William Green

William Green was the husband of my great-great-grand-aunt Charity Gibson. Charity was the daughter of my third great-grandfather Robert ‘Bob’ Gibson. Robert ‘Bob’ and his mother Amie were purchased by John Palfrey from Relf and Chew in New Orleans on March 13, 1811. William’s married daughter Ellen Betts was interviewed by the WPA as a part of the Texas Slave Narratives.

William was born about 1810 in South Carolina. His oldest child for whom I have documentation was Sidney Green, who was born in 1842. William and Charity Green had eleven children: Sidney, Sarah, Ellen, Washington, Alice, Permilla, Mary, Cornelius, Nettie, Elliott and Henry.

Information about William was written in William Taylor Palfrey’s plantation journal. Palfrey wrote about William ‘Bill’ Green running away on Dec. 1, 1849 and returning on his own accord. Bill was referenced by his full name, Bill Green. Why Bill ran was not recorded in the journal, but when I read about this, I thought that it perhaps provided a clue to Bill’s personality. I recently found a Freedmen’s Bureau complaint that provided more information on William. Wm Hughes filed a complaint that Bill was in violation of his contract to work at the Burris Plantation, Bayou Boeuf Station.

Hughes wrote, “I have a Freedman here that will not do what I tell him, he says he will work when he pleases and quit when he pleases. I want you if you please to take him off this place or let me know if I can have him removed by a civil officer. He goes off when he pleases attending to other people’s business instead of helping the other hands to get the grass out of the cotton.”

Freedmen’s Bureau, Franklin, Court Roll #77, page 23B, image #96, August 4, 1866

William’s name appeared again in Freedmen’s Bureau records. William, Daniel Fisher and Isaac Sutton as heads of households filed a request for assistance on May 16, 1867. Their application read:

…4 men, 3 women, 3 children of Brashear City; County of St Mary, and State of Louisiana do solemnly declare, and upon our word of honor, certity, I (or we) are in absolute in need of food, “to prevent starvation and extreme want,” rendered so by the circumstances: having been driven from our homes, by the high water and lost all of crops.

Freedmen’s Bureau, Record of Field Offices, Roll M1905, 078

The application was received by Sgt. J.W. Keller. Fifty pounds of pork and 289 pounds of corn meal was approved for distribution by the Joint Resolution of Congress, approved March 30, 1867. The ration was issued to cover a 20-day period. A note at the bottom of the page indicated that a legal bushel of corn was fifty-six pounds.

After returning from his service in the Louisiana State Senate, William T Palfrey wrote in his plantation journal on April 27, 1867,

“the water from the Mississippi has reached an alarming height. It is now about 4 inches only below the mark of 1865 and 14 inches below the 1828.” He wrote that the water rose 1 3/4 inches the next day, followed by 2 inches on the next 2 successive days and 4 inches on the fourth day. Palfrey continued to note the rising waters and wrote about a neighbor leaving the land “as fast as they can.” He then prayed that, “God give them a safe deliverance.” He continued writing, “I look upon this flood of water as nothing compared to the political flood of fanaticism & anarchy, now sweeping out & desolating the land.”

The New York Times ran a story on April 4, 1867 about the March 28, New Orleans floods, the failing levees and the loss of people and land. The Times also compared the decaying levee system to the changing times and the change in relations between land-owners and previous enslaved workers of the land.

Best,