Harriet, Anderson and other lost stories in the records

The Friend of Friends post that I did last Friday was particularly interesting to me because of the series of posts showing the changing fates of six slaves belonging to the estate (minor children) of Jonathon McClendon.  I presume there was an issue about how the estate was handled, since I can't think of any other reason that the annual accountings from 1825 to 1832 would appear in together in the Crawford county records of 1834, especially when they were originally recorded in Jasper County.   Three of the slaves were adults - Bill, Jenny and Milly.  Jenny had a daughter Harriet and eventually Milly had an unknown child.  Bill was originally the most valuable and could be hired out each year for the most money, but by 1832, when they were sold, the two women went for more.  In Milly's case this could be because her child was sold with her, but its also possible that Bill was simply getting old.   Milly was probably a teenager, since she is sometimes described as a girl and sometimes as a woman, as opposed to Jenny who is always called a woman.  There were also three children - Ben, Anderson and Harriet.   Ben grows up during these years, where he is first hired out for less than the women, but by 1829 is bringing in nearly as much as Bill and by 1832 is sold for more than any of the others.  Every year his hire increased significantly, as he got older.   Anderson must have been quite young when this first started, since he is hired for $1.   Old enough to do some work but not as productive as a man or even a teen.  Again, we watch him grow up and become more valuable, although not to the extent Ben does.  Based on the relative amounts received for hiring him out, the appearance is that he went from being a young boy to possibly a young teen.  There is no indication in the record as to who his mother was, either because he had already been separated from her or because he was not young enough when the records started to be listed with her.  It is possible that Jenny was his mother and he was old enough to be accounted for separately, that his mother was one of the two female slaves that went to the widow (Viny and Betsy), or that his mother was dead.  Harriet is definitely Jenny's daughter and is obviously quite young when these records started.   She is at first just grouped with her mother, then "hired" basically for the cost of keeping her.  She is definitely separated from her mother by 1829, when they are hired out to separate families and in 1832, when the slaves are sold, they both go permanently to different families.  Even assuming she was 7 or 8 when the records start (and she was probably much younger), this would have meant a permanent separation from her mother definitely by the time she was 15 and possibly as young as 10.  In fact, all 3 of the youngest named slaves were sold away from the adults they had grown up with, whether those adults were their parents or not.  The only child not to be sold separately was Milly's unnamed child, who was probably an infant since she/he had not been mentioned before. 

Friend of Friends Friday, Crawford County GA part 4

As before, these are from the Georgia, Probate Records, 1742-1990, Crawford County, Inventories and appraisements 1833-1913, familysearch.org

Image 67, page 122
An inventory of the goods and chattels of Alexander B. Taylor, 8 Nov 1834
Negro man John $600
Negro woman Silvy $450
Negro woman Dorcas $450
Negro boy Isaac $350
Negro boy Aaron $275
Negro boy Doctor $250
Negro boy Charles $200

Image 69, page 126
December 1834, auction of the goods of Alexander Taylor

Lewis Mobley - negro John
James Roberts - negro woman Dorcas
Mary Taylor [wife] - negro woman Silvy
James M. Taylor - negro Isaac
Wm McMurray - negro Aaron
[Doctor and Charles are not mentioned in the sales records]

Image 73, page 134
Jasper County, Georgia, 30 Dec 1825 (No reason given for it being recorded in Crawford County 10 years later)

Valuation and partition of the negros of Jonathon McLendon
Lot nr one was assigned to Edna McClendon, widow of said deceased negros Viny, Betsy and Reuben valued at $950
Lot nr two was drawn by Elitha Ann McClendon one of the minors of said dec'd, negroes Ben, Haritta and Jinny valued at $825
Lot nr 3 was drawn by Jonathon McClendon the other minor of said deceased negros Billy, Milly and Anderson, valued at $900.

Image 74, page 135
1826
The negros belonging to the orphans of Jonathan McClendon hired on 30 Dec 1826 to the highest bidder
viz Bill a negro man to Wm Cleavland  $77
Jenny and child Harriett $25
Milla a girl $30
Ben a boy $17
Anderson a boy $1
[signed] Wm C Cleavland guardian in right of his wife

Image 74, page 136
1828
Hire of negros of said deceased for 1828
Bill a man hired to Wm C Cleavland for $50
Jinny and Haratt         "               "     for $35.50
Milly a woman to Allen McClendon for $25.50
Ben a boy to Wm C Cleavland for $41
Anderson a boy to T Hood $5

Image 75, page 137
(McClendon estate continued)
For the hire of negros for 1829
Bill a man to Lewellin Morgan $50
Ben a boy to Thophilus Truman (or Freeman) $26
Anderson a boy to Allen McClendon $5
Milly a girl to          "            "      $22
Jenny a woman to   "            "      $35
Harett a girl to Wm C Cleavland for victuals and clothes

The hiring of the property belonging to the minors of Jonathan McClendon, 28 Dec 1829
Billy a man [to] Allen McClendon $40
Jenny a woman    "          "            $21
Milly a girl         "           "            $25
Anderson a boy  "          "            $8.56
Benjamin a boy to Wm C Cleavland $37.25
Harett a girl to Isaac George    $5.56

Account of the sale of the negros belonging to the minors and orphans of  Jonathan McClendon sold 3 Jan 1832 and 25 Dec 1832
Negro man Bill to Allen McClendon $219
Negro woman named Jenny to "    $306
   "           "      Milly and child to A. McClendon $427
Negro boy named Ben to Henry Sills $577

Image 75, page 138
(continued from previous page)
Anderson [to] Jeremiah McClendon  $365
girl Harett to W.C. Cleavland $350

[Note that this is earlier than the previous sale record] The hiring of the negros belonging to the orphans of Jonathan McClendon for the year 1831

Bill a man to Allen McClendon $55
Jinny a woman to Hiram B. Jones $40
Milly a woman to Cleavland $20
Ben a boy to John True $35
Anderson a boy to [unreadable] McGhee  $24
Harat a girl to Elijah Williams $12

Friend of Friends Friday, Crawford County, Georgia part 3

As before, these are from the Georgia, Probate Records, 1742-1990, Crawford County, Inventories and appraisements 1833-1913, familysearch.org

Page 93, Image 53
Property of Chesley B. Marshall, dec'd, sold 2 Dec 1834:
Andrew McVeal - one negro man named Davy
John Mathews - one negro man named Billy

Page 96, Image 55
Samuel Wilson, Admr of the estate of J.M. Williams
 The hire of Allen, 1 month $10.00
 The hire of Caroline, 1 month $6.00
 Hire of Allen 10 months for widow $60.00
 Hire of George 10 months J.D. Wilson - $90.00
 Hire of Caroline 10 months John Ross - $70.00
 Aggy, Nelson, Pompey, Mary and Henry - 10 months victuals and clothing (no amount listed)

Page 102, image 58
Division of the slaves belonging to the estate of J.D. Williams, 1835
Asa Mann, as his wife's share, was allotted Allen, valued at 650 dollars, Caroline valued at 500 dollars, Pompey valued at 250 dollars, and Mary valued at 225 dollars.  The remaining slaves were assessed a value but it did not state to whom they would be going.  Those slaves were George valued at 675 dollars, Aggy valued at 400 dollars, Nelson valued at 350 dollars, and Henry 175 dollars.

Page 104, image 59
Rebecca Northern, to the estate of William Northern
To the hire of negroes:
  Rebecca Northern hired Dave $130
           Mariah and children $39
           girl China $20
  Nathaniel Bradford hired Cyrus $120
 Stephen Wright hired boy Lewis $14
  Geo W. Clayton hired girl Mime $13.75
  Henry Crowd hired a woman [not named] and children $33
  To hire of negro girl Sally $6

Page 106, image 60
The orphans of R. B. Mason to John Ricks, guardian, 1835:
Hire of a negro man Abram to T. Garrett $75
Hire of a negro man Philip to S. Barden $35
The hire of two boys Redic and Peter to Wm Faircloth at $30 each
One negro woman and three children to Wm Faircloth for their victuals and clothes.

Page 107, image 60
An inventory of the estate of Daniel Hicks
Lettice a negro woman valued at $250
Brister a negro man $500
Morris a negro man $600
Rachel $350
Dennis $600
Luke $650
Clary $400
Jinny $450
Cate $400
Ann $450
Simon $650
Tilmon $500
Virgil $500
Jerry $450
Rhody $300
Charlotte $375
Pris $275
Crawford $300
Jorden $200
Clinton $175
Agnes $150
Mary $150
Caroline $150
Ned $150
Morgan $100
Prince $100
Winney $75

Friend of Friends Friday - Crawford County, Georgia, part 1

I just learned of the "Friend of Friends Friday" daily prompt and, since I'm going through Crawford county probate records right now, it seems a good time to post some of these.  Since all of the original records are available for free on familysearch.org, I'm only putting in the link.  If down the road, the links don't work, these are from the Georgia, Probate Records, 1742-1990, Crawford County, Inventories and appraisements 1833-1913. I have occasionally shortened the description of the estate but the remainder of the text is as it is written on the page or as close as I can get.

Page 4, Image 9 :  Return of the sale of the negro man named Prince, belonging to Jesse Mills, dec'd.
Cash recd of John Andrews for Prince - $400.00.  Submitted by Bryan Bateman.  4 April 1833

Abel Daniel's accounting of the estate of his wards Berry and Elmyra Sullivan, for the year 1832.
Cash for the hire of Nelson - $70.75
"        "    "      "    "  Abraham - $40.00
"        "    "      "    "  Bid (or Bice) - $41.25
"        "    "      "    "  Peggy - $7.50

Page 8, Image 11:  An account between Caroline E. Jones, minor heir of William H. Jones decd and James S. Jones guardian.
Hire of Daniel - $50.00
Hire of Dave - $54.50
Hire of Henry - $55.00
Hire of Washington - $34.00
Hire of Stephen - $10.00
Hire of Phebe and three children - $20.00
Hire of Sally - $40.00
Hire of Melinda - $40.00
Hire of Epsey - $42.00

Page 16, Image 15 Susan Prosser in a/c with Henry Tarver her guardian for .. 1832.
By hire of her negro woman Jinney - $20.00
 "      "   "     "      "     girl Aley - $10.00

Page 17, Image 15  An account of the hiring of the negroes belonging to James Louisa and Ruth Prosser orphan children of Jesse Prosser decd for 1832
One negro fellow George by Luke Robinson for $65.00
One negro girl ?Thizly? by Martin Patten - $50.00
One negro girl Molly by Wm. Robinson - $25.00

Page 24, Image 19:  Inventory and appraisement of the estate of Richard Bullock, decd, Dec 16, 1833.
Harry a negro man valued at $500
Rachael a woman and her child Hosea $500
Lacey a girl - $450
Tracy a girl - $350
Faithey a girl - $200
Daniel a boy - $200

Page 27, Image 20
From the estate inventory of Chesley B. Marshall, made Jan 13, 1834.
1 negro man Billy - $200
1 negro man Davy - $250

Page 28, Image 21
John Ricks return for 1833 for the orphans of Redmon B. Mason [Susanah and Arthur].
By hire of a negro man Abram to William Exium - $75
"      "     "       "        "    Philip to R. S. Anderson - $35
"      "     "   "  "     woman and five children to Wm Faircloth - $40

Page 36, Image 25
James Jones, guardian, for minor Caroline  E. Jones, 1833
Hire of Negro boy Dave - $70
    "   "      "       "    Henry - $65
     "   "      "       "   Washington - $40
    "   "      "       "   Stephen - $22
    "   "      "     girl Sally - $50
    "   "      "       "   Epsey - $50
    "   "      "       "   Malinda & child - $30
    "   "      "       "   Phebe & three children $10

(continuation on page 37)
 Cash for sale of negro boy Daniel  $400, record 4 Feb 1834

Page 38, image 26
Inventory, appraisement and distribution of estate of Jesse Mills, dec'd. 5 March 1834:

Alexander Mills drew Hagar a negro woman appraised at $375
Susanah Mills drew Joseph a negro boy appraised at $500
Isaac Mills drew Wiggins a negro boy appraised at $325
Nancy Mills drew Michael a negro boy appraised at $400
Moses Mills drew Frank a negro boy appraised at $475

Elenor Mills drew Rency and John a negro girl and boy appraised at $450
Elisha Mills drew Joshua a negro boy appraised at $400
Martha Mills drew Fanny and Sampson a negro girl and boy appraised at $375
Green Lee Mills drew Prince a negro boy appraised at $480 [which would appear to contradict the first entry above where Prince was sold]

Page 39, image 26 
Estate of James M. Williams, appraisal done Feb 1834
One negro man Allen $600
One negro boy George $550
One negro woman Carolina $450
One negro woman Aggy and child Henry $500
One negro boy Nelson $300
One negro boy Pomfrey $550
One negro girl Mary $175

 Page 49, image 31
Appraisement of the estate of William Northern, April 1834
Cyrus a man - $625
Mariah and five children Chana, Mima, Lewis, Bob and Lucretia - $1600
Mary and four children Sally, Joseph, Evelina and Carolina - $1080

Sister Cherry, A Slave

One person who has always fascinated me, even though she is only peripherally connected with my family, is Cherry, a slave in Washington County, Georgia.   She joined Union Baptist Church in Washington County on 25 Septermber 1848, listed as "a black woman, Cherry, belonging to one of the minor heirs of Hampton May".   In August 1855, "M. Garner, J. W. Mills, and W. Garner were appointed a committee to inquire into whereabouts of a colored sister known as May's Cherry."  The final mention was a month later:  "We, the committee on the case of our colored sister known to us as May's Cherry, find that she was suddenly carried off to Florida having no chance to apply for a letter or any to give satisfaction to the church, but we learned from good authority that her conduct was good and we heard nothing against her as a member of the church."   

This small exchange has always interested me because it does not actually concord with what I had been taught about slaves in churches in the South.  First, Cherry is apparently not going to the same church as her owners.  This is partly deduced from the fact that no one in the Church knew she had gone to Florida.  If the family that owned her also attended, there should have been reference to them leaving or getting a letter.  Even if she left because she was sold or given to another family member, they would have known and the committee enquiry should not have been needed.   I also found it interesting that the church apparently would have expected her, if she had time, to get a letter for her new church in Florida.  That and the fact that they had pursued her absence imply that they considered her an actual member of the church.  At some point, I would like to pursue what happened to Sister Cherry, just for my own curiosity.