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| This is a photo of Ellen Thomas of Mobile, a former slave. She is not related to any of my family lines. I included the photo here because of the large kettle. A kettle such as this was in my family's possession until the 1970s. You can read Thomas' story at Slave Narratives. |
Researchers looking for their
African American ancestors often have a hard time finding family history
records, especially names the names of their ancestors. Whenever I find I find
slave info that will help other researchers, I’ll post it on Root,
Branch and Twig.
Slave ownership ran in the Poore
family. In the early decades of the 1800s, more than 20 slaves labored on the Lowndes
County, Alabama, plantation of William Hearne, father of Sarah Hearne Poore.
Hearne was born in 1746 in Somerset
County, Maryland, and died on September 21, 1832, in Lowndes County, Alabama.
He was a veteran of the American Revolution. Sarah also owned slaves as did her
brothers and sisters and in-laws.
Below are the names of the slaves
listed in Hearne’s will. Following each name is the slave’s sex [Male (M) or
Female (F)], age and additional information.
- Sam, M,
willed to William Hearne Jr.
- Lindsay,
M, willed to Selby Hearne
- Hemp, M,
willed to George T. Hearne
- George,
M, willed to Ebenezer T. Hearne
- Elizer, F,
willed to George T.C. Hearne
- Candace,
F, willed to Ebenezer T. Hearne
- Sam, M,
elderly, willed to George T.C. and Ebenezer Hearne for care
- Lizza,
F, with children willed to Tabitha Hearne Truitt
- Milly,
F, with children willed to Abigail Hearne
- Saleth,
F, willed to Abigail Hearne
- Candern,
F, two children willed to William Hearne Jr.
- Dolly,
F, two children willed to Selby Hearne
- Maria,
F, two children willed to George T. Hearne
- Tom, M,
youth, son of Maria willed to George T. Hearne
- Patience,
F, three children willed to Ebenezer T. Hearne
- Cynthia,
F, willed to Priscilla Hearne Stephens, wife of John Stephens
- Marsilla,
F, willed to Priscilla Hearne Stephens, wife of John Stephens
- Unnamed,
F, infant?, possibly daughter of Marsilla
- Nancy,
F, willed to Priscilla Hearne Stephens, wife of John Stephens
- Squire,
M, youth, possibly the son of Cynthia willed to Priscilla Hearne Stephens,
wife of John Stephens
The following is a list of the above
slaves as willed to each son or daughter;
William Hearne Jr.
- Sam
- Candern and two children
Selby Hearne
- Lindsay
- Dolly and two children
George T.C. Hearne
- Sam (elderly slave bequeathed to both George T.C. and
Ebenezer Hearne to care for)
- Hemp
- Elizer
- Maria and two children
- Tom (a youth, son of Maria)
Ebenezer T. Hearne
- George
- Candace
- Patience and three children
Tabith Hearne Truitt
- Lizza with children
Abagail Hearne
- Milly with children
- Saleth
Priscilla Hearne Stephens
- Cynthia
- Squire (possibly son of Cynthia)
- Marsilla and her infant
- Nancy
The pattern of bequeathing male,
female and children perhaps suggest an effort to keep slave family members
together. Since no ages are given, it is difficult to determine this with
certainty.
Lizza, Milly, Cynthia and Marsilla
may have had husbands who were sold or perhaps their husbands were already the
slaves of their new owners. Also, the husbands of these women may have not been
included in the will at the time of its writing as William Hearne speaks of “a
certain portion of my negro property.”
Source: Kathleen P. Jones and Pauline J. Gandrud, compilers,
Alabama Records, Vol. 214, Lowndes County. (Southern Historical Press, 1980).
I remember William Hearne from an earlier text of yours -- probably a portion of your book! I also see traces of an effort to keep slave family members together, and also to keep them in the Hearne family. It seems as if William did not bequeath any slaves to his daughter Sarah Hearne Poore, so maybe this will contains no hints of who her slaves were? Or just maybe she was given some of these slaves by some of her siblings. It is really good of you to publish these names -- with the Hearne and Poore tags, maybe it will help someone who is hunting for ancestors.
ReplyDeleteSarah is named in the will but was not bequeathed any slaves in it. I suspect, however, that her father gave her the two slaves she owned in advance of his death because she was a widow.
ReplyDeleteSarah's husband is mostly a shadow. She married him about 1810 and he may have died during the War of 1812 or shortly afterward. At any rate, she was a widow by the 1820s.
Most histories of the period describe women as being under the thumb of their husbands or other men in their family. This was never true of Sarah. She seems to have always been the one in charge of her little family on the frontier.