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. See flier for details; cost of this event is $25. Like most of the architecture and towns in Italy, they can also tell a story. Besides the Morrows, whom else did you live with in Louisville? Corbin Corbin has an Old English origin. Another common way of distinguishing people would be 'son of', for example Johnson (son of John), Richardson, Wilson, Harrison etc. James) will have . Ninety percent of them were African-American, a far higher black percentage than for any other common name. College, Advanced AA Gen Class, September 2011, AAHGS Annual Genealogy Conference, November 2008, Howard Comm. My father would be 105 if he were alive. I truly believe they used surnames of each of their former owners for some of their childrens middle names. If a surname was needed, the slave owners family name might be used. One ancestor was known as Baber Masse, Elizabeth SENET and Elisabeth Leveille in different documents. Interestingly, the five most common American surnames as of 2010 haven't changed that much over time and are Smith, Johnson, Williams, Brown, and Jones. 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. common last names for slaves in the 1800s. See flier for more details. Accueil > > Avr > 18 > Uncategorized > common last names for slaves in the 1800s. 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 . The most common of 603 names of female Slaves were Bet, Mary, Jane, Hanna, Betty, Sarah, Phillis, Nan, Peg, and Sary. Instead a wide variety of surnames came about that would be the family name for future generations. The idea was for the children to enter the inhumane system of slavery protected by a sense of Selfhood and history. 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. How lucky you were to find that Freedmans Bank document! 2. The names that were brought together to form "Geffery" were "Gaufrid" (territory-peace), "Godafrid" (god-peace), and "Galfridus" (song-peace). In my own family history, on my Yarborough side, I believe I have uncovered a pattern that my formerly-enslaved great-grandparents, Calvin and Precilla YARBOROUGH may have used in naming their children. And you get to tell the story of Jean-Louiss life in slavery and also in freedom. This entry was posted on Friday, August 28th, 2009 at 11:46 am and is filed under Civil War, Genealogy & DNA, Interviews. In 1836, William Turbeville died leaving an estate with several slaves who were brothers: Turner, Nelson, Simon, Jordan, and Jacob. Thank you. 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. John Lewis was born in 1831; in 1844 he and several family members were given to George A. Washington of Wessyngton. I would also recommend Elizabeth Shown Mills various case studies on enslaved people in Louisiana, which you can find at her website at https://www.historicpathways.com/articles.html. There are a wide array of sources that provide us with slave surnames, from the slave narratives and interviews, to freedmans bank cards, runaway ads and Southern Claims Commission records. She served that family for a long time, perhaps more clues to her past lie in his family roots. I dont know what became of his parents. Benson 2006 is one of the few general discussions of slave names. Places; Login. Thats high on my to do list. 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. And again, as a white Southerner whose ancesters were NOT slaveowners, your blog is helping me to understand the real and horrible legacy of the peculiar institution. But the meanings of names certainly evolved over time, and some have argued that the principles according to which an individual name was given (e.g., after a relative or ancestor) are at least as important as its apparent meaning and type. Abebe: The genesis of this Ethiopian name is Amharic, and it means 'flower' or 'blossom'. The second hour is hands-on, and I want you to bring the deeds you've found along with your questions. My mother then told me my fathers name was John Barnett, a white man, and I took up the name Barnett., My mothers name was Jane and she was called Jane Nunn because she belonged to the Nunns. And now that it's been chosen by Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale, it could take off as their first son's nameKingstonhas. Along with records from churches,manumission societies, enslavers, and estate settlements, these documents provide a vast pool of data from which to trace patterns and trends from the colonial period through emancipation. Oxford Bibliographies Online is available by subscription and perpetual access to institutions. But if Romeo and Venus are now deemed baby-appropriate, why not Apollo? Ones occupation also set the naming method, such as Sheperd, Cooper, or Smith. By examining periods of violence during the Reconstruction era, students learn about the potential backlash to political and social change. In doing slave research in Barbados, I have found one group of enslaved Chase ancestors who were manumitted (freed) and given the last name of the former slave owner. Daniel Odgen, Magic, Witchcraft, and Ghosts In The Greek and Roman Worlds, p. 119, Laurence Vidal, Los Amantes de Granada, Ed. For more information or to contact an Oxford Sales Representative click here. . ", "If you can't get rid of the skeleton in your closet, you might as well make it dance! Clark is a common surname of Anglo-Scottish origin. Users without a subscription are not able to see the full content on 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. It means 'bought land'. I was born in Montgomery County, Ala. the child of Phillis Houston, slave of Sol Smith. A favorite of British novelists including Evelyn Waugh and P. G. Wodehouse, Ambrose has an air of blooming well-being and upper-class erudition. I have been a researcher, writer, and lecturer for over twenty-five years. 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. I belonged to him until emancipation. Here, three different former slaves discuss their names and the changes they underwent after Emancipation. Robyn. 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 financial assistance was available to all Civil War veterans and their families. Location the owner of ones ancestor is crucial for an African American genealogist to trace his family before 1870. Delva This causes many researchers to wrongly conclude that enslaved people did not have surnames until after emancipation, which was not the case. 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. Isaiah derives from the Hebrew Yeshayahu, containing the elements. I would still recommend all of these books, except the first one listed for obvious reasons. In the. The Missouri Compromisealso referred to as the Compromise of 1820was an agreement between the pro- and anti-slavery factions regulating slavery in the western territories. The most common origin for surnames is that enslaved people initially used the surname of either their mother or their father, if they knew what those names were. When they were sold away they remembered their loved ones and they created extended kinship networks. The resources Im getting from my colleagues through Facing History have been just invaluable. However, research byLisa D. Cook and colleagueshas revealed evidence of racialized names from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. African Americans tended to use surnames associated with their own families instead of the last slave owner. 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. They cut it off from OCTAVIA. -Kendall Hailey, "If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents and all the generations of your ancestors. -William Faulkner, "Call it a clan, call it a network, all it a tribe, call it a family. 3. .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. Kaplan, Justin, and Anne Bernays. Hi Susan, The name James has been a popular Victorian male names in the 1800s. I am the applicant for pension on account of having served in Co. B. I also have a Slavery and Freedom Collection available for $20. Frederick Douglass (1818-1895), born into slavery in Maryland and escaped to the Northeast in 1838, where he became an internationally renowned abolitionist writer, speaker, and diplomat. Also included here are common names among slaves, many of which were classical and had ties to the Bible or mythology, such as Keziah and Venus. Another slave named Bill who attended the sheep became Bill Shepherd. My hat goes off to you and your passionate efforts. Just makes me sad for the human spirit that anyone, let alone hundreds of thousands of people could participate in it. Benson, Susan. Robyn. The fifty most common Victorian surnames in England and Wales for 1853 are listed in alphabetical order below. New surnames were created from a local regions name such as Smithfield the name taken might be Smith or Field. At your request I have finally made available for viewing past popular webinars! 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. I also meant to email you and tell you how I enjoyed your article in the last NGSQ. They called me OCK. Besides the Morrows, whom else did you live with in Louisville? On Anglican (Church of England) baptisms records the child legally and officially is documented with the surname of the mother if she and the father were not married. 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. . ", "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. Another common practice was to select a surname that fit the personality of an individual, such as Hardy or Rambler. A 2nd great grandmother for example was baptised Sarah Charlotte Chase; her mother is recorded as being Ann Lewis Chase. Thank you for commenting, and continued luck to you in your research. 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. Enslaved peoplethemselves sometimes chose names denoting weather conditions at the time of their child's birth or some distinctive feature of his or her appearance. I have done quite a bit of genealogy for my own family, and it was difficult enough, but what you are doing, is incredible work. Lastly,emancipation itself often provoked many to choose new surnames, one of the few actual freedoms freedmen had. Three formerly enslaved people discuss their names and the changes they underwent after Emancipation. In 1911, Barnett and Fry's widow, Mollie, both applied for pensions from the government. Rodriguez (Rodriguez is Spanish for the son of Rodrigo. For more information about the records covered in this index,please contact the History and Genealogy Department.