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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. Chery Meaning: derived from the Latin Cariacus, which means "land belonging to Cariu"; darling Origin: French 5. Where did you get the maiden name of Smith from? I did a post sometime ago about Slavery Studies, where I named some of the top books on the subject. 5. Students learn about the violent responses to the transformation of US democracy that occurred as a result of Radical Reconstruction. Tell me the name you were called before you met Phillip Fry? 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. 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 belonged to him until emancipation. While Smith remains the most common U.S. surname, for the first time, two Hispanic namesGarcia and Rodriguezmade the top 10. They established and held on to their own cultural traditions in the small spaces that slavery afforded them. Last updated: November 1, 2003 "Dwelling No." African Americans were known by these surnames in the slave community and often recorded by slave owners on plantation documents. Hi Donna, Former slaves also interchanged surnames on census records. In small communities where census takers and county officials knew African Americans personally and their previous owners, they often recorded the former slaves with the surnames of their last owners. Explore the most common surnames in England. In my research so far, I have found very little evidence of white Culbert slaveholders only three cases so far. There are many factors to consider in determining what surnames African Americans used. Numerous historical sources confirm that enslaved people had surnames that they used among themselves and in many cases were known by their slaveholder. Enslaved women were raped, creating children with white fathers who in most cases did not claim them and even sold them away. Rank. Edited by Gabriele vom Bruck and Barbara Bodenhorn, 178199. Our headquarters are located at: 89 South Street, Suite 401, Boston, MA 02111. Ive taken back reclaimed some of that lost memory, especially that of my enslaved ancestors. All of them are alive in this moment. 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. Besides the Morrows, whom else did you live with in Louisville? He identified father, mother and siblings in a Freedmans bank deposit in 1873, when he was already in New York City. On the U.S. Federal census that year, Wesley's birthplace was recorded as Alabama, the same as his father, and his mother's birthplace was South Carolina . A valuable and incisive discussion, both theoretically and historically informed, of slave naming in two African societies, the Caribbean, and the American South. It is these single names that have been most often studied. 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. Thus, the patronymic surname can be effectively regarded as "keeper of the peace." This phenomenon is not unheard of with African American surnames. He decided that he didnt want to be known as Cap Sherrod and that he would vote and marry under his choice of names. There are also a few problems with the original dataset in name transcription such that a small number of first names were transposed with last names. Slaveholders often renamed newly acquired slaves; but self-naming by slaves, which also occurred, is likely to be underreported in the records, which were mainly created by and for slaveholders. Thank you so much for your kind words. By the late 19th century, England was home to about 300 surnames with traceable genealogy. Even tiny steps are huge in someones life. Names from the Bible were another common practice, for given and surnames. Most common last names names: 1-1000 | 1001-2000 | 2001-3000 | 3001-4000 | 4001-5000 Who called you by that name and where was it done? If the slaveholder or another free white man was their father, many Creoles did use either is first or last name as a surname. I would still recommend all of these books, except the first one listed for obvious reasons. This old French surname has Germanic origin, and means 'noble'. Robyn. I especially recommend Mother, Thy Name is Mystery! Five of the slaves were sold to the Washingtons and brought to Wessyngton. Slavery's reach is still with us, and part of the gift of doing African-American genealogy, "The past is not dead. The majority of these slaves used the surname Lewis instead of Washington. Slaves were generally listed with just one name and thus with little to none of the genealogical information recorded for free whites. No, I dont know to whom she belonged before she was brought from Virginia to Kentucky. ", "If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents and all the generations of your ancestors. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. An accessible introduction to the field. In French-speaking Louisiana, Slave names reflected the dominant language and thus were generally different from those in the English colonies. Data from the 2010 Census tells a different story. Just go to my Vimeo page and make your selection. ", "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. This was the case with several others from Wessyngton. Like most of the architecture and towns in Italy, they can also tell a story. -George Burns, "Where does the family start? Enslaved people suffered constant sale, where children were frequently torn away from parents at young ages and spouses were often separated. Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press. 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. Best of luck to you in your research, I make extensive use of tables for organization, analysis and citation in my research, and they have proven very popular with genealogists. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. Robyn. A Wessyngton slave named Bill who was the plantations blacksmith was known as Billy the Smith during slavery. One given name the childs family selected and kept secret and one the child was known by given by the slave owner. Free black slave holders could be found at one time or . CLARKE - The name comes from 'clerk, a clergyman, a scholar, one who can read and write' and is most prevalent in England, where some 89,337 people are recorded with this surname. 20 August 2022, 1-3:30 pm [PAST EVENT], Eastern Standard Time: Join me for a two-hour lecture and workshop on Using Deed Records. 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). . 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. Please subscribe or login. 6. Login Forgot . Dear Robyn, Examples include: Francois, Jean, Pierre, and Leon for men; and Manon, Delphine, Marie Louise, Celeste, and Eugenie for women. This event is $25. But I tell you, trying to document that all those names refer to the same person is hard, hard work! . The 2000 U.S. Census counted 163,036 people with the surname Washington. Runaway ads illustrate how many slaveholders knew the surnames of their slaves. 2023 The Voice of the Black Community in California. 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. A small number of creoles in Louisiana also acquired surnames derived from ethnic identities in Senegal. 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. These require Microsoft Word and a Windows platform. Sabe, Anque, Bumbo, Jobah, Quamana, Taynay, and Yearie) used in the Slave quarters. i did a simple search of the 1860 slave schedule using the name Culbert and came up with slaveholders in MS,VA,NC,AL,GA and SC holding 17 enslaved people. And you get to tell the story of Jean-Louiss life in slavery and also in freedom. There are so many examples of every kind of scenario, and I think it just speaks to the variety of experiences our ancestors had. Thank you for posing your question. Louisiana, U.S., Slave Manumission Records, 1719-1820. An 's' at the end of a personal name also meant 'son of', for example Richards, Stevens, Williams and so on. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one" Perhaps Wash Ellis registered under the name of one of his parents. Thank you for commenting, and continued luck to you in your research. The following is a list of historical people who were enslaved at some point during their lives, in alphabetical order by first name. Q. Love you, Hi Susan, In the context of The Bahamas, the surname appears to originate with Denys Rolle, an American Loyalist who re-settled on Exuma, one of the so-called Out Islands of The Bahamas, sometime in the mid-1780s. This page is currently showing names ranked from 1 to 1000. Burton, Richard D.E. Names and Naming in Afro-Caribbean Culture. New West Indian Guide/Nieuwe West-Indische Gids 73 (1999): 3558. The surname issue really presents huge challenges for those of us doign this research, but you soulnd as though you are making headway. Hi Jann, 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. Where did you get the maiden name of Smith from? Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Another common way of distinguishing people would be 'son of', for example Johnson (son of John), Richardson, Wilson, Harrison etc. 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. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. I love how you have documented the history of your own surname. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW! And this example from another pension file shows how even the given name of this enslaved woman was held under little regard: Testimony of Mollie Russell (widow of Phillip Fry), September 19, 1911: Q. Some of them developed a long-term relationship with one of the female slaves. If the former slave had been befriended or assisted in getting established after the Civil War, they might have taken that persons name. Allard. Toussaint Louverture (1743-1803), a former slave, he enslaved a dozen people himself before becoming a general and a leader of the Haitian Revolution. Thomas mother, younger brothers and sisters remained with the Black family. Users without a subscription are not able to see the full content on In the late 1830s, Nathaniel Terry of Todd County, Kentucky died leaving a plantation of fifty slaves. For more information or to contact an Oxford Sales Representative click here.