Cook Cook has an Old English origin, and it means 'one who cooks' or 'one who sold cooked meat'. We had to register as someone, so we could be citizens. Davis: This name is a patronymic of David. Farley, (English Origin) Victorian-era last names meaning "fern woodland". This financial assistance was available to all Civil War veterans and their families. . Peneus saved Daphne from Apollos romantic obsessions by transforming her into a laurel tree. This was done more because it was the logical thing to do and the easiest way to be identified than it was through affection for the master. Following the emancipation of approximately 360,000 enslaved people in North Carolina, changes in African American names became indicative of a new value system and sense of self-identity among freedpeople. 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. This page is currently showing names ranked from 1 to 1000. I have been a researcher, writer, lecturer and teacher for over twenty years. Students explore the legacies of the Reconstruction era today, reflect on the idea of democracy as a continuous process, and consider how they can best participate in the ongoing work of strengthening our democracy. 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! . Bernard Meaning: brave warrior Origin: French 4. Where did you get the maiden name of Smith from? ", "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? The origins of this last name date back to the pre-medieval period. 19. The first published African-American poet & author Phillis Wheatley was born in West Africa. Are you thinking this woman Eliza Ellis was married to Wash Ellis? I especially recommend Mother, Thy Name is Mystery! In 1836, William Turbeville died leaving an estate with several slaves who were brothers: Turner, Nelson, Simon, Jordan, and Jacob. Smithsonian Institution. USA.gov, The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration 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. 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. However, research byLisa D. Cook and colleagueshas revealed evidence of racialized names from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Choose the best name for your child. Lastly,emancipation itself often provoked many to choose new surnames, one of the few actual freedoms freedmen had. (Media Note: If you quote a post, please credit me by name, Robyn N. Slavery was coexistent with the founding in 1670 of the first permanent colony in South Carolina, and early official records occasionally contain the names of slaves.3 An inventory of the estate of Francis Jones in 1693 lists 'a negro man Jack' and 'a negro Woman name Jugg.'4 An inventory of the Evidence indicates that many enslaved parents named their children after the first generation or so of family members brought to America. You can find many more examples of the above in my post, The Mind of the Slaveowner. 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. 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. Prior to the emancipation of the American slaves in 1863, those African-Americans held in bondage had usually just one or two given names. After emancipation, he moved back with his mother, brothers and sisters and used the Cobbs surname. The majority of these slaves used the surname Lewis instead of Washington. One name you find frequently used was Freeman or Freedmen to declare their new freedom. Forenames. The 2000 U.S. Census counted 163,036 people with the surname Washington. Although it is not widely known, some African Americans used surnames before they were emancipated. All of them are alive in this moment. 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. And my goodness, how kind of you to suggest a TED talk, maybe one of these days;) Genealogys pull is what initially pulled me into studying slavery, and also introduced me to the new understanding that historians are uncovering. By country & year of birth. Osprey Publishing 2008. by John C. Inscoe, 2006; Revised May 2022 by NC Government & Heritage Library. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW! "Injurious Names: Naming, Disavowal, and Recuperation in Contexts of Slavery and Emancipation." In The Anthropology of Names and Naming. The Language of Names. The difficulties include using records that provide no surnames, the constant sale and breakup of families, and the lack of identification of fathers. Drawing on extensive archival records, this digital memorial allows analysis of the ships, traders, and captives in the Atlantic slave trade. Thanks LaBrenda! Currently, the most popular Black last name in America is Williams, with a total count of 774,920 people who have the surname. Slavery existed in the United States from its founding in 1776 and became the main . Women tended to have two names, and slaves often just had one. Evie (F) (English origin) means "life" or "lively". In instances where slaves were sold from their families and they did not retain their previous owners surnames, they named their children for parents, sisters and brothers to keep a connection with their families. common last names in the 1800s Patronymic surnames such as Jansen/Janssen, Hansen, and Petersen are the most common names in the far north (Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein). Picked by several celebrities (a couple of times even for a girl), adding up to an enthusiastically recommended choice. And please do share posts that interest you. Data from the 2010 Census tells a different story. 42. This lifelong quest has helped me to better know my familys past. That alone can make if difficult to research an African- American family during those years. Even worse, during this period, many African Americanssome using surnames for the very first timechanged their surnames once or even several times. The top 5 most common Hispanic last names from the 1920s are: 1. "Albumen print of enslaved women and their children near Alexandria, Virginia." 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. -Unknown, "Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city;)" Most Popular African Last Names Or Surnames. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one", "Friends are God's apologies for relations. Toussaint Louverture (1743-1803), a former slave, he enslaved a dozen people himself before becoming a general and a leader of the Haitian Revolution. Genealogy becomes so much more than just names and dates, it really feels like a true passion indeed. Enslaved people remained legally nameless from the time of their capture until their purchase by American enslavers. > | Index main page>| Index by slave owner's name, 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). Finding the Slave Who Bore Philomene Daurat. There is also another historian, Gwendolyn Midlo Hall who did work on African ethnicities in Louisiana, you can read more of that here if you havent seen that yet: http://whitneyplantation.com/the-louisiana-slave-database.html, Again, I applaud you for doing the research on the history of the areas where your ancestors livedmany researchers dont realize how crucial that understanding is. This is common. When they were sold away they remembered their loved ones and they created extended kinship networks. David Nicolle, Graham Turner: Poitiers AD 732: Charles Martel Turns the Islamic Tide. The quote below, from a Southern Claims Commission file, is one of the most powerful and one of my favorites to use in lectures: I enlisted under Ross because that was my fathers name. Perhaps Wash Ellis registered under the name of one of his parents. No superior alternative has yet been found. Accueil > > Avr > 18 > Uncategorized > common last names for slaves in the 1800s. You should give a TED talk! Recognizable patterns of change in names and naming practices are evident from the mid-eighteenth century to the early nineteenth century and on through the 1860s. i have no way to confirm this. I hope youll sign up to receive my postsif you do, youll get a free PDF with some of my favorite tips! 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. State of residence is Missouri unless otherwise noted. Garcia is the Spanish variation of the word Gerald that means a pointed weapon, like a spear. 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. Where did you get the maiden name of Smith from? Have you visited the Whitney Plantation yet? 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. Hi Susan, I was called mostly Lewis Smith till after the war, although I was named Dick Lewis SmithDick was the brother of John Barnett whom I learned was my father . Each name was a clue to her origins. A valuable and incisive discussion, both theoretically and historically informed, of slave naming in two African societies, the Caribbean, and the American South. "While African-American genealogical research in many ways is like all genealogical research, the era of slavery makes the task especially challenging. Others were more promiscuous. Feel free to contact me directly if you have more questions or need some assistance. 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 . Claudia Bautista,Santa Monica, Calif. You must have JavaScript enabled to use this form. I was only three years old when she died. Hi Rodney, Newly emancipated slaves also frequently chose new first names, discarding those associated with slavery. This potential brother had been sold to a local and remained there in SC. Eugene D. Genovese, Roll, Jordan, Roll: The World the Slaves Made (1974). Jonah, the name of the Old Testament prophet who was swallowed by the whale, only to emerge unharmed three days later, is increasingly appreciated by parents looking for a biblical name less common than Jacob or Joshua, yet not too obscure. 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. When I was born my mother was known as Phillis Smith and I took the name of Smith too. Other common surnames included Jones, Matthews, Sinclair, and Bennett, Price, and Gray.. Q. I'll illustrate transcribing deeds, show you how to find your county deed records on FamilySearch, and you will receive my PDF Beginner's Guide to Using Deed Records, a $12 value! In fact, it's not even past." Dick Lewis Barnett and Phillip Fry were African American veterans of the Union Army during the Civil War. Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. 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 presume no death certificate for her survives? Herbert G. Gutman, The Black Family in Slavery and Freedom, 1750-1925 (1976). I am sure your father would also be very proud of your interest in family history. 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.. This reading contains quoted text not authored by Facing History & Ourselves. Copy this link, or click below to email it to a friend. But the Slaves generally had two namesthe one given by the slave owner (e.g. The Washingtons of Wessyngton Plantation: Stories of My Familys Journey to Freedom is proudly powered by WordPress Entries (RSS) and Comments (RSS). Now, that parent's surname could very well be the surname of the most recent slaveholder or an earlier slaveholder. The association with the infamous Nero, the fiddling Roman emperor, would be unavoidable. Hello 6. College, Advanced AA Gen Class, September 2011, AAHGS Annual Genealogy Conference, November 2008, Howard Comm. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one" "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. See flier for more details. Available from https://nmaahc.si.edu/object/nmaahc_2014.174.8?destination=/explore/collection/search%3Fedan_q%3Denslaved%26edan_fq%255B0%255D%3Dobject_type%253A%2522Photographs%2522 (accessed May 6, 2022). It means 'bought land'. 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! Thomas mother, younger brothers and sisters remained with the Black family. Abara: Originating from the Igbo group of West Africa, Abara means 'spirit'. Ethereal and delicate, Cassandra was in the Top 70 throughout the 1990s but is now descending in popularity. One given name the childs family selected and kept secret and one the child was known by given by the slave owner. This is due in part to officials imposing surnames on them based on their last owners. Gerald, however, is a Germanic name meaning ruler) 2. Extensive records of slaveholding over several generations exist for a number of North Carolina plantations, most notably the Skinner and Hayes plantations in Chowan County; Pettigrew plantations in Tyrrell, Washington, and Wake Counties; Bennehan-Cameron plantation in Orange County; Hargrove plantation in Granville County; Arrington plantations in Nash and Edgecombe Counties; Avery plantation in Burke County; and Lenoir plantation in Caldwell County. In Greek mythology, Athena is the name of the daughter of Zeus who was the goddess of wisdom, warfare, handicrafts, mathematics, and courage, among others. Q. 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. Start your year off with tips and strategies that can help you in the new year & beyond. In fact, the previous enslaver widow sold most of the slaves. It prohibited. Q. They are held at The National Archives (Kew, England). 6. A. Most common last names names: 1-1000 | 1001-2000 | 2001-3000 | 3001-4000 | 4001-5000 You already know the rich historical terrain of FPOC in Louisiana, what terrific grounds for family research. The same family may appear with different surnames in the 1870 and 1880 federal census records, and may appear in other records with either, both, or a third surname altogether. Places; Login. They did so either to take on a surname for the first time, or to replace a name or surname given to them by a former master. One ancestor was known as Baber Masse, Elizabeth SENET and Elisabeth Leveille in different documents. 2. Another slave named Bill who attended the sheep became Bill Shepherd. Wide-ranging survey of naming practices in the (mainly Anglophone) Atlantic world both during and after slavery. They were all sold to different owners: Connell, Rose, Johnson, and Hughes respectively. Well, I got to thinking about all us slaves that was going to take the name Fitzpatrick. Email:genealogy@slcl.org I love to hear from my readers. E. Togo Salmon Conference, E. Togo Salmon Conference 1993 Mcmaster University: Goodyear III, Frank H. "Photography changes the way we record and respond to social issues". We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Unfortunately, I am not knowledgeable enough about African and Caribbean research in the areas you name. My great grandfather Wilson Percival was born in South Carolina and I believe he took his surname from last slave owners family. I made up my mind I'd find me a different one. Bradley was the last man owned em. Former slaves also interchanged surnames on census records. If the former slave had been befriended or assisted in getting established after the Civil War, they might have taken that persons name. 18. Facing History & Ourselves uses lessons of history to challenge teachers and their students to stand up to bigotry and hate. Just makes me sad for the human spirit that anyone, let alone hundreds of thousands of people could participate in it. In the 1760s Anglo-American frontiersmen, determined to settle the land, planted slavery firmly within the borders of what would become Tennessee. Q. On another branch, members of the Griffin family from around Campbell County VA all stuck together and are believed to have kept family bonds & name of their father after Emancipation. A. Lottie Smith was my name and what they called me before I met Phillip and was married to him. Copyright 2023 Facing History & Ourselves. -Elbert Hubbard, "Families are like fudge; mostly sweet with a few nuts." CLARKE - The name comes from 'clerk, a clergyman, a scholar, one who can read and write' and is most prevalent in England, where some 89,337 people are recorded with this surname. Copeland This last name comes from Old Norse origin. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries African-American slaves retained Africanisms in their naming practices. Edited by Gabriele vom Bruck and Barbara Bodenhorn, 178-199. Slavery's reach is still with us, and part of the gift of doing African-American genealogy is recovering the stories of those caught in its grasp who could not in their own time leave their own witness.". Abel, et al. Recently, I was looking for more information on Wesley Thompson, who was born about 1835 and who was living in Morgan County, Alabama with his wife, Nellie, and five children in 1880. It can be a difficult path, but just might be reachable. At her death when Thomas was ten, he was sold to Solomon Cobbs who lived nearby. The Genealogy Source Table Collection includes 10 blank, editable source tables for death certificates, city directories, obituaries and funeral programs. A favorite of British novelists including Evelyn Waugh and P. G. Wodehouse, Ambrose has an air of blooming well-being and upper-class erudition. You are the continuation of each of these people.". My Vimeo ON Demand video page lists six videos you can choose from to watch for 3 months ($15 each): -Finding the Last Slaveowner: Guidance and Case Studies, -Cluster Research: Using Groups of People to Find Your People, -Using Deed Records to Uncover Your Family, -Putting it All Together: Making Sense of All the Research You've Done and, -More Than Just a Name: Incorporating Social and Community History Into Your Research. I was only three years old when she died. The link was not copied. Olympic speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno might inspire some parents. See flier for details; cost of this event is $25. Fortunately, the French and Latin were excellent record keepers and the Catholics were obsessed with knowing the kinship of everyone. Going back a decade to the 1850 Slave Schedule, both William Wood and Samuel O. The naming of slaves has not been treated in dedicated monographs, but it often figures in general accounts of plantation culture and the practices of enslavement. I was called mostly Lewis Smith till after the war, although I was named Dick Lewis Smith After the War, I was wearing the name Lewis Smith, but I found the negroes were taking the names of their fathers, like the white folks. I am not able to find any slaveholders in the Versailes area by the name of Ellis. I hope you dont mind my sharing those posts. For more details, see the flier here, and you can purchase them here. Edited by Gabriele vom Bruck and Barbara Bodenhorn, 178199. 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. Who called you by that name and where was it done? Pinckney, Randolph, and Rutledgeappear only incidentally among any list of modern Black peoples names. Once the slaves were freed they found they did need another name besides a given name. 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. The fifty most common Victorian surnames in England and Wales for 1853 are listed in alphabetical order below. . 1412 S. Spoede Rd., St. Louis, MO 63131-2557. please contact the History and Genealogy Department. Samuel had only two slaves: the man that could be Wilson and a 42-year-old woman. LOTTIE had been the name of the nurse before me and so they just continued that same name. - Jane Howard, "Friends are God's apologies for relations." Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2006. I am the applicant for pension on account of having served in Co. B. I am an engineer by day, but my true passion lies in genealogy. I was called by that name all the time I was with the Morrows. It means 'clerk' or 'secretary'. The Voice of the Black Community in California, Last Updated on October 14, 2010 by Paulette Brown-Hinds. Entre la construccin de la memoria y la ficcin histrica", "From Africa to India: Music of the Sidis and the Indian Ocean Diaspora (review)", "Mark and Phillis Executions, Burned at the Stake and Gibbeted in Puritan Massachusetts", "Letter from Paul Revere to Jeremy Belknap, circa 1798", "Re: Nancy Titsworth-1800-Livin - Genealogy.com", Association of Muslim Social Scientists & International Institute of Islamic Thought 2008, "Creolizing Natural Liberty: Transnational Obligation in the Thought of Ottobah Cugoano", "Madison and the White House, Through the Memoir of a Slave", "Black Slaves, Indian Masters: Slavery, Emancipation, and Citizenship in the Native American South, by Barbara Krauthamer (2013) Not Even Past", "Timeline of Missouri's African American History", "So Tom e Prncipe recorda o Rei Amador", "Black Christian Republicans: Delegates to the 1847 Liberian Constitutional Convention", "A Slave's Service in the Confederate Army", "Slavery and French Cuisine in Jefferson's Working White House", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_slaves&oldid=1140857860, This page was last edited on 22 February 2023, at 03:19. I am awar eof the different naming traditions practiced in that area and I thank you for sharing them here for my readers. Brown: A common last name derived from an ancestor's complexion or the color of their hair. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Testimony of Mollie Russell (widow of Phillip Fry), September 19, 1911: Q. It helps me to understand the complexity of surname variation I have found in researching the ancestral patterns of an African-American cemetery in my local area. These require Microsoft Word and a Windows platform. . A. I was first called by that name in the family of Col. Morrow in whose service I was in Louisville, Ky., just after the war. It is not uncommon to see an African American family listed with one surname in 1870 and another in 1880. Dorothy, Doris or Dora: Meaning 'gift of God', this Victorian girl's name was popular in the 19th century. George Duncan Ludlow (1734-1808), colonial lawyer. I also see that in 1900 she is listed as widow with 1 child living, so you may have luck trying to find out who her child was. Tell me the name you were called before you met Phillip Fry? Edmon S. Conner Recalls About His Career", "Law and the Cultural Production of Race and Racialized Systems of Oppression", "Runaway Slaves and Servants in Colonial Virginia", Slavery in the Courtroom: An Annotated Bibliography of American Cases, "Soldier of Furtune: John Smith before Jamestown", "YSTUMLLYN, JOHN ('Jack Black') (d. 1786), gardener and land steward | Dictionary of Welsh Biography", "Strong, Jonathan (c. 17471773), de facto freed slave", "Juan Francisco Manzano | Slave Narratives | The MoAD Salon | MoAD - Museum of the African Diaspora", "Relatos sobre la India Juliana. Kindest regards, He was sold to my master William Orr and he always went by the name Edward Orr after that.. African Americans were known by these surnames in the slave community and often recorded by slave owners on plantation documents. Where did you get the maiden name of Smith from? 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. 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 .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. 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. With your explanations in mind, I will go back over a couple of family groups and re-assess the surname ambiguousness I have in my notes. See footnotes for source information. Hi Donna, Many of these were names of heroesbut not Lincoln. Caps statement implies that choosing his own surname was a part of exercising his newfound freedom. Clark is a common surname of Anglo-Scottish origin. Former slaves often made up surnames based on their occupations. Part of what drives me in this research, I think, is the feeling that I am reclaiming their stories, their names, and their very being, even if what I uncover is just a tiny bit. One of my grandfathers in Africa was called Jeaceo, and so I decided to be Jackson. 1. The campaign in Britain to abolish slavery began in the 1760s, supported by both black and white abolitionists. When Wessyngtons owner George A. Washington married Margaret Lewis in 1849 her father gave the couple twenty-nine slaves. Best of luck to you, Im very familiar with the work of Gwendolyn Hall and Elizabeth Shown Mills.
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