The Chubbs of Chubbtown.
by Lisa Y. Henderson
The history of the Chubb Chapel, and in fact Chubbtown itself, must be seen in the context of the Chubb family and its struggle first to escape slavery and then as a rare, free-black family to migrate seeking better opportunities, as did most of its free white contemporaries.
The history of the Chubb family in North America dates back at least to 1775. Nicholas Chubb is listed a free colored male, head of a household on the 1820 census of Caswell County, North Carolina. His age is listed as 45 years or older, which means that Nicholas Chubb probably was not born later than 1775, whether he was born free, or in slavery is not known. If born a slave, it is not yet known when or under what circumstances he was freed.
Isaac Chubb, born about 1797 in North Carolina, is presumed to be one of Nicholas Chubb’s sons. Isaac appeared as a free black in the 1830 Census of Caswell County, North Carolina and shortly thereafter migrated to north Georgia before 1833 when his first child is recorded as having been born in Georgia. It is important to note that Isaac Chubb, a free black male, migrated with his family to Georgia, a slave state, rather than to a northern free state. Isaac Chubb, who was a blacksmith by profession, apparently was successful enough in his profession to keep his family together. In 1850, Isaac and his family were living in Morgan County, Georgia.
In 1850, Georgia’s population was just over 906,000 people with just over 381,000 being slave, and 521,000 free whites. Only 2,931 were listed as free blacks, and of these 16 were recorded living in Morgan County. Of these 16, 10 were Isaac Chubb and family. The only large congregation of free blacks in the state were in the larger cities of Savannah, Augusta, Macon, and Columbus.
By 1860, Georgia’s total population had risen to 1,057,000 or so, with whites making up 591,000 or so, while the slave population had grown to over 462,000. The free black total had grown to 3500 exactly.
While the 1860 Census does not reflect the exact whereabouts of the Chubb family, it would appear that they were already in Floyd County. The free black residents of Morgan County totalled 16 in 1850 (of which 10 were Isaac and family) and only 7 in 1860, for a loss of 9. Floyd County, on the other hand, had only 4 free blacks in 1850 but had gained 9 for a total of 13 in 1860.
Isaac Chubb and his eight sons (William, Henry, John, Thomas, Jacob, Isaac, Jr., Nicholas and George) thus arrived at, or were subsequently born in, Floyd County, Georgia, by the early 1860s. Neither research nor family tradition has indicated any reason for this northwesterly move. The older sons soon began purchasing real estate before the end of the Civil War. Henry Chubb purchased 120 acres in 1864 before the end of the war.
The 1870 census of Floyd County, Georgia, reflects that Isaac was dead and Henry was head of the family. The census lists the various occupations of the brothers as blacksmith, wagon maker, house carpenter, sawmill operator and the rest farmers. Apparently, these varied talents enabled the Chubb brothers to prosper.
Chubb Chapel United Methodist Church was established in a community that most probably was one of a kind, one that was established and owned by blacks before the turn of the century in the United States.
Legend has it that the community in which Chubb Chapel United Methodist Church is located was once inhabited by the Cherokee Indians before they were forced to relocate during the winter of 1838-1939.
In an undated deed recorded on August 8, 1870, “Henry Chubb and brothers, of town of Cave Spring” conveyed for $200 approximately one acre of land “at Chubbs” to the Trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church, with “a house now situated on said lot and occupied as a school and a place of religious worship by the colored people.” Henry Chubb, one of the Chubb Brothers, was one of the original trustees.
Although William Chubb was the oldest son of Isaac Chubb, Sr. as shown on the census, Henry Chubb seems to have taken on the role as head of the Chubb family in Floyd County. The wording of the church deed, Henry’s inclusion as the sole Chubb family member as one of the trustees and his listing in the 1870 census support the tradition that Henry Chubb had become head of the Chubb family in Floyd County by 1870.
During the Post-Reconstruction period the Chubb brothers continued purchasing real estate. Their real estate holdings became a self- sufficient community known as Chubbtown. Chubbtown provided goods and services to white and black residents of the surrounding areas.
Chubbtown was indeed a self-sufficient community. The community, which was serviced by its own post office, was composed of a general store, blacksmith shop, grist mill, distillery, syrup mill, saw mill, wagon company, cotton gin, casket (coffin) company and several farms, all owned and operated by the Chubb family.
The Chubb family remained and prospered in Floyd County, Georgia, while many southern blacks were seeking prosperity in the north. The family’s prosperity declined around the 1940s when a flood destroyed many of the family’s businesses.
By the 1870 census, Henry Chubb had acquired considerable property as an individual, separate from the family’s holdings. Perhaps this is the reason that he became the head of the family.
In the county’s first official county history, A History of Rome and Floyd County, written by George M. Battey, Jr., and published in 1922, the family and its community even attracted the attention of the white community of Floyd County, as seen by the following reference to the family in the encyclopedic section under the heading “Darkeys of Rome, Old-Time”: “Chubb Family: These darkeys were farmers around Chubbtown, near Cave Spring and the Polk County line, whose industry and thrift enabled them to accumulate considerable property, gins, mills, houses, etc. They were law-abiding, respected by the whites and generally good citizens. Their master set them free before the Civil War.”
Although the reference to the Chubbs as “darkeys” certainly will not amuse the current descendants of the Chubb brothers, the reference must be put in its proper historic context. They were the only black family discussed, all the other entries were individuals. The history was published in 1922, when far more insulting words were used to describe blacks. What is far more important to note is that Chubbtown, a community established by blacks, had gained such respect and prominence that it could not be ignored by the white author. As in all Georgia county histories of the era, blacks were relegated to only brief mentions, or appendices, even though in many counties they had long constituted a major percentage of the population.
Perhaps the descendants of the Chubb brothers will not find the following reference to Chubbtown, from the same history, as offensive as the preceding one:
“Chubbtown is a settlement of prosperous and respectable negroes four miles southeast of Cave Spring at the Polk County line.” (p. 397)
The Chubb brothers and Chubbtown certainly had received some recognition by the 1920s. Unfortunately, by 1940 all of the Chubb brothers had died; however, their dreams and lives lived on through their children. The Chubb brothers (William, Henry, John, Thomas, Jacob, Isaac, Nicholas and George) along with many of their children and other descendants are buried in the Chubb Cemetery, located on land donated by the Chubb and Jones families in Chubbtown.
Although the community that the Chubb brothers established is no longer a self-sufficient town and is no longer exclusively owned by members of the Chubb family, it continues to bear the name Chubbtown, and is recognized as such on the U.S.G.S. topographic map, Cedartown West Quadrangle.
The church that the Chubb brothers helped establish in August 1870 stands today and is still operating as a church and is now known as Chubb Chapel United Methodist Church. It is the only historic building dating from the period of Chubbtown’s historic development.
From the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form for Chubb Methodist Episcopal Church, Cave Spring, Georgia.
[Sidenote: Arguably, the most famous Chubb is patriarch Nicholas’ namesake, Georgia Bulldog running back Nick Chubb. See this ESPN video about the Chubbtown legacy.]
We appreciate the research on our family, the Chubbs. I would like for you to get to know other Chubb members who are known in their field of study.
it’s a great story, the CHUBBS have a legacy to behold.
Very interesting, I must journey to this location in the near future.
Nicholas Chubb was mostly likely the son of John Chubb who was born c.1757 in Montgomery County, Maryland, a free black who served in Maryland and Virginia units during the Revolutionary War at least from 1782 thru 1783. He received a 100 acre land warrant for his service. By 1790 he was living in Montgomery County, North Carolina.
Sorry, the dates of service should have been 1781 thru 1783
Thank you!
The 100 acres of land was transferred to a Robert Means, who evidently received quite a bit of the land warrants issued after/during the Revolutionary War. John Chub was listed as age 23 when he enlisted in the war and was a free Black.
Hi Clemmie,
Can you reach out to me by email. Susie’s granddaughter.
I am now doubtful that Nicholas Chubb was the son of John Chubb, although they may have been brothers or cousins.
Henry Chubb of Cave Spring, Floyd County, Georgia, was paid $58.00 by A.L. Hamilton, Asst Quartermaster of the Confederate States Army on 23 August 1863 for “shoeing horses and repairing government wagons.”
John who are you and where are you obtaining the information?
Confederate service records available at Ancestry.com. I am a semi-professional genealogist from Newnan, GA
Ms. Conner, Send a request to wellsga@bellsouth.net and I will email you copies of the Confederate records. They are from the “Confederate Citizens Files” at the National Archives. BTW, I will be in Chubbtown tomorrow. I have business in Cave Spring and want to drive over to Chubbtown.
Hello, you asked that I reach out to you. My email address is cbwhatley@aol.com. I am the great granddaughter of Henry Chubb (Isaac’s second oldest son).
Clemmie
Hello Clemmie,
I am helping with a program for presentation at a Black History Month Dinner at our Senior Apartment complex. I’m looking for information about the Chubb Family and Chubbtown. Can you suggest where I might start. Do you live in the vicinity of Chubbtown. If so I would love to talk with you. Please reply by Email. You may call me of my cell phone – 770-355-3662. I plan to visit Chubbtown in the next few days. Thank you for any assistance you may offer.
I have lots of new info:
Acts of the General Assembly of the State of Georgia – 1837, Milledgeville, Georgia, State Printers, 1838, page 226:
“An act for the relief of Isaac Chubb, Nicholas Chubb, Amend Chubb, William, Henry and Ann Chubb, free persons of color.”
“Whereas, Isaac Chubb, Nicholas Chubb, Amend, William, Henry and Ann Chubb, free persons of color, removed several years ago, from the State of North Carolina to Morgan County, Georgia, where they have since resided, and have until very recently, been entirely ignorant of the existence of any law of the State, that inhibited such removal, or that they had subjected themselves to any penalty thereby; and whereas, the State of North Carolina, has, since their removal, enacted a similar law, which prevents a return to the place of their nativity without incurring a like penalty, for remedy thereof —–
Section 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Georgia, in General Assembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, that after the passage of this act, Isaac Chubb, Nicholas Chubb, Amend, William, Henry and Ann Chubb, shall upon application to the Clerk of the Inferior Court of Morgan County, and upon production of sufficient evidence of their freedom, be entitled to have their names prescribed by the laws of this State, for the registry of the names of free persons of color, and shall be entitled to all the privileges, and subject to all the liabilities, and shall be upon the same footing in every respect with free persons of color in this State; and law to the contrary notwithstanding.
Joseph Day, Speaker of the House of Representatives; Robert M. Echols, President of the Senate; Assented to, 25th December 1837, George R. Gilmer, Governor”
what is your e-mail address?
I will be glad to help. Just email me at wellsga@bellsouth.net
Great Article! I am an avid UGA fan and genealogy enthusiast. It was a great read.
Thanks for taking time to comment! Go, Dawgs!
Woof! Woof! Woof! Rose Bowl first, then back to the ATL!
Lisa, Are you a Chubb and who is the picture of?
No, I am not a Chubb. I maintain a blog about NC’s free people of color, including families, like the Chubbs, who emigrated to other states.
GO CHUBB! GO DAWGS! BEAT ALABAMA!!!!!
Caswell County, NC Deed Book R, pages 279-281: February 1816, Thomas Windsor and wife Milly of Caswell County, NC, to Nicholas Chubb of Caswell County, NC, for $673, 363 1/2 acres of Stony Creek adj. to Elizabeth Hornbuckle, Andrew Robertson, Nathan Moore, Frances Swift, John Windsor.
http://www.freeafricanamericans.com/Caldwell-Evans.htm
CHURB/ CHUBB FAMILY
1. Mary Chirb, born about 1736, was a “Mulatto” (called Mary Churl) with about six years and four months to serve when she was listed in the inventory of the Prince George’s County estate of Mr. Turner Wooten on 25 February 1761 [Prerogative Inventories 73:52-4]. On 25 August 1761 the Prince George’s County court presented her for having a “Molatto” bastard child. On 22 November 1763 she had an another illegitimate child whose father was probably a free man since the court ordered that she serve her master and mistress, William Turnor Wootton and Elizabeth Wootton, only nine months for the trouble of their house. On 25 March 1766 she confessed to the court that she had another “Mulatto” child, and the court sold her son Natt to Wootton to serve until the age of thirty-one [Court Record 1761-3, 69; 1763-4, 9; 1765-6, 386, 390]. She was the mother of
John Chubb, born about 1758, enlisted in the Revolution in Loudoun County, Virginia, on 19 March 1781 and was sized on 28 May: age 23, 5’5-1/2″ high, black complexion, planter, born in and residing in Montgomery County, Maryland [The Chesterfield Supplement or Size Roll of Troops at Chesterfield Court House, LVA accession no. 23816, by http://revwarapps.org/b81.pdf (p.67)]. He may have been identical to Jonathan Chubb who enlisted in the 3rd Maryland Regiment on 1 January 1782 [NARA, M246, Roll 34, frame 398 of 587, ancestry.com]. He served in the 6th Virginia Regiment under Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Posey from 1 April to 1 September 1782, served in Captain Clough Shelton’s Company of the 1st Virginia Battalion from 1 December 1782 to 1 May 1783 and received 100 acres bounty land [NARA, M246, roll 113, frame 712; M881, Roll 1089, frames 323-6 of 1808].
Caswell County, NC Deed Book AA, p. 98-9, 4 October 1831
Nicholas CHUBB to Joseph MATKINS and Wm MATKINS Jr all of Caswell Co. for $300, 200ac on Stoney Creek where CHUBB resides adj Francis (Frances) SWIFT, ELIZABETH HORNBUCKLE, A. ROBERTSON, Nathan MOORE. Wits.:F. LEATH, Thomas BRINSFIELD.
I have a problem with Revolutionary vet John Chubb being the father of Nicholas Chubb. We know that John Chubb was born about 1758. Nicholas Chubb was born “before” 1775 according to several census records. This would make John Chubb age 17 or under when Nicholas was born. Secondly, John Chubb appears in the 1790 census of Montgomery County, North Carolina alone without any family. I can located Nicholas Chubb in Caswell County, North Carolina, as early as 16 August1810 purchasing items from the estate of Nancy Hornbuckle. There is also a deed dated 1802 in Caswell County that mentionsChubb Creek. Interesting!.
Hello I agree. Same conclusion I reached from the information on John and Nicholas Chubb. There was a Chubb Lake in the area; but I believe it may have been names for the fish “chubb” rather than the family.
Caswell County, North Carolina Will Book E, page 19, “On 7 May 1803 estate of Hezekiah Carson decd. was sold at public auction. Sales to: George Hornbuckle and Nicholas Chubb.” Note: in a typed copy the name “Chubb” was mistyped as “Chut.” The original is clearly “Chub.”
Caswell County, NC Deed Book R, p.279-281, February __ 1816
Thomas Windsor and wife Milly of Caswell County to Nicholas CHUBB of same for $673.00, 363 ½ acres on Stony Creek adj. to Elizabeth Hornbuckle, Andrew Robertson, Nathan Moore, Frances Swift, John Windsor.
Caswell Co., NC Deed Books 1777-1817, Book U, p. 43-44, 26 May 1821
John WINDSOR of Rockingham Co. [NC] to Thomas BRINSFIELD Jr. of same for $1.75 per acre, 26ac on STONEY CREEK adj Nicholas CHUB, BETSY HORNBUCKLE, Thomas BRINSFIELD SR.
Wits: William NOLES, George DILWORTH, Thomas BRINSFIELD.
Caswell County, NC Deed Book AA, p. 98-9, 4 October 1831
Nicholas CHUBB to Joseph MATKINS and Wm MATKINS Jr all of Caswell Co. for $300, 200ac on Stoney Creek where CHUBB resides adj Francis (Frances) SWIFT, ELIZABETH HORNBUCKLE, A. ROBERTSON, Nathan MOORE.
Wits.:F. LEATH, Thomas BRINSFIELD.
“North Carolina Wills & Probate Records 1665-1998” Caswell County [www.ancesstry.com]
Estate records of Nansey Hornbuckle (widow of Thomas Franklin Hornbuckle) for 2nd Qtr 1809 “to cash paid Nicholess Chubb her sm[ith?] £3/4/6
===========================
Ana Hornbuckle decd (mother of Thomas Franklin Hornbuckle) to Nicolas Chub for Smiths work for the year 1810 in £ [illegible] the account in dollars Eight. Caswell County August 16th 1810. This day comes Nicolas Chubb before me and maid [sic] oath to the justness of the above a/c sworn before me Nicolas Chubb.” [Note: Nicholas Chubb signed the pay receipt with a large “N” as his signature.]
============================
Recd April Court 1811 of Mr. Thomas Windsor admr of the estate of Nancy Hornbuckle decd (widow of Thomas Franklin Hornbuckle) : Voucher #10 Nicolas Chub £1/10/7
John,
Have you found any evidence that the Chubb family migrated to Lumpkin County before moving to Morgan County?
Thanks,
Clemmie
Thomas Franklin Hornbuckle (1741-1799) was living in FairfaxCounty, Virginia, as early as 1785 and moved to Caswell County, North Carolina, in the 1780s. It appears that Nicholas Chubb, a free man, was the black smith for the Hornbuckle plantation and moved to North Carolina with the Hornbuckle family. In 1816, Thomas Windsor, the son-in-law, of Thomas Franklin Hornbuckle, sold 363 1/2 acres of the Hornbuckle property to Nicholas Chubb for $673.00. This was an amazing amount of money. In today’s money he paid the equivalent of $11,400! I’m certain that he set up some sort of regular payments to purchase the property as a valued employee of the extended Hornbuckle family.
John,
Can you please tell me where you found this information. My email is cbwhatley@aol.com
Thanks
Several accounts of the Chubb family state that Nicholas Chubb was born in or about 1775. This date is misleading. The 1840 Guilford County, NC census lists Nicholas as aged 55 plus. The 1830 census of Caswell County, NC gives his age as 55 to 99, and the 1820 Caswell County census records that he was aged 45 plus in that year. In other words, he was born in 1775 “at the latest.” He was probably older than that since he followed the Hornbubkle family to North Carolina as their blacksmith about 1787. Based on the 1787 dateNicholas Chubb must have been born before 1766 to have been a plantation blacksmith by 1787.
Wow what a great bit of information here. I actually live in Chubbtown Georgia. Thanks Mr.Wells for your helpful info sir.
I have finished a detailed and documented genealogy of the Chubb family. If interested in receiving a copy, please send an e-mail request to me at wellsga@bellsouth.net. If you are a Chubb descendant, you should be very proud!
John Wells
The Early History of the Chubb Family of Chubbtown, Georgia
by
John B. Wells III
Newnan, Georgia
wellsga@bellsouth.net
14 February 2018
Like most African-American families, the Chubb family of Chubbtown, Georgia, has endured generations of official as well as subtle discrimination in the pursuit of the American dream. However, the Chubb family story is unlike most others in that it has been marked by a series of hard fought victories over social conventions. The name of Chubb in northwest Georgia has become synonymous with faith, courage, tenancy and perseverance for over almost 150 years. The story of how this resilient family survived and thrived is nothing short of amazing.
Prior to the abolition of slavery in the United States, most blacks were enslaved and treated as property by their white masters. Very few official records remain that chronicle their American journey before the year 1865. Fortunately, the ancestors of the Chubb family were not slaves, but “free persons of color.” Consequently, their story extends almost 300 years in our nation’s past. The Chubb legacy, extrapolated from a mixture of official records and circumstantial evidence points to a resilient and determined people who prospered under the most difficult of circumstances.
Even though the ancestors of the Chubb family were not enslaved, they faced a hostile existence in the American South. Early on they realized that the key to success and independence was being able to offer skills needed by the white society. On 3 February 1732, Nehemiah Ogden, a white blacksmith living in Prince George’s County, Maryland, transferred an Irish indentured servant named Thomas Jones and “a set of smith’s tools” to Turner Wooten of the same county for £17.13.02. Thomas Jones was an apprenticed blacksmith and it was Wooten’s plan to set up a blacksmith’s shop on his large plantation.
The earliest mention of the African-American Chubb family name also came from Turner Wooten’s plantation records. Turner Wooten died on 5 November 1760 and his inventory of property was filed on 25 February 1761. Included in the inventory was a list of slaves along with the names of his indentured servants. Mary “Chubb” (also spelled variously as “Churb,” “Chirl” and “Churl”) was included as a free “Mulatto” with six years and four months of her indenture left to serve.
Paul Heinegg, in his book “Free African Americans of Maryland and Delaware” (www.freeafricanamericans.com), estimated that Mary was born about 1736 based on her remaining years of servitude. Heinegg also listed the children of Mary including Margaret (born c.1756), John, a Revolutionary War soldier (born 1758), Dick (born 1760) and Natt (born 1766). In 1817, Margaret’s daughter Esther confirmed her mother’s status (and, therefore, her grandmother’s status) when she was issued a “certificate of freedom” by Prince George’s County. According to her petition for free status, “she was raised in Prince George’s County and is free, being a descendant of a free woman named Margaret Churb.”
Maryland observed the British legal doctrine of “Partus sequitur ventrem,” and incorporated it in legislation relating to the definition of slavery. It was derived from the Roman civil law and held that the slave status of a child followed that of his or her mother. It was widely adopted into the laws of slavery in the colonies and the following United States. The Latin phrase literally means “that which is brought forth follows the womb”. Since Mary Chubb was born a free woman of color it follows that her mother was also free.
According to a Maryland law enacted in 1692, a free woman of color who had a child out of wedlock was punished by being sold as an indentured servant for a term of seven years and, thereby, also binding her children to serve until they reached age thirty-one. If the father was a slave, seven more years were added to the mother’s years of servitude. Since Mary Chubb had a few months over six years left to serve and she was born about 1736, her father must have been a free man.
On 22 March 1763, William Turner Wooten, the son of the Turner Wooten, deceased, reported to the Prince George’s County Court that Mary “Chirb” had given birth to another “base born Child.” The child, named “Nick” or “Nicholas,” was the son of a free man since no additional time was added to the indenture of his mother.
Because “Nicholas” Chubb was trained to become a blacksmith it is possible that his father was the white indentured servant named Thomas Jones whose indenture was sold to Turner Wooten in 1732. In later years, “Thomas Jones of Ireland [was] admitted to citizenship of the United States.” Nicholas Chubb, the son of Mary, learned his valuable trade while living on the Wooten Plantation, probably while working for Thomas Jones.
According to the U.S. Census for the year 1800, two of Mary Chubb’s grandchildren, George and Robert Churb, “free negroes,” were still living in Prince George’s County, Maryland. In that year, their grandmother “Mary Chubb” was a resident of the newly established District of Columbia which was formed partially from Prince George’s County, Maryland, and Fairfax (later Arlington) County, Virginia. In January 1782, as a ”free person of colour,” Mary’s son John Chubb joined the American patriot forces as a private in the 6th Regiment of Virginia Infantry. He served honorably for two years and later received a 100 acre land bounty for his contributions to American liberty. By 1790, he was living alone in Montgomery County, North Carolina.
It appears that Nicholas Chubb followed his brother John to Virginia. Having acquired a valuable profession as a blacksmith, he was hired on 12 October 1785, by Thomas Franklin Hornbuckle to perform “smith work” on his Fairfax County plantation. On 27 December 1785, he was paid £2 for “iron works.”
Thomas Franklin Hornbuckle was a native of Stafford County, Virginia, but moved his family to Fairfax County before 1785. The 1787 tax list for Fairfax County recorded Hornbuckle with ten horses, seventeen cattle and eleven slaves. However, several histories of the “Northern Neck” of Virginia noted that during this time Fairfax County experienced a severe economic slump. This, coupled with fields exhausted from generations of poor farming methods, “contributed to an exodus of its citizens.” Thomas Hornbuckle followed scores of his fellow Fairfax County planters to the new, fertile lands available in Caswell County, North Carolina. On 7 June 1786, William Johnson of Caswell County sold Thomas Hornbuckle “of Fairfax County, VA for 10 pounds specie 200 acres on Moon’s Creek,” also known as Stoney Creek. Hornbuckle purchased an additional 403 acres on Stoney Creek from Jesse Oldham on 4 October 4, 1787, and made the move to the Tar Heel State. Nicholas Chubb, having worked for the Hornbuckle family for less than two years, decided to follow his employer to his new home in North Carolina.
Thomas Hornbuckle died in Caswell County, North Carolina, in 1799. His will, presented on 29 March 1799, left eleven slaves and his land to his wife Nancy Ana and their ten children. He named his son-in-law James Simpson as his executor and sold or willed most of his Stoney Creek property to his son-in-law Thomas Windsor.
After the death of Thomas Hornbuckle, Nicholas Chubb continued to be employed by his widow Nancy Ana Hornbuckle as a blacksmith. Although Nicholas Chubb does not appear in the census records for 1800 and 1810, he was living in Caswell County, North Carolina. Sometime between 1787 and 1795, Nicholas Chubb married and started a family. It appears that he married “Jane Curtis,”the daughter or sister of Henry Curtis of Caswell County. Henry “Curtis” was a “free person of color,” a descendant of Jonathan Curtis, “a free Negroe” born about 1715 in Charles County, Maryland. In the 1810 census for Caswell County, the family of Henry Curtis included 8 “other free persons.” It is possible that Nicholas Chubb and his young family were some of those 8 “other free persons.” Interestingly, by 1820 Henry Curtis had moved to neighboring Halifax County, North Carolina, where his household included 4 “other free persons” plus 10 slaves. It appears that he was either purchasing enslaved members of his extended family or was one of the few free blacks in North Carolina who actually owned slaves of their own.
Whatever the case, Nicholas Chubb and his new family struck out on their own. In addition to his wages as the Hornbuckle plantation blacksmith, he became a skilled trader, purchasing items from estate sales and reselling them for a profit. He first appeared in local records on 7 May 1803, when he purchased items from the estate of “Hezekiah Carmon, dec’d.” On August 16-18, 1810, Chubb, along with Hornbuckle brothers-in-law James Simpson and Thomas Windsor, purchased items from the estate of his deceased employer Thomas Franklin Hornbuckle. In January of 1818, Nicholas Chubb paid over £37.05.00 for a large number of blacksmithing tools and supplies form the estate of Henry Tapscott of Caswell County.
While Nicholas Chubb continued as the blacksmith for the Hornbuckle family, he also began receiving business from other local planters. With the help of his older sons, he became quite well-known in northern North Carolina for the quality of his work. Nancy Ana Hornbuckle, the widow of Thomas Franklin Hornbuckle, died in 1810. Her estate records included several receipts for payment to “Nicolas Chub” for smithing work. On 6 July 1809, Nancy paid Nicholas Chubb £3.04.06 as “her smith.” “For the year 1810,” he was paid $8 on 16 August “for smith’s work,” again by the Nancy Hornbuckle estate.
By 1816, Nicholas Chubb and his sons had been able to save an amazing amount of money for a free family of color in North Carolina. It must have been with a great deal of pride and satisfaction that in February of 1816, Nicholas Chubb purchased the entire Thomas Hornbuckle plantation from Milly and Thomas Windsor, the son-in-law and daughter of Thomas Hornbuckle. Chubb purchased 363 ½ acres of land on Stoney Creek adjacent to the farms of Elizabeth Hornbuckle and John Windsor. The land included the family home of Thomas and Nancy Hornbuckle and was purchased by Nicholas Chubb for the amazing price of $673.00, over $10,800 in today’s money.
“Caswell County, NC Deed Book R, p.279-281, February __ 1816
Thomas Windsor and wife Milly of Caswell County to NICHOLAS CHUBB of same for $673.00, 363 ½ acres on Stony Creek adj. to Elizabeth Hornbuckle, Andrew Robertson, Nathan Moore, Frances Swift, John Windsor.”
Finally, by 1830, Nicholas Chubb and three of his “free colored” sons were recognized by the United State Census. Nicholas Chubb was listed in Caswell County, North Carolina, as a free colored male aged 55 to 99 along with 5 males aged 10 to 25 and 4 females aged 10 to 23. His sons Peter and Isaac Chubb were also included in separate households. Peter’s family included 1 free colored male aged 24 through 35, 1 female age 10-24, 1 male aged under 10 and 1 female also under 10 years old. Isaac was included as aged 24 to 35 with 1 female age 10 to 24 and 1 male aged under 10. There was also 1 free white male in the household, aged 20 to 29, possibly an employee of Isaac’s blacksmithing business. Another brother, Solomon Chubb, was living in neighboring Guilford County, North Carolina, by 1830, where he married on 9 July 1829, to Maria Curtis, possibly a kinsman of Solomon’s mother.
Although, the Chubb family lived in what was called a “never-never land,” not white, but not slave, the family prospered. However, national events were about to overwhelm the hardworking family and change their lives forever. On the morning of 21 August 1831, a Southampton County, Virginia, slave named Nat Turner led a slave revolt, killing over 50 white citizens. The revolt was put down within a few days, but the shock waves swept over the entire American South. Southampton County was located in southern Virginia along the North Carolina border just 110 miles from Caswell County. According to historical accounts, “within a day of the suppression of the rebellion, the local militia companies … were joined by militias from counties in Virginia and North Carolina surrounding Southampton County. An estimated 120 blacks were killed, most of whom were not involved with the rebellion. Rumors quickly spread among whites that the slave revolt was not limited to Southampton County, and that it had spread as far south as Alabama. Fears led to reports in North Carolina that “armies” of slaves were seen on highways, had burned and massacred the white inhabitants of Wilmington, a black-majority city; and were marching on the state capital. Such fear and alarm led to whites’ attacking blacks across the South with flimsy cause–the editor of the Richmond Whig, writing “with pain”, described the scene as “the slaughter of many blacks without trial and under circumstances of great barbarity. Two weeks after the rebellion had been suppressed, the white violence against the blacks continued …. A company of militia from Hertford County, North Carolina, reportedly killed 40 blacks in one day and took $23 and a gold watch from the dead. Captain Solon Borland, who led a contingent from Murfreesboro, North Carolina, condemned the acts “because it was tantamount to theft from the white owners of the slaves.” Blacks suspected of participating in the rebellion were beheaded by the militia. “Their severed heads were mounted on poles at crossroads as a grisly form of intimidation.” In the aftermath of the Nat Turner Slave Rebellion, the North Carolina General Assembly passed legislation making it unlawful to teach slaves, free blacks, or mulattoes to read or write, and restricting all blacks from holding religious meetings without the presence of a licensed white minister. Every other slave-holding state across the South enacted similar laws restricting activities of slaves and free blacks. Some free blacks chose to move their families north to obtain educations for their children.
Sadly, it appears that the family of Nicholas Chubb was subjected to increased intimidation from the local and state authorities. Less than two months after the Nat Turner Rebellion was quashed, Nicholas Chubb sold his property on Stoney Creek, closed his blacksmith shop and fled the county.
“Caswell County, NC Deed Book AA, pages 98-99, 4 October 1831
NICHOLAS CHUBB to Joseph Matkins and William Matkins, Jr. all of Caswell County for $300, 200 acres on Stoney Creek where CHUBB resides adjacent to Francis (Frances) Swift, Elizabeth Hornbuckle, A. Robertson, Nathan Moore. Witnesses: F. Leath, Thomas Brinsfield.”
Nicholas Chubb, aged 68 in 1831, decided to stay in North Carolina, but moved to Guilford County where his son Solomon Chubb had opened a blacksmith shop. In the 1840 Census for Guilford County, Nicholas was included with 1 free colored male aged 55 to 99, 1 female aged 24 to 35 and 2 females aged 10 to 23. Apparently, Nicholas died in Guilford County soon after the census was taken. “The Greensboro Patriot” newspaper for 12 October 1841, reported that “Nicholas Chub” had unclaimed letters at the post office that were sent as “dead letters” as of 1 October. Solomon Chubb, the son of Nicholas, closed his blacksmith shop soon after the death of his father and moved his family “up north.” The 1850 Census for Mercer County, Ohio, included Solomon Chubb, age 44, a blacksmith born in North Carolina, with personal property valued at $250. With him were his wife Mariah and their 18 year old son Samuel Chubb who listed his occupation as a barber.
For unknown reasons, two other sons of Nicholas Chubb, Isaac and Nicholas, chose to move south. By 1837, they had established themselves in Morgan County, Georgia, where they opened another blacksmith shop and immediately gained the respect of the local white community. Unknown to the Chubb family, the State of Georgia had longstanding state laws on the books that imposed an outright ban on the immigration of free blacks to Georgia. The local citizens rushed to their defense and introduced special legislation in the General Assembly that allowed them to remain in Georgia.
“An act for the relief of Isaac Chubb, Nicholas Chubb, Amend Chubb, William, Henry and Ann Chubb, free persons of color.”
“Whereas, Isaac Chubb, Nicholas Chubb, Amend(Mary?), William, Henry and Ann Chubb, free persons of color, removed several years ago, from the State of North Carolina to Morgan County, Georgia, where they have since resided, and have until very recently, been entirely ignorant of the existence of any law of the State, that inhibited such removal, or that they had subjected themselves to any penalty thereby; and whereas, the State of North Carolina, has, since their removal, enacted a similar law, which prevents a return to the place of their nativity without incurring a like penalty, for remedy thereof —–
Section 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Georgia, in General Assembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, that after the passage of this act, Isaac Chubb, Nicholas Chubb, Amend, William, Henry and Ann Chubb, shall upon application to the Clerk of the Inferior Court of Morgan County, and upon production of sufficient evidence of their freedom, be entitled to have their names prescribed by the laws of this State, for the registry of the names of free persons of color, and shall be entitled to all the privileges, and subject to all the liabilities, and shall be upon the same footing in every respect with free persons of color in this State; and law to the contrary notwithstanding.
Joseph Day, Speaker of the House of Representatives; Robert M. Echols, President of the Senate; Assented to, 25th December 1837, George R. Gilmer, Governor”
The special act was signed by Governor Gilmer on Christmas Day 1837 and protected brothers Nicholas and Isaac along with Isaac’s children William, Henry and Anna. The name “Amend Chubb” has yet to be identified and was possibly a misspelling of the name of Isaac’s wife. Clearly, the Chubb family wanted only to live in peace with their neighbors and their governmental leaders. By 1837, they seemed to have accomplished that goal.
The 1850 Morgan County Census listed Isaac Chubb, aged 53, “male mulatto,” occupation blacksmith. His family had grown to include Mary, his wife, age 36, and children William aged 21, Henry aged 16, Anna aged 14, John aged 11, Thomas aged 9, Jane aged 7, Jacob aged 4, and Isaac aged 2. Isaac’s brother Nicholas Chubb, age 33, had moved to Dahlonega in Lumpkin County, where he also worked as a blacksmith. The Isaac Chubb family continued to live quietly in Morgan County, Georgia, for over 30 years until national events beyond their control uprooted them once again.
In spite of the best efforts of the Chubb family to live in peace with their neighbors, both black and white, the national debate about the future of slavery would not go away. Confrontation after confrontation finally resulted in the secession of the State of Georgia from the Union on 21 January 1861, followed by the firing on Fort Sumter, South Carolina, on 12 April of the same year. Morgan County was at the center frenzy for war. The 1850 census for the county recorded 7,094 slaves with only 3,650 free residents, including just 16 “free persons of color.” Of the 16 free persons of color, just 6 were not members of the Chubb family. As Morgan County sent its first brigade of Confederate troops to Richmond, Virginia, in July 1861, Isaac Chubb decided to move his family to safer, quieter territory.
Northwest Georgia was much less dependent on slavery to fuel its economic engine. In 1860, Floyd County had a white population of 9,200 with 5,927 slaves, mostly concentrated around the city of Rome. Neighboring Polk County had 6,298 white residents with only 1,171 slaves. The area along the Floyd-Polk border near the village of Cave Spring was home to relatively few blacks, both free and enslaved. Isaac Chubb’s strategy was to quietly disappear into the quiet hills and re-establish their generations’ long struggle for true freedom.
Sometime prior to July 1863, he moved his family, now including his brother William, to a small farm about 4 miles southeast of Cave Spring in Floyd County, Georgia. Almost immediately, he set up a blacksmith shop and began doing business with local white landowners. As happened in previous locations, his reputation as a skilled smith spread rapidly. Continuing to follow his low profile strategy of cooperation with local authorities, he and his sons even provided services to the Confederate Army. On 23 August 1863, “Henry Chubb” was paid 58 dollars in Confederate money “for Shoeing Horses & Mules & Repairing Government Wagons.” He was paid at Cave Spring by “A.L. Hamilton, Assistant Quartermaster, C.S. Army.”
By the 1870 Census for Floyd County, Georgia, Isaac Chubb died and was probably the first burial in what is now the Chubbtown Community Cemetery. Regrettably, the grave is marked only by a granite rock. “Pollie” (also known as “Mary”), the 60 year old widow of Isaac Chubb, lived with her son Henry in 1870. The tiny settlement called “Chubbs” or “Chubbtown” was populated entirely by the sons of Isaac Chubb and their families and a few other black families..
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1870 U.S. Census for Floyd County, Georgia, Post Office: Cave Spring:
Henry Chubbs age 35 male mulatto retired blacksmith $1,500 real estate $1,000 personal
Pollie Chubbs age 60 female mulatto (mother of Henry)
Jane Chubbs age 23 female mulatto
John Chubbs age 26 male mulato wagon maker
Isac Chubbs age 22 male mulatto works on farm
Nicolas Chubb age 19 male mulatto works on farm
George Chubbs age 17 male mulatto works on farm
Bettie Williams age30 female mulatto seamstress
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Jacob Chubbs age 25 male mulatto minding saw mill (son of Henry)
Lucy Chubbs age 17 female mulatto (married in January 1870)
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Thomas Chubbs age 28 male mulatto blacksmith(son of Henry)$300 real estate $300 personal
Susan Chubbs age 21 female mulatto
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William Chubbs age 43 male mulatto house carpenter(bro of Henry)$400 real estate $350 pers
Martha Chubbs age 35 female mulato
George Chubbs age 15 male mulatto works on farm
Howard Chubbs age 13 male mulatto attends school
Sarah Jane Chubbs age 11 female mulatto
John Chubbs age 09 male mulatto
Isac Chubbs age 07 male mulatto
Matilda Chubbs age 04 female mulatto
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“The Rest of the Story” is taken from the excellent blog maintained by Lisa Y. Henderson:
”Historical Documents of Genealogical Interest to Researchers of North Carolina’s Free People of Color” (www.ncfpc.net)
The older sons soon began purchasing real estate before the end of the Civil War. Henry Chubb purchased 120 acres in 1864 before the end of the war. The 1870 census of Floyd County, Georgia, reflects that Isaac was dead and Henry was head of the family. The census lists the various occupations of the brothers as blacksmith, wagon maker, house carpenter, sawmill operator and the rest farmers. Apparently, these varied talents enabled the Chubb brothers to prosper. Chubb Chapel United Methodist Church was established in a community that most probably was one of a kind, one that was established and owned by blacks before the turn of the century in the United States. Legend has it that the community in which Chubb Chapel United Methodist Church is located was once inhabited by the Cherokee Indians before they were forced to relocate during the winter of 1838-1939. In an undated deed recorded on August 8, 1870, “Henry Chubb and brothers, of town of Cave Spring” conveyed for $200 approximately one acre of land “at Chubbs” to the Trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church, with “a house now situated on said lot and occupied as a school and a place of religious worship by the colored people.” Henry Chubb, one of the Chubb Brothers, was one of the original trustees. Although William Chubb was the oldest son of Isaac Chubb, Sr. as shown on the census, Henry Chubb seems to have taken on the role as head of the Chubb family in Floyd County. The wording of the church deed, Henry’s inclusion as the sole Chubb family member as one of the trustees and his listing in the 1870 census support the tradition that Henry Chubb had become head of the Chubb family in Floyd County by 1870. During the Post-Reconstruction period the Chubb brothers continued purchasing real estate. Their real estate holdings became a self- sufficient community known as Chubbtown. Chubbtown provided goods and services to white and black residents of the surrounding areas. Chubbtown was indeed a self-sufficient community. The community, which was serviced by its own post office, was composed of a general store, blacksmith shop, grist mill, distillery, syrup mill, saw mill, wagon company, cotton gin, casket (coffin) company and several farms, all owned and operated by the Chubb family. The Chubb family remained and prospered in Floyd County, Georgia, while many southern blacks were seeking prosperity in the north. The family’s prosperity declined around the 1940s when a flood destroyed many of the family’s businesses. By the 1870 census, Henry Chubb had acquired considerable property as an individual, separate from the family’s holdings. Perhaps this is the reason that he became the head of the family. In the county’s first official county history, A History of Rome and Floyd County, written by George M. Battey, Jr., and published in 1922, the family and its community even attracted the attention of the white community of Floyd County, as seen by the following reference to the family in the encyclopedic section …: “Chubb Family: … were farmers around Chubbtown, near Cave Spring and the Polk County line, whose industry and thrift enabled them to accumulate considerable property, gins, mills, houses, etc. They were law-abiding, respected by the whites and generally good citizens.”
I was unable to scan the photos, documents and footnotes. E-mail me at wellsga@bellsouth.net for the parts I could not send. Enjoy!
I want to personally thank John for your hard work and assistance. Lisa I want to also thank you as well for any assistance is helpful. The more questions I ask and I dig in the more I find out. I know there are various family members trying to figure out the pieces and I too am always digging for information. As my mother told a story as to how we came about, but it was different then some of the stories I have heard? I had heard that someone was actually a indentured servant, but actually a wife and she came from England with a Caucasian man. But I could never get that far in finding a boat. It still could be true as you are coming up with some of the same matching pieces I found back in 2013? I had found the information regarding the purchase of land from the Swifts and Hornbuckles. It was amazing he had that kind of money but I could not figure out how? That was a lot of of money and I did not see where he was givien freedom. Who can just accumulate that much money and just buy land like that? But Mr Day did and I read his story and where he came from and how they moved about. However nothing is never mentioned about the Chubbs who lived in the very same area? They were church going and I keep looking up church memberships to validate anything. I often tried to look up ships trying to follow my Mothers story line. Back in 2013 I did speak to Paul Heinegg who gave me the lead on Mary’s Chirbs name to follow but I was not certain still. Since the name was Chirb etc., but he said it could be that names were often not recorded correctly. I did call the NC Library and they provided some historical information , so they were quite helpful explaining that piece regarding Nat Turner and laws changing in NC, so I pulled in that information. So I read up on that piece trying to still put pieces together. I did find Soloman and Peter as well along with the wife. That made me happy. I was trying to figure out the Amend piece also? I wondered if that was someones Mother or Grandmother? However the piece that interests me is the Mr. Ogden and Thomas part along with smithing. Some of the pieces fit and then others do not? I need to go back and put all those dates back together again since she had children prior and then after to still see if it truly fits? Maybe you may have a better way to look up a ship from England with Mary Chirb or someone on it? I have not found it. So Mary could be the beginning of the line? Some also state they were born in VA? I have ran into Gooseneck and Lumpkin County as well. I had posted that connection here.in 2015. I am from Thomas Chubb line a blacksmith. I even looked up the history of blacksmith to help me determine some facts. That is fascinating also!
https://www.facebook.com/Chubbtown-706659109440238/
i am just getting in to this history. Maybe someone can help me. My great grand mother was a Chubb, Harriett. She married Marshall Scoot, in Calhoun GA. Does anyone know
how she fits.
.
i am just getting in to this history. Maybe someone can help me. My great grand mother was a Chubb, Harriett. She married Marshall Scott, in Calhoun GA. Does anyone know
how she fits.
.
When was she born?
Harriet “Chubb” was born about 1852-58 in Floyd County, GA, the illegitimate daughter of Henry Chubb and Eliza Burge. When she married in 1869 to Marshall Scott, she listed her name as Harriet Burge. Her brother, Columbus Burge used “Burge as his last name in the 1870 census, but by 1880 he took his father’s last name and was listed in the census as Columbus Chubb. When he died his deathe certificate listed his father as Henry Chubb and his mother as Eliza Burge. I hope tyhis helps.
John, I am not sure about this. The Isaac Chubb family did not move into the Floyd County area until the late 1850s. As you know, we know that Columbus was Henry’s son from the records I found in my grandparents trunk — no mention of other children in the note. Still researching .
Clemmie
Clemmie,
I guess I jumped the gun a bit. Note that Harriet “Burge” married Marshall Scott in Floyd County in December 1869. Note that Columbus “Burge” Chubb listed his mother as Eliza Burge. By 1870 the Scott couple lived in Polk County. By 1880 they moved to Gordon County. In census years from 1870 through 1930 Harriet gave her birth year variously as 1850 through 1860. I suspect that she did not know her exact birth year. Since she married in 1869, Harriet would not appear in any census as an unmarried woman. “If” it is a family tradition that her father was a Chubb it is a distinct probability that her father was Henry Chubb.However, I should not have been so definite. Thanks!
John Wells
Also remember, records of marriage were not ‘legalized’ for Blacks until after the Civil War — Therefore, in God’s eyes, the marriage could have taken place prior to the Civil War.
this is all helpful, i appreciate any info . but i am so confused maybe as i work on i will understand somethings better.