Category: St Martin Parish

Clara Marshall

Clara is not a DNA ancestor but she and husband Amos were purchased as a couple by John Palfrey on March 9, 1811 from Relf and Chew in New Orleans along with my Gibson, Morgan and Riggs family. She was twenty and he twenty-five. I don’t know if Clara and Amos left children behind before they were sold to Palfrey. Clara repeatedly caught my attention while reading letters from John Palfrey to his sons. I sensed that perhaps Palfrey did not quite know what to make of Clara.

She was first mentioned Palfrey’s Nov. 4, 1812 letter to son Henry. He wrote that a slave named Mimy “had a child three weeks since” and that “Clara will probably have another in about two months.” The implication is that Clara had previously given birth. She had only been purchased in March of 1811, so she was most likely pregnant when purchased. The likelihood of this touched me and caused me to reflect on Clara’s life and hardships she probably encountered.

I found the next mention of Clara in John’s May 16, 1832 letter to his son William. After writing about his isolation on the plantation and the weather, Palfrey recounted the birth of a slave child, Nannette, born to Harriet. He wrote, “Nannette has been too sick & Clara has been nearly in constant attendance upon it until yesterday. She now sees to its food & keeping it clean & works in the garden so as to be at hand.” Palfrey did not write if Nannette or Clara were related. In any case, Clara had been in constant attendance and had made sure she would be close by to help.

Clara was again mentioned in John’s September 7, 1833 letter. He wrote about recent strong winds that had decimated his cane crop and about the number of currently sick slaves, “I have now no less than nine on the sick list but they appear to be better, better this morning. Clara is most severely attacked and is with the exception of Robert the worst patient to gratify & to encourage I have had this year. She is evidently getting better but cannot be persuaded to think so.” He wrote that she could not be pursuaded, implying that he’d tried a number of times to convince and /or to gratify her but was unsuccessful. Clara seemingly relied on her own thoughts.

Clare was next mentioned in Palfrey’s Sep 11, 1833 letter. He wrote, “The number of sick is diminished & those still on the list are getting better, Clara, Henry & Elsey are still confined. The former has the hysterics.” Hysterics is defined as a wildly emotional and exaggerated reaction. Palfrey wrote in an earlier letter dated Aug 11, “? Isle has lost two more of his family, whether black or white, young or old, I could not learn, the report comes from Rosine through Robert… The negroes here are constantly coming with various complaints vis: fever, sore throat, cough, headache, earache, pains in back & limbs of which none are continuance except the headache & sore throat, the children are also very much troubled with worms. There are none at present seriously sick on the plan but there are several invalids.” Perhaps Clara’s fears were justified or perhaps her concern was appropriate in light of the environment in which she lived.

Palfrey wrote again of Clara on November 30, 1833. Clara intervened in the beating of a slaved named Anderson. Palfrey wrote, “On Monday evening just as I was about going to bed, Clara came to the house & told me there was terrible work going on in the sugar house & wished me to go over.” He went to the sugar house and found things as Clara described. He also wrote that “Mr. Vinson left here the same day before dinner, no longer in my employ.”

Clara, Amos and their 9 children were listed on Palfrey’s 1843 probate. The oldest was born in 1814 and the youngest in 1834. Clara, Amos and their youngest son, Amos Jr. were emancipated by John’s son John Gorham Palfrey who lived in Boston. Clara was reported to have expressed her gratitude to him and said, “that it would be hard to…ever forget that we owe you so much…for the care and education and support of our little boy…We are living here and managing to make ourselves comfortable, and trying to be respectable in the eyes of the old friends of our Master…”

Clara and Amos were recorded on the 1850 St Martin Parish census, living in St Martinville. Their ages were listed as fifty and sixty respectively. Both were most likely older as Clara was reported to have been twenty and Amos twenty five at the time of their purchase in 1811. Clara’s death was recorded as January 6. 1853 in William T Palfrey’s plantation diary. If there is a record of Amos’ death, I have not yet found it.

Men on My Family Tree

Robert ‘Bob’ Gibson

Robert ‘Bob’ Gibson was my 3rd great grandfather. His name appeared often in the letters and journal entries of John and his son William Taylor Palfrey. Below are some of the things written about him.

John Palfrey wrote to his son on Jan 23, 1833 about problems he was experiencing with overseers for his Forlorn Hope Plantation. He wrote, “Mr Deroin has not yet made his appearance I suppose he must have engaged himself somewhere else. Mr Rdeman is gone & I am let alone, perhaps we shall be able to make out with Sam & Bob until a good overseer can be procured. I believe they are as good as the most of them.” The Sam mentioned was Sam Riggs, my 4th great grandfather.

John next mentioned Bob in his April 13, 1833 letter to his son William. Palfrey wrote, “Bob desires me to inform you that Joe has sent no money to Harriet since she was here.” Bob’s brothers Tom, Joe and Ben lived on William’s plantation. It appears that Bob was both telling his brother Joe that he needed to send money to Harriet and alerting William Palfrey that perhaps he should see to it that Joe complied with the request. I guess that Harriet was Joe’s wife.

Bob was not explicitly mentioned in Palfrey June 4, 1833 letter that mentioned the death of Fanny to cholera. Fanny was Bob’s sister and Aimy’s only daughter. But I get a sense that Bob’s grief was included in Palfrey’s statement regarding Aimy’s reaction to Fanny’s death. He wrote, “Poor old Aimy is the picture of woe & a damp appears to be come on the spirits of all.” Four days later Palfrey wrote that though his slaves were experiencing moderately good health, they were gloomy and moving about more despondently. He said that Bob complained of being sick and that he “adopted the cholera process with him, he is now wake but weak. “I believe his was his old complaint, – these however as they are deemed by the Negroes have tended is some degree to alleviate their depression & spirits.”

Bob is next mentioned in Palfrey’s Oct. 12, 1833 letter in which he wrote about not being able to plant his crops for another 9 days because, “Amos & Bob have been employed with the cooper & carpenter has prevented them doing a number of small jobs, which none of the rest could or will do.” He then added, “Mr. Connally left here on Thursday so that I now have Bob.” He continued in the letter to speak about another slave who lost his horses and then got lost himself. Palfrey seemed to have found Bob quite indispensable.

Palfrey’s wrote in his Jan 18, 1834 letter about the severely cold weather and its affect on him and slaves, Sam, Mima and Bob. He summed Sam and Mima’s symptoms to be rheumatic and added that “Bob appears to be of such a lingering nature that I am as a loss what to do for him.”

Bob was mentioned in 1837 in the sale or swap of Bob for Jim between father and son. Both of my 3rd great grandfathers, Bob Gibson and Jim Morgan, were slaves on Palfrey plantations. Palfrey was in fact swapping one of my 3rd grandfathers for the other. See the sale below:

April 25, 1837 – Page 80 of 126
State of Louisiana
Parish of St Martin
Be it remembered that on this twenty fifth day of April anno domini one thousand eight hundred and thirty seven, John Palfrey, of the Parish of St Martin, of the one part, and William T Palfrey of the Parish of St Mary, of the other Part, have covenanted and agreed as follows: the said John Palfrey hereby sells, assigns, transfers and sets over to the said William T Palfrey, who accepts the same, a certain Negro man slave named Bob, now in the possession of the said Vendee, to the said William T Palfrey sole use and behoof, with full guarantee against the claim or claims of any person whatsoever, for the following consideration: to wit: the said William T Palfrey in consideration of the promises hereby sells, assigns, transfers and sets over to the said John Palfrey, who accepts the same in full right of property a Negro man slave named Jim, now in the possession the said John Palfrey, to this the said John Palfrey’s sole use and behoof, with a full guarantee against the claim or claims of any person whatsoever;

John Palfrey died in 1843 and both Jim and Bob were slaves on his son William’s plantation. William Palfrey kept a detailed plantation journal, including the birth of every slave. In almost every instance, he wrote the date of birth, the mother’s name and the name of the child. When there were several women with the same name, he wrote #1 0r #2 or ‘Big’ or ‘Little’ next to the first name. In a few instances, he wrote the mother’s first and last name: Caroline Honest and Maria Phillips. He always uniquely identified Bob as the father when his wife Caroline gave birth. I first thought that he named Bob as the father because Bob did not live on his plantation. I am not sure of the true reason as I believe that Bob did live on one of Palfrey’s plantations.

Bob was written about in a footnote to Palfrey plantation journal that spanned 1843-1859. The note listed slave couples that mosquito netting had been given to for their cabins. Bob was grouped with Sinah. Bob had 5 children before Palfrey began keeping his journal. Those children were: Charity, born 1824; David, born 1825; Nancy, born 1826; Fannie, born 1835; and Elsie (my 2nd great grandmother), born 1840. Does the grouping of Bob & Sinah make her the mother of Bob’s 5 children and my 3rd great grandmother? Sinah was mentioned in John Palfrey’s letter dated April 16, 1832. She’d cut her foot and was unable to work. The next mention of Sinah was the footnote in the journal and she is last mentioned on Oct. 10, 1861 when she died. William Palfrey wrote, “Negress Sinah died, aged about 87-88 years- bought by me in 1818, blind &
bed ridden for a long time.”

I have not found a single record of any kind that provided the mother’s name to any of the children Bob had before 1843. But in 2024 I found a St Mary Parish deed record dated April 27, 1838 for WT Palfry & Wife, Folio 178, Entry 4400 in which Bob, age 35 is listed with a number of slaves including Sarah 35 and children: Dave 12, Aimy 16, Nancy 9.

I also found William T Palfrey’s 1832, 5 page account book. One page was entitled Ages of Wm T Palfrey’s Young Negroes. In that list were the names Jim, Aimy, Charity, David, Nancy and Fanny. The following page included a list of slaves on the plantation. Among those names were Sarah, Roy, Amy, Charity, David, Nancy, Kizzy & her child Elisa, Sinah, Manuel, Jessee, Harriet and her child Anthony.

The similarities between the 1832 account book list of slaves and the 1838 deed list of slaves suggests to me that Sarah is perhaps the mother of Bob’s children Charity, Amy, Dave and Nancy. Bob was not listed on William T Palfrey’s 1832 account book because at that time, Bob was still enslaved on William’s father John Palfrey’s plantation. Jim (James Morgan) and Bob would be exchanged by William and his father in 1835. Bob’s daughters Charity and Nancy were missing from the 1838 deed. I don’t know the significance of the omission of their names. Bob’s daughter Elsie Gibson, my 3rd great grandmother was not born until 1839 or later and so her name would not have been listed on either document.

I found a St Mary Parish marriage record for Robert Gibson and Caroline Watson dated March 21, 1868. The children listed in Palfrey’s journal that were born to Caroline were: Letty born Nov. 27. 1854 and Lewis born May 1, 1864. According to Palfrey’s journal, Caroline gave birth to 2 stillborn children and lost 1 infant child.

Bob was last written about in the journal after Civil War skirmishes began in St Mary Parish. Bob and other men were used to carry items as well as people to and from Palfrey’s various plantations to the Cypremort plantation.

Robert ‘Bob’ Gibson & Caroline Watson Descendants

Bob and Caroline were recorded on the 1870 St. Mary Parish census. Bob was listed as eighty years old and Caroline as thirty-five. They both worked as field hands. In their household were Lettie, 16; Louis, 5; and Bob, 4. The birthplace for everyone was Louisiana. No one in the household could read or write.

Bob was listed as Robert, a seventy-year-0ld widower on the 1880 St Mary Parish census. I think Bob’s was most likely born about 1803 because he had 3 siblings younger than him when his family was purchased by John Palfrey in 1811. Bob and his sons: Louis, 16 and Bob, 12 were all listed as laborers. Bob’s recorded birthplace was Virginia as was the birthplace for his parents.

Bob was last listed on the 1880 census. His daughter Lettie was listed on the 1880 census with husband Alfred Watson and their 2 children, Libby or Likie, 4 and Henry, 2. Lettie died in 1896.

I found a death record for Rosa Miller. Rosa’s parents were listed as Lethe Gibson and Alfred Watson. Rosa was born 1896 in Calumet, St Mary Parish and died at the age of 33 on Dec. 19, 1929. Her husband was Isaiah Miller. Rosa, husband Isaiah and Harry were last listed together of the 1920 St Mary Parish census living in Patterson. Rosa’s son Harry was born June 15, 1909 and died Nov. 30, 2004

I found Lettie’s son Henry on the 1900 St Mary Parish census as a single man boarding with George Davis and family. I have not been able to find Henry on the 1910 census. For the 1920 census, Henry was thirty-seven years and lived in Patterson on Cherry Street with his wife Eva (nee Lewis), 25 and sons, Herbert, 17 and Joseph, 3. It is obvious that Eva at 25 could not be Herbert’s mother. I found information that Henry’s first wife and mother of Herbert was Lottie Green but I have not been able to trace her.

Henry was listed on the 1930 census with wife Eva and son Joseph still living in the town of Patterson. Their next-door neighbor was his widowed brother-in-law Isiah Miller and nephew Harry. Henry and Isiah both worked at a sawmill. Henry died Feb. 6, 1938. His son Willie J Watson died Sept. 14, 1938.

I found Henry’s son Herbert and wife Esther May last on the 1940 Calcasieu Parish census living in Lake Charles.

Bob’s son Louis Gibson was born May 1, 1864. He was a single man on the 1900 census. For the 1910 census, he was living in Patterson with his twenty-two-year-old wife Dollie (nee Rylander), daughter Caroline, 18; and sons Lewis (Louis),5; and Harris, 3. I found his daughter Caroline on the 1900 census in her grandmother Betty Railey.

Louis was a widower in 1920 and was listed on the census with his children: Louis, 15; Victoria 9; George, 4; and Bobbie 3. Louis Sr. worked as a cane and corn farmer laborer. He could read, but not write. Louis died Jan. 10, 1925.

Descendants of Robert ‘Bob’ Gibson & Sarah Weeks (updated , previously named as Sinah

  • Charity Gibson & William ‘Bill’ Green
  • David Gibson & Louise Shelton
    ->Josephine born 1859
    ->Charley born 1860
    ->O.B born 1865
    ->Aime born 1868
    ->Harriet born 1870
    ->James born 1873
    ->John born 1880
  • Nancy Gibson & Willis Pratt
    ->Bob Pratt born 1843
    ->Fairfax Pratt born 1846
    ->Louis Pratt 1850-1925 & Lizzie Brown
    ->Maria Pratt 1855-1917 & George Strawder
    ->Ellen Pratt born 1856 & John Lovely
    ->Missouri Pratt born 1857 & Reuben Smith
    ->Givins 1859-1936 & Fannie Braden
    ->Willis Pratt 1862-1929 & Melinda
    ->Buel Pratt 1864-1933 & Ella
    ->Charles Pratt born 1868 & Matilda
  • Fannie Gibson & William Marshall
    ->Amelia Marshall born 1853 & Samuel Ellis
    ->Frederick Marshall born 1855
    ->Polly Marshall 1859-1926 & John Johnson 1860-1904
    ->William Marshall born 1861 & Virginia Burrell
    ->Edmond Marshall born 1864 & Odile George
    ->Louisa Marshall born 1867
    ->Jacob Marshall born 1869
    ->Alice Marshall 1878-1925
    ->Sheppard Marshall
  • Elsie Gibson & Ambrose Morgan (my ancestors)
    ->Cary Morgan & Ceasar Harris
    ->Sally Morgan born 1858 & Jules Ben
    ->Phoebe Morgan 1864-1952 & John Diggs
    ->Charles Morgan 1874-1950 &
    ->Josephine Mahaly Morgan 1875-1969 & James Breaux & Jim Crowder
    ->Abrahan Morgan 1877-1938 & Ida
    ->Martha Morgan 1878-1971 & Henry Hill 1872-1939 (my ancestors)
    ->David Morgan born 1892

James ‘Jim’ Morgan

James ‘Jim’ Morgan was my 3rd great grandfather. I found a 1811 purchase of a single boy named Jim by John Palfrey. The purchase was recorded in the Afro Louisiana Genealogy & History database (search on Relf and look for Jim). The database information suggested that Jim was sold along with his thirty-five-year-old mother. But the Palfrey 1811 slave purchase included in the family papers did not include a child named Jim. The 1811 purchase of slaves from Relf & Chew included my Gibson family: Aimy and her children: Tom, Bob, Joe, Ben & Fanny as well as Amos and Clara Marshall and Sam and Mima Riggs and their daughters: Anna and Sally.

Jim originally lived on John Palfrey’s Forlorn Hope Plantation but was swapped for Robert ‘Bob’ Gibson by John and William Palfrey in 1837. James’ wife was Sally Riggs. James and Sally’s children were:

  • Jack Morgan born 1828
  • Mima Morgan born 1839 & Jesse Hurst
  • Haley Morgan 1840-1864
  • Ambrose Morgan born 1840 & Elsie Gibson
  • Phoebe Morgan 1834-1864
  • Hortense Mary Fortune Morgan 1847-1927 & Cato King & Nelson Dangerfield

James Morgan was listed on the 1870 census in the household with his son Ambrose, 30 and his wife Elsie, 28 and their children: Carey, 13; Sally, 12; Phoebe, 6. James’ daughter Fortune was also in the household.

James was living with his daughter Mima and her husband Jesse Hurst for the 1880 St Mary Parish census. In their household were Mary, 12; Jimmy, 8; and Manuel 8.

I was able to determine the name of James Morgan’s wife because it was included on the death certificate of his daughter, Fortune Morgan. Mary Hortense Fortune Dangerfield died Nov. 30, 1927 in Calumet, St Mary Parish, LA. Her death certificate was the only one that I’ve found that had a name for James’ wife. In addition to the name Sally, was another clue. Sally was supposedly born in North Carolina!!

And so I am off on another genealogy ramble to see if I can find Sam, Mima, Anna, Sally and niece Maria arriving in New Orleans from the Carolinas or if there is a probate listing those names!!

Best,

P.S. The definition for ‘ramble‘ is: a walk for pleasure, typically without a definite route.

Mimy and Sally, Women on My Family Tree

Mimy

Mima or Mimy was the mother of Sally Riggs, my fourth great grandmother; the grandmother of Ambrose Morgan, my third great grandfather; the great grandmother of Martha Morgan, my second great grandmother; and my mother’s great great-grandmother.

Mima or Mimy as she was most often called was born about 1796. She was recorded on the March 9, 1811 slave purchase by John Palfrey with husband Sam and daughters Anna and Sally. A young girl named Maria was included in that sale and identified as Mima’s niece. Maria was most likely among the slaves returned to Relf & Chew in 1816 when Palfrey experienced financial problems. I have often wondered how Maria came to be separated from her parents. I sometimes think about how she and Mima may have felt when they are sold away but purchased together in 1811. Maria was then separated again in 1816 from what family she had and sold again. I have not been able to trace Maria in her next journey to Isaac Baldwin’s plantation.

I wonder what thoughts filled Mima’s mind about the family she may have left behind and of Maria? Mima apparently did not have long to think on these things because she was mentioned in John Palfrey’s Nov. 4, 1812 letter to his son Henry. Palfrey wrote that “Attakapas has been uncommonly sickly … my people have generally good health… Mimy had a child three weeks since, a girl.”

Mima’s birth of a daughter was mentioned in Pafrey’s letter. Although he does not provide the child’s name in the letter, there was only one female born in 1812 that was listed on Palfrey’s 1843 probate. A thirty-one-year-old Betsy was listed along with her five-year-old son, Ralph. Betsy and Ralph were among the slaves in the allotment given to Palfrey’s son John Gorham who lived in Boston. Betsy and Ralph were supposedly freed and shipped to Boston. I have found other slaves that were also freed by John Gorham Palfrey living in Boston and in New York in 1850, 1860 and beyond, but I can not say definitively that I’ve found Betsy and Ralph yet.

Mima or Mimy was next mentioned in his letter of June 12, 1833. He wrote that she was “taken unwell about day light, she at that time had considerable fever with pain about her back, shoulders & stomach. Dr. Thomas is with her & thinks it to be a case of rheumatic fever & does not consider her dangerous, the last alarm now affects me very much.”

Mima’s condition does not seemed to have improved much at the time of Palfrey’s June 19, 1833 letter. By January 18, 1834, Sam and Mima both were on the sick list. Palfrey mentioned that the severe cold weather may been the cause for what he suspected were rheumatic symptoms.

Mima was again on the sick list at the time of Aimy’s death on April 14, 1839, but she was reportedly doing better.

Palfrey’s will is probated Nov. 1, 1843 and Mima’s name was not included. But her 65-year-old husband Sam, 27-year-old son Sam, daughters; 37-year-old daughter Sally, 36-year-old Anna and 31-year-old Betsy were listed on the probate.

Mima’s daughter Anna and grandchildren: Moses, 9; Charley, 6; Caroline, 4; and William, 2 were among those slaves that were emancipated by John Gorham Palfrey. Anna was reported to have been in bad health at the time. I have been able to find her children living in Rochester, New York and Ontario County, NY in the 1850s-1860s and later living in Michigan with the last name of Woodlin. I have not been able to determine if Anna was also shipped East or if she stayed in Louisiana.

Read about my Woodlin kin

Sally Was a Runner

Sally Riggs was my fourth great grandmother; the grandmother of Ambrose Morgan, my third great grandfather; the great grandmother of Martha Morgan, my second great grandmother; and my mother’s great great-grandmother.

She was named on the March 11, 1811 Relf & Chew sale of slaves, but her age was not given. Sally was the daughter of Sam and Mima (Mimy) and the sister of Anna.

Our next glimpse at Sally was Palfrey’s 1843 probate. She was recorded as being 37 years old, with three children Mimy, 6 years old; Haley, 3 years old; and Phoebe, 1 years old. Sally’s oldest daughter was named for her mother. The probate seems to be arranged in a sequential, family group order. The person listed immediately before Sally and children was Jim, age 36. And the names following Sally were Jack, age 16; George, age 13; and Ambrose, age 11. Ambrose Morgan appeared in the household with his father, Jim Morgan, on the 1880 census. So, I theorized that Jack and George were also children of Jim and Sally. I have not found Jack or George since seeing their names of the 1843 probate.

Sally was next mentioned in Palfrey’s son’s plantation journal. She gave birth to a daughter on July 24, 1849. That child died. According to the plantation journal, Sally ran away on Sept. 21, 1850 and returned the following day.

The journal also recorded that a slave named Anna died on Sept. 5, 1850. I have not been able to find out if this was Sally’s sister Anna, who was reportedly freed by John Gorham Palfrey in 1843. I wondered if perhaps this Anna was Sally’s sister and if her death was the catalyst or the last straw in Sally’s decision to run. I have not found mentions of previous attempts of Sally to run away. But something shifted and Sally ran in 1850.

Sally’s father was freed in 1843 by John Gorham Palfrey. I found him on the 1850 St. Martin census listed as Sam Riggs, 70, in the household of Henry Dorsey. Sam’s death was also recorded in Palfrey’s journal. He wrote, “Negro man Sam (free) died.” April 8, 1862.

Several Civil War skirmishes occurred around Palfrey’s Cypremort plantation. His journal detailed gunner boats traveling up the Teche and cannon balls landing in his cane fields. On Nov. 8, 1863, Palfrey wrote that Union soldiers appeared in his fields and took away 13 men including George and Ambrose, both sons of Sally. He also recorded that troops camped on his plantation, “plundering me & my Negro cabins.” On March 22, 1864, Palfrey wrote that a very large number of Negroes ‘absconded’ from neighboring plantations and followed the Union army. He wrote repeatedly about carts being loaded with foodstuff and driven by Bob, Ambrose, Perry, Willis, Grandison and Jacob to his Cypremort plantation.

Palfrey wrote January 10, 1863 that “the measles had broken out badly among my Negroes in Cypremort.” Sally died April 2, 1864 at the age of fifty-eight. Fifteen days later her 24-year-old daughter Mahaley died in Franklin, LA. Sally’s 21-year-old daughter Phoebe died on the Cypremort plantation on May 27, 1864. Undoubtedly, Sally and others undoubtedly experienced many emotions as they found themselves on the brink of great change while at the same time standing in the midst of chaos, fear and upheaval.

Best,

My Woodlin and Woodland Branches

Below is the initial information that was uncovered. As an added bonus, when I added these leaves and branches to my family tree, I discovered a DNA match on Ancestry from my newly found Woodlin family!!!

Listed below and highlighted are the children of Anna Riggs, the great grandchildren of Sam and Mima Riggs (my 4th great grandparents), the nieces and nephews of Sallie Riggs Morgan (my 3rd great grandmother).

Morgan Branches

I am still following the trail of Anna’s children Moses, Charles, Caroline and William, who were freed on the 1843 death of John Palfrey by his son John Gorham Palfrey and shipped to Boston, MA. John Palfrey arranged a welcoming ceremony for the newly freed persons at King’s Chapel. Most of the freed people remained in Boston, but Anna and children were sent to Canandaigua, NY to live with a Quaker family, the Hathaways. Each of Anna’s children went by the last name of Woodlin/Woodland or a variation. I have not yet found out how or why that name was chosen. So far all I have been able to determine is that a number of Black people who lived in Maryland has the same last name. Perhaps that is an indicator of some sort that will be brought to light later in my research.

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I found Moses Woodlin on the 1850 census living in Farmington, Ontario County, New York in the household of Isaac Hathaway. Moses’ age was listed as 15 and his birthplace as Louisiana. By 1860, 23-year-old Moses was living in the household of John S Gould and was recorded as a farm laborer who was born in Louisiana.

Moses was listed on the 1865 Union Springs, Cayuga County, NY census as a 30 Black male. I have not been able to find any record of Moses and family until 1900, when they are listed on the 1900 Sylvania, Lucas County, Ohio census. The household includes Moses and wife Alice Hawkins as well as sons Frederick G, 18 and Blaine, 15. Moses was a farmer and owned his home. Everyone in the household could read and write. The last record I found for Moses and Alice was a 1903 Toledo, Ohio city directory that indicated they lived on a rural route.

I was not able to find any information on Moses’ son Frederick G Woodlin after the 1900 census.

Moses’ son Henry was born May 1876 in Ohio and was enumerated in Toledo, Ohio on the 1900 census. Henry married Amy Tyler 1901 in Toledo and lived at 208 E. Bancroft. Henry died in 1905. His widow was listed on the 1910 census living in Atlantic City, NJ.

Moses’ son Blaine boarded with John H Klatz a theatrical agent at the time of the 1910 census. He worked as a janitor in the Flat Building. He married Cora Smith in 1914. The 2 were listed on the 1920 Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio census along with her mother and her children. Blaine registered for the draft in both WWI and WWII. He was described as 5′ 4 1/2″. He died June 28, 1951 at the age of 66 and was buried in Ravine Cemetery.

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I first found Charles P Woodline on the 1855 Monroe County, NY state census living in Mendon. He was 18 years old and recorded in the household of Daniel Sherwood from Ulster, Ireland. Charles’ birthplace was Louisiana. 

He was next listed on the 1880 census in Mendon, Monroe County, NY in the household of his father-in-law Isaac Varnum. Charles was recorded as a 43 year old Black male born in Louisiana with his wife Caroline and children Hannah, 12 and Charles, 1. His infant son, Charles Isaac Woodlin, died at the age of 2, December 18, 1880 and was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery.

Charles and family moved to Battle Creek, Michigan sometime after 1880, because he died September 12, 1882 and was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery, Lot 377, RT 9, Battle Creek, Michigan. Charles’ probate listed land valued at $600 in Lot No 9 in the Manchester Addition near Battle Creek, Michigan.

His daughter Hannah married William H Tucker on July 17, 1889 in Calhoun County, Michigan. Hannah and family were listed on the 1910 Calhoun County census, living at 403 Champion Street in a home that they owned. Hannah was recorded to be employed in general office work, William as a deliveryman and 19 year-old daughter Louise as a music teacher. Hannah’s 14 year-old daughter Ethel was attending school. Everyone in the household could read and write.

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Caroline Woodlin was shipped east as were her brothers, Amos Marshall and the other freed slaves. I found 10-year-old Caroline listed in the household of English lumber man Ed Hedley on the 1850 Ridgeway, Orleans County, New York. Who knew there was an Orleans County in New York?

She was next found in Rochester, Monroe County, NY on the 1860 state census. Caroline and her 1 year, eighteen-month-old daughter Eliza appeared on the 1865 New York state census in Rochester. Their last name was recorded as Kane. By 1870, Caroline and Eliza Kane were living in Battlecreek, Michigan. Per the 1870 census, they lived in the household of John Nichols a threshing machine manufacturer from New York. Caroline was listed as a domestic servant.

By 1880 Caroline was married to Amos Swanagan of Arkansas and had 2 children Ettie M 6 and Freddie C 3. Amos, Caroline, their 2 children, his children from a prior marriage; Jennie and Bell, as well as Eliza Kane and lived in Battle Creek. Amos worked as a drayman and could not write. Eliza and all of the school-aged children were recorded as attending school. Caroline died March 30, 1881 and was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery, Lot 512, Rt 7. Her brief obit read: “Called Home: Mrs. Amos Wanigan died of dropsy at her residence on Warren Street, yesterday afternoon, at two o’clock.” Caroline’s daughter Eliza married Rufus Johnson and had 1 child, Muriel. Eliza died December 31, 1925. Her obit read, “Mrs. Eliza Avery Passes–Mrs. Eliza Johnson Avery, 21 Somerset Avenue, passed away at the Calhoun Tuberculosis hospital this morning at 5:15. She was sixty years old and is survived by one daughter, Miss Muriel Johnson, 25 Vineyard Avenue.” Eliza was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery, Section S, Lot 68, Rt. 5.

Caroline’s son Fred Clinton Swanagan registered for WWI in 1918 while living in Columbus, Ohio. While in Columbus, he worked as a laborer at the Carnegie Steel Company. He married Ethel Clark on June 26, 1920 in Calhoun County, Michigan. Fred later worked as a grinder for Advance Rumely Co and lived at 80 Warren. He died February, 1929 and was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery, Lot 512, Rt 1. His services were officiated by Rev. A. J Irvine.
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William P Woodlin enlisted in the Pennsylvania Colored Troops on August 26, 1863. His military record described him as 5′ 10″ tall. He served in the USC 8th Infantry, Company G. He mustered out on November 10, 1865. He applied for a military pension July 30, 1888 while living in Michigan. His pension file is on NARA, M589, roll 97. He is included on Plaque A-20 as part of the African American Civil War Memorial.

William was listed on the 1865 New York state census living in Union Springs in Cayuga County, NY. He was recorded as the adopted son of Edna B Thomas, a seventy-one-year-old White woman. He was 23 years old Black male who was born in Louisiana. His employer was the Army.

By 1867, William had moved to Battle Creek, Michigan. William and family were living in the township of Baltimore, Barry County, Michigan in 1870. Included in the 1870 household was 30-year-old William, whose birthplace was recorded as Maryland and wife Julie, 25, born in New York as well as children Alice, 3 and William 1. His real estate was valued at $1000. It is unclear why William’s place of birth was listed as Maryland.

The family was counted on the 1880 Battle Creek, Calhoun County, Michigan census. Included was William, wife Eveline Julia (nee Freeman) and children: Alice M, 13; Willie J, 1; John P, 9; Edward G, 7 and Charles R, 2. The 1880 census was the last record for William’s son Charles R Woodlin.

At the time of the 1900 census, William was 58 years old, widowed and living in Bowling Green, Warren County, Kentucky. His occupation was recorded as a missionary. William could read and write. He was enumerated in the home of a Black physician, Dr. Leonides Webb.

William’s s son Edward died June 25, 1897 in Battle Creek, Michigan at the age of 28. His death record did not indicate his marital status.

William’s son John Paul Woodlin married Lucretia Clark in 1898. An announcement of the marriage appeared in the Daily Chronicle of Washington, Michigan. Lucretia died 1 year after their marriage. John was listed on the 1900 Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan census as a 28-year-old widowed cook, rooming with Louis Devers at 279 St Antoine Street. He died March 18, 1909 of pneumonia in Detroit. Death records indicate that he was unmarried. The informant on his death certificate was Dr. W. J Woodlin.

William’s son, William Jeremiah Woodlin was recorded on the 1900 Ashland, Boyd County, Kentucky census as a 30-year-old physician. His 23- year-old sister Alice May lived with him at 417 Winchester Ave. I have not been able to determine which medical school William attended, but a likely candidate is Louisville National College of Medicine. He married Charlotte Myers 1906 in Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio. I last found William and Charlotte on the 1930 Franklin County, Ohio census. Charlotte died in 1931 and William died February 9, 1932. He was buried in Green Lawn Cemetery.

Alice May Woodlin married Daniel L Vaughn September 5, 1900 in Kentucky. Daniel died shortly after their marriage and by 1910 she was a widowed dressmaker living in Columbus, Ohio. Alice died in 1913 and was buried in Green Lawn Cemetery.

Charles and William Woodlin both had the middle initial of ‘P’. Many Blacks born in the 1850s did not have middle names, so I find it interesting that both men were referenced with a middle initial. My overactive, creative side wants to say that the ‘P’ stood for Palfrey as perhaps a reminder of where they came from or to honor the Palfrey who freed them or perhaps as a way to reconnect with the family they left behind in Louisiana. In any case, I will try to find out the name connected to the middle initial ‘P’.

Best,

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