On the 30 rolls of NARA Microfilm Publication M1895, Slave Manifests of Coastwise Vessels Filed at New Orleans, Louisiana, 1807-1860 (30 rolls), are reproduced manifests filed with the collector of customs at New Orleans, Louisiana, of slaves transported in coastwise trade to or from New Orleans during the period 1807-1860. Besides the Morrows, whom else did you live with in Louisville? Robyn. There was often a fluidity to the surnames that enslaved people had. Throughout the colonial period, as many as one-fifth of the enslaved people in North Carolina retained African names; Quash, Cuffee, Mingo, Sambo, Mustapha, and Sukey were among the most common recorded. Each is present in your body. Copyright 2023 Facing History & Ourselves. Alfred "Teen" Blackburn (1842-1951), one of the last living survivors of slavery in the United States who had a clear recollection of it. Although it is not widely known, some African Americans used surnames before they were emancipated. Runaway ads illustrate how many slaveholders knew the surnames of their slaves. Names. Copyright 2006 by the University of North Carolina Press. 1. There are so many examples of every kind of scenario, and I think it just speaks to the variety of experiences our ancestors had. Chery Meaning: derived from the Latin Cariacus, which means "land belonging to Cariu"; darling Origin: French 5. The majority of these slaves used the surname Lewis instead of Washington. Many of the former slaves and some free people of color took the first name of their father, mother and sometimes former slaveowner as their last. Edited by Gabriele vom Bruck and Barbara Bodenhorn, 178199. This was done more because it was the logical thing to do and the easiest way to be identified than it was through affection for the master. The practice was common until its abolition in 1865 with the end of the Civil War and the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution.. For the time being, we are using this as the Slavery Plantation umbrella or portal. All of them are alive in this moment. Several names have been added under the letter representing the person's last name. It comes from the same Greek root as 'ambrosia', the food of the gods, said to confer immortality. In small communities where census takers and county officials knew African Americans personally and their previous owners, they often recorded the former slaves with the surnames of their last owners. Others were more promiscuous. American slave owners or slaveholders were owners of slaves in the United States which typically worked either as agriculture laborers or house servants. Garcia (The Spanish form of Gerald, Garcia would be the son of Gerald. By country & year of birth. common last names for slaves in the 1800s. Clark is a common surname of Anglo-Scottish origin. Thanks LaBrenda! Most Popular African Last Names Or Surnames. The association with the infamous Nero, the fiddling Roman emperor, would be unavoidable. I was born in Montgomery County, Ala. the child of Phillis Houston, slave of Sol Smith. Benson, Susan. 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. The population was more than 16 million and the industrial revolution was under way, which debunks any perception of a broadly colonial society. The naming of slaves has not been treated in dedicated monographs, but it often figures in general accounts of plantation culture and the practices of enslavement. This was the case with several others from Wessyngton. No superior alternative has yet been found." A. Mr. Thomas Jefferson of Louisville, bought me when I was three years of age from Mr. Dearing. On all subsequent census records, he is listed as John Lewis. [15] Alice Clifton (c. 1772-unknown), as an enslaved teenager, she was a defendant in an infanticide trial in 1787. This mini-lesson helps students define the term, learn what forms reparations can take, and consider what reparations should be offered for slavery and other racist policies. 1-86-NARA-NARA or 1-866-272-6272, Finding Aids for the National Archives at Atlanta, National Archives Catalog (National Archives Identifier 2767350). Slavery existed in the United States from its founding in 1776 and became the main . Practices undoubtedly varied, and different archival sources may yield different conclusions. Both comments and pings are currently closed. Theres always more to learn! Wonderful to have first hand account that help shine light on the attitudes of our ancestors. I was called by that name all the time I was with the Morrows. Genealogy becomes so much more than just names and dates, it really feels like a true passion indeed. No, I don't know to whom she belonged before she was brought from Virginia to Kentucky. It had always been passed down in the family that Thomas has been owned by the Blacks. No, I dont know to whom she belonged before she was brought from Virginia to Kentucky. Bernard Meaning: brave warrior Origin: French 4. College, Advanced AA Gen. Class, September 2009, Alice, Robyn and Lajoye, CM AAHGS, September 2017, Robyn and Andrea, NGS Conference, May 2014. .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 was only three years old when she died. 17. . Finding State Laws About Slaves and Free Blacks, More Suggestions for White Slaveholder Descendants, http://justthinking130.blogspot.com/2009/09/calvin-r-yarborough-where-it-all-began.html, http://justthinking130.blogspot.com/2013/11/many-rivers-to-cross-my-priscilla.html, https://www.historicpathways.com/articles.html, http://whitneyplantation.com/the-louisiana-slave-database.html. However, the enslaved occasionally had surnames, which became normal leading up to and after emancipation as a mark of assimilation into free society. Other common surnames included Jones, Matthews, Sinclair, and Bennett, Price, and Gray.. But if Romeo and Venus are now deemed baby-appropriate, why not Apollo? -William Faulkner, "Call it a clan, call it a network, all it a tribe, call it a family. Students explore the legacies of the Reconstruction era today, reflect on the idea of democracy as a continuous process, and consider how they can best participate in the ongoing work of strengthening our democracy. But I tell you, trying to document that all those names refer to the same person is hard, hard work! Drawing on extensive archival records, this digital memorial allows analysis of the ships, traders, and captives in the Atlantic slave trade. 1. Each is present in your body. I hope this post also helps us to think about how the surnames former slaves had were connected to their experiences in slavery. One thing for sure, historians are always expanding our knowledge on this topic.BTW, I am a big fan of your website and your work in the field! Dear Robyn, For more details, see the flier here, and you can purchase them here. Harriet Tubman and some of the slaves she helped free. is for you. To date there are no book-length studies covering the naming of slaves across the Anglophone Atlantic, but Burton 1999 and Kaplan and Bernays 1997 provide useful entry-level discussions for the Caribbean and mainland United States, respectively. Slaveholders often renamed newly acquired slaves; but self-naming by slaves, which also occurred, is likely to be underreported in the records, which were mainly created by and for slaveholders. Another slave named Bill who attended the sheep became Bill Shepherd. And even though slave marriages were not legal, many enslaved people followed the practice of the wife taking her husbands surname: My mother was named Mary Bradley and my father was named Hilliard Bradley. It means 'clerk' or 'secretary'. The brothers were sold when they were very young and remained with their last owners nearly thirty years. Wheatley was traded into slavery at the age of 7 or 8 and imported to North America. . The most common of 603 names of female Slaves were Bet, Mary, Jane, Hanna, Betty, Sarah, Phillis, Nan, Peg, and Sary. Thats a goal that I am working towards. Thank you for commenting, and continued luck to you in your research. Minerva is the long-neglected name of the Roman goddess of wisdom and invention, the arts and martial strength, one of the. This may reveal your family used the surname of the slave owners wifes family. There are 15 tables, blank and editable for you to populate, as well as samples of using each. Label vector designed by Ibrandify - Freepik.com, https://nmaahc.si.edu/object/nmaahc_2014.174.8?destination=/explore/collection/search%3Fedan_q%3Denslaved%26edan_fq%255B0%255D%3Dobject_type%253A%2522Photographs%2522. Index by slave owner's name | Surname unknown or illegible. The campaign in Britain to abolish slavery began in the 1760s, supported by both black and white abolitionists. 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. Thank you. John Lewis was born in 1831; in 1844 he and several family members were given to George A. Washington of Wessyngton. Students consider how US history books, films, and other works of popular culture have misrepresented the history of the Reconstruction era. Danish West Indies, Denmark, Records of Enslaved People, 1672-1917 In many cases this is ignored and children use their fathers name! 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. Examples include: Francois, Jean, Pierre, and Leon for men; and Manon, Delphine, Marie Louise, Celeste, and Eugenie for women. Letter to Armistead Burt of September 1, 1831, sfn error: no target: CITEREFCalhoun1837 (. . Place names that were disproportionately popular among Black Americans in history include Boston, Jamaica, York, and Africa. Introduction. Rounding out the Top 40, here are the next 30 most common names among African-Americans and Caribbean people: Taylor (Jayceon Terrel Taylor "The Game") Wilson (Charlie Wilson) Moore (Shemar Moore) White (Barry White) Lewis (Carl Lewis) Walker (Jimmie J. J. Walker) Green (Al Green) Thompson (Kenan Thompson) Washington (Denzel Washington) Most Popular Names. 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. Where did you get the maiden name of Smith from? A valuable and incisive discussion, both theoretically and historically informed, of slave naming in two African societies, the Caribbean, and the American South. 42. Augustin Meaning: a descendant of Augustine Origin: English 2. My fathers name was John Crosby and he lived in the town of Geneva, Alabama, I had two brothers and one sister. Places; Login. 3. In the early years, especially between the 1860 and 1880s, families even changed a surname several times until they settled on a certain one. Former slaves often made up surnames based on their occupations. Thus, the patronymic surname can be effectively regarded as "keeper of the peace." This phenomenon is not unheard of with African American surnames. Harris: A patronymic meaning son of Harry. 6. They called me "OCK". The origins of this last name date back to the pre-medieval period. Numerous historical sources confirm that enslaved people had surnames that they used among themselves and in many cases were known by their slaveholder. No superior alternative has yet been found. For more information or to contact an Oxford Sales Representative click here. 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. James) will have . . This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. slave rebellions, in the history of the Americas, periodic acts of violent resistance by Black slaves during nearly three centuries of chattel slavery. Florence, Fiorella, Fleur, and Flower are translations, but we like Flora best of all. It means 'raven'. For example, Roll, Jordan,Roll has an entire chapter called The Naming of Cats, discussing slave names and The Slave Community has a very good chapter called The Slave Family. Two other books I like are Been In The Storm So Long by Leon Litwick (pgs 247-248)and Joining PLaces: Slave Neighborhoods in the Old South by Anthony Kaye. Hi Susan, There has been disagreement about whether it was slaveholders or the enslaved who gave the recorded names. That is why you will find a lot of families in Louisiana with surnames like Baptiste, Narcisse, Jean-Louis, Nanette-Louise, Rene, Jacques etc Ive come across very few former slaves and fpoc using the surnames of their former owner. Questions about slave naming intersect with some of the major debates in slavery studies (especially regarding Creolization and the formation of Atlantic Creoles) and can illuminate issues about the ethnicity of African slaves, the personhood and agency of those enslaved, the nature of kinship structures among the enslaved, and the survival of African cultural practices in the diaspora. Just go to my Vimeo page and make your selection. So just a few things to be aware of when researching any African-American ancestors. Thank you as always, your posts are so helpful. Political Participation in the Nineteenth Century Atlantic Portugal and Brazile in the Age of Revolutions, Poverty in the Early Modern English Atlantic, Reconstruction, Democracy, and United States Imperialism, Settlement and Region in British America, 1607-1763, Slavery in British and American Literature, Slavery in Dutch America and the West Indies, Slavery in North America, The Growth and Decline of. Isaac evolved from the name Yitzchaq, derived from the Hebrew word, Lysander is a distinctive Greek name that could be thought of as a more creative cousin of Alexander. 30 January 2022, [PAST EVENT], Eastern Standard Time: Join special guest genealogist Taneya Y. Koonce and I as we present our joint Zoom webinar, Organize Your Genealogy! State of residence is Missouri unless otherwise noted. It is certainly possible that Wilsons siblings could have been sold away or owned by others. There are also a few problems with the original dataset in name transcription such that a small number of first names were transposed with last names. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. Women tended to have two names, and slaves often just had one. In ancient history, Lysander was the name of an esteemed Spartan naval commander and his literary cred comes from one of the two star-struck young men in Shakespeare's. . Maria Aparecida Schumaher, Erico teixeira Vital Brazil. Q. Such resistance signified continual deep-rooted discontent with the condition of bondage and, in some places, such as the United States, resulted in ever-more-stringent mechanisms for social control and repression in slaveholding areas. Facing History & Ourselves, "Changing Names," last updated May 12, 2020. The most common of 603 names of female Slaves were Bet, Mary, Jane, Hanna, Betty, Sarah, Phillis, Nan, Peg, and Sary. Brief, but stimulating and thoughtful for students coming new to the subject. Osprey Publishing 2008. Once the slaves were freed they found they did need another name besides a given name. 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. Some of these individuals probably lived through the Civil War to become named citizens in Ashley County, Arkansas and may have taken the last name of Hollaway/Holaway or Terry/Tery. Prior to the emancipation of the American slaves in 1863, those African-Americans held in bondage had usually just one or two given names. -Unknown, "If you can't get rid of the skeleton in your closet, you might as well make it dance!" Turner was deeply religious,. Hi Rodney, . Surnames (not always those of former owners) would then be adopted as family names by former slaves and their descendants. Some of them developed a long-term relationship with one of the female slaves. ", "Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city;)", "Where does the family start? Students learn about the violent responses to the transformation of US democracy that occurred as a result of Radical Reconstruction. This database is a compilation of information on over four thousand slaves from Louisiana who were involved in manumission (the formal emancipation from slavery) between 1719 and 1820. At your request I have finally made available for viewing past popular webinars! It starts with a young man falling in love with a girl. I am searching for information about a woman named Eliza Ellis, from Versailles KY or that area. 44. Nameberry is a registered trademark of Nameberry, LLC. African Americans tended to use surnames associated with their own families instead of the last slave owner. Fernsby, (Old English Origin) Derived from the old English words meaning "fern farmstead". Jackson: This name is a patronymic of Jack. Hi Donna, 3. . Hi Pat, Dick Lewis Barnett and Phillip Fry were African American veterans of the Union Army during the Civil War. Eugene D. Genovese, Roll, Jordan, Roll: The World the Slaves Made (1974). . One of the less well known aspects of the history of slavery is how many and how often non-whites owned and traded slaves in early America. Thank you for posing your question. Who called you by that name and where was it done? . 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. The same family may appear with different surnames in the 1870 and 1880 federal census records, and may appear in other records with either, both, or a third surname altogether. They cut it off from OCTAVIA. This happened mostly on large plantations where several individuals had the same first names and a surname was used to distinguish them from one another. Bradley was the last man owned em. In fact, the previous enslaver widow sold most of the slaves. In the late 1830s, Nathaniel Terry of Todd County, Kentucky died leaving a plantation of fifty slaves. Through DNA matches, I believe I have recently found a brother of my mothers great grandfather. All rights reserved. 2. A favorite of British novelists including Evelyn Waugh and P. G. Wodehouse, Ambrose has an air of blooming well-being and upper-class erudition. Caps statement implies that choosing his own surname was a part of exercising his newfound freedom. Each name was a clue to her origins. Join my mailing list below to receive my posts and get a free PDF with some of my favorite tips! Phillis Wheatley (May 8, 1753 - December 5, 1784) Source = Wikimedia. Who called you by that name and where was it done? . Testimony of Dick Lewis Barnett, May 17, 1911: I am 65 years of age; my post office address is Okmulgee Okla. Robinson: A patronymic of the name Robin. Ones occupation also set the naming method, such as Sheperd, Cooper, or Smith. In addition to time and place, a likely variable is whether the birth rate, in a severely overworked and maltreated population, was sufficient to ensure a relatively stable population over several generations, or whether the high mortality associated with slavery led to declining numbers and hence to the frequent acquisition of new slaves. 1. The Missouri Compromisealso referred to as the Compromise of 1820was an agreement between the pro- and anti-slavery factions regulating slavery in the western territories. On the U.S. Federal census that year, Wesley's birthplace was recorded as Alabama, the same as his father, and his mother's birthplace was South Carolina . 20 August 2022, 1-3:30 pm [PAST EVENT], Eastern Standard Time: Join me for a two-hour lecture and workshop on Using Deed Records. All of them are alive in this moment. 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. I have gotten so many requests over the years from those who couldn't make the live webinars so I hope you enjoy this new feature. Q. Thank you for your comment, Best of luck to you, Table 7. My hat goes off to you and your passionate efforts. "More than half of the surnames are derived from the Christian or fore-name of the father," [1] and based on a total of 3,253,800 people, nearly 18 in every 100 persons was known by one of these fifty surnames. Register now! This is common. . Also, the government seemed to be in a almighty hurry to have us get names. A Wessyngton slave named Bill who was the plantation's blacksmith was known as Billy the Smith during slavery. They were all sold to different owners: Connell, Rose, Johnson, and Hughes respectively. Melvin, Names and Naming, African Africans arriving in the American colonies and later the United States continued to give their children African names well into the nineteenth century. Many of these were names of heroesbut not Lincoln. Smith.). In French-speaking Louisiana, Slave names reflected the dominant language and thus were generally different from those in the English colonies. In instances where slaves were sold from their families and they did not retain their previous owners surnames, they named their children for parents, sisters and brothers to keep a connection with their families. Through Reclaiming Kin, I share tips on genealogy skillbuilding for all genealogists, and on researching slavery and the enslaved. Slavery. I am sure your father would also be very proud of your interest in family history. Wood were recorded as slave. The Voice of the Black Community in California, Last Updated on October 14, 2010 by Paulette Brown-Hinds. How lucky you were to find that Freedmans Bank document! This topic interests me greatly and Id like to do more research. Distinctively Black names were thought to have risen from the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements, which promoted the use of names with connections to Africa. A krio from.Freetown Sierra Leone. Herbert G. Gutman, The Black Family in Slavery and Freedom, 1750-1925 (1976). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2006. BRATHWAITE - This name was derived from a geographic location in the north of England. Some last names recognize certain histories or describe important events or narratives that mean a lot to the family. My father once told me his grandfather ran away from the Carrington place and changed his name to Williams. While Smith remains the most common U.S. surname, for the first time, two Hispanic namesGarcia and Rodriguezmade the top 10. Thank you for your kind comment and I am glad my post helped some with the complicated reasons behind the surnames enslaved people had. 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. However, a small change to searching on C?lbert, which accounts for the variations in spelling expands that initial list to 877 enslaved people owned by people with those names. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. This old French surname has Germanic origin, and means 'noble'. The resources Im getting from my colleagues through Facing History have been just invaluable. One given name the childs family selected and kept secret and one the child was known by given by the slave owner. The slave schedules of 1860 Arkansas do not give the names of the slaves. Slavery's reach is still with us, and part of the gift of doing African-American genealogy, "The past is not dead. Tell me the name you were called before you met Phillip Fry? Free black slave holders could be found at one time or . They cut it off from OCTAVIA. Hi Jim, After Emancipation, many former slaves adopted new names and surnames. Used by permission of the publisher. Rodriguez (Rodriguez is Spanish for the son of Rodrigo. For him, this meant claiming his new identity as a freedman and a citizen. Surnames like Chantimel have disappeared, while names like Horsford and Ackie, coming from Antigua (where they are common), or Quarless, Dowden, Chandler, and Dottin from Barbados, have enriched Grenada's family history and cultural identity. Here, our list of notable early African American names. A. Mr. Thomas Jefferson of Louisville, bought me when I was three years of age from Mr. Dearing. I would also recommend Elizabeth Shown Mills various case studies on enslaved people in Louisiana, which you can find at her website at https://www.historicpathways.com/articles.html. Thanks for this very thoughtful article. In more than thirty years of researching my ancestors and hundreds of others enslaved on one of Americas largest plantations, slaves owned by mid-sized planters and small farmers, reviewing thousands of documents I have come across various situations that might give others clues on what to look for. I love how you have documented the history of your own surname. Testimony of Mollie Russell (widow of Phillip Fry), September 19, 1911: Q. Names from the Bible were another common practice, for given and surnames. He was a planter with 20,000 acres of land in East Florida and was at the forefront of slavery in The . This blog is where I share family history methods, resources, tips and advice, with an emphasis on slave research, slavery and its aftermath. The second hour is hands-on, and I want you to bring the deeds you've found along with your questions. 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. 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. Middle Tennessee, where tobacco, cattle, and grain became the favored crops, held the . This is true in some cases but not all. Kaplan, Justin, and Anne Bernays. I was only three years old when she died. Love you, -Thich Nhat Hanh, evolve theme by Theme4PressPowered by WordPress, Maryland Genealogical Society Holiday Luncheon, December 2017-2, Washington FHC Annual Conference, May 2011, Baltimore Family History Conference, October 2017-2, International Black Genealogy Summit, September 2016-2, Carroll County Genealogical Society Dinner, June 2018, Baltimore Family History Conference, October 2017, Reginald Lewis Museum, September 2011-2.jpg, Maryland State Archives Family History Festival, October 2014-2, Central Maryland AAHGS Meeting, March 2013, Robyn, Vonda, Andrea and Glenn, NGS Conf., May 2014, Maryland Genealogical Society Holiday Luncheon, December 2017-1, Howard Comm. They called me OCK. This had a profound impact on the Selfhood of each of the enslaveddisrupting ones presumed Mission in life, as indicated by ones name; shattering the sharing of personal and historical experiences, attitudes, and spirits towards life; and putting in disarray the philosophy of life framework and common sense values by which all Africans lived. Besides the Morrows, whom else did you live with in Louisville? common last names for slaves in the 1800s. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW! Ive taken back reclaimed some of that lost memory, especially that of my enslaved ancestors. They reflect an acculturation process by which generations of enslaved people, increasingly removed from the direct influence of their first enslaved African ancestors, adopted the conventions of their enslavers, eventually creating a culture and value system all their own. What remains utterly amazing to me is that in the worst of circumstances, and in spite of every attempt to crush any idea that slaves were anything other than commodities, slaveholders did not succeed. Interestingly, the five most common American surnames as of 2010 haven't changed that much over time and are Smith, Johnson, Williams, Brown, and Jones. But there was also the detective Nero Wolfe, hero of many mystery stories. My fathers name was Gilbert Jackson, and after I was set free I took the name of my father, and have been known by the name Smith Jackson. I have been unable to trace several of his siblings and now wonder if it might be because others did not take that name. This lifelong quest has helped me to better know my familys past.
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