Finding State Laws About Slaves and Free Blacks, More Suggestions for White Slaveholder Descendants, http://justthinking130.blogspot.com/2009/09/calvin-r-yarborough-where-it-all-began.html, http://justthinking130.blogspot.com/2013/11/many-rivers-to-cross-my-priscilla.html, https://www.historicpathways.com/articles.html, http://whitneyplantation.com/the-louisiana-slave-database.html. 2023 The Voice of the Black Community in California. Introduction. They called me OCK. Most common last names names: 1-1000 | 1001-2000 | 2001-3000 | 3001-4000 | 4001-5000 Plus, Jonah comes with a ready-made nursery-decorating motif. CLICK HERE TO SAVE YOUR SEAT! 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. . Percy is an adorable old name that is finally shedding its pampered Little Lord Fauntleroy image in this new era of boys with soft yet traditionally, Titus, once seen as a slightly forbidding Roman, New Testament, and Shakespearean name, was brought back to contemporary life in the USA by the TV series, French surname from place name Perci-en-Auge, Latin, meaning unknown, possibly "title of honour". A. Mr. Thomas Jefferson of Louisville, bought me when I was three years of age from Mr. Dearing. Students examine the factors that led many northerners to turn against federal policies passed during the Reconstruction era that protected freedpeople. If searching for a slave owner with the same surname of your ancestor fails, check marriage records for the slave owners. Fortunately, the French and Latin were excellent record keepers and the Catholics were obsessed with knowing the kinship of everyone. Spencer is a name that has everything: it's both distinguished sounding and accessible, dignified but Spencer Tracy-like friendly. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries African-American slaves retained Africanisms in their naming practices. Location the owner of ones ancestor is crucial for an African American genealogist to trace his family before 1870. 41. I dont know what became of his parents. It is from this myth that the plant genus, Phoebe is the Latin variation of the Greek name Phoibe, which derived from. The name.Auber.is also.in.Haiti and.is of.French orign. Thanks for this very thoughtful article. That is why you will find a lot of families in Louisiana with surnames like Baptiste, Narcisse, Jean-Louis, Nanette-Louise, Rene, Jacques etc Ive come across very few former slaves and fpoc using the surnames of their former owner. I was called by that name all the time I was with the Morrows. CAs Push to Restore Voting Rights to System-Impacted Individuals Still in Custody, Eli Lilly to Cap Out-of-Pocket Insulin Costs, Asm. I mean, really retro. A. Eugene D. Genovese, Roll, Jordan, Roll: The World the Slaves Made (1974). You can find many more examples of the above in my post, The Mind of the Slaveowner. Q. Our headquarters are located at: 89 South Street, Suite 401, Boston, MA 02111. For more details, see the flier here, and you can purchase them here. It was after emancipation on that I went back to work for Col. Morrow and where I got the name Lottie, as already explained. Smith.). Many Welsh surnames follow this pattern, with Jones (from 'John's son) being the most common. My surname of SAM originated from Sem or Sam FUSELIER, a free man of color who freed my ancestor,Jean-Louis, out of slavery in 1811. A. Lottie Smith was my name and what they called me before I met Phillip and was married to him. Q. I hope youll sign up to receive my postsif you do, youll get a free PDF with some of my favorite tips! Now, that parent's surname could very well be the surname of the most recent slaveholder or an earlier slaveholder. You are the continuation of each of these people.". You already know the rich historical terrain of FPOC in Louisiana, what terrific grounds for family research. Some of them developed a long-term relationship with one of the female slaves. Thomas Black Cobbs was owned by a small slave owner Catherine Black. Post Author: Post published: 18 avril 2022; Post Category: . Enslaved people resisted in ways large and small. common last names for slaves in the 1800s. Love you, This is another instance of oral history being a key component in tracing African American ancestry. Former slaves often used surnames names of historical figures such as Washington, Jefferson or Jackson. Sabe, Anque, Bumbo, Jobah, Quamana, Taynay, and Yearie) used in the Slave quarters. . The highest percentage of African names was found among male slaves in the eighteenth century, when . No, I dont know to whom she belonged before she was brought from Virginia to Kentucky. 42. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. I have gotten so many requests over the years from those who couldn't make the live webinars so I hope you enjoy this new feature. 1. If the former slave had been befriended or assisted in getting established after the Civil War, they might have taken that person's name. When Wessyngtons owner George A. Washington married Margaret Lewis in 1849 her father gave the couple twenty-nine slaves. The Genealogy Source Table Collection includes 10 blank, editable source tables for death certificates, city directories, obituaries and funeral programs. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one" As a newspaper that publishes in the spirit of the Black Press, the Black Voice News has given voice to the voiceless and shined a light on systemic inequities and disparities since 1972. The link was not copied. After emancipation, they all used the Terry surname because their families had been with the white Terry family for generations. "The past is not dead. Dick Lewis Barnett and Phillip Fry were African American veterans of the Union Army during the Civil War. ", "If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents and all the generations of your ancestors. 30 January 2022, [PAST EVENT], Eastern Standard Time: Join special guest genealogist Taneya Y. Koonce and I as we present our joint Zoom webinar, Organize Your Genealogy! Students consider what it means to be free by learning about the choices and aspirations of freedpeople immediately after Emancipation. I just cannot imagine (thankfully) the idea of my name being changed with every new owner, with not having any idea of what my parents surnames were, of having a white father but not being able to have a father/child relationship with himand all the other myriad of circumstances that enslaved people faced. Slavery in America was the legal institution of enslaving human beings, mainly Africans and African Americans. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. 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. LOTTIE had been the name of the nurse before me and so they just continued that same name. The names that were brought together to form "Geffery" were "Gaufrid" (territory-peace), "Godafrid" (god-peace), and "Galfridus" (song-peace). Abel, et al. This may reveal your family used the surname of the slave owners wifes family. And even though slave marriages were not legal, many enslaved people followed the practice of the wife taking her husbands surname: My mother was named Mary Bradley and my father was named Hilliard Bradley. 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. This is such a well-written and informative post one that I know will open many eyes to the complexity of slave surnames, as well as many other aspects of the lives of the enslaved. Robyn. They cut it off from OCTAVIA. When they were sold away they remembered their loved ones and they created extended kinship networks. For descendants, I would add the substantial emotional impact of seeing an ancestor's name attached to a dollar value, or being valued in a list with silverware and cattle. But once freed most immediately chose surnames, with or without keeping their accustomed name. I am generally called Cap Sherrod but I was married under Cap Ross and have voted under the name Ross, A good many people call me Cap Sherrod because I belonged to Sherrod but I calls myself Cap Ross.. He identified father, mother and siblings in a Freedmans bank deposit in 1873, when he was already in New York City. -William Faulkner, "Call it a clan, call it a network, all it a tribe, call it a family. . Davis: This name is a patronymic of David. 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. Major types on which most would agree are European place and literary names, European personal names in hypocoristic (pet or diminutive) form, biblical and classical names, and names of African origin. This blog is where I share family history methods, resources, tips and advice, with an emphasis on slave research, slavery and its aftermath. Olympic speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno might inspire some parents. Have you visited the Whitney Plantation yet? I found in the Civil War registry, an enslaved man who enrolled in the infantry under the name of Wash Ellis. "More than half of the surnames are derived from the Christian or fore-name of the father," [1] and based on a total of 3,253,800 people, nearly 18 in every 100 persons was known by one of these fifty surnames. He stated that he had always been known by his fathers surname Scott, even before he was freed. There are issues, too, about how to interpret the recorded names, which have been classified in different ways depending on researchers interests. One thing for sure, historians are always expanding our knowledge on this topic.BTW, I am a big fan of your website and your work in the field! European, Javanese and African and Indentured Servitude in First Contact and Early Colonization of Brazil, France and its Empire in the Indian Ocean, France and the British Isles from 1640 to 1789, George Montagu Dunk, Second Earl of Halifax, Green Atlantic: the Irish in the Atlantic World, Histories and Historiographies of the Atlantic World, Impact of the French Revolution on the Caribbean, The, Indentured Servitude in the Atlantic World, Indian, Internal Slave Migrations in the Americas, Interracial Marriage in the Atlantic World, Liverpool in The Atlantic World 1500-1833, Maritime Atlantic in the Age of Revolutions, The, Marriage and Family in the Atlantic World, Material Culture of Slavery in the British Atlantic, Money and Banking in the Atlantic Economy, Napolon Bonaparte and the Atlantic World, Nation and Empire in Northern Atlantic History, Native American Histories in North America, Native Americans and the American Revolution, People of African Descent in Early Modern Europe, Pets and Domesticated Animals in the Atlantic World. Thomas: Thomas is a common surname of biblical origin meaning twin. I would still recommend all of these books, except the first one listed for obvious reasons. They ran away, fought back, feigned illness, destroyed tools, and clung to their families. Names of prominent slaveholderse.g. The Voice of the Black Community in California, Last Updated on October 14, 2010 by Paulette Brown-Hinds. You are the continuation of each of these people." The box for father states unknown in law. Her marriage record states her name is Sarah Charlotte Gale, her father being John Sinclair Gale! But, my mtdna also said I share ancestry with the Kru people of Liberia and the Mende from Sierra Leonne! The 2000 U.S. Census counted 163,036 people with the surname Washington. You can read the introductory maps for a high-level guided explanation, view the timeline and chronology of . Feel free to contact me directly if you have more questions or need some assistance. Besides the Morrows, whom else did you live with in Louisville? Each is present in your body. 2. Here, our list of notable early African American names. They were Nelson Nunn and George Nunn and they may have changed their names to Crosby too because they were my fathers children.. The brothers were sold when they were very young and remained with their last owners nearly thirty years. Enslaved women were raped, creating children with white fathers who in most cases did not claim them and even sold them away. Hi Rodney, Data from the 2010 Census tells a different story. She served that family for a long time, perhaps more clues to her past lie in his family roots. LOTTIE had been the name of the nurse before me and so they just continued that same name. The most common of 603 names of female Slaves were Bet, Mary, Jane, Hanna, Betty, Sarah, Phillis, Nan, Peg, and Sary. This lively Old Testament nature name (belonging to one of the three beautiful daughters of Job) may be missing from the current US Top 1000 list, but it ranks highly here on Nameberry making it one to watch! The, For descendants, I would add the substantial emotional impact of seeing an ancestor's name attached to a dollar value, or being valued in a list with silverware and cattle. Table 7. When I was born my mother was known as Phillis Smith and I took the name of Smith too. When I was born my mother was known as Phillis Smith and I took the name of Smith too. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website.