documenting my very southern genealogy from the plantation to the frontier
Please note that since this post was published, I have discovered that these Shaws are not, in fact, my ancestors. However, I have left the post online for anyone else who may find it to be useful to their research. Whenever I find a slave holder in the family, I try to post as much … Continue reading Slaves Held by the Shaw Family of Sumner County, Tennessee
Thomas Bembry was my 4th great-grandfather, and an unlucky man. The slaves that he held were also unlucky, as they were all eventually sold off to settle debts. The first mention of slaves held by Thomas Bembry that I have found occurs in 1821, when his wife, Patsy Dicken, inherited slaves from her grandfather, Nathan … Continue reading Slaves Held by Thomas Bembry
The family story was always that my great-grandparents, Carzy Clifford Cole and Ruth Esther Dickerson, both from Carroll County, Tennessee, were some how related. In fact, as the story goes, Carzy, one of the multitudinous Cole clan, told Ruth shortly after they started "walking out" he was so glad that he'd found someone in the … Continue reading The Right Butler!
Several years ago, I had researched the family of Ruth Ann Duncan, my great-great-great grandmother. I thought I had easily located her as a "Ruth M Duncan" in the household of a Jonathan Duncan in Henry County, Tennessee in 1850. This Jonathan Duncan was frankly a pain to research, since he wandered all over three states … Continue reading The Wrong Duncan!
William Lanier was my 5th great-grandfather, himself the grandson of a Barbadian immigrant. He came to Nashville before 1807 from Beaufort County, North Carolina. Previously, I had an abstract of his will, but I recently found the original online at Family Search with more detail, including the names of several enslaved people (in bold, below). … Continue reading Will of William Lanier of Davidson County, Tennessee, 12 February 1811
Please note that since this post was published, I have discovered that Robert Shaw is not, in fact, my ancestor. However, I have left the post online for anyone else who may find it to be useful to their research. I Robert Shaw of Sumner County and of Tennessee do make and ordain this instrument … Continue reading Will of Robert Shaw, Sumner County, Tennessee, 7 July 1823
It must have been particularly difficult to be held as a slave by Kenneth because his finances were a roller coaster ride. He was constantly buying, selling, and mortgaging people (as well as land and other property) to keep up with growing debt. Because there are so many enslaved people involved, and because Kenneth was … Continue reading Slaves Held by Kenneth Bembry
Recently, I wrote about how Kenneth apprenticed a free boy of color named William Williams. Well, of course I had to find out more about his mother, Fanny Williams! Which led me into an entirely new (for me) area of genealogy: that of "free people of color" in the antebellum South. Fanny Williams deeded her … Continue reading Kenneth Bembry’s “Colored” Children?
Fanny Williams, a "free woman of color," indentures her eight year old son to Kenneth Bembry.
Miles Bembry I is the first Bembry I have on record in America, and my "brick wall." Recently, I was surprised to discover that he moved from Edgecombe County, North Carolina, to Pulaski County, Georgia late in life to join his sons, Thomas and William. Miles died in November or December of 1838. His son … Continue reading Slaves Held by Miles Bembry
A Long Way to Tennessee 