common last names for slaves in the 1800s

Several names have been added under the letter representing the person's last name. Each is present in your body. However, research byLisa D. Cook and colleagueshas revealed evidence of racialized names from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. . James: (M) (Latin origin) means "heel" or "supplanter". Robyn. A small number of creoles in Louisiana also acquired surnames derived from ethnic identities in Senegal. At your request I have finally made available for viewing past popular webinars! Thomas mother, younger brothers and sisters remained with the Black family. It can be a difficult path, but just might be reachable. Perhaps Wash Ellis registered under the name of one of his parents. Join my mailing list below to learn about upcoming webinars. Thanks for commenting and continued luck in your research, . i have no way to confirm this. 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. Thanks for your comment, Each name was a clue to her origins. Robyn. Cook Cook has an Old English origin, and it means 'one who cooks' or 'one who sold cooked meat'. Fernsby, (Old English Origin) Derived from the old English words meaning "fern farmstead". "The past is not dead. 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. Tell me the name you were called before you met Phillip Fry? Hi Rodney, But I tell you, trying to document that all those names refer to the same person is hard, hard work! Special slave censuses were kept in the early 1800s. Now, that parent's surname could very well be the surname of the most recent slaveholder or an earlier slaveholder. "Injurious Names: Naming, Disavowal, and Recuperation in Contexts of Slavery and Emancipation." In The Anthropology of Names and Naming. Allard. Major types on which most would agree are European place and literary names, European personal names in hypocoristic (pet or diminutive) form, biblical and classical names, and names of African origin. 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. Many of these were names of heroesbut not Lincoln. Slavery in America was the legal institution of enslaving human beings, mainly Africans and African Americans. Through Reclaiming Kin, I share tips on genealogy skillbuilding for all genealogists, and on researching slavery and the enslaved. When Wessyngtons owner George A. Washington married Margaret Lewis in 1849 her father gave the couple twenty-nine slaves. The battle was long and hard-fought, with pro-slavery campaigners arguing that the slave trade was important for the British economy and claiming that enslaved Africans were happy and well-treated. Testimony of Dick Lewis Barnett, May 17, 1911: I am 65 years of age; my post office address is Okmulgee Okla. 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. A. Lottie Smith was my name and what they called me before I met Phillip and was married to him. I am not able to find any slaveholders in the Versailes area by the name of Ellis. Kaplan, Justin, and Anne Bernays. College Advanced AA Gen. Class, November 2012, Robyn, Aaron, Karen, Katherine and Michael, October 2014, African-American Family History Conference, February 2015, African-American Genealogy Group Conference, October 2016, Central Maryland AAHGS, with Alice Harris, September 2015, Howard Comm. For personal use and not for further distribution. Once the slaves were freed they found they did need another name besides a given name. One name you find frequently used was Freeman or Freedmen to declare their new freedom. Both are excellent researchers and historians. If you can identify your ancestor's master, this source will prove of tremendous value to your research. I find it interesting that they often used the strange phrase he calls himself in the ads, as if having a given name and a surname was silly: Ran away from the subscriber on the 25th of October, a well set dark mulattoe man named Jem, but calls himself James Ferguson.. With your explanations in mind, I will go back over a couple of family groups and re-assess the surname ambiguousness I have in my notes. The fifty most common Victorian surnames in England and Wales for 1853 are listed in alphabetical order below. They were all sold to different owners: Connell, Rose, Johnson, and Hughes respectively. . My maternal grandmother was an Auber. -Elbert Hubbard, "Families are like fudge; mostly sweet with a few nuts." 77th U.S. Col Inf and Co. D. U.S. Col H Art under the name Lewis Smith which was the name I wore before the days of slavery were over. Q. Chery Meaning: derived from the Latin Cariacus, which means "land belonging to Cariu"; darling Origin: French 5. Through a video-based activity, students explore how Radical Reconstruction changed the nature of voting rights and democracy in the South. Plus, Jonah comes with a ready-made nursery-decorating motif. Email:genealogy@slcl.org 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. > | Index main page>| Index by slave owner's name, 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). Frederick Douglass (1818-1895), born into slavery in Maryland and escaped to the Northeast in 1838, where he became an internationally renowned abolitionist writer, speaker, and diplomat. Slaves were generally listed with just one name and thus with little to none of the genealogical information recorded for free whites. As enslavement continued through the 1800s, African American culture included naming practices that were national in scope by the time of emancipation, and intimately related to the slave trade. I mean, really retro. See flier for more details. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Finding the Slave Who Bore Philomene Daurat. There is also another historian, Gwendolyn Midlo Hall who did work on African ethnicities in Louisiana, you can read more of that here if you havent seen that yet: http://whitneyplantation.com/the-louisiana-slave-database.html, Again, I applaud you for doing the research on the history of the areas where your ancestors livedmany researchers dont realize how crucial that understanding is. The highest percentage of African names was found among male slaves in the eighteenth century, when . In my research so far, I have found very little evidence of white Culbert slaveholders only three cases so far. Last updated: November 1, 2003 "Dwelling No." Former slaves often made up surnames based on their occupations. See more details in the flier here and they are available for purchase for $10 . Well, Ive gone off on a tangent again;) But thank you again for writing and thank you for the cemetery work (especially trying to include African-Americans you are doing that will be of benefit to others. College, Advanced AA Gen Class, September 2011, AAHGS Annual Genealogy Conference, November 2008, Howard Comm. LOTTIE had been the name of the nurse before me and so they just continued that same name. Just from the detail in your first comment, I knew there was a good chance you were already familiar with those authors. LOTTIE had been the name of the nurse before me and so they just continued that same name. The Voice of the Black Community in California, Last Updated on October 14, 2010 by Paulette Brown-Hinds. 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.. Along with Abraham and Prince, other early African American names currently in the US Top 1000 include Alonzo, Athena, Daphne, Elijah, Isaiah, Israel, King, Phoebe, and Titus. Thanks for writing this post! Harris: A patronymic meaning son of Harry. Herbert G. Gutman, The Black Family in Slavery and Freedom, 1750-1925 (1976). It means 'clerk' or 'secretary'. Mary Deborah Petite, "1836 Facts about the Alamo and the Texas War for Independence". Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. How lucky you were to find that Freedmans Bank document! Leo (M) (Russian origin) means "lion". Beginning in the early nineteenth century, more biblical names were given to enslavedchildren, a reflection of the widespread attempts to Christianize enslaved communities. You can find many more examples of the above in my post, The Mind of the Slaveowner. Dick Lewis Barnett and Phillip Fry were African American veterans of the Union Army during the Civil War. Florence, Fiorella, Fleur, and Flower are translations, but we like Flora best of all. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. You could not be signed in, please check and try again. You are the continuation of each of these people." ", "If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents and all the generations of your ancestors. Some last names recognize certain histories or describe important events or narratives that mean a lot to the family. If the former slave had been befriended or assisted in getting established after the Civil War, they might have taken that person's name. Alfred "Teen" Blackburn (1842-1951), one of the last living survivors of slavery in the United States who had a clear recollection of it. Therefore, a few of the most common first names of the time such as Mary (rank 815) and Sarah (1010) will appear in the list and surnames which correspond to personal names (e.g. Part of what drives me in this research, I think, is the feeling that I am reclaiming their stories, their names, and their very being, even if what I uncover is just a tiny bit. Free black slave holders could be found at one time or . The names that were brought together to form "Geffery" were "Gaufrid" (territory-peace), "Godafrid" (god-peace), and "Galfridus" (song-peace). 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. My great grandfather Wilson Percival was born in South Carolina and I believe he took his surname from last slave owners family. In 1911, Barnett and Frys widow, Mollie, both applied for pensions from the government. . Letter to Armistead Burt of September 1, 1831, sfn error: no target: CITEREFCalhoun1837 (. 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. Wide-ranging survey of naming practices in the (mainly Anglophone) Atlantic world both during and after slavery. 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! The Language of Names. By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. Please subscribe or login. When they were sold away they remembered their loved ones and they created extended kinship networks. It was after emancipation on that I went back to work for Col. Morrow and where I got the name Lottie, as already explained. 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. For more details, see the flier here, and you can purchase them here. Enslaved women were raped, creating children with white fathers who in most cases did not claim them and even sold them away. The Washingtons of Wessyngton Plantation: Stories of My Familys Journey to Freedom is proudly powered by WordPress Entries (RSS) and Comments (RSS). 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. The idea was for the children to enter the inhumane system of slavery protected by a sense of Selfhood and history. Many took the surname of famous or celebrated people; such as 'Lincoln', 'Grant', and 'Washington' was very popular. If searching for a slave owner with the same surname of your ancestor fails, check marriage records for the slave owners. Ref. When I was born my mother was known as Phillis Smith and I took the name of Smith too. After I had returned to Louisville from Danville, My sister, Lizzie White, got to calling me Mollie, and it was with her that the name started. 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) He decided that he didnt want to be known as Cap Sherrod and that he would vote and marry under his choice of names. Thank you as always, your posts are so helpful. Abel, the name of Adam and Eve's unfortunate younger son, compensates with positive connotations: capable, competent, ready and willing. 41. Even that feels like something. The poster on each page *provides the link to the handout* for that lecture, so be sure to copy it. John Lewis was born in 1831; in 1844 he and several family members were given to George A. Washington of Wessyngton. 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. Phone: 314-994-3300, Hours & Locations Comments/Suggestions314-994-3300, Copyright 2023. 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. Nat Turner's Rebellion One of the most famous slave revolts in American history came in 1831 when Nat Turner led a bloody uprising in Southampton County, Virginia. James) will have . Q. Slavery is a social-economic system under which people are enslaved: deprived of personal freedom and forced to perform labor or services without compensation. Q. Of course my mother wasnt a Bradley fore she married. Thank you for posing your question. Three formerly enslaved people discuss their names and the changes they underwent after Emancipation. Karen Halttunen, Murder Most Foul, p. 175. Enslaved people suffered constant sale, where children were frequently torn away from parents at young ages and spouses were often separated. I love to hear from my readers. The population was more than 16 million and the industrial revolution was under way, which debunks any perception of a broadly colonial society. This is true in some cases but not all. By the late 19th century, England was home to about 300 surnames with traceable genealogy. It is certainly possible that Wilsons siblings could have been sold away or owned by others. Rodriguez (Rodriguez is Spanish for the son of Rodrigo. 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. While Smith remains the most common U.S. surname, for the first time, two Hispanic namesGarcia and Rodriguezmade the top 10. 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. Derived from the word anull that is the Catalan language dominantly used in southern France, Anouilh means 'slow worm'. Samuel had only two slaves: the man that could be Wilson and a 42-year-old woman. Data from the 2010 Census tells a different story. 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. They were Nelson Nunn and George Nunn and they may have changed their names to Crosby too because they were my fathers children.. My father would be 105 if he were alive. Location the owner of ones ancestor is crucial for an African American genealogist to trace his family before 1870. A favorite of British novelists including Evelyn Waugh and P. G. Wodehouse, Ambrose has an air of blooming well-being and upper-class erudition. I am awar eof the different naming traditions practiced in that area and I thank you for sharing them here for my readers. I also see that in 1900 she is listed as widow with 1 child living, so you may have luck trying to find out who her child was. Q. 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. Robyn N. Smith, [insert post title], Reclaiming Kin (https://reclaimingkin.com: accessed [insert date you read the post]), [insert the date the post was written]. He stated that he had always been known by his fathers surname Scott, even before he was freed. 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. I focused on surnames but many of these books also discuss first names. Spanish areas had male Slave names as Francisco, Pedro, and Antonio; and for females: Maria, Isabella, and Juana. My father once told me his grandfather ran away from the Carrington place and changed his name to Williams. Post Author: Post published: 18 avril 2022; Post Category: . . The second hour is hands-on, and I want you to bring the deeds you've found along with your questions. Chapter 4 gives a brief and introductory outline of naming in the United States during slavery and its consequences in African American culture. An 's' at the end of a personal name also meant 'son of', for example Richards, Stevens, Williams and so on. It means 'bought land'. It starts with a young man falling in love with a girl. 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. No superior alternative has yet been found. Injurious Names: Naming, Disavowal, and Recuperation in Contexts of Slavery and Emancipation. In The Anthropology of Names and Naming. Thats high on my to do list. Miracle, (Old English and Latin Origin) Derived from the first name Mauritius meaning "dark". Thank you for your comment, 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. -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. The table below shows the most common last names with statistics on the heritage and ancestry of those with the surname. In my own family history, on my Yarborough side, I believe I have uncovered a pattern that my formerly-enslaved great-grandparents, Calvin and Precilla YARBOROUGH may have used in naming their children. 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. Index by slave owner's name | Surname unknown or illegible. E. Togo Salmon Conference, E. Togo Salmon Conference 1993 Mcmaster University: Goodyear III, Frank H. "Photography changes the way we record and respond to social issues". See flier for details; cost of this event is $25. Students consider what it means to be free by learning about the choices and aspirations of freedpeople immediately after Emancipation. Geographic names were common, as were the names of ships or distant ports for enslaved peopleborn in places such as Wilmington or New Bern. He was sold to my master William Orr and he always went by the name Edward Orr after that.. Caps statement implies that choosing his own surname was a part of exercising his newfound freedom. Evie (F) (English origin) means "life" or "lively". Garcia (The Spanish form of Gerald, Garcia would be the son of Gerald. 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. For more information or to contact an Oxford Sales Representative click here. Bernacki: Teatr; Mamontowicz-ojek: Szkoa Tyzenhauza s. 53, 54, 70, 86-89, 92; Wierzbicka: Sze studiw; Muzyka 1969 nr 2 (J. Prosnak). I am the identical person who served in the said companies under the name of Lewis Smith. A. In the early years, especially between the 1860 and 1880s, families even changed a surname several times until they settled on a certain one. Ho Joanne, These require Microsoft Word and a Windows platform. This meant that army records documented their service with their old names instead of their new ones.

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common last names for slaves in the 1800s

common last names for slaves in the 1800s