Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Almost Wordless Wednesday: She Tried to Drive Him Off His Farm




This is a picture of my great-grandfather Gee (Jehu Stokely) Sawyer's older sister Barbary.  The back of the picture reads

"F. L. Evans & Barbra Prophet, Jehu's sister, who tried to drive him off his farm. "

Barbara or Barbary was born about 1839 to Archibald and Sallie Killian Sawyer(s).  She was probably named for Sallie's mother, Barbary Fulbright Killian.  I have not researched the Greene County court records for the lawsuits involved in her efforts to drive him from his farm.  It's on my list of things to do.  That notation was made by my aunt (and Gee's granddaughter) Janis Sawyer who was her generation's family historian.  Barbary married William Proffitt and was widowed in 1870 when he was killed by a falling tree.

There is no record of her marrying Mr. Evans, nor do they appear in any Greene County census together.  She was enumerated as widowed and living first, with her brother William in 1880 and then as Barbary A Prophet, head of household in 1900.

For all their warmth and light-heartedness the Sawyers had long memories.   Threaten their father - or the farm - and they did not forget.

Monday, June 28, 2010

Slaves listed in 1860 Washington County, Tennessee Census: An Update

In my earlier post about slaves being enumerated in the 1860 Washington County, TN census I decided to review the entire census to determine how many slaves were enumerated by given name.  In a cursory review of the census pages on Ancestry.com I found about 545 slaves enumerated and then crossed out and listed in the Slave Schedule.  This happened in 10 of the 19 districts Ancestry.com shows.  Only the named districts had slaves enumerated on the census.  There were none in the numbered districts.  There were also about 230 free African-Americans listed in the census.  They lived in 17 of the 19 districts.

I'm not guaranteeing my counting skills - especially since the second time I looked at the Slave Schedules I counted just under 1270 slaves versus the 953 I mentioned earlier.  Once I run out of fingers and toes my counting can get a little dicey. 

Fortunately someone with much better counting skills has already researched and written about this census in an article published in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly.  In her 2005 article “In Praise of William H. Crouch: The Enumeration of Slaves in the 1860 Census of Washington County, Tennessee” (Vol. 93, pp. 52-64) Suzanne Murray examines the census and its value for researching slave ancestry. 

Murray counted 617 slaves in nine districts.  Her article includes a table listing the number of slaves by surname (usually the owners’ names).  She found about 12% of the slaves listed in the 1860 census appeared in the 1870 Washington County, TN census under the same name.  She did not examine whether they appear under different surnames or suggest migration routes, but does suggest the extreme violence of the Civil War in East Tennessee may have impacted the numbers.  Finally, she included an example of using this census in conjunction with other census records to trace one slave family. 

It’s a wonderful article.  I’m so delighted she wrote it.  I did examine the 1870 census for any of the five McAdams slaves listed in 1860.  Only Charles McAdams, age 13 appears.  In 1860 he was enumerated in the household of my Thomas's brother, Samuel B. McAdams as one of three slaves.  No age was given.  Also listed were Sarah (age 24) and Hannah. 

1860 U.S. census, Washington Co., TN
Ten years later he is enumerated in the household of Ebenezer Barkley as a farm worker.  He is indexed on Ancestry.com as Carles McAdams.

1870 U.S. census, Washington Co., TN

I strongly suspect the McAdams slaves were inherited though the wives.  Samuel and Thomas McAdams each married daughters of slave owners.  Their parents were not slave owners, nor was Thomas a slave owner on earlier censuses.  Samuel did appear owning one slave in the 1850 Greene County, TN census.  Samuel McAdams married Ann Duncan, a daughter of Joseph and Polly Allison Duncan, on 3 Feb 1831 in Washington County.  His brother Thomas C. McAdams married Cynthia Stephenson, a daughter of John and Elizabeth Cloyd Stephenson, on 16 Jan 1835.  If I were to continue researching the McAdams slaves I would examine the Duncan and Stephenson in-laws.

Amanuensis Monday: McAdams Family Record, page 5


Thanks to John at Transylvanian Dutch for providing a framework (and nudge) for transcribing family records, news clippings and other treasures.

This is a transcription of the fifth and last page of the McAdams Family Record I scanned and posted separately.  It details the family of Thomas C. McAdams (1806-1881) of Washington County, Tennessee.

******************************

     From tombstone at cemetery at Salem Church  "In memory of Alice Stephenson, born August 15, 1749, died February 27, 1832, age 82 years and 6 months".

     Supposed to be John and Matthew Stephenson's mother.

     William Stephenson, Sr. supposed to be husband to Alice Stephenson.





Memorandum made by Thomas McAdams in 1913:

Graves:

Hugh Morrison McAdams, William P. McA, Isabella Hale, Hugh McA, (S. B. Sr son), Ann S. McA,
Chalmer S. McA, Cynthia S McA, Thomas C. McA, Ralph E. H. McA, Charlie's baby (Martha).

The above are the McAdams' graves as they come in the cemtery at Fairview, Washington County.

******************************

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Commuting to America

Anna Pereksta's Hungarian
passport
My grandmother or Baba traveled to the United States from Prislop, her small village in today's eastern Slovakia, in 1913. She was 18 years old and traveling with her father, Ivan (or Janos) Pereksta. She left, as so many thousands of others did, hoping there would be greater opportunities for her in America. It was her first and only voyage across the ocean. Her father, however, all but commuted between Prislop and the U.S.

Ivan Pereksta was born 25 Jan 1857 in Prislop. He was the youngest of three children. His father died shortly before his birth and his mother remarried when he was a boy. In 1879 Ivan married Olena Sidor. They lived in Prislop and over the next twenty years had a large family, eight of whom survived to adulthood. Four of their children would eventually settle in the United States. Prislop was a very small, very poor village in the foothills of the Tatra mountains. The population in 1914 was 159. Their home was primitive, at best.

Ivan Pereksta
I don't know when Ivan first came to the United States or how many trips he made, but I have documented 4 entries from 1901 to 1925 when I believe he made his final trip. Ivan would come, work here for a few years while his wife and children worked their small farm. Some of his earnings were used to buy passage for his children. A few dollars went to buying dapper clothes. He was a sharp looking man and quite proud of his good looks. The rest he took home to Prislop. But he wouldn't stay. After a couple years he would start the cycle again.  I will be forever grateful that he made those journeys, but I am equally grateful for, and more than a little awed by Olena's maintaining the farm and family all those years.

The name Pereksta is quite rare and the all the Perekstas in the United States appear to be from the same area, if not the same village, that Ivan Pereksta came from. There was another Ivan Pereksta from a neighboring village and slightly younger than my great-grandfather, traveling back and forth at the same time. Sorting out the records has been confusing. These four records are clearly for my great-grandfather.

  • Arrived 6 April 1901 in New York aboard the Pretoria (Hamburg) - Janos Pereksta (indexed as Jonos Pareksta), farmer, age 43, married, Hungarian from “Prisslop” going to brother-in-law Wasily Tipely (sp?) in Binghamton, NY. Also traveling from “Prisslop” and going to Binghamton was Peter Klescz (indexed as Klcecz), farmer, age 34, married, Hungarian traveling to his brother-in-law Metro Prizas.
  • Arrived 3 Sept. 1909 in New York aboard the Kaiserin Auguste Victoria (Hamburg) - Janos Pereksta, farm laborer, aged 47, married, unable to read or write, Hungarian, ethnic Slovak from Kis Pereszlo (the Hungarian name for Prislop). He stated he was in Pittsburg, PA for 3 years in 1900 and was traveling to son Jan Perckesta in Berwick, PA. He was described as 5’6” tall with black hair and brown eyes. Also traveling and listed immediately before Ivan was Vaszily Maszur (indexed Vaszily MacZur), aged 29 from Dara (a nearby village). He was listed as going to his sister Kath. Maszur at 723 Clinton St., Binghamton, NY. 
  • Arrived 16 June 1913 in New York aboard the Amerika (Hamburg) with his daughter Anna (my grandmother), aged 18 - Janos Pereksta (indexed Janos Percksta), farm laborer, 44 years old, married and able to read and write, Hungarian, ethnic Slovak from Prislup. He named his wife Ilona Pereksta of Prislup. He stated he had previously been in the United States between 1910/1912 in Pittsburgh, PA. He and Anna were going to his daughter, Zuza Pereksta in Binghamton, NY. He was described as 5’5” tall, fair skinned with black hair and grey eyes. Anna was described as 5’4” tall, fair skinned with black hair and brown eyes. They were detained until 17 June 1913, awaiting Susan (Zuza) who lived at 3 Hudson St., Binghamton, NY. 
  • Arrived 22 Dec 1925 in New York aboard the Westphalia (Hamburg) - Jan Pereksta (indexed as Jam Percksta), farm laborer, age 68, married, ethnic Slovak, Czech. nationality, from Pristop. Names wife Olena Pereksta of Pristop and states he is traveling to Passaic, NJ. His visa (#367) was issued in Prague on 12/7/1925. Also traveling and listed near to Ivan was Juraj Hulinke, farm laborer, age 33, married, ethnic Slovak, Czech nationality, from Durcina, Czechoslovakia. His visa (#372) was also issued in Prague on 12/7/1925. He was going to Murray Hill, NJ. It is unknown what, if any relationship existed between the two. 
There may have been other trips. Ivan was living with his son John in Passaic, NJ when the 1920 census was taken. (He was indexed as John Perexto or Redondo, 60 years old and an alien having arrived in 1903, unable to read or write.) Family discussions indicated he did not stay more than five years at a time and he may have returned home sometime after the 1913 voyage. However WWI may have interrupted or altered this pattern. I believe the 1925 trip was his final voyage to the U.S. At 68, he was an old man for his time and unlikely to have returned - especially since jobs became far more difficult to find during the Depression.  Ivan died in Prislop in 1933.

Reunion, Binghamton, NY.  1977.
Though it took more than a generation the American and European Perekstas would meet again. After WWII and the Soviet control of eastern Europe it was not possible to travel freely between Prislop and the U.S. In 1977 one of Baba's nephews was able to get a visa to travel to the United States with his wife. Their two young daughters stayed behind to assure my cousin did not defect. Her sisters and brother had died, but Baba was still living and able to meet her youngest sister's son.  It was, as you can imagine, enormously exciting for all of us.  Baba is pictured standing on the left, her nephew on the right. Fifteen years later, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, we were able to visit him and most of the surviving family in Czechoslovakia.  

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Wordless Wednesday: McAdams Family c.1887


(Back row - Albert McAdams b. 1871, Flora McAdams b. 1867, Elmer McAdams b. 1869, Ed McAdams b. 1874.  Front row - Judson McAdams b. 1877, Samuel B. McAdams b. 1845, Rachel Mulkey McAdams b. 1839, Dakota McAdams b. 1879)

Monday, June 21, 2010

Amanuensis Monday: McAdams Family Record, page 4



Thanks to John at Transylvanian Dutch for providing a framework (and nudge) for transcribing family records, news clippings and other treasures.

This is a transcription of the fourth page of the McAdams Family Record I scanned and posted separately.  It details the family of Thomas C. McAdams (1806-1881) of Washington County, Tennessee.

******************************

Deaths
__________

  John Bryson,     July      1778  (Great grandfather to R N McAdams)
*Margaret Carson,     February 20, 1812
  Hugh McAdams,     December 13, 1814
  Samuel Bryson,     September 19, 1816  (in war of 1812)
  Margaret McAdams,     August 12, 1822
  Isabella Hale,     June 1, 1855  (Nee Bryson, married McAdams and Hale)
  Jane Murray,    June 6, 1871
  Anna S McAdams,     July 7, 1861
  Samuel B McAdams, Sr.    January 29, 1894

*Margaret Carson was Grandmother to T. C. McAdams, Sr. on his mother's side.  Ancestors from Rockbridge County, Va. both sides

__________

William B Strain,     August 5, 1833
William Stephenson,     July 23, 1840
John Stephenson,     March 24, 1842
Elizabeth Stephenson,     March 30, 1843
David Stephenson,     January 18, 1849
Matthew Stephenson,     February 20, 1838
Emily H Mitchell,     December 22, 1805
Polly Stephenson, October 22, 1805
Eliza, daughter of John and Polly Stephenson, born October 3, 1803, 
          died August 19, 1805
William Stephenson, Sr.,      October 29, 1796
Hugh Morrison McAdams,     July 14, 1840      (Fairview Cem. Wash. Co)
William Plummer McAdams,     April 11, 1844         "          "         "
Isabella Hale,     June 1, 1855                                     "          "         "
Matthew Judson McAdams,     June 19, 1863
     (Buried National Cemetry, Nashville, Tenn. )
David Brainard McAdams,     January 21, 1871
     (Buried Stone Cemetry, Diamond,  Missouri)
Chalmer Stephenson McAdams,     December 14, 1873  (Fairview Ce.  ")
Margaret Jane McAdams,      October 31, 1872                        "
Cynthia Stephenson McAdams,      October 20, 1874               "
Flora Jane McAdams,     March 5, 1875                                    "
Sara Jane McAdams,      June     1876  (Pleasant Grove Cem. Wash. County)
Thomas Cunningham McAdams, Sr.,     January 1, 1881  (Fairview Cem.)
Ralph Emerson Houston McAdams,     June 16, 1882             "           "
Louretta Stephenson McAdams,      April 17, 1887                  "           "
John Cloyd McAdams,     October 10, 1891
     (Buried near Watson, Mo.)
Samuel Bryson McAdams, Jr.     May 13, 1900     (Johnson City, Tenn)
Rachel Mulkey McAdams,      April 22, 1906      (In Johnson City, Tenn)
James Houston McAdams,     December 30, 1917     (Mason City, Nebraska)
Thomas Cunningham McAdams, Jr.     Feb. 16, 1920     (Rheatown, Tenn) .
Robert Newton McAdams,     July 24, 1921     (Rheatown, Tenn. )
Hugh Thomas McAdams,     October 23, 1921     (Rheatown, Tenn)
Charles Alexander Hodge McAdams,     November 5, 1928     (Colfax, Wash)
Hester Viola McAdams Kilgore,     Nov 10, 1941
     (Buried New Gray Cemetry, Knoxville, Tenn)
Mary Margaret McAdams,     October 24, 1946     (Rheatown Cemtry)
     (Wife of Robert N. McAdams)    (Nee Good)

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Sunday, June 20, 2010

Sentimental Sunday: The Fathers


Happy Father's Day 

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Treasure Chest Thursday: What they kept

Tim O'Brien used the contents of his characters' pockets to illuminate their lives in his haunting novel, The Things They Carried.  My family has gone far beyond pockets.  There are boxes and crates filled with scribbled Bible verses, shopping lists, decades of utility bills, photos of anonymous children taught by maiden great-aunts, and notebooks piled in my basement, guest room and office/living room.  But just as I'm ready to set a match to it, I catch a glimpse, a small illumination of what they held dear.

My grandfather died many years before I was born.  I've heard stories, seen pictures.  And I have his papers - small notebooks where he recorded a family record, his soldiers book from the Hungarian Army, and other important documents.  As I looked through them a newspaper clipping fell out, then another, and another.  Five clippings in all – undated but from 1937 to 1940 - tracing a lawsuit involving parishioners at St. Michael's Greek Catholic Church in Binghamton, NY.[i]  The church split when my father was a boy.  Lawsuits were filed and dragged on for more than 4 years.  I heard about it growing up and knew it was important from his child’s perspective.  Even so, I was surprised my grandfather clipped and kept those articles.

St. Michael's was founded in 1904 by Carpatho-Rusyn immigrants.  They were Greek Catholic, Uniate Christians in communion with the Roman Catholic Church but with a different liturgy and significantly different traditions - including married clergy.  There was already pressure from the Vatican on immigrant churches in America to become more “Roman”, so when St. Michael's was incorporated in 1905 its "charter members … expressly signified they wished to be independent" of Rome.  They had their new sanctuary dedicated by a Uniate bishop, used the traditional Greek Catholic liturgy, but refused in 1907 to turn control of their property over to the Uniate bishop as required by Rome. [ii]

In 1936 the congregation (several thousand strong) split after the church Board of Trustees, refusing to accept a celibate priest appointed by the Uniate bishop, appointed their own married priest.  Parishioners Mary Drozda, Michael Andrejko, Jr. and William Biscko filed a lawsuit on behalf of many others to force the trustees to accept the Bishop’s appointee.  Motions were filed claiming the Trustees gained control in an illegal election, to force the protesting parishioners to pay their church tithes, over which priest would have use of the residency.  Tensions were high and New York Supreme Court Justice Riley Heath “complimented members of both factions as ‘doing well to keep the situation well in hand’”.[iii]

Ultimately, after the New York Court of Appeals refused to review a 1940 lower court decision, the Trustees won and St. Michael’s was declared independent of the Roman Catholic Church, with corporate ownership of the property and the right to appoint its own priests.  It was a huge victory in my family and to my grandfather who tucked those clippings away.  Thirty years later I would still hear an occasional reference to someone having been on one side of the case or the other. 

What was it that so moved them, made this so significant?  Faith certainly played a part.  The social role of the church?  In the villages they came from it was literally the core, the center of the community.  That was as true in Binghamton.  Did victory itself have special resonance to these newly minted Americans?  Probably all that and more.

In the end, both sides fought for tradition (can you hear Tevye singing in Fiddler on the Roof?) and inched toward the American mainstream.  The protesting group worshipped at a Lithuanian Roman Catholic church, a step toward a melting-pot America.  Those who fought for the traditional clergy could never have done so under Austro-Hungarian rule (and assuredly not within the Roman Catholic Church).  Only in America…


[i] At least one article was likely published in the Binghamton Press.  The third article refers to a statement given to The Binghamton Press.  The article headlines (in chronological order) are: “Church Suit Writ Denied by Justice: Heath Refuses to Sign Order Preventing Trustees of St. Michael’s From Using Funds in Litigation”; “Old Church Laws Cited as Lawsuit Continues”; “Greek Church Trustees Win Court Action: St. Michael’s Can Regulate Its Own Affairs, Says Referee”; “St. Michael’s Church Stays Independent: Not Affiliated With Roman Catholic Church, Court Rules”; and “Decision Ends St. Michael’s 4-Year Strife: Independent Group Wins in Appeals Court Denial of Review”.
[ii] Quote is from fourth article, headlined “St. Michael’s Church Stays Independent”.
[iii] Quote is from first article, headlined “Church Suit Writ  Denied By Justice”.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

What does Freedom Mean to Me?

I am late for the COAAG 4th Edition and nothing has made me remotely interested in Twitter or Tweets until FreedomTweet 2010.  Still not going there - why use a few words when so many wonderful ones are available?

But in honor of Juneteenth, and in support of what I hope will be thousands of FreedomTweets, let me share...

Freedom is a legacy from my grandparents who left Europe so their children and grandchildren might have better lives.  I owe it to them to work towards ensuring that others have the same opportunities to come to this country they had.

I rejoice that the descendants of those who did not come freely to this nation, who were enslaved by my ancestors and many others, are today free to join in building a more perfect union.  I celebrate their voices and contributions.

Freedom is choice.  I am free to worship as I wish; free to live where I choose; free to choose my friends and communities; free to speak my mind; free to help where I see a need.  I am free to do all or none of these things as long as I leave others the same freedom.

I rejoice in each step toward healing the bitter rifts from slavery, ethnic and religious prejudices.  I celebrate every hand that reaches out through fear and anger, and every hand that accepts it.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Amanuensis Monday: McAdams Family Record, page 3

Thanks to John at Transylvanian Dutch for providing a framework (and nudge) for transcribing family records, news clippings and other treasures.

This is the third page of the McAdams Family Record I scanned and posted separately.  It details the family of Thomas C. McAdams (1806-1881) of Washington County, Tennessee.

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Marriages
__________

Hugh McAdams and Isabella Bryson,                             June 12, 1800
Matthew J. McAdams and Sarah E. Sevaney                   July 19, 1855
John C. McAdams and Sara J. Mahoney                         July 13, 1856
David B. McAdams and Margaret J. Gibson                     Aug 16, 1860
Samuel  B. McAdams and Rachael Mulkey                      May 9, 1866
Robert N. McAdams and Mary M. Good                          Nov 9, 1876
Charles A. H. McAdams and Alice V. Nave                      Jan 7, 1880
Alexander Moody and J. Eula McAdams                          May 10, 1905
J. D. Kilgore and Hester V. McAdams                            Sept 7, 1908

__________

John Stephenson and Elizabeth Cloyd                            Sept 13, 1808
William B. Strain and Martha A. Stephenson                   Sept 5, 1832
Thomas C. McAdams and Cynthia Stephenson                 Sept 18, 1834
Samuel G. Wyly and Mary N. Stephenson                       Sept 28, 1841
Jonathan C. Mitchell and Emily H.  Stephenson                May 21, 1845
John Stephenson and Polly Nelson                                 Sept 9, 1802


******************************


Sunday, June 13, 2010

Summer Frolics

One of my great-aunt's favorite words was frolic. I would ask her what they did before summer camp and movies and Girl Scouts and she would laughingly say, "Why we would frolic!" The word would roll off her tongue and dance about my head as she told stories of picnics and parties and car rides through the Tennessee countryside. She was the youngest of ten high-spirited children who grew into high-spirited adults.

I remember her voice as I look through the photo albums she and her sisters kept. They certainly did frolic during those long ago summers.  She remained ready for frolics and adventure well into her eighties, though the photographic evidence of those later frolics seems to have vanished. 

Frolic in the creek c. 1918.  Note the stylish newspaper hats.

Frolic with Ice Cream Cones, c. 1918

Baseball Frolic Gone Bad, c. 1925

Motor Frolic, c. 1930

Beach Frolic after WWII.

The next generation frolics at Myrtle Beach about 1948.



Thursday, June 10, 2010

Catching Some Z's or What's in a (sur)Name?

Graphic Z courtesy of FCIT
Apologies to Shakespeare, but in my case what's in a name is often a Z - and I don't mean the name is so boring that I doze off.  My resurgent interest in my Carpatho-Rusyn ancestry has me scouring church and census records from the former Austro-Hungarian Empire.  In almost every case my ancestors' surnames have been recorded in the Hungarian version - Magyarized - and the spelling changed so that every S becomes an SZ.  Reasonable, I suppose, given that they were running the show.  But it's beginning to frustrate me.

With each new discovery I weigh how I record the name.  Is it Szidor or Sidor?  Perekszta or Pereksta?  Kommiszar or Kommisar?  Szmolyak or Smolyak?  Given names are often recorded in the Hungarian version.  Do I use Janos (the Hungarian) or Ivan (the Rusyn)?  Helena or Olena?  For that matter, were they born in Sztarina or Starina?  Toss in a few Latin or cyrillic versions and I feel a migraine coming on.

It's easy enough to decide on those names recorded in my grandfather's family record - I use the spelling he used (no Zs).  For the others I'm having to make an educated guess.  I do note the spelling variations in the source references, but I find I'm reluctant to record state imposed variations under alternate names.  And so I'm doing it - I'm opting for the Rusyn version and standardizing spelling.  Call it a political/nationalist awakening (something I have studiously resisted over the years) or pure laziness - I just can't take any more Zs!  And no matter how many documents record my great-grandfather's name as Janos, I know he was Ivan.

I was about to write that this was one reason I preferred to use United States records when I read one of Cynthia Shenette's What's In A Name? postings.  It left me giggling and remembering that census and immigration records in this country can be even more challenging.  Most of us with 19th & 20th century immigrant ancestors have come across wildly creative spellings.

At least the Hungariansz were conszisztent.

Monday, June 7, 2010

Amanuensis Monday: McAdams Family Record, page 2

Thanks to John at Transylvanian Dutch for providing a framework (and nudge) for transcribing family records, news clippings and other treasures.

This is the second page of the McAdams Family Record I scanned and posted separately.  It details the family of Thomas C. McAdams (1806-1881) of Washington County, Tennessee.

******************************
Births
__________

Margaret McAdams,     August 29, 1802
Mary McAdams,     August 25, 1804
Thomas C. McAdams, Sr.,     Dec. 5, 1806
Samuel B. McAdams, Sr.,     January 18, 1809
Hugh McAdams,     August 23, 1772
Isabella Bryson,     September 14, 1776
Jane McAdams,     April 13, 1811
Anna S. MCAdams,     (nee Duncan)     February 6, 1813

__________

Margaret Jane Gibson,     March 10, 1839
Louretta Stephenson McAdams,    July 21, 1866
Flora Jane McAdams,      June 3, 1868
Maggie M. Good,     Feb 3, 1854
Bessie E. McAdams,    March 18, 1878
Hester V. McAdams,      June 19, 1879
Ralph E H McAdams,     January 15, 1882
Hugh Thomas McAdams,     November 11, 1884

__________

* Matthew Judson McAdams,     August 15, 1835
* John Cloyd McAdams,     December 20, 1836
   Hugh Morrison McAdams,    November 30, 1838
* David Brainard McAdams,     Feb 3, 1841
   William Plummer McAdams,     March 14, 1843
* Samuel Bryson McAdams,     Feb 3, 1845
   Robert Newton McAdams,     December 3, 1847
   James Houston McAdams,    Feb 14, 1850
   Chalmers Stephenson McAdams,     Feb 16, 1853
   Thomas Cunningham McAdams, Jr.     August 29, 1855
   Charles Alexander Hodge McAdams,     April 5, 1858

* In Civil War on Federal side (1861-1865)

__________

Matthew Stephenson,     Feb. 7, 1777
John Stephenson,     May 27,  1779
Elizabeth Cloyd,     October 15, 1781
William Stephenson,     September 18, 1812
David Stephenson,     August 6th, 1815
Cynthia Stephenson,     April 30, 1817
Mary N. Stephenson,     November 7, 1819
Emily H Stephenson,     March 13, 1823
William S Strain,     June 22, 1833
Jonathan C Mitchell,     July 13, 1821  (Capt.  Iowa Reg.  Civil War)
S. G. Wyly,    May 26, 1815           (Presbyterian Minister)
Polly Nelson,     July 29, 1779

******************************
Notes:
  1. The names Thomas and Cynthia used for their eleven sons include family names and those of famous ministers.  Cloyd, Bryson, Houston, Stephenson, and Cunningham are known family names.  David Brainard, Robert Newton and Charles Hodge were famous ministers.  
  2. The first section includes births of Thomas McAdams siblings, parents and at least one sister-in-law.  Ann Duncan married Thomas' brother Samuel B. McAdams, Sr. 
  3. The second section includes births of David B(rainard)'s wife and two daughters and of Robert N(ewton)'s wife and children.
  4. The third section mirrors the information on page 1 about the McAdams sons, but adds middle names.  John C(loyd)'s birthdate is transcribed December 20, 1836 here as opposed to December 30, 1836 on page 1.  
  5. The last section includes the births of Cynthia Stephenson's family.  In addition to her parents and siblings, an uncle (Matthew) is included, as are the spouses of her sisters.  Polly Nelson was her father's first wife.  


Wednesday, June 2, 2010

East Tennessee Slaves Named in the 1860 Census

The 1860 U.S. Federal Census - Slave Schedules (Schedule 2) for Washington County, Tennessee contains 953 slave entries, including age, gender, race (black or mulatto), owner and location. It appears that many of these slaves were included by name (given name and master's surname) in the households of their owners on the regular census form. Those entries were then crossed out and notations added moving the entries to the Slave Schedules. 


1860 Census listing for Thomas C. McAdams, Washington County, TN

1860 Slave Schedule for Thomas McAdams, Washington County, TN
For example, the household of Thomas C. McAdams (Household 1144, Campbells District, Washington, TN) includes Sarah McAdams, aged 24, and Martha E. McAdams, aged 3.  Both were listed as black and born in Tennessee.  They were then crossed out and a faint notation made "Sched 2" which refers to the Slave Schedule, which does show McAdams with two female slaves, one aged 24 and one aged 3.  


Though I've known about the McAdams slave listing for sometime, I only recently noticed similar entries on other pages throughout the 1860 Washington County Census.  I planned to record those entries on my Slaves referenced in family research page at WeRelate.org until I realized that most, if not all, the slaveowners listed on the Slave Schedule near to McAdams also had their slaves enumerated in the Census and the numbers were far beyond my list capacity.  


If the double listings occurred throughout the county census a more detailed study should be done.  So, a new item for my "To Do" list.  I will examine the census and Slave Schedule carefully to see how many slaves were listed in both.  It would be interesting to compare the names in the 1860 Census to those in the 1870 Census following Emancipation.  Not sure I'll get to that in the near future, but I should be able to do a preliminary survey this summer.