names withAfrican, classical, or other unique origins were popular during enslavement, --- often continuingfrom one generation to the next and creating a distinctive nomenclature unlike that of southern whites -- free black peopleoften used more traditionally Anglicized versions of their first names. Index to "Descriptive Recruitment Lists of Volunteers for the United States Colored Troops for the State of Missouri, 1863-1865" (NARA Microfilm Publication M1894 - 6 rolls) For more information about the records covered in this index, please contact the History and Genealogy Department. Here, our list of notable early African American names. In the late 1830s, Nathaniel Terry of Todd County, Kentucky died leaving a plantation of fifty slaves. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. . Prior to the emancipation of the American slaves in 1863, those African-Americans held in bondage had usually just one or two given names. I worked for him as nurse for his children, and my full and correct name was OCTAVIA, but the family could not catch on to that long name and called me LOTTIE for short. Leo (M) (Russian origin) means "lion". I worked for him as nurse for his children, and my full and correct name was OCTAVIA, but the family could not catch on to that long name and called me LOTTIE for short. Archambeau. European, Javanese and African and Indentured Servitude in First Contact and Early Colonization of Brazil, France and its Empire in the Indian Ocean, France and the British Isles from 1640 to 1789, George Montagu Dunk, Second Earl of Halifax, Green Atlantic: the Irish in the Atlantic World, Histories and Historiographies of the Atlantic World, Impact of the French Revolution on the Caribbean, The, Indentured Servitude in the Atlantic World, Indian, Internal Slave Migrations in the Americas, Interracial Marriage in the Atlantic World, Liverpool in The Atlantic World 1500-1833, Maritime Atlantic in the Age of Revolutions, The, Marriage and Family in the Atlantic World, Material Culture of Slavery in the British Atlantic, Money and Banking in the Atlantic Economy, Napolon Bonaparte and the Atlantic World, Nation and Empire in Northern Atlantic History, Native American Histories in North America, Native Americans and the American Revolution, People of African Descent in Early Modern Europe, Pets and Domesticated Animals in the Atlantic World. Slavery's reach is still with us, and part of the gift of doing African-American genealogy is recovering the stories of those caught in its grasp who could not in their own time leave their own witness.". There are many factors to consider in determining what surnames African Americans used. Several of the other slaves were sold to various slave owners. My mother then told me my fathers name was John Barnett, a white man, and I took up the name Barnett., My mothers name was Jane and she was called Jane Nunn because she belonged to the Nunns. The result was the birth of mulatto, quadroon, or mustee (mestee) children. For descendants, I would add the substantial emotional impact of seeing an ancestor's name attached to a dollar value, or being valued in a list with silverware and cattle. Although enslavers often assigned names to newly acquired enslaved peoplethat were whimsical, satirical, or condescending in intent, the frequent appearance of classical names-Venus, Cato, Hercules, Bacchus, Pompey-reflect enslavers' own educations and libraries. I am an engineer by day, but my true passion lies in genealogy. If you can identify your ancestor's master, this source will prove of tremendous value to your research. Students learn about President Andrew Johnson and the Congressional Republican's conflicting visions of how to rebuild the nation after the Civil War. 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 . Tags: African American Names, African American Surnames, African Names, Black Surnames, Last Slave Owner, Plantation Owners, plantation slavery, Slave Family, Slave Naming Patterns, slave trade. My Vimeo ON Demand video page lists six videos you can choose from to watch for 3 months ($15 each): -Finding the Last Slaveowner: Guidance and Case Studies, -Cluster Research: Using Groups of People to Find Your People, -Using Deed Records to Uncover Your Family, -Putting it All Together: Making Sense of All the Research You've Done and, -More Than Just a Name: Incorporating Social and Community History Into Your Research. However, research byLisa D. Cook and colleagueshas revealed evidence of racialized names from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Also included here are common names among slaves, many of which were classical and had ties to the Bible or mythology, such as Keziah and Venus. Perhaps Wash Ellis registered under the name of one of his parents. And now that it's been chosen by Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale, it could take off as their first son's nameKingstonhas. Analyzing Creole names, especially those of African origin, demands a combination of historical and linguistic expertise that has not yet been systematically applied to slave names. Students learn about the period of violence in the South from 1873-1876 and examine its role in influencing elections and ending Republican control of Southern state governments. One former slave Bill Scott from Wessyngton reported in his pension application for military service that when he enlisted in the Union Army officials put down his surname as Washington. While Smith remains the most common U.S. surname, for the first time, two Hispanic namesGarcia and Rodriguezmade the top 10. I mean, really retro. -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?" Copy this link, or click below to email it to a friend.
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