Students consider how US history books, films, and other works of popular culture have misrepresented the history of the Reconstruction era. We had to register as someone, so we could be citizens. This is due in part to officials imposing surnames on them based on their last owners. Another slave named Bill who attended the sheep became Bill Shepherd. Popular English baby names by decade - 1840s - 1990s 1840s 5 Robert - 53 Margaret - 47 The 1860s first saw the Rimmers' use of 1870s Boys Girls Total registered births - 1,944 1 John - 160 Mary - 151 The 1870s first saw the Rimmers' use of What was the first girl's name in the 1900s? Search 30 million given names. Email:genealogy@slcl.org LOTTIE had been the name of the nurse before me and so they just continued that same name. Slave Names Below are some best cute and catchy slave names: Infirm Mite Lunn Amanda Walter Garner Hannah Delia Bastard Inferior Weevil George O'Hanlon Jordan John Owen Rachel Fetid Spider Betty Nathan York John Wright Wicked Whelp Thornton Dick Field Robert Dick William Hunter William Sam Kiner Augustus Dick a/k/a Richard Ferguson Foul Beast The majority of these slaves used the surname Lewis instead of Washington. Sabe, Anque, Bumbo, Jobah, Quamana, Taynay, and Yearie) used in the Slave quarters. Manifests - Alphabetical by Slave Names Return to Slave Manifests main page Click on each Slave name to view information on that voyage. And this example from another pension file shows how even the given name of this enslaved woman was held under little regard: Testimony of Mollie Russell (widow of Phillip Fry), September 19, 1911: Q. Copeland This last name comes from Old Norse origin. Turner was deeply religious,. Ninety percent of them were African-American, a far higher black percentage than for any other common name. In Greek mythology, Daphne was the nymph daughter of Peneus, a river god. 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. An accessible introduction to the field. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. A Wessyngton slave named Bill who was the plantation's blacksmith was known as Billy the Smith during slavery. Drawing on extensive archival records, this digital memorial allows analysis of the ships, traders, and captives in the Atlantic slave trade. Lori Wilson Picks Up Baton to Remove Slavery Language From Californias Constitution, New Assembly Bill Would Ban Use of Police Canines for Arrests, Crowd Control, Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic. Join my mailing list below to learn about upcoming webinars. This potential brother had been sold to a local and remained there in SC. I hope youll sign up to receive my postsif you do, youll get a free PDF with some of my favorite tips! Instead a wide variety of surnames came about that would be the family name for future generations. . . Clark is a common surname of Anglo-Scottish origin. This happened mostly on large plantations where several individuals had the same first names and a surname was used to distinguish them from one another. Along with records from churches,manumission societies, enslavers, and estate settlements, these documents provide a vast pool of data from which to trace patterns and trends from the colonial period through emancipation. My Louisiana Creole ancestors who were free persons of color and former slaves practiced a unique naming tradition I think comes from Latin cultures. My great great grandfather in Mississippi took the surname of the previous SC enslaver, whose widow sold him away. 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. I have been unable to trace several of his siblings and now wonder if it might be because others did not take that name. Going back a decade to the 1850 Slave Schedule, both William Wood and Samuel O. My hat goes off to you and your passionate efforts. 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. In the. I am the applicant for pension on account of having served in Co. B. Alfred Francis Russell (1817-1884), 10th President of Liberia. A. Mr. Thomas Jefferson of Louisville, bought me when I was three years of age from Mr. Dearing. common last names for slaves in the 1800s. Hi Pat, Names from the Bible were another common practice, for given and surnames. Cheryll Cody, "'There Was No Absalom on the Ball Plantation': Slave-Naming Practices in the South Carolina Low Country, 1720-1865," American Historical Review 92 (June 1987). Thank you for your comment, It starts with a young man falling in love with a girl. It gives the age and sex of the slave and the number of slaves of each age and sex. In 1870, all of them were listed with the surnames of their last owner; however, each one of them named their sons for one of their brothers. 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. 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. I am not able to find any slaveholders in the Versailes area by the name of Ellis. Through DNA matches, I believe I have recently found a brother of my mothers great grandfather. My father would be 105 if he were alive. In the 1760s Anglo-American frontiersmen, determined to settle the land, planted slavery firmly within the borders of what would become Tennessee. Societies. One frequently occurring name is Rolle. After emancipation, he became William Smith. The Language of Names. Wood were recorded as slave. Another slave named Bill who attended the sheep became Bill Shepherd. Or, the Slaves were given numbers or classical Greek names. Many Welsh surnames follow this pattern, with Jones (from 'John's son) being the most common. -George Burns, "Where does the family start? Some of the most common or popular last names in the 1800s included Robinson, Clark, and Smith. 41. The first published African-American poet & author Phillis Wheatley was born in West Africa. Wonderful to have first hand account that help shine light on the attitudes of our ancestors. LOTTIE had been the name of the nurse before me and so they just continued that same name. The top 5 most common Hispanic last names from the 1920s are: 1. He stated that he had always been known by his fathers surname Scott, even before he was freed. 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. There are issues, too, about how to interpret the recorded names, which have been classified in different ways depending on researchers interests. I presume no death certificate for her survives? Phillis Wheatley (May 8, 1753 - December 5, 1784) Source = Wikimedia. The 2000 U.S. Census counted 163,036 people with the surname Washington. Please share, in the comments below, examplesyou have come across of the surnames of enslaved people, especially if it was different from their last slaveholder. Thomas mother, younger brothers and sisters remained with the Black family. These cookies do not store any personal information. 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. Thank you so much for your kind words. Q. In these cases, unless the name change had been passed down in the family by oral history, it would be impossible to trace the family back any further. Who called you by that name and where was it done? ", "Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city;)", "Where does the family start? Currently, the most popular Black last name in America is Williams, with a total count of 774,920 people who have the surname. Thomas Black Cobbs was owned by a small slave owner Catherine Black. 3. 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. A. 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. See footnotes for source information. Index to "Descriptive Recruitment Lists of Volunteers for the United States Colored Troops for the State of Missouri, 1863-1865" (NARA Microfilm Publication M1894 - 6 rolls) For more information about the records covered in this index, please contact the History and Genealogy Department. As a result, many slaves used the surnames of their owners wifes family. One of the less well known aspects of the history of slavery is how many and how often non-whites owned and traded slaves in early America. ", "The great gift of family life is to be intimately acquainted with people you might never ever introduce yourself to had life not done it for you. It was after emancipation on that I went back to work for Col. Morrow and where I got the name Lottie, as already explained. If the slaveholder or another free white man was their father, many Creoles did use either is first or last name as a surname. Cook Cook has an Old English origin, and it means 'one who cooks' or 'one who sold cooked meat'. The Missouri Compromisealso referred to as the Compromise of 1820was an agreement between the pro- and anti-slavery factions regulating slavery in the western territories. There are many factors to consider in determining what surnames African Americans used. They were Nelson Nunn and George Nunn and they may have changed their names to Crosby too because they were my fathers children.. In the context of The Bahamas, the surname appears to originate with Denys Rolle, an American Loyalist who re-settled on Exuma, one of the so-called Out Islands of The Bahamas, sometime in the mid-1780s. 3. The campaign in Britain to abolish slavery began in the 1760s, supported by both black and white abolitionists. Hi Jann, No, I dont know to whom she belonged before she was brought from Virginia to Kentucky. You already know the rich historical terrain of FPOC in Louisiana, what terrific grounds for family research. If the name is spelled Rodrigues, the name is Portuguese but has the same meaning) 3. Genealogy becomes so much more than just names and dates, it really feels like a true passion indeed. Where did you get the maiden name of Smith from? Even tiny steps are huge in someones life. The most common origin for surnames is that enslaved people initially used the surname of either their mother or their father, if they knew what those names were. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW! How lucky you were to find that Freedmans Bank document! Enslaved women were raped, creating children with white fathers who in most cases did not claim them and even sold them away. . Gradually, to show contempt for Slaves, the captors used Buck and Wench for naming the genders till they became trade terms, like Filly and Shoat.Contempt for the male was removing his honorific attachment to fatherhood and manhood by being addressed as Boy. Once the vigorous years of his prime were passed, he was allowed to assume the title of Uncle. Females were called Gal, girl, or the name of some animal. There are certainly methods you can used to try to verify some of the storyyou can look for Carrington and Williams slaveholders in the area in which your ancestor lived in the 1870 census. Examples include: Francois, Jean, Pierre, and Leon for men; and Manon, Delphine, Marie Louise, Celeste, and Eugenie for women. Here are some common black last names: Jackson Davis Brown Wilson Harris Lewis Clark Walker Hall Thomas Young Allen King Wright Scott Baker Adams Nelson Carter Mitchell Perez Roberts Turner Phillips Campbell Parker Evans Edwards Green Hall Baker Bell Coleman Crawford James Reyes Most Common Black Last Names Some scholars of slavery have come to view the names and naming of enslaved people as agauge of many aspects oflife and culture during enslavement and of howcustoms changed over time. Please submit permission requests for other use directly to the publisher. One of the largest sources are the Civil War pension records of the almost 200,000 black men who served in the US Army and Navy. Register now! African Americans tended to use surnames associated with their own families instead of the last slave owner. "The past is not dead. Ethereal and delicate, Cassandra was in the Top 70 throughout the 1990s but is now descending in popularity. You should give a TED talk! She served that family for a long time, perhaps more clues to her past lie in his family roots. Benson, Susan. A. "Albumen print of enslaved women and their children near Alexandria, Virginia." . Q. by John C. Inscoe, 2006; Revised May 2022 by NC Government & Heritage Library. It means 'clerk' or 'secretary'. Karen Halttunen, Murder Most Foul, p. 175. 17. The existence of those surnames in the area would help to verify, but also, you are fortunate to have the important oral history of that name change in the first place, since so many of us dont. Bailey, Word Stories Surrounding African American Slavery. Danish West Indies, Denmark, Records of Enslaved People, 1672-1917 If a surname was needed, the slave owners family name might be used. Another myth is once African Americans were sold they never saw their families again. You could not be signed in, please check and try again. My mothers name was Octavia Smith and it was from her that I got it but where the name came from to her I never knew. I belonged to him until emancipation. Dear Robyn, Pinckney, Randolph, and Rutledgeappear only incidentally among any list of modern Black peoples names. -Winston Churchill, "The great gift of family life is to be intimately acquainted with people you might never ever introduce yourself to had life not done it for you." Hello It means 'raven'. This was the case with several others from Wessyngton. My mothers name was Octavia Smith and it was from her that I got it but where the name came from to her I never knew. It was after emancipation on that I went back to work for Col. Morrow and where I got the name "Lottie," as already explained. I was only three years old when she died. Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press. Gerald, however, is a Germanic name meaning ruler) 2. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Augustin Meaning: a descendant of Augustine Origin: English 2. Just makes me sad for the human spirit that anyone, let alone hundreds of thousands of people could participate in it. See flier for more details. 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. Herbert G. Gutman, The Black Family in Slavery and Freedom, 1750-1925 (1976). I am an engineer by day, but my true passion lies in genealogy. Many took the surname of famous or celebrated people; such as 'Lincoln', 'Grant', and 'Washington' was very popular. There was often a fluidity to the surnames that enslaved people had. I communicate with them on Facebook. In 1836, William Turbeville died leaving an estate with several slaves who were brothers: Turner, Nelson, Simon, Jordan, and Jacob. Even many given names of ancestors eventually became a surname, such as Todd or William. 6. Thats high on my to do list. St. Louis County Library. The name James has been a popular Victorian male names in the 1800s. Join my mailing list below to receive my posts and get a free PDF with some of my favorite tips! James: (M) (Latin origin) means "heel" or "supplanter". . My great grandfather Wilson Percival was born in South Carolina and I believe he took his surname from last slave owners family. In the early years, especially between the 1860 and 1880s, families even changed a surname several times until they settled on a certain one. The most common origin for surnames is that enslaved people initially used the surname of either their mother or their father, if they knew what those names were. 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. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries African-American slaves retained Africanisms in their naming practices. Explore the most common surnames in England. In 1911, Barnett and Frys widow, Mollie, both applied for pensions from the government. I also have a Slavery and Freedom Collection available for $20. Besides the Morrows, whom else did you live with in Louisville? Q. Login Forgot . A small number of creoles in Louisiana also acquired surnames derived from ethnic identities in Senegal. In my research so far, I have found very little evidence of white Culbert slaveholders only three cases so far. FamilySearch Centers. I was born in Montgomery County, Ala. the child of Phillis Houston, slave of Sol Smith. In 1800, Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman were able to escape their terrible life of enslavement and were able to help other slaves trapped in a world of forced labour and grant them freedom once again due to the Underground Railroads that helped him, his partner Anna Murray Douglas and many other fugitives sneak away from the horrible 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. John Lewis was born in 1831; in 1844 he and several family members were given to George A. Washington of Wessyngton. Practices undoubtedly varied, and different archival sources may yield different conclusions. . We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits.

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