Fourth Generation Inclusive

February 6, 2013

He emigrated to Georgia and tried to take her and her children with him.

State of North Carolina Wayne County June 2^nd 1853 Charity Bryant after Duly Sworn Deposith and Says as follows (viz) that She has Been acquainted with Fareby Simmons a free woman of Colour for the last Sixty years or theirabout and She lived with a certain William Burnham as an apprentice and after her time was Expired with Burnham She Still Remaind their with Burnham untwell he Sold out to Emigrate to the State of Georgia and wanted to Stip Said Fariby Simons off and hir children off with him and John Beck Thomas Wright William Gully Sollomon Rouse and Others and Established hir freedom and Burnham went of to the State of Georgia with his own Slaves and left fariby Simons and hir children to enjoy their freedom that was proven Hannah Simons a Daughter of Said Fariby was Bound as an apprintice to Betsey Burnham who afterwords intermarried with Thomas Simpson they Give up Said hanah as a free Girl and they have Remaind and past as free coulerd people ever since further the Deponant Sayeth Not Charity X Bryant June the 2^nd Sworn to and Subscribed to Before me the Day & date first Written George Flowers JP

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

Nearly forty years after this statement was made, Charity Bryant’s granddaughter Minta Bryant Brown, a woman of color, sued one of Fereby Simmons’ descendants to take possession of a parcel of land.

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February 6, 2013

Surnames: Jones County, 1850.

BISHOP, BRADDICK, CONNER, CUMMINGS, DAVIS, DORTY, DUFF, FENDERSON, HAZEL, HEATH, HOOFMAN, HOPE, IPOC, JEFFERSON, JONES, KELLUM, KOONCE, LITTLE, MOORE, MORGAIN/MORGAN, PETTER, PORTER, STANLY, STRINGER, WHITE and WILLIS.

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February 6, 2013

Surname swap, no. 4.

In the 1850 census, South Side of the Neuse, Wayne County: John Stafford, 48, hireling; Hannah Stafford, 45; and Caroline, 9, Boswell, 3, and Betsey Stafford, 6 months.

But in the 1860 census, Indian Springs, Wayne County: Annis Brooks, 51; children Caroline, 20, Basil, 14, and Elizabeth Brooks, 10; and grandson Hatch Brooks, 2 months.

That Caroline and Basil Brooks were apprenticed in Wayne County in 1853 suggests that their parents were unmarried. W.H. (Willon Hatch) Brooks’ death certificate, filed in Bertie County after his 12 May 1925 death, lists his parents as Wright Casey and Caline Brooks. However, the death certificates of Roland Greenfield, Harriett Ann Greenfield and Mary Susan Greenfield list their mother’s maiden name as Elizabeth (or Lillie) Stafford and only her son Joe Ingram Greenfield’s lists her as Elizabeth Brooks.

Death Certificates, Register of Deeds Office, Wayne County Courthouse. Federal Population Schedules.

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February 6, 2013

Voter Registration under the Grandfather Clause: Sampson County.

Public Laws of North Carolina, 1899, chapter 218.

(Sec. 4.) Every person presenting himself for registration shall be able to read and write any section of the constitution in the English language and before he shall be entitled to vote he shall have paid on or before the first day of March of the year in which he proposes to vote his poll tax as prescribed by law for the previous year. Poll taxes shall be a lien only on assessed property and no process shall issue to enforce the collection of the same except against assessed property.

(Sec. 5.) No male person who was on January one, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, or at any time prior thereto entitled to vote under the laws of any states in the United States wherein he then resided, and no lineal descendant of any such person, shall be denied the right to register and vote at any election in this state by reason of his failure to possess the educational qualification prescribed in section four of this article….

The following colored men registered to vote in Sampson County in 1902-06. In accordance with Section 5, each was required to name the ancestor who “grandfathered” him in:

C.H. Brewington, 63, Dismal township, Johnson Brewington.

In 1850 Northern District, Sampson, Johnson Brewington, 45, house carpenter; wife Nancy, 23; and children Charles, 6, John, 4, Johnson, 2, and James, 2 months; all mulatto. In 1860, Northern Division: Johnson Bruington, 50, cooper; wife Nancy, 45; and children Young, 12, Charles, 13, Johnson, 12, Andrew, 9, Mary, 8, Elizabeth, 7, William, 6, Alexandria, 5, Matilda, 3, and Adolphus, 1; all mulatto.

Matthew Burnett, 24, Dismal, Matthew Burnett.

In the 1850 census of Fayetteville, Cumberland County: Arch’d Burnet, 55, laborer, wife Lucinda, 39, and children Matthew, 9, Alex’d, 6, Susan, 2, and Henrietta, 14; all mulatto.

Enoch Manuel, Dismal, Michel Manuel.

Jonah Manuel, Dismal, Michel Manuel.

Enoch Manuel Jr., Dismal, Michel Manuel.

In the 1850 census of Northern District, Sampson County: Michael Manuel, 63, cooper; wife Fereby, 49; and children Gideon, 19, Cintilla, 16, Drusilla, 15, Michael, 13, Eden, 11, John, 9, William, 7, Enoch, 4, and Nancy, 1; all described as mulatto.

Hardy Brewington, 56, Herrings, himself.

Matthew L. Brewington, 30, Herrings, Hardy Brewington.

John A. Brewington, 25, Honeycutts, Hardy A. Brewington.

C.D. Brewington, 21, Herrings, Raiford Brewington.

George B. Brewington, 22, Herrings, Raiford Brewington.

James A. Brewington, 37, Honeycutts, unnamed.

In the 1850 census of Northern District, Sampson County: Raiford Brewington, 38, cooper; wife Barsheba, 33; and children Nancy, 13, Thomas, 10, Lucy, 9, Ann, 7, James, 5, Hardy, 3, Joshua, 2, and Raiford, 2 months; plus Hardy Manuel, 17; all mulatto.

Lofton Goodman, 71, Herrings, himself.

James Goodman, 24, Herrings, Lofton Goodman.

John R. Goodman, 36, Herrings, Lofton Goodman.

Rubin Goodman, 56, Herrings, Timothy Goodman.

Jonathan Goodman, 64, Honeycutts, Timothy Goodman.

In the 1850 census of the Northern District of Sampson County: Timothy Goodman, 43, “turpentine”; wife Nancy, 37; and children John, 17, laborer, Lofton, 16, laborer, Jonathan, 10, Anna, 9, Reuben, 6, Timothy, 3, Matilda, 6 months; all mulatto.

Henry Hardin, 53, Herrings, Amos Hardin.

In the 1850 census of the Northern District of Sampson County: Amos Hardin, 36, cooper; wife Cassey, 33; and children John, 10, Abel, 6, Mary, 5, Martha, 4, and Frances, 2; all mulatto. In 1860, Honeycutts, Sampson: Amos Hardin, 47, wheelright; wife Cassia, 40; and children John, 22, day laborer, Abel, 17, day laborer, Mary, 12, Patsey, 10, Francis, 8, Henry, 7, and Sarah, 5; all mulatto.

Owen H. Jacob, 58, Herrings, John Jacob.

Jno. R. Jacobs, 23, Herrings, Owen H. Jacobs.

William A. Jacobs, 21, Herrings, Ewens Jacobs.

Alvin Jacob, 23, Herrings, Tull Jacob.

Jno. Robert Jacobs, 23, Herrings, John Tull Jacobs.

Albert Jacobs, 29, Herrings, Tull Jacobs.

Robert H. Jacob, 51, Herrings, Robert Jacob.

In the 1850 census of New Hanover County: Betsey Jacobs, 47, and Tull, 12, Rachell, 10, and Owen H. Jacobs, 7; all mulatto.

Enous Jacob, 57, Herrings, himself.

Enos Jacobs. Died 5 October 1925, Honeycutts, Sampson County. Indian. Married to Miltildia Jacobs. Age about 83. Farmer. Born Sampson County to Archie Jacobs of Pender County and Tempie Manuel. Buried New Bethel cemetery. Informant, C.O. Jacobs.

Charley G. Jacob, 21, Herrings, Enous Jacob.

The. O. Jacob, 34, Herrings, Enous Jacob.

D.O. Jacob, 28, Herrings, Enous Jacob.

Henry Jacobs, 28, Herrings, Archie Jacobs.

Jessie A.B. Jacobs, 54, Herrings, Archie Jacobs.

In the 1860 census of Dismal, Sampson County: Archibal Jacobs, 40, cooper; wife Temperance J., 32; and children Enos, 13, Mary J., 11, Jesse, 6, Cathrine, 4, and Sarah C., 8 months; all mulatto.

John R. Jones, 35, Herrings, Jim Winn.

Thomas Jones, 27, Herrings, Jim Winn.

In the 1850 census of the Northern District of Sampson County: James Winn, 33, farmer, Buckner L. Bryan, 14, Zachariah Bryan, 13, and Owen Armwood, 24, laborer; all mulatto.

Jas. S. Strickland, 67, Herrings, himself.

In the 1860 census of Honeycutts, Sampson County: Raiford Brewington, 48; wife Basheba, 45; and children Thomas, 21, Ann E., 17, James, 15, Hardy, 13, Joshua, 11, Raiford, 9, Simon P., 8, Polla A., 6, Allen B., 4, and Nathan Brewington, 1; with James S. Stricklands, 21, and Lucy A. Stricklands, 20; all mulatto.

Elections Records, Sampson County Records, North Carolina State Archives.

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February 6, 2013

Deep-rooted and virtuous prejudices.

State of North Carolina, Wayne County } At a Superior Court of Law began and held for the County of Wayne at the Court House in Waynesborough the first Monday after the fourth Monday of March 1828. Appeared there and then into Court Jesse Barden, and by his attorney Lewis D. Henry Esq’r., filed the following Petition under the act of 1827 –

North Carolina, Wayne County } To the Honorable the Judge of the Superior Court of Law for Said County – The Petition of Jesse Barden, Humbly Shews that he is a Citizen of this County, That he intermarried with one Ann Mariah Bradberry about the Month of April in the Year 1827, That at the time he married her he cherished a fond affection for her and believed her to be good woman, and that she would make an excellent wife, That at the time of their marriage She had a child, which he believed was his own and had been begotten by him before their intermarriage, That her Conduct and Manners were so artfully devised during their Courtship, that he entertained the opinion She was a virtuous woman and that she had never departed from the path of Moral rectitude but in the instance alluded to, and then from the excess of an ardent and imprudent passion for himself, That shortly after their intermarriage however, your Petitioner discovered that Child So born before their marriage was a black child, to his utter Horror and astonishment, and which has Completely ruined his peace and Happiness for life, That as soon as Your Petitioner was Satisfied of the Colour of the Child and of the artful wiles that the said Ann Mariah had employed during their courtship to decoy him with the Conjugal Connection, by protestations of affection that she had made to him from time to time. He was so overcome with her perfidity that he not only broke off all connection with her, but has turned her from his House.

He prays Your Honor therefore that these facts may be inquired into and that he may be divorced from the bonds of Matrimony with the said Ann Mariah his wife, and such other and further relief as You may think proper.

This affiant swears that the facts Set forth in this Petition are true to the Best of his knowledge and belief and that the Said Complaint is not made out of Levity or Collusion between him and his said wife and for the mere purpose of being freed and Separated from each other. /s/ Jesse Barden

Sworn to Subscribed before me the 3^rd day of April 1828. Rob’t Strange

Whereupon it was ordered by the Court that a Subpoena and Copy of the Petition issue to the defendant returnable to the next Term which was done and the Sheriff of Wayne made return thereon that the defendant was not to be found [in] his County. After which It was ordered by the Court that an alias subp’a and copy of Petition issue to defendant returnable to Spring Term of Said Court 1829, which was issued.

This matter reached the North Carolina Supreme Court in Jesse Barden v. Ann M. Barden, 14 NC 548 (1832). In distinguishing the case from another decided the same term, Justice Thomas Ruffin noted that “in so young an infant, whose mother was white, it might not be in the power of an ordinary man, from inspection of the face and other uncovered parts of the body, to discover the tinge, although it were so deep as to lead to the belief now, that it is the issue of a father of full African blood.” The case was remanded to ascertain (1) that the child was mixed race; (2) that both Bardens were white; (3) that Jesse Barden believed at the time of his marriage that the child was white; (4) that his belief was based on Ann Mariah’s misrepresentations; and (5) that the child’s “real color” was not obvious. If all were true, Barden was entitled to a divorce. “This is a concession to the deep rooted and virtuous prejudices of the community on this subject.”

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February 6, 2013

Free Colored Inhabitants of the Town of Salisbury, Rowan County, 1850.

#374. Martha McCann, 23, in the household of Edmund Wade, stage driver.

#392. Rachel Valentine, 25, and Fanny Valentine, 27.

#394. Alpheus Seers, 20, laborer, in the household of George Vogler, gunsmith.

#404. Henry Porter, 22, in the household of Samuel Reeves, farmer.

#406. Sophia Rimer, 35, and daughter Elisabeth Rimer, 5.

#419. James Benson, 22, in the household of Ezekiel Segraves, brickmason.

#430. Amy Porter, 50.

#444. Betsy Freeman, 30, in the household of Archabald Baker, 37, clergyman.

#447. Samuel Holtshouser, 19, laborer, in the household of William Overman, carriage trimmer.

#461. Ann Valentine, 29, and Randal Twopence, 41, in the household of Samuel W. James, printer.

#462. Frank Doland, 8, in the household of Farby Ellis.

#476. Steven Steel, 25, waiter, in the household of William J. Polmer, stage contractor.

#481. William Jarett, 13, in the household of Lorenzo D. Beneni.

#487. James Smith, 30, carpenter; Sophia Smith, 24; and Wesley Smith, 26.

#489. Henry Mitchel, 22, mattress maker; Lucinda A. Smith, 18; and Sarah A. Valentine, 15.

#506. Evander Calvin, 28, housepainter, born in South Carolina; wife Maria Calvin, 26; and daughter Mary E. Calvin, 2; Eliza Canada, 48, Henry Canada, 19, painter, Solomon Canada, house painter, and Henderson Evans, 30, housepainter.

#529. James T. Kinder, 19; Sarah S. Kinder, 20; and John C.P. Kinder, 6 months.

#539. David Porter, 28; Peggy Porter, 24; and William Valentine, 38.

#540. Eliza Dustan, 25; Joseph Dustan, 4; Lenora Dustan, 2; Sally Mitchell, 70; James M. Mitchell, 23, housepainter; and Margaret Hickman, 6.

#543. Moses Hodgens, 80.

#544. Susanna Steel, 80, in the household of Archibald Henderson, farmer.

#554. Ishmael McDaniel, 70, in the household of David Watson.

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February 5, 2013

Frances C. Aldridge Randall.

FRANCES C. “Fannie” ALDRIDGE RANDALL, born 1872 in Wayne County, married Robert H. Locust (1859-after 1930, later known as George Randall) in 1890, and died in Washington DC in 1917. She was the daughter of Robert and Mary Eliza Balkcum Aldridge, and sister of, among others, Mathew W. Aldridge and George W. Aldridge.

Photo courtesy of F.R. Randall.

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February 5, 2013

Where are they now?: No. 19.

A.T. was born in the mid-1960s in Elizabeth City NC. She is descended from the following free people of color:

Stephen Newby (ca1800-ca1865) > John D. Newby (1834-ca1905) > Arthur Newby (1859-ca1925)

Millie Dempsey (??-??) > Rhoda Dempsey (ca1800-ca1865)

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February 5, 2013

Free-Issue Death Certificates: GOINS.

Annie Goins. Died 20 January 1935, Madison, Rockingham County. White. Single. Born 1 January 1849 in Rockingham County to Gilbert Goins and Paulina Goins, both of Rockingham County. Buried Gibson cemetery. Informant, Flynt Goins.

Winnie Goins. Died 16 April 1927, Barbecue, Harnett County. White. Single. Age about 83. Born Rockingham County to Gilbert Goins and Polina Goins. Buried Gibson cemetery. Informant, William Kye.

Victoria Goins Kye. Died 30 December 1939, Jonesboro, Lee County. White. Widow of William Kye. Born 5 June 1855, Rockingham County to Gilbert Goins and Winnie Goins. Buried at Salem Church. Informant, Mrs. Maude Hickman.

In the 1850 census of Western District, Rockingham County: Gilbert Goings, 46, laborer; wife Deliah, 30; and children Wesley, 14, Nancy, 12, George W., 10, Mary J., 8, William N., 6, Spencer, 4, William R., 3, and Eliza, 1; all mulatto. The family is not found in 1860. In 1870, Mayo, Rockingham County: Gilbert Goings, 62, farmer; wife Paulina, 50; and children Nash, 24, Annie, 20, Elizabeth, 22, Josepine, 18, Victoria, 16, Pendleton, 14, and Samuel, 11; all mulatto.

John Press Goins. Died 16 January 1922, Stoneville, Madison, Rockingham County. Colored. Married. Farmer. Born 1850 to Pres Goins Sr. and unknown mother. Buried Lam graveyard. Informant, Flint Goins.

Alex Goins. Died 14 April 1938, Madison, Rockingham County. White. Widower of Martha Goins. Age 93. Farmer. Born to unknown father and Renda Goins. Informant, Pink Goins.

In the 1850 census of Western District, Rockingham County: Preston Goings, 48; wife Lucinda, 38; and children Mary I., 16, Francis, 15, Elizabeth, 8, Margaret, 7, Columbus, 4, John, 2, and Caroline, 7 months; all mulatto. Next door: Marenda Goings, 33, and children Josiah, 18, Elizabeth, 12, William, 10, George, 8, John, 6, Mathew, 4, and Alexander, 1; all mulatto.

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February 5, 2013

Dave Dickinson.

“Dave Dickinson or Dickerson (ca. 1790-after 1850) was a black plasterer and bricklayer active in the Albemarle region in the early 19th century who spent much of his life as an enslaved artisan but was manumitted late in his life. He worked for a planter clientele wealthy enough to build houses with plastered walls. Because of the records kept by these clients and their use of Dickinson’s full name (rather than just a first name as was the case for many enslaved artisans), an unusual amount of his work is documented. There are numerous references to artisans named Dave and Davy, Dickinson and Dickerson, probably referring to the same man but possibly to two different men.

“The first references to Dave Dickinson appear in the memorandum books kept by planter James C. Johnston when he was building his Hayes Plantation House near Edenton. Johnston recorded many payments to workmen, usually by name and only rarely by task, and did not generally distinguish between enslaved and free workmen. Among Johnston’s payments to artisans are those to Dave Dickinson in 1816 and 1817, some as small sums, others as ‘wages’ of $30 and more. Johnston did not identify Dickinson’s trade, but he may have been involved in plastering. During the spring and summer of 1817, Dickinson was at work along with Benjamin French, a plasterer who had come from New York to execute the refined plasterwork at Hayes.

“A plasterer named Dave Dickerson — probably the same man — was mentioned by Chowan County planter Clement Blount in 1837. Blount and his cousin Ebenezer Pettigrew of Tyrrell County were both in need of plasterers. Blount wrote to Pettigrew on June 6, 1837, that he had obtained ‘the promise of Dave Dickerson to go on the 15th July if nothing turns up to prevent him. I think he is industrious and will do the work well.’ In the meantime, Blount was looking out for another plasterer. ‘The fellow Jack Moody [?] I was telling you of I did not know who had the control of him, I have since been informed the Brandy bottle controls him.’ Two months later, Blount had had no success. While waiting to see if Dickerson had finished ‘Mr. [James?] Johnston’s work,’ Blount visited Johnston’s house ‘to see if he was done, and he has not done one stroke of work there yet and has gone to Washington County to Plaster a House for Mr. Harrison at Lees Mills, which is treating you and myself very ill.’ (Blount decided to employ another plasterer, Benjamin Balfour.) In a time when skilled artisans were scarce, even such wealthy and influential men as Blount and Pettigrew were often at the mercy of workmen such as Dickinson, who served a far-flung planter clientele according to his own schedule.

“Dave Dickinson was evidently enslaved for most of his life, but operated almost as a free man. An intriguing entry in the United States census of 1840 listed in Edenton one David Dickinson who, according to the check marks on the census form, was head of a household that included no free people, white or of color, but four slaves — the total number of people cited for the household. Three members of the household were occupied in manufacturing or a trade. It is possible though unusual that the census taker might list a slave household in this way, perhaps thus identifying the household of a well known person living essentially as a free man. (There are also a few other heads of households listed in Edenton in the same census in which no free persons are included, and the total number of household members is the same as the number of enslaved people. Whether these listings were errors or actually represented households of enslaved persons is unknown.)

“In 1846, Joseph D. Bond of Chowan County petitioned for the emancipation of ‘a negro slave known by the name of Davy Dickinson,’ who was then aged 50 and had maintained a good character and given meritorious service. The court granted the petition in 1847. The United States Census of 1850 listed in Edenton a free black bricklayer named Davy Dickerson, aged 60, owner of $200 worth of real property, and with no family members listed as free people. (He may have been living alone or may have had a family who were still enslaved). How long he lived as a free man or who his family members were is not yet known.”

Author: Catherine W. Bishir. Published 2009.

As published in North Carolina Architects and Builders: A Biographical Dictionary, http://ncarchitects.lib.ncsu.edu (All rights retained.) This web site is a growing reference work that contains brief biographical accounts, building lists, and bibliographical information about architects, builders, and other artisans who planned and built North Carolina’s architecture.

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