common last names for slaves in the 1800scommon last names for slaves in the 1800s

Louis (M) (English origin) means "famous warrior". 2019 (cited under the Anglophone Caribbean) includes a good general introduction to slave naming. Slavery | Tennessee Encyclopedia My great great grandfather in Mississippi took the surname of the previous SC enslaver, whose widow sold him away. Testimony of Dick Lewis Barnett, May 17, 1911: I am 65 years of age; my post office address is Okmulgee Okla. I am researching the surname Culbert worldwide, and the data can be found at: culbert.one-name.net There are a growing number of African Americans with this surname, which I believe originates in Scotland. I am searching for information about a woman named Eliza Ellis, from Versailles KY or that area. Robyn. The fifty most common Victorian surnames in England and Wales for 1853 are listed in alphabetical order below. I first wrote about this in this 2009 post: http://justthinking130.blogspot.com/2009/09/calvin-r-yarborough-where-it-all-began.html, And,then, more recently in 2013, here: http://justthinking130.blogspot.com/2013/11/many-rivers-to-cross-my-priscilla.html. . 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. You should give a TED talk! Slave name index - next1000.com The majority of these slaves used the surname Lewis instead of Washington. In 1911, Barnett and Frys widow, Mollie, both applied for pensions from the government. An enslaved child sold away from their parents at a young age to the Deep South would probably have a different sense of naming than enslaved children who were able to grow up in the presence of their parents and extended family. No, I don't know to whom she belonged before she was brought from Virginia to Kentucky. Phillis Wheatley (May 8, 1753 - December 5, 1784) Source = Wikimedia. Beginning in the early nineteenth century, more biblical names were given to enslavedchildren, a reflection of the widespread attempts to Christianize enslaved communities. One name you find frequently used was Freeman or Freedmen to declare their new freedom. The slave schedules of 1860 Arkansas do not give the names of the slaves. Thank you for posing your question. The campaign in Britain to abolish slavery began in the 1760s, supported by both black and white abolitionists. This financial assistance was available to all Civil War veterans and their families. This event is $25. Fortunately, the French and Latin were excellent record keepers and the Catholics were obsessed with knowing the kinship of everyone. Thank you as always, your posts are so helpful. I love that your example shows two brothers, who came to different conclusions about their surnames. Enslaved people often transferred such names to later generations in modified form or relied on African naming traditions, such as "day names" or names reflecting the order of birth among siblings. In 1870, he is listed as John Washington. 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. Thus, the patronymic surname can be effectively regarded as "keeper of the peace." This phenomenon is not unheard of with African American surnames. I did a post sometime ago about Slavery Studies, where I named some of the top books on the subject. Theres always more to learn! Rank. My maternal grandmother was an Auber. When they were sold away they remembered their loved ones and they created extended kinship networks. College Advanced AA Gen. Class, November 2012, Robyn, Aaron, Karen, Katherine and Michael, October 2014, African-American Family History Conference, February 2015, African-American Genealogy Group Conference, October 2016, Central Maryland AAHGS, with Alice Harris, September 2015, Howard Comm. With mythological names rising, the handsome son of Zeus and god of medicine, music, and poetry among many other things might offer an interesting, if high-pressure, option. All children of a female slave were automatically slaves, considered as belonging to the owner of the mother. Once the slaves were freed they found they did need another name besides a given name. Q. 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 addition to time and place, a likely variable is whether the birth rate, in a severely overworked and maltreated population, was sufficient to ensure a relatively stable population over several generations, or whether the high mortality associated with slavery led to declining numbers and hence to the frequent acquisition of new slaves. Garcia (The Spanish form of Gerald, Garcia would be the son of Gerald. The idea was for the children to enter the inhumane system of slavery protected by a sense of Selfhood and history. 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). Through DNA matches, I believe I have recently found a brother of my mothers great grandfather. Maria Aparecida Schumaher, Erico teixeira Vital Brazil. I would still recommend all of these books, except the first one listed for obvious reasons. Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. by John C. Inscoe, 2006; Revised May 2022 by NC Government & Heritage Library. No superior alternative has yet been found." Even that feels like something. On the 30 rolls of NARA Microfilm Publication M1895, Slave Manifests of Coastwise Vessels Filed at New Orleans, Louisiana, 1807-1860 (30 rolls), are reproduced manifests filed with the collector of customs at New Orleans, Louisiana, of slaves transported in coastwise trade to or from New Orleans during the period 1807-1860. Fernsby, (Old English Origin) Derived from the old English words meaning "fern farmstead". Frederick Douglass (1818-1895), born into slavery in Maryland and escaped to the Northeast in 1838, where he became an internationally renowned abolitionist writer, speaker, and diplomat. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. . 3. Minerva is the long-neglected name of the Roman goddess of wisdom and invention, the arts and martial strength, one of the. In more than thirty years of researching my ancestors and hundreds of others enslaved on one of Americas largest plantations, slaves owned by mid-sized planters and small farmers, reviewing thousands of documents I have come across various situations that might give others clues on what to look for. Slavery - The National Archives This financial assistance was available to all Civil War veterans and their families. 400 Catchy Slave Names That You Will Like - Worth Start 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. Brutus) and a private name (e.g. It is these single names that have been most often studied. 12 Lost American Slangisms From The 1800s : NPR History Dept. : NPR James: (M) (Latin origin) means "heel" or "supplanter". They are part of Records of the U.S. Customs Service . Search 30 million given names. This had a profound impact on the Selfhood of each of the enslaveddisrupting ones presumed Mission in life, as indicated by ones name; shattering the sharing of personal and historical experiences, attitudes, and spirits towards life; and putting in disarray the philosophy of life framework and common sense values by which all Africans lived. This potential brother had been sold to a local and remained there in SC. Slavery is a social-economic system under which people are enslaved: deprived of personal freedom and forced to perform labor or services without compensation. I worked for him as nurse for his children, and my full and correct name was OCTAVIA, but the family could not catch on to that long name and called me LOTTIE for short. At your request I have finally made available for viewing past popular webinars! Peneus saved Daphne from Apollos romantic obsessions by transforming her into a laurel tree. Famous name bearers: many King Louis of France, Sandra Bullock's son and actor Louis Partridge. I hope you dont mind my sharing those posts. I belonged to him until emancipation. This mini-lesson helps students define the term, learn what forms reparations can take, and consider what reparations should be offered for slavery and other racist policies. I belonged to him until emancipation. 2023 Nameberry.com.Nameberry is a registered trademark of Nameberry, LLC. Free black slave holders could be found at one time or . One thing we should keep in mind is that the practice of referring to enslaved people by a given name only was a part of the attempt of the system of slavery to dehumanize them..to other them. There was often a fluidity to the surnames that enslaved people had. Here are an even dozen, pretty much forgotten slanglike words or sayings from the 19th century, rediscovered while delving in the archives and with added guidance from James Maitman's 1891 . Renate, Thomas Black Cobbs was owned by a small slave owner Catherine Black. 140+ Victorian Baby Names | Names from the 1800s | Peanut USA.gov, The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration Names from the Bible were another common practice, for given and surnames. Join my mailing list below to learn about upcoming webinars. Jamaica Slavery FamilySearch Who called you by that name and where was it done? Also, the government seemed to be in a almighty hurry to have us get names. Abebe: The genesis of this Ethiopian name is Amharic, and it means 'flower' or 'blossom'. In small communities where census takers and county officials knew African Americans personally and their previous owners, they often recorded the former slaves with the surnames of their last owners. I was called by that name all the time I was with the Morrows. The Washingtons of Wessyngton Plantation: Stories of My Familys Journey to Freedom, A Thank You Letter from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, Plantation Records Key Link to African American Past . Archambeau. A. Mr. Thomas Jefferson of Louisville, bought me when I was three years of age from Mr. Dearing. It can be a difficult path, but just might be reachable. 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 focused on surnames but many of these books also discuss first names. 7. I am the applicant for pension on account of having served in Co. B. And now that it's been chosen by Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale, it could take off as their first son's nameKingstonhas. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. 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.. A 2nd great grandmother for example was baptised Sarah Charlotte Chase; her mother is recorded as being Ann Lewis Chase. When I was born my mother was known as Phillis Smith and I took the name of Smith too. Wood were recorded as slave. The most common of 603 names of female Slaves were Bet, Mary, Jane, Hanna, Betty, Sarah, Phillis, Nan, Peg, and Sary. 100 Victorian Last Names With Meanings And History | Kidadl Hello You are the continuation of each of these people." African Americans tended to use surnames associated with their own families instead of the last slave owner. Most Popular Names. There are issues, too, about how to interpret the recorded names, which have been classified in different ways depending on researchers interests. Have you visited the Whitney Plantation yet? For more information about the records covered in this index,please contact the History and Genealogy Department. 43. Trinidad and Tobago. The population was more than 16 million and the industrial revolution was under way, which debunks any perception of a broadly colonial society. Picked by several celebrities (a couple of times even for a girl), adding up to an enthusiastically recommended choice. In his pension file, my great great grandmother his widow expressed that he chose his former enslaver surname because his father had been enslaved by them, too. The battle was long and hard-fought, with pro-slavery campaigners arguing that the slave trade was important for the British economy and claiming that enslaved Africans were happy and well-treated. One former slave Bill Scott from Wessyngton reported in his pension application for military service that when he enlisted in the Union Army officials put down his surname as Washington. Throughout the colonial period, as many as one-fifth of the enslaved people in North Carolina retained African names; Quash, Cuffee, Mingo, Sambo, Mustapha, and Sukey were among the most common recorded. This is true in some cases but not all. John C. Inscoe, "Carolina Slave Names: An Index to Acculturation," Journal of Southern History 59 (November 1983). ", "If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents and all the generations of your ancestors. 17. George Duncan Ludlow (1734-1808), colonial lawyer. Explore the most common surnames in England. common last names in the 1800s - stmatthewsbc.org After emancipation, he became William Smith. Cora: We first fell in love with this short baby girl's name from Downton Abbey, but Cora was already popular in the 1800s, meaning 'maiden' or 'good'. In the 1930s, ex-slave Martin Jackson explained why he chose his last name after Emancipation: The master's name was usually adopted by a slave after he was set free. Hi Rodney, I find it interesting that they often used the strange phrase he calls himself in the ads, as if having a given name and a surname was silly: Ran away from the subscriber on the 25th of October, a well set dark mulattoe man named Jem, but calls himself James Ferguson.. Tracing Your Roots: Were Slaves' Surnames Like Brands? I am the identical person who was named called and known as Dick Lewis Smith before the Civil War and during the Civil War and until I returned home after my military service . Many of the former slaves and some free people of color took the first name of their father, mother and sometimes former slaveowner as their last. Caps statement implies that choosing his own surname was a part of exercising his newfound freedom. Edited by Gabriele vom Bruck and Barbara Bodenhorn, 178-199. Were there any famous slaves? However, research byLisa D. Cook and colleagueshas revealed evidence of racialized names from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. -George Burns, "Where does the family start? Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. In Greek mythology, Daphne was the nymph daughter of Peneus, a river god. -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." You are the continuation of each of these people.". A valuable and incisive discussion, both theoretically and historically informed, of slave naming in two African societies, the Caribbean, and the American South. They called me "OCK". Practices undoubtedly varied, and different archival sources may yield different conclusions. 1. Used by permission of the publisher. Join me as I present this NEW webinar that covers why we miss our ancestors in these records and presents numerous strategies to assist in finding every clue in census records. Another interesting fact is that Creole surname use also evolved over time and varied from record to record with the same person. Slavery. 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. In fact, the previous enslaver widow sold most of the slaves. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Slavery's reach is still with us, and part of the gift of doing African-American genealogy, "The past is not dead. A Wessyngton slave named Bill who was the plantation's blacksmith was known as Billy the Smith during slavery. Robyn, youve done it again! Black Last Names: 80 Popular & Common African American, African Each is present in your body. An accessible introduction to the field. Louisiana, U.S., Records of Enslaved People, 1719-1820 - Ancestry.com Copyright 2006 by the University of North Carolina Press. -Hugh Kingsmill, "No matter what you've done for yourself or for humanity, if you can't look back on having given love and attention to your own family, what have you really accomplished?" American Slave Owners - geni family tree Geographic names were common, as were the names of ships or distant ports for enslaved peopleborn in places such as Wilmington or New Bern. Please submit permission requests for other use directly to the publisher. Some of the most common or popular last names in the 1800s included Robinson, Clark, and Smith. Such resistance signified continual deep-rooted discontent with the condition of bondage and, in some places, such as the United States, resulted in ever-more-stringent mechanisms for social control and repression in slaveholding areas. 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. Surnames for African-Americans - Former Slaves ", "No matter what you've done for yourself or for humanity, if you can't look back on having given love and attention to your own family, what have you really accomplished? You can find many more examples of the above in my post, The Mind of the Slaveowner. Enslaved people suffered constant sale, where children were frequently torn away from parents at young ages and spouses were often separated. You can also look up Charleston Manifests by Slave Owner These records are also available through the National Archives Catalog (National Archives Identifier 2767350). For example, Roll, Jordan,Roll has an entire chapter called The Naming of Cats, discussing slave names and The Slave Community has a very good chapter called The Slave Family. Two other books I like are Been In The Storm So Long by Leon Litwick (pgs 247-248)and Joining PLaces: Slave Neighborhoods in the Old South by Anthony Kaye. 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. Just makes me sad for the human spirit that anyone, let alone hundreds of thousands of people could participate in it. Another slave named Bill who attended the sheep became Bill Shepherd. Q. While enslaved almost all had just one Christian name. They called me OCK. Distinctively Black names were thought to have risen from the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements, which promoted the use of names with connections to Africa. Instead a wide variety of surnames came about that would be the family name for future generations. I also have a Slavery and Freedom Collection available for $20. 42. Numerous historical sources confirm that enslaved people had surnames that they used among themselves and in many cases were known by their slaveholder. 16 Most Famous Female Slaves of African American Origin In 2001, I began a process of transcribing names of some of the largest slaveholders and matching the surnames with numbers of African Americans on the 1870 . 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! However, the enslaved occasionally had surnames, which became normal leading up to and after emancipation as a mark of assimilation into free society. Injurious Names: Naming, Disavowal, and Recuperation in Contexts of Slavery and Emancipation. In The Anthropology of Names and Naming. In 1801, the British government took the first census for Great Britain and Ireland. Of course my mother wasnt a Bradley fore she married. 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 did not even check the 1850 slave schedule. 782 Lists of Slave owners with names of slaves Tamme, 766 Tom, 766 West, 766 Will, 766 Barker, Nathaniel Harry, 591, 700, 746, 767 Barkley, Barbary Grace, 651 South Atlantic Creole A Spanish America After Independence, 1825-1900, Tudor and Stuart Britain in the Wider World, 1485-1685, Warfare, Medicine, and Disease in the Atlantic World. But the meanings of names certainly evolved over time, and some have argued that the principles according to which an individual name was given (e.g., after a relative or ancestor) are at least as important as its apparent meaning and type. Another common practice was to select a surname that fit the personality of an individual, such as Hardy or Rambler. Nonetheless, this is a situation where two brothers selected different surnames. Enslaved people remained legally nameless from the time of their capture until their purchase by American enslavers. Smithsonian Institution. 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. CLICK HERE TO SAVE YOUR SEAT! -Unknown, "If you can't get rid of the skeleton in your closet, you might as well make it dance!" Students learn about the violent responses to the transformation of US democracy that occurred as a result of Radical Reconstruction. Feel free to contact me directly if you have more questions or need some assistance. 100 Most Common US Surnames Origins and Meanings - ThoughtCo In order to receive their pensions decades later, these former soldiers and their family members had to demonstrate to the government that they were who they claimed to be. Evidence indicates that many enslaved parents named their children after the first generation or so of family members brought to America. My fathers name was John Crosby and he lived in the town of Geneva, Alabama, I had two brothers and one sister. A. The top 5 most common Hispanic last names from the 1920s are: 1. Most did not want to use their former owners surname, even through about 20% did use the slave owners name. Thank you so much for your kind words. This phenomena makes research very complicated when you dont know the mothers surname. On the U.S. Federal census that year, Wesley's birthplace was recorded as Alabama, the same as his father, and his mother's birthplace was South Carolina . Mining the Census: Are You Finding Every Clue? A favorite of British novelists including Evelyn Waugh and P. G. Wodehouse, Ambrose has an air of blooming well-being and upper-class erudition. Plus, Jonah comes with a ready-made nursery-decorating motif. The brothers were sold when they were very young and remained with their last owners nearly thirty years. What were common names for slaves in the 1800s? - Kyoto2.org Although it is not widely known, some African Americans used surnames before they were emancipated. Hi Rodney, 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. These require Microsoft Word and a Windows platform. In the 1760s Anglo-American frontiersmen, determined to settle the land, planted slavery firmly within the borders of what would become Tennessee. Hi Jann, Flora, the name of the Roman goddess of flowers and spring, who enjoyed eternal youth, is one of the gently old-fashioned girls' flower names we think is due for a comebackalongside cousins Cora and Dora. It means 'clerk' or 'secretary'. The Language of Names. Osprey Publishing 2008. Another myth is once African Americans were sold they never saw their families again. African Americans were known by these surnames in the slave community and often recorded by slave owners on plantation documents. In fact, it's not even past. 13 March 2022, 1-2:30pm [PAST EVENT], Eastern Standard Time: Cant find some of your ancestors in the census? LOTTIE had been the name of the nurse before me and so they just continued that same name. In the. The table below shows the most common last names with statistics on the heritage and ancestry of those with the surname. The surname Williams occurs roughly 550 times per 100,000 people in the U.S. You can find explanations for each of the table columns below, or use the following links to view more last names for different ancestries. I was called by that name all the time I was with the Morrows. My great grandfather Wilson Percival was born in South Carolina and I believe he took his surname from last slave owners family. Jamaican Surnames - Jamaican Family Search Gerald, however, is a Germanic name meaning ruler) 2. Brief, but stimulating and thoughtful for students coming new to the subject. .When I got home after the war, I was wearing the name of Lewis Smith, but I found that the negroes after freedom, were taking the names of their father like the white folks. Thomas: Thomas is a common surname of biblical origin meaning twin.