It prohibited. Were there any famous slaves? I focused on surnames but many of these books also discuss first names. Analyzing Creole names, especially those of African origin, demands a combination of historical and linguistic expertise that has not yet been systematically applied to slave names. Almost every major tome on slavery discusses slave naming practices in some form or fashion. Are you thinking this woman Eliza Ellis was married to Wash Ellis? Drawing on extensive archival records, this digital memorial allows analysis of the ships, traders, and captives in the Atlantic slave trade. There are so many examples of every kind of scenario, and I think it just speaks to the variety of experiences our ancestors had. Mary Deborah Petite, "1836 Facts about the Alamo and the Texas War for Independence". The given name Athena was derived from the city name Athens, which is of uncertain origins. James) will have . Harriet Tubman and some of the slaves she helped free. Besides the Morrows, whom else did you live with in Louisville? Many of the graves are unmarked or the markers have been damaged, but many descendents still live around here, so we hope to identify as many of the possible graves as we can. By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. Q. Karen Halttunen, Murder Most Foul, p. 175. Surnames (not always those of former owners) would then be adopted as family names by former slaves and their descendants. "The past is not dead. How did you ever come by the name of "Mollie"? I was called by that name all the time I was with the Morrows. 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. My fathers name was John Crosby and he lived in the town of Geneva, Alabama, I had two brothers and one sister. Delva 26 September 2021 [PAST EVENT]: Acclaimed genealogist Melvin Collier and I will be presenting an all-new 2-hour lecture titled More Than Just Names: Incorporating Social and Community History Into Your Research from 1:00-3:30 EST (please note it is Eastern Standard Time). In the. They cut it off from OCTAVIA. This reading contains quoted text not authored by Facing History & Ourselves. Evidence indicates that many enslaved parents named their children after the first generation or so of family members brought to America. Just from the detail in your first comment, I knew there was a good chance you were already familiar with those authors. New surnames were created from a local regions name such as Smithfield the name taken might be Smith or Field. My great great grandfather in Mississippi took the surname of the previous SC enslaver, whose widow sold him away. Now, that parents surname could very well be the surname of the most recent slaveholder or an earlier slaveholder. College, Advanced AA Gen. Class, September 2009, Alice, Robyn and Lajoye, CM AAHGS, September 2017, Robyn and Andrea, NGS Conference, May 2014. Another interesting fact is that Creole surname use also evolved over time and varied from record to record with the same person. 6. This is common. I am a farmer. One of my grandfathers in Africa was called Jeaceo, and so I decided to be Jackson. When I was born my mother was known as Phillis Smith and I took the name of Smith too. Bailey, Word Stories Surrounding African American Slavery. 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. They established and held on to their own cultural traditions in the small spaces that slavery afforded them. Explore the most common surnames in England. Major types on which most would agree are European place and literary names, European personal names in hypocoristic (pet or diminutive) form, biblical and classical names, and names of African origin. Slavery. However, research byLisa D. Cook and colleagueshas revealed evidence of racialized names from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. I hope you dont mind my sharing those posts. Through a video-based activity, students explore how Radical Reconstruction changed the nature of voting rights and democracy in the South. If you can identify your ancestor's master, this source will prove of tremendous value to your research. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW! Turner was deeply religious,. 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. 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. Hello ", "If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents and all the generations of your ancestors. ", "If you can't get rid of the skeleton in your closet, you might as well make it dance! 2019 (cited under the Anglophone Caribbean) includes a good general introduction to slave naming. [15] Alice Clifton (c. 1772-unknown), as an enslaved teenager, she was a defendant in an infanticide trial in 1787. I was called by that name all the time I was with the Morrows. 3. Place names that were disproportionately popular among Black Americans in history include Boston, Jamaica, York, and Africa. Political Participation in the Nineteenth Century Atlantic Portugal and Brazile in the Age of Revolutions, Poverty in the Early Modern English Atlantic, Reconstruction, Democracy, and United States Imperialism, Settlement and Region in British America, 1607-1763, Slavery in British and American Literature, Slavery in Dutch America and the West Indies, Slavery in North America, The Growth and Decline of. Last updated: November 1, 2003 "Dwelling No." He was a slave owner and, in 1800 as Chief Justice of New Brunswick, he supported slavery in defiance of British practice at the time. He decided that he didnt want to be known as Cap Sherrod and that he would vote and marry under his choice of names. Gradually, to show contempt for Slaves, the captors used Buck and Wench for naming the genders till they became trade terms, like Filly and Shoat.Contempt for the male was removing his honorific attachment to fatherhood and manhood by being addressed as Boy. Once the vigorous years of his prime were passed, he was allowed to assume the title of Uncle. Females were called Gal, girl, or the name of some animal. 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. A. A krio from.Freetown Sierra Leone. It means 'bought land'. Well, Ive gone off on a tangent again;) But thank you again for writing and thank you for the cemetery work (especially trying to include African-Americans you are doing that will be of benefit to others. Used by permission of the publisher. Kindest regards, 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. He was a planter with 20,000 acres of land in East Florida and was at the forefront of slavery in The . Other common surnames included Jones, Matthews, Sinclair, and Bennett, Price, and Gray.. Many Welsh surnames follow this pattern, with Jones (from 'John's son) being the most common. Students learn about President Andrew Johnson and the Congressional Republican's conflicting visions of how to rebuild the nation after the Civil War. In another case Sukey Ann and he 4 children were manumitted by their Ashby owner with only their first names. Rather than being derived from the supernatural world, European given names were a mere handle or tag. 3. But I tell you, trying to document that all those names refer to the same person is hard, hard work! I make extensive use of tables for organization, analysis and citation in my research, and they have proven very popular with genealogists. 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. You should give a TED talk! One given name the childs family selected and kept secret and one the child was known by given by the slave owner. Corbin Corbin has an Old English origin. Some scholars of slavery have come to view the names and naming of enslaved people as agauge of many aspects oflife and culture during enslavement and of howcustoms changed over time. Tags: African American Names, African American Surnames, African Names, Black Surnames, Last Slave Owner, Plantation Owners, plantation slavery, Slave Family, Slave Naming Patterns, slave trade. 2. 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. I truly believe they used surnames of each of their former owners for some of their childrens middle names. Thank you for your comment, Numerous historical sources confirm that enslaved people had surnames that they used among themselves and in many cases were known by their slaveholder. I would still recommend all of these books, except the first one listed for obvious reasons. 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". Burton, Richard D.E. Names and Naming in Afro-Caribbean Culture. New West Indian Guide/Nieuwe West-Indische Gids 73 (1999): 3558. Even that feels like something. By examining periods of violence during the Reconstruction era, students learn about the potential backlash to political and social change. 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. Bernard Meaning: brave warrior Origin: French 4. Who called you by that name and where was it done? 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. One thing I envy about the Catholic church is the baptisms available for even the enslaved people there. 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. Fortunately, the French and Latin were excellent record keepers and the Catholics were obsessed with knowing the kinship of everyone. 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. The first published African-American poet & author Phillis Wheatley was born in West Africa. In 1870, he is listed as John Washington. Robyn, Unraveling the origins of FPOC and slaves in Francophone Louisiana takes some thinking outside the fact, meticulous research ,familiarity with the local culture, history and a bit of serendipity on your side. I also meant to email you and tell you how I enjoyed your article in the last NGSQ. (Media Note: If you quote a post, please credit me by name, Robyn N. I have been a researcher, writer, and lecturer for over twenty-five years. Location the owner of ones ancestor is crucial for an African American genealogist to trace his family before 1870. Or, the Slaves were given numbers or classical Greek names. This database is a compilation of information on over four thousand slaves from Louisiana who were involved in manumission (the formal emancipation from slavery) between 1719 and 1820. 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! If the name is spelled Rodrigues, the name is Portuguese but has the same meaning) 3. In ancient history, Lysander was the name of an esteemed Spartan naval commander and his literary cred comes from one of the two star-struck young men in Shakespeare's. If searching for a slave owner with the same surname of your ancestor fails, check marriage records for the slave owners. No superior alternative has yet been found." So just a few things to be aware of when researching any African-American ancestors. Melvin, Seating is limited. The Washingtons of Wessyngton Plantation: Stories of My Familys Journey to Freedom is proudly powered by WordPress Entries (RSS) and Comments (RSS). The table below shows the most common last names with statistics on the heritage and ancestry of those with the surname. Former slaves often made up surnames based on their occupations. The private name served as a form of Selfhood Armor (you cant take all of me, White man!); gave them a sense of power over their captors; and provided their children with a sense of heritage and pride. Elijah is derived from the Hebrew name Eliyahu, composed of the elements. Have you visited the Whitney Plantation yet? The origins of this last name date back to the pre-medieval period. Ive taken back reclaimed some of that lost memory, especially that of my enslaved ancestors. The majority of these slaves used the surname Lewis instead of Washington. I was bornthe child of Phillis Houston, slave of Sol Smith. by John C. Inscoe, 2006; Revised May 2022 by NC Government & Heritage Library. Robyn. Sabe, Anque, Bumbo, Jobah, Quamana, Taynay, and Yearie) used in the Slave quarters. . Pinckney, Randolph, and Rutledgeappear only incidentally among any list of modern Black peoples names. In Greek mythology, Daphne was the nymph daughter of Peneus, a river god. They called me "OCK". Free black slave holders could be found at one time or . They identified 21 distinctly Black male names, among them biblical classics such as Abraham and Moses, and word names including Freeman and Prince. This was the case with several others from Wessyngton. Q. The 2000 U.S. Census counted 163,036 people with the surname Washington. Another common way of distinguishing people would be 'son of', for example Johnson (son of John), Richardson, Wilson, Harrison etc. These people are referred to as slaves, or as enslaved people. John C. Inscoe, "Carolina Slave Names: An Index to Acculturation," Journal of Southern History 59 (November 1983). Farley, (English Origin) Victorian-era last names meaning "fern woodland". Isaac evolved from the name Yitzchaq, derived from the Hebrew word, Lysander is a distinctive Greek name that could be thought of as a more creative cousin of Alexander. We had to register as someone, so we could be citizens. In 1801, the British government took the first census for Great Britain and Ireland. Slavery is a social-economic system under which people are enslaved: deprived of personal freedom and forced to perform labor or services without compensation. This event is $25. The Voice of the Black Community in California, Last Updated on October 14, 2010 by Paulette Brown-Hinds. 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. 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). Choose the best name for your child. Where did you get the maiden name of Smith from? For personal use and not for further distribution. After emancipation, he became William Smith. Hi Donna, Im very familiar with the work of Gwendolyn Hall and Elizabeth Shown Mills. This entry was posted on Friday, August 28th, 2009 at 11:46 am and is filed under Civil War, Genealogy & DNA, Interviews. Brief, but stimulating and thoughtful for students coming new to the subject. Col. Joshua John Ward of Georgetown, South Carolina: 1,130 Known as "King of the Rice Planters," Ward had 1,130 enslaved Blacks on the Brookgreen plantation in South Carolina. . Names of prominent slaveholderse.g. In fact, it's not even past. It is from this myth that the plant genus, Phoebe is the Latin variation of the Greek name Phoibe, which derived from. Through DNA matches, I believe I have recently found a brother of my mothers great grandfather. . 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. Hi Rodney, There has been much debate among scholars, historians and genealogists whether enslaved African Americans used the surnames of their last owners, previous owners, or a surname that had no connection to slavery. Just go to my Vimeo page and make your selection. The slave schedules of 1860 Arkansas do not give the names of the slaves. This page is currently showing names ranked from 1 to 1000. Even many given names of ancestors eventually became a surname, such as Todd or William. After Emancipation, many former slaves adopted new names and surnames. . A. Mr. Thomas Jefferson of Louisville, bought me when I was three years of age from Mr. Dearing. This meant that army records documented their service with their old names instead of their new ones. Special slave censuses were kept in the early 1800s. The name.Auber.is also.in.Haiti and.is of.French orign. I love how you have documented the history of your own surname. Its knowledge that I think most Americans (not even just white Americans) dont have and it is endlessly fascinating and sobering both at the same time. ", "Case Overview: Ann Williams, Ann Maria Williams, Tobias Williams, & John Williams v. George Miller & George Miller Jr", "Augustine Tolton: From slavery to being the first black priest", "Cornish (and Other) Personal Names from the 10th Century Bodmin Manumissions", "Gospel-book with added Cornish records of manumissions ('The Bodmin Gospels' or 'St Petroc Gospels')", "Following Brigid's Way The Irish Catholic", Charity Folks, Lost Royalty, and the Bishop Family of Maryland and New York, "The Untold Story of How an Escaped Slave Helped Sir Francis Drake Circumnavigate the Globe", "Slave's 400-year-old grave in Dutch Jewish cemetery now a Black pilgrimage site" by Cnaan Lipshiz, Times of Israel, 6 February 2021, Roman Theater and Society: E. Togo Salmon Papers I, "Professor Says He Has Solved a Mystery Over a Slave's Novel", "Day of history to unfold in Muthill museum", "Cornelius Tacitus, The History, Book I, chapter 13", "An Old Actor's Memories; What Mt. After emancipation, he became William Smith. CLICK HERE TO SAVE YOUR SEAT! This may reveal your family used the surname of the slave owners wifes family. -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." Join my mailing list below to receive my posts and get a free PDF with some of my favorite tips! 1-86-NARA-NARA or 1-866-272-6272, Finding Aids for the National Archives at Atlanta, National Archives Catalog (National Archives Identifier 2767350). Popular English baby names by decade - 1840s - 1990s 1840s 5 Robert - 53 Margaret - 47 The 1860s first saw the Rimmers' use of 1870s Boys Girls Total registered births - 1,944 1 John - 160 Mary - 151 The 1870s first saw the Rimmers' use of What was the first girl's name in the 1900s? 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. Examples include: Francois, Jean, Pierre, and Leon for men; and Manon, Delphine, Marie Louise, Celeste, and Eugenie for women. Users without a subscription are not able to see the full content on The three databases below provide details of 36,000 trans-Atlantic slave voyages, 10,000 intra-American ventures, names and personal information. 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. Over time, East Tennessee, hilly and dominated by small farms, retained the fewest number of slaves. Theres always more to learn! In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries African-American slaves retained Africanisms in their naming practices. Isaiah derives from the Hebrew Yeshayahu, containing the elements. . Therefore, a few of the most common first names of the time such as Mary (rank 815) and Sarah (1010) will appear in the list and surnames which correspond to personal names (e.g. Abel, et al. A Wessyngton slave named Bill who was the plantation's blacksmith was known as Billy the Smith during slavery. However, many African Americans faced a problem when they applied for their pensions. Olympic speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno might inspire some parents. 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 . One frequently occurring name is Rolle. My surname of SAM originated from Sem or Sam FUSELIER, a free man of color who freed my ancestor,Jean-Louis, out of slavery in 1811. Brutus) and a private name (e.g. 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. 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. 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. Dear Robyn, It starts with a young man falling in love with a girl. How lucky you were to find that Freedmans Bank document! 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. A Wessyngton slave named Bill who was the plantations blacksmith was known as Billy the Smith during slavery. 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. These require Microsoft Word and a Windows platform. LOTTIE had been the name of the nurse before me and so they just continued that same name. "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. Slavery existed in the United States from its founding in 1776 and became the main . As a result, many slaves used the surnames of their owners wifes family. "Injurious Names: Naming, Disavowal, and Recuperation in Contexts of Slavery and Emancipation." In The Anthropology of Names and Naming. 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. Thanks for this very thoughtful article. Forenames. In freedom, Jean-Louis was known as Louis SEM or Louis FUSELIER until finally using SAM. Many enslaved people were allowed to keep their original African names or names assigned them elsewhere (as reflected by the frequency of Spanish and Portuguese names among the first generation of enslaved people in the Carolinas.) See flier for more details. Places; Login. Emphasizes the giving and repeated use of names as a performative act of domination. Jackson: This name is a patronymic of Jack. . 41. When they were sold away they remembered their loved ones and they created extended kinship networks. Thus, the patronymic surname can be effectively regarded as "keeper of the peace." This phenomenon is not unheard of with African American surnames. These cookies do not store any personal information. BRATHWAITE - This name was derived from a geographic location in the north of England. 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. 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. This is another instance of oral history being a key component in tracing African American ancestry. - Jane Howard, "Friends are God's apologies for relations." common last names for slaves in the 1800s. -Unknown, "Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city;)" Baby Name Generator. 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 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. Search 31 million family names. Alfred Francis Russell (1817-1884), 10th President of Liberia. By the late 19th century, England was home to about 300 surnames with traceable genealogy. If the slaveholder or another free white man was their father, many Creoles did use either is first or last name as a surname. Here, our list of notable early African American names. Danish West Indies, Denmark, Records of Enslaved People, 1672-1917 Famous name bearers: many King Louis of France, Sandra Bullock's son and actor Louis Partridge. "Albumen print of enslaved women and their children near Alexandria, Virginia." However the frequent rebellions by . The names that were brought together to form "Geffery" were "Gaufrid" (territory-peace), "Godafrid" (god-peace), and "Galfridus" (song-peace).