February | 2013 | Fourth Generation Inclusive

February 17, 2013

Free-Issue Death Certificates: PETTIFORD.

Alvarin Pettiford. Died 22 June 1916, Winston, Forsyth County. Resided 9 No. Liberty. Negro. Married. Gardener. Born 2 May 1848 to Henderson Pettiford and Fannie Clarke. Buried Jamestown NC. Informant, Alex Pettiford, Winston-Salem.

Alexander Pettiford. Died 17 February 1914, Jamestown, Guilford County. Black. Widower. Farmhand. Born 1858 to Hence Pettiford and unknown mother. Informant, J.W. Sechrist.

In the 1850 census of Southern Division, Guilford County: Henderson Pettiford, 30, shoemaker, born Wake County; wife Fanny, 30; and children Alverin, 3, John, 1, and Benjmine, 9 months, all born in Guilford; plus Mary Ann Clark, 11, born Davidson County.

Archie Tyner. Died 21 September 1950, Walkertown, Middle Fork, Forsyth County. Colored. Widower. Retired farmer. Born 19 February 1855 to James Tyner and Pollie Pettiford. Informant, C.C. Tyner, Colfax NC.

Mrs. Saluda Tyner Watkins. Died 6 Oct 1952, Bethania, Forsyth County. Colored. Widow. Born 3 September 1857 in Forsyth County to Jim Tyner and Polly Pettiford.

In the 1850 census of Forsyth County: James Tyner, 23, laborer, and wife Polly Tyner, 32.

Enoch Pettiford. Died 30 October 1924, Gilmer, Greensboro, Guilford County. Colored. Resided 532 High Street. Married to Rosa Pettiford. Railroad worker. Born about 1850 in Guilford County to Ransom Pettiford and Mary Ann Scott. Buried Maplewood Cemetery.

In the 1860 census of Southern Division, Guilford County: Ransom Petterfield, 48, laborer, wife Anna, 43, and children Wm. S., 20, Emily, 16, Franklin, 15, Enoch, 12, Stephen, 11, McKeys, 8, Edmond, 6, Henry, 4, E.J., 3, and Nathan Petterfield, 2, plus Louise, 21, Nath, 8, and Betsy A. Haithcock, 3.

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February 17, 2013

He is to stand trial to be sold as a slave.

Febry the 10^th 1802

Wm. Littlejohn Esqr., Sir

I am Informed by Mr. Domenick That Eli Wilkins a person of Coulour In the Town of Edenton hath been Taken Up Under Some of the Acts of Assembly & bound for his appearance to Chowan County Court at March Term 1802 where he is to Stand his Tryal for to be Sold as a Slave if my affidavit that I herewith forward to you is Not Sufficient to Extricate the sd. Boy & for you to Give Up the Recognizance of the sd. Domenick & Let the sd. Boy Stand Discharged I will forward any Other proof that May be Deemed Necessary to that Efect as I am duly able So to do & More Also bound by the Laws of Nature & humanity.

I am with Submition, Your Hu’le Serv’t Tamor Wilkins

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State of No Carolina, Martin County } Personally apeard before Me Ebenezer Seadons of The Justices for the County aforesaid Tamor Wilkins & Made Oath In Dew form That on The Seventh of July one Thousand Seventeen hundred & Eighty five She was Delivered of a Male Child which She Called Eli Wilkins a Natural Born & Child of Coulour which Child after Comeing of age to be bound She Bound as an apprintis to one John Edwards of Bertie County who Some Time Afterwards Removed to The then Cumberland Settlement & gave up the Indnturs of sd. boy to his sd. Mother She then put The sd. boy with one John Acrey to Learn The Hatters Trade the Boy as She this Deponat Has Since Understood Runaway from sd. Acre Better then Three years ago & as She has been Informed hath been Living with One Domenick Sinc that Time In the Town of Edenton which sd. boy Hath been brought to Her by this sd. Domenick on the 10^th Day of February one Thousand Eighteen Hundred & Two In the County & State aforesaid & She this Deponant Doth Acknowlede & Swore him To be the Same boy In Testimony wherof She this Deponant Hath af[illegible] her hand & Declared the Same. Tamer X Wilkins

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Febry the 10^th 1802 This May Certify That I have Known the within Mentioned Tamer Wilkins for Several Years & Believe ther is No Doubt of Her being free Born as will more fully appear By the Testimony of Many In the County of Bertie If it is Should be Necessary given – Under My hand and Seal the day & Date above written. E. Slade {seal}

Miscellaneous Records, Chowan County Records, North Carolina State Archives.

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February 16, 2013

Free Colored Inhabitants of the Town of Oxford, Granville County, 1850.

#12. Gustin Willaford, 7, and Lunsford Willaford, 5, in the household of Isaac Hester, merchant.

#15. Lethia Anderson, 32, Robert Anderson, 21, and Eliza Anderson, 25.

#22. Amelia Vaughan, 26, and Dunbar Vaughan, 2.

#29. Anderson Chavors, 30, and Harriet Chavors, 45.

#33. Cherry Maho, 33, and child Harriet Maho, 4.

#35. Matilda Vaughan, 6, in the household of Lyman Lathan, blacksmith.

#43. Wesley Mitchell, 35, Isham Dew, 18, and Polly Bass, 35, in the household of Daniel A. Paschall, inn keeper.

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February 16, 2013

Surnames: Forsyth County, 1850.

The following surnames are found among free people of color in Forsyth County:

BASS, CANDLE, CHAVIS, CLARK, CLINE, CORN, COZZENS/CUSSINS, DEW, ELIOT, EPPS, EVANS, FITTS, FRIEND, HENDERSON, HENLY, HOOD, GRUBS, JONES, MACKLIN, MITCHELL, MOAB, OWENS, PAYLOR, PEDDIFORD, SAMUEL, SAWYER, TABORN, TINER, WEAVER and WILLIAMS.

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February 16, 2013

Onslow County Apprentices, 1825-1827.

Elizabeth Simmons was bound to John Grant in 1825.

Alfred, son of Rhoda (no last name given), was bound to Charles Thompson in 1825.

James Jarman was bound to Thomas Batten in 1825.

Gatsey Pittman was bound to Jacob Williams in 1826.

James Sheppard was bound to Edward Johnson in 1826.

Betty Sampson was bound to Solomon E. Grant in 1826.

Bill White, Edward White, Morris White and Anna White, children of Elizabeth White, were bound to Jesse Sandlin in 1827.

Gatsey Pittman was bound to Hezekiah Williams in 1827.

Betsy White and Nancy White, children of Oma White, were bound to Lott Gregory in 1827.

William Henderson, son of Nancy Henderson, was bound to Lemuel Williams in 1827.

Joe Higgins was bound to Henry Henderson in 1927.

George Boon was bound to John B. Thompson in 1827.

Apprentice Records, Onslow County Records, North Carolina State Archives.

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February 16, 2013

Charles Waddell Chesnutt.

Charles Waddell Chesnutt was an author, essayist, political activist and lawyer, best known for his novels and short stories exploring complex issues of racial and social identity in the post-Civil War South. Chesnutt was born June 20, 1858, in Cleveland, Ohio, to A. Jackson Chesnutt and Ann Maria Sampson Chesnutt, free people of color from Fayetteville, North Carolina. His paternal grandfather was known to be a white slaveholder. Chesnutt said he was seven-eighths white, but identified as a colored man.

In 1867, the Chesnutts returned to Fayetteville. By age 13, Charles was a pupil-teacher at the Howard School, one of many founded for black students by the Freedmen’s Bureau during the Reconstruction era. He eventually was promoted to assistant principal of the normal school in Fayetteville (later Fayetteville State University), one of a number of historically black colleges established for the training of black teachers. In 1878, Chesnutt married Susan Perry. The couple moved briefly to New York City, then Cleveland, Ohio. Chesnutt passed the Ohio bar exam in 1887 and established a lucrative legal stenography business. Chesnutt also began writing stories, and in August 1887 Atlantic Monthly published his first short story, “The Goophered Grapevine.” Chesnutt’s The Conjure Woman, a collection of short stories, appeared in 1899. Chesnutt’s works grappled with complex issues of racial identity and social place, and he began to write novels that reflected his stronger sense of activism. His Marrow of Tradition was a political-historical novel based on the Wilmington Massacre of 1898, in which white Democratic insurrectionists overthrew city government, burned a black newspaper office, and randomly killed black citizens. Because his novels posed a more direct challenge to existing sociopolitical conditions, they were not as popular as his short stories, and poor sales doomed his hopes of a self-supporting literary career.

In the new century, Chesnutt increasingly turned his energies social and political activism. He served on the General Committee of the newly founded National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and became one of the early 20th century’s most prominent activists and commentators. Chesnutt died on November 15, 1932, at the age of 74. He was interred in Cleveland’s Lake View Cemetery.

Modified from Wikipedia.

In the 1850 census of Fayetteville, Cumberland County: Anna M. Chestnut, 37, and children Geo. W., 19, barber, Jackson, 17, laborer, Sophia, 13, Stephen, 9, Mary Ann, 7, and Dallas Chestnut, 3. All of Anna’s children claimed real property valued $100-250, possibly inherited from their father. Also, Moses Harris, 45, carpenter; wife Chloe Harris, 40; Ann M. Sampson, 18; and John Jasper, 6.

Andrew Jackson Chestnut died 26 December 1920 in Fayetteville, Cumberland County. His death certificate described him as a married, colored male; aged 87; and a farmer. He was born in North Carolina to Waddell Cade and Annie Chestnut. He was buried in Brookside Annex. Miss Annie Chestnut of Fayetteville was the informant.

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February 16, 2013

Free-Issue Death Certificates: ASHE.

Elizah Ann Ashe. Died 7 August 1914, Littleton, Halifax County. Colored. Married. Born 12 Oct 1842, Halifax County to unknown father and Delia Ann Richardson. Buried at John Hockaday’s. Informant, George W. Ash, Thelma NC.

In the 1850 census of Halifax County: John Richardson, 30, wife Delia, 25, and daughter Eliza, 3, all born in Halifax.

Samuel Ashe. Died 12 April 1925, Enfield, Halifax County. Colored. Married. Age 77. Farmer. Son of Charles Ashe. Buried at home. Informant, Marcia Thornton.

In the 1860 census of Western District, Halifax County: Samuel Ash, 14, black, and Henry Pittards, 22, farm laborer.

Mollie Ashe. Died 28 March 1921, Roanoke Rapids, Halifax County. Black. Widowed. About 70 years old. Farmer. Son of Stevens Scott and Molissa Mills, both of Halifax County. Informant, Robert Ashe.

In the 1850 census of Halifax County: Stephen Scott, 40, farmer, wife Mellissa, 33, and children Emily, 15, F. Scott, 12, Molly, 7, and Ma[illegible], 2.

Eveline Pierce. Died 12 April 1920, Faucette, Halifax County. Colored. Married to Dudley Pierce. Age about 68. Born Halifax County to John Ashe and Gillia Bowser. Informant, P.A. Gee.

Margaret Jones. Died 8 March 1930, Weldon, Halifax County. Colored. Married. Age 89. Born in Halifax County to John Ash and Jullie Bowser. Buried Bowsers graveyard. Informant, Sallie Ann Vincent.

In the 1860 census of Western District, Halifax County: John Ash, 38, farmer, and children Ann M., 18, spinner, Itelia, 15, Nancy, 13, Albert, 12, Evaline, 7, and Rebecca, 6.

William Wiley Bowser. Died 10 June 1928, Butterwood, Halifax County. Colored. Married to Salline Hawkins. Age 84. Farmer. Born in NC to Wiley Bowser and Mary Ash. Informant, B.W. Bowser.

In the 1850 census of Halifax County, farmer Willie Bauser, 45, farmer, wife Mary, 40, and children Wm., 8, Lucy, 5, and Margt, 6 months, all born in Halifax.

Wilson Ashe. Died 30 April 1915, Faucette, Halifax County. “Killed by a pistol shot.” Colored. Married. Farmer. Born 4 May 1856 in Halifax County in Jack Ashe and Tempe Mills. Informant, Nellie Ashe.

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February 16, 2013

A reward.

To the Worshipful the Justices of the Court of Pleas & Quarter Sessions for the County of Chowan at June Term 1807.

The petition of William T. Muse Sheweth, That your petitioner was a negro slave by the name of George, commonly called George Bonner, by trade a house carpenter and aged fifty five years or thereabouts; that the said negro slave from the time that he became the property of your petitioner, and always before that time as your petitioner has reason to believe has distinguished himself by his willing & faithful discharge of his duty to his master as well as by his honesty & orderly conduct. Your petitioner is therefore desirous to give the said negro slave George his freedom considering it as a reward due to his long and meritorious services and prays this worshipful Court to authorize and aid him in so doing. And your petitioner &c, Wm. A. Littlejohn Sol’r for Pet’r.

[On the reverse: Prayer granted.]

Miscellaneous Records, Chowan County Records, North Carolina State Archives.

In the 1810 census of Edenton, Chowan County, George Bonner appears as the head of a household of two free people of color.

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February 15, 2013

Unlawfully did migrate, no. 3.

February Term 1851 County Court of Chowan

The Jurors for the State upon their oath present the following free negroes living in this County as having migrated into this the State of North Carolina contrary to the form of the statue in such case made and provided viz Abram Savage, Dred Copeland, Agnes Brown, Henry Copeland, Alfred Folk and June a girl living in Edenton with Thomas J. Miller

It is therefore ordered by the court that the sheriff proceed immediately after the rising of this Court to notify the said free negroes that they must leave and go beyond the bounds of this state within twenty days next ensuing after the days upon which they shall be informed of this order or they will be arrested by warrant and carried before some Justice of the Peace of this county and bound over to appear at the next term of this Court to be dealt with according to law. Test Wm. R. Skinner, clk.

[Notes on the reverse show that Jane, Abram Savage, Agnes Brown and Alfred Folk were served, but “Henry Copeland not in this county.”]

Records of Slaves and Free Persons of Color, Chowan County Records, North Carolina State Archives.

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February 15, 2013

United States Colored Troops, no. 8.

37 U.S.C.T. Edward Hammonds. Co. T, 35 Reg’t U.S. Col’d Inf. appears on Company Descriptive Book of the organization named above. Description: age, 38 years; height, 5 feet 8 inches; complexion, light; eyes, dark; hair, dark; where born, Onslow County, NC; occupation, laborer. Enlistment: when, 30 August 1864; where, New Bern; by whom, A.P. Smith; term, 3 years. Remarks: mustered into U.S. Service at New Bern by Capt. Wm. Sweet 30 Aug 1864, bounty paid $100, due $200.

In the 1850 census of Lower South West, Onslow County: Edward Hammons, 24, in the household of Owen Jarrett, farmer.

14 H. Art’y U.S.C.T. Thomas Hammonds. Co. D, 14 Reg’t U.S. Col’d H. Art’y. appears on Company Descriptive Book of the organization named above. Description: age, 38 years; height, 5 feet 9 inches; complexion, black; eyes, black; hair, black; where born, Onslow County, NC; occupation, laborer. Enlistment: when, 23 May 1864; where, New Bern NC; by whom, Lt. Wheaton; term, 3 years.

In the 1850 census of Half Moon, Onslow County: Thomas Hammons, 55, wife Sena [no age], with Susan, 35, and Thomas Hammons, 24, Seana Littleton, 16, and Marthy White, 13.

2 Cav. U.S.C.T. Wilson Sawyer. Co. D, 2 Reg’t U.S. Col’d Cav. appears on Company Descriptive Book of the organization named above. Description: age, 17 years; height, 5 feet 2 inches; complexion, black; eyes, dark; hair, dark; where born, Camden County, NC; occupation, farmer. Enlistment: when, 24 December 1863; where, Fort Monroe; by whom, Col. Cole; term, 3 years. Remarks: engaged in action at Suffolk, Virginia, March 9, near Peterburgh June 6, 12 and 18, 1864.

In the 1850 census of Camden County: Mary Sayer, 30, with children Pricilla, 7, and Wilson, 2.

35 U.S.C.T. George Archer. Co. E, 35 Reg’t U.S. Col’d Inf. appears on Company Descriptive Book of the organization named above. Description: age, 25 years; height, 5 feet 7 ½ inches; complexion, light; eyes, grey; hair, dark; where born, Hertford, NC; occupation, government laborer. Enlistment: when, 22 May 1863; where, Newbern NC; by whom, Capt. Crofts; term, 3 years. Remarks: died at Gov’t Hosptl No. 5, Jacksonville, Florida, 18 August 1864, of chronic rheumatism; final statement papers forwarded to Adjt Genl’s office, Washington DC, 23 August 1864.

In the 1850 census of Southern District, Hertford County: Levi Archer, 43, laborer, wife Lucinda, 31, and children George T., 11, West, 9, Elizabeth, 7, Assirah, 2, and Bartelmus, 0.

36 U.S.C.T. Calvin Bow. Co. C, 36 Reg’t U.S. Col’d Inf. appears on Company Descriptive Book of the organization named above. Description: age, 20 years; height, 5 feet 5 ½ inches; complexion, black; eyes, black; hair, black; where born, Pasquotank County, NC; occupation, farmer. Enlistment: when, 13 June 1863; where, Roanoke Island NC; by whom, Lt. Shaw; term, 3 years. Remarks: mustered 28 Oct 1863 at Portsmouth, Virginia, by Lt. Horton; free on or about 19 April 1861; mustered out 13 June 1866 by reason of expiration of term of service at Brazos Santiago Texas.

In the 1850 census, Suttons Creek, Perquimans County: James Bow, 49, laborer, wife Penny, 35, and children Alfred, 18, Augustus, 15, Joshua, 12, Clarisa, 10, David, 8, Calvin, 6, and Timothy Bow, 1, and Isaiah Overton, 3 months.

11 H. Art’y U.S.C.T. Isiah Dove. Co. B, 11 Reg’t U.S. Col’d H. Art’y. appears on Company Descriptive Book of the organization named above. Description: age, 23 years; height, 5 feet 5 ½ inches; complexion, dark; eyes, black; hair, black; where born, Newbern, NC; occupation, seaman. Enlistment: when, 7 September 1863; where, Providence, Rhode Island; by whom, Capt. Simon; term, 3 years.

In the 1850 census of Craven County: Isaiah Dove, 22, laborer, wife Ann, 23, and son Levi, 3 months.

9 H. Art’y U.S.C.T. James R. Faithful. Co. E, 9 Reg’t U.S. Col’d H. Art’y. appears on Company Descriptive Book of the organization named above. Description: age, 40 years; height, 5 feet 8 ¾ inches; complexion, dark; eyes, brown; hair, dark; where born, unknown NC; occupation, farmer. Enlistment: when, 2 September 1864; where, Alliance, Ohio; by whom, Capt. Olliver; term, 1 year.

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Month: February, 2013