Most researchers who have used probate records know about the value of inventories and appraisements, annual returns, sales and distributions — all of which may provide lists of the enslaved, along with details of crucial events in their lives. Often overlooked are the vouchers. Where these have been preserved or recorded, they often provide more details about slaves and slavery. Vouchers were the detailed accounts and receipts for expenses by the estate. The annual returns will list these expenses, but the vouchers break down each expense; for instance, a return may list money paid to a merchant, but the supporting voucher will itemize each item bought from the merchant. Sometimes the enslaved are named as the purchasers (either running errands for masters, or charging items for themselves). Other vouchers preserve medical treatment for the enslaved (usually by name), rewards paid for recovering runaways, and sometimes money paid to the enslaved as midwives or as vendors.
For example, vouchers among the court records for the estate of Thomas W. Riviere in Upson County, Georgia, probated in 1859. The estate inventory, dated November 15, 1859, listed sixty slaves, among whom were a man, Ben, appraised at $1,000, and Lyddy and three children appraised at $1,900. Lyddy’s children identified by name in the probate records include Ellick, Frances, Smart, Make, and Silva. Frances is undoubtedly the “Fannie” of the book’s title. Vouchers include doctors’ bill dating back as 1853, documenting medical treatment for Ben, Lyddy (variously spelled Lydia and Lidda) and Ellick, including two bills for attending Lyddy in childbirth: “visiting Lidda [$]2.00 attention on Parturition [$]10.00″ billed by Doctors Drake and Flewellen on March 31, 1853; and “visiting Lydia at night [$]2.00 attention & Delivering Foetus [$]10.00″ billed by Drake & Flewellen on February 23, 1855. I had previously tentatively identified these two births as Ellick and Frances. Medical bills are wonderful documents for genealogists to approximate the birthdates of enslaved children.
I recently completed extracting slavery information from four volumes of recorded vouchers covering the last 15 years of Upson County slavery — there were many gems among the dross. Vouchers are well worth the attention of rersearchers while they are examining probate records.
The latest Journal of Southern History (Vol 75, no. 3, August 2009) includes an article by Professor W. Fitzhugh Brundage (pages 751-766) discussing how historians study memory and the role of memory in shaping how we think of the past. Memory is constantly changing as we each experience new things, as older generations pass away and new generations compile their own cultural “memories.” Our idea of our history comes not just from our own experience, but also from vicarious experiences we learn in school, read in books, and hear from our elders, mentors and peers. What has this to do with genealogy? Professor Brundage includes this interesting paragraph on page 760:
[M]any commentators have noted that Alex Haley’s work Roots (New York, 1976) was a catalyst for interest in genealogy among African Americans. Even a cursory visit to any of the major genealogy research websites will demonstrate that African American genealogy has been mainstreamed. All of the federal slave censuses, for example, are online. But I am unaware of any scholarly accounts that historicize this recent African American genealogical impulse or ponder its implications. For example, how has genealogical research affected understandings of slavery among African Americans? What are the consequences of knowing who owned one’s ancestors, where one’s ancestors were enslaved, and who made up the slave community in which one’s ancestors lived? Historians have understandably told us a great deal about how fellow scholars have revised the history of slavery that is presented in monographs and textbooks. But by historicizing black genealogy we may be able to understand more fully how African Americans make sense of their own slave and non-slave heritage.
It is stimulating and inspiring, I think, to ponder how our individual researches, and how we interpret and present our results, shapes not just our own family history, but connects to the collective history — the national memory — of the past for all of us.
In previous posts, I described examples of the kinds of information available in academic journals. The traditional way to access these resources would be to go to library shelves and start reading indexes. A far more effective way to reach many more sources is to use text-searchable collections of periodicals online. Because of the massive cost of compiling such electronic libraries, the best of them are subscription-only. Subscriptions are expensive and available only to institutions. Most public universities allow the general public to use their libraries, including access to electronic resources using their computers (you usually won’t be able to access from home without a valid student id and password). Below I describe two of the best resources.
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Some articles in academic journals can be very helpful for biographical information about specific un-famous people, as shown by the following biographies of three antebellum enslaved people and the reminiscences of one woman raised in a slave-owning family:
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Biographical
John Hebron Moore, “Simon Gray, Riverman: A Slave Who Was Almost Free,” The Mississippi Valley Historical Review, Vol. 49, No. 3 (December 1962), pages 472-484.
This article tells the story of Simon Gray, enslaved to Andrew Donnan in Natchez, Mississippi, who was hired out to Andrew Brown to run flat boats of lumber down the Mississippi River. Gray’s work was highly unusual for a U.S. slave; he was literate, lived privately with his family, supervised white employees in his boat crew as well as other slaves, was paid a wage, negotiated sales for his employer, and owned firearms. Based on the business ledgers and correspondence of Andrew Brown & Co., the author tells of Simon Gray’s activities for the company from 1845 to 1863, and names some of the other slaves Gray supervised.
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Academic articles sometimes depict particular places. This can be particularly useful for genealogists seeking local context for the towns, counties, or even specific plantations where ancestors lived. The following examples come from history journals:
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Georgia, Ogethorpe County
David C. Barrow, Jr., “A Georgia Plantation,” Scribner’s Monthly, Vol. 21, Issue 5, (1881), pages 830-836.
Scribner’s is not an academic journal, of course, but this article is fascinating just the same. Barrow describes the transformation of labor relations on his father’s plantation, Sylls Fork Place, in Oglethorpe County, Georgia, from Emancipation down to 1881. He describes the community, names many of the residents, gives examples of labor contracts, and tells some stories about particular freedmen. The article includes two very interesting maps of Barrow plantation, one showing the location of houses in the slave quarter and “big house” in 1860,
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Many academic articles explore specific aspects of slavery. Genealogists of the slavery period will find many useful articles like these two:
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Slaves’ Naming Practices
John C. Inscoe, Carolina Slave Names: An Index to Acculturation,” The Journal of Southern History, Vol. 49, Issue 4 (November 1983), pages 527-554.
This article discusses personal names of American slaves, and the evolution of naming practices—who named new slaves, and what names they were given—in North and South Carolina from 1670 through 1865. Inscoe analyzes about 11,000 names from the records of 145 Carolina slaveowners, church records, county records, a manumission society, and even three slave traders! He discusses the persistence of African names, the evolution of anglicized African names, weather names (Rainy, Stormy, Eartha, for examples), birthplace names, seaport names, and classical Roman names. Read the rest of this entry »
Recently on the AfriGeneas Slavery Forum, I suggested Academic Journals as a non-traditional source for family research. Over the years I have found several articles in academic and professional history journals that have direct application to our genealogical and historical searches and methods. Yesterday I decided to rummage through my file cabinet and describe a few of the best ones.
Although some are about specific people or places, any family researcher or local historian may learn some useful tips on sources, methods, and interpretations. Footnotes in academic articles show where the author found her or his information; therefore, footnotes (or endnotes) are a great source of ideas for places to look for evidence for your own research project.
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June 4th, 2009 in
Enslaved Period Research | tags:
1910 census,
african-american,
black family,
dinwiddie,
john j. hamilton,
reconstruction,
rowanty,
university of iowa,
virginia,
widowhood |
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