Youll often see the word degraded used in the academic references; these were all attempts at degradation. I have found only one very rare example of a slaveholders inventory, that lists the slaves along with their surnames. Women tended to have two names, and slaves often just had one. Drawing on extensive archival records, this digital memorial allows analysis of the ships, traders, and captives in the Atlantic slave trade. The association with the infamous Nero, the fiddling Roman emperor, would be unavoidable. I was called by that name all the time I was with the Morrows. But the Slaves generally had two namesthe one given by the slave owner (e.g. Explore the most common surnames in England. I dont know what became of his parents. Through DNA matches, I believe I have recently found a brother of my mothers great grandfather. Since those are the countries from which many of America's original settlers came, it's hardly surprising. It means 'clerk' or 'secretary'. 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 would still recommend all of these books, except the first one listed for obvious reasons. Thus, the patronymic surname can be effectively regarded as "keeper of the peace." This phenomenon is not unheard of with African American surnames. In small communities when slaves were sold, they were often bought by someone in the area. We had to register as someone, so we could be citizens. European, Javanese and African and Indentured Servitude in First Contact and Early Colonization of Brazil, France and its Empire in the Indian Ocean, France and the British Isles from 1640 to 1789, George Montagu Dunk, Second Earl of Halifax, Green Atlantic: the Irish in the Atlantic World, Histories and Historiographies of the Atlantic World, Impact of the French Revolution on the Caribbean, The, Indentured Servitude in the Atlantic World, Indian, Internal Slave Migrations in the Americas, Interracial Marriage in the Atlantic World, Liverpool in The Atlantic World 1500-1833, Maritime Atlantic in the Age of Revolutions, The, Marriage and Family in the Atlantic World, Material Culture of Slavery in the British Atlantic, Money and Banking in the Atlantic Economy, Napolon Bonaparte and the Atlantic World, Nation and Empire in Northern Atlantic History, Native American Histories in North America, Native Americans and the American Revolution, People of African Descent in Early Modern Europe, Pets and Domesticated Animals in the Atlantic World. Most did not want to use their former owners surname, even through about 20% did use the slave owners name. Enslaved people suffered constant sale, where children were frequently torn away from parents at young ages and spouses were often separated. 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. Caps statement implies that choosing his own surname was a part of exercising his newfound freedom. I love that your example shows two brothers, who came to different conclusions about their surnames. Slave Names Below are some best cute and catchy slave names: Infirm Mite Lunn Amanda Walter Garner Hannah Delia Bastard Inferior Weevil George O'Hanlon Jordan John Owen Rachel Fetid Spider Betty Nathan York John Wright Wicked Whelp Thornton Dick Field Robert Dick William Hunter William Sam Kiner Augustus Dick a/k/a Richard Ferguson Foul Beast 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. Ho Joanne, 1760-1810 Persons declared to be "white by law" or "free" (part 1), (part 2) at Jamaican Family Search Genealogy Research Library. Olympic speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno might inspire some parents. Renate, 2. CAs Push to Restore Voting Rights to System-Impacted Individuals Still in Custody, Eli Lilly to Cap Out-of-Pocket Insulin Costs, Asm. 30 January 2022, [PAST EVENT], Eastern Standard Time: Join special guest genealogist Taneya Y. Koonce and I as we present our joint Zoom webinar, Organize Your Genealogy! "The past is not dead. In 1911, Barnett and Fry's widow, Mollie, both applied for pensions from the government. Peneus saved Daphne from Apollos romantic obsessions by transforming her into a laurel tree. The same family may appear with different surnames in the 1870 and 1880 federal census records, and may appear in other records with either, both, or a third surname altogether. They cut it off from OCTAVIA. Expand or collapse the "in this article" section, Slave Names and Naming in the Anglophone Atlantic, Slave Names on Emancipation and after Slavery, Expand or collapse the "related articles" section, Expand or collapse the "forthcoming articles" section, African Retailers and Small Artisans in the Atlantic World, Alexander von Humboldt and Transatlantic Studies, Atlantic New Orleans: 18th and 19th Centuries, Black Atlantic in the Age of Revolutions, The, Chinese Indentured Servitude in the Atlantic World, Cities and Urbanization in Portuguese America, Colonial Governance in the Atlantic World, Comparative Indigenous History of the Americas, Criminal Transportation in the Atlantic World, Domestic Production and Consumption in the Atlantic World, Economy and Consumption in the Atlantic World. Anthropologist Meyer Fortes's observation that the naming practices of any society "epitomize personal experiences, historical happenings, attitudes to life, and cultural ideas and values" holds particularly true for African American enslaved people. Perhaps this caused some Slaves to ask: Am I my new name or am I still my old name? For example, I know of one Louisiana family whose surname of Poulard evolved from a ancestor of the Poular nation(aka Fulani). Some of the most common or popular last names in the 1800s included Robinson, Clark, and Smith. Where did you get the maiden name of Smith from? Recognizable patterns of change in names and naming practices are evident from the mid-eighteenth century to the early nineteenth century and on through the 1860s. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. One thing for sure, historians are always expanding our knowledge on this topic.BTW, I am a big fan of your website and your work in the field! The idea was for the children to enter the inhumane system of slavery protected by a sense of Selfhood and history. 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. A. Mr. Thomas Jefferson of Louisville, bought me when I was three years of age from Mr. Dearing. . Although enslavers often assigned names to newly acquired enslaved peoplethat were whimsical, satirical, or condescending in intent, the frequent appearance of classical names-Venus, Cato, Hercules, Bacchus, Pompey-reflect enslavers' own educations and libraries. An enslaved child sold away from their parents at a young age to the Deep South would probably have a different sense of naming than enslaved children who were able to grow up in the presence of their parents and extended family. 1. One of the largest sources are the Civil War pension records of the almost 200,000 black men who served in the US Army and Navy. With mythological names rising, the handsome son of Zeus and god of medicine, music, and poetry among many other things might offer an interesting, if high-pressure, option. Label vector designed by Ibrandify - Freepik.com, 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. is for you. 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. On the 30 rolls of NARA Microfilm Publication M1895, Slave Manifests of Coastwise Vessels Filed at New Orleans, Louisiana, 1807-1860 (30 rolls), are reproduced manifests filed with the collector of customs at New Orleans, Louisiana, of slaves transported in coastwise trade to or from New Orleans during the period 1807-1860. In the early years, especially between the 1860 and 1880s, families even changed a surname several times until they settled on a certain one. 2019 (cited under the Anglophone Caribbean) includes a good general introduction to slave naming. Private names used in the quarters included Abah, Bilah, Comba, Dibb, Juba, Kauchee, Mima, and Sena. 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. Thank you for posing your question. 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. These require Microsoft Word and a Windows platform. My maiden surname is Williams. Robyn N. Smith, [insert post title], Reclaiming Kin (https://reclaimingkin.com: accessed [insert date you read the post]), [insert the date the post was written]. The campaign in Britain to abolish slavery began in the 1760s, supported by both black and white abolitionists. Both comments and pings are currently closed. As a result, many slaves used the surnames of their owners wifes family. Well, I got to thinking about all us slaves that was going to take the name Fitzpatrick. Eliza Moore (1843 - January 21, 1948) Source = Pinimg. The new surnames, usually not taken from a former slave owner, included: Williams, Jones, Johnson, Smith, Jackson, Thomas, Brown, Walker, Davis, Green, Robinson, Scott, Harris, Turner, and Anderson. A Wessyngton slave named Bill who was the plantations blacksmith was known as Billy the Smith during slavery. Thank you. 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. I mean, really retro. The names they gave their children provide a valuable, if limited, index of that process over time. Elijah is derived from the Hebrew name Eliyahu, composed of the elements. Surnames like Chantimel have disappeared, while names like Horsford and Ackie, coming from Antigua (where they are common), or Quarless, Dowden, Chandler, and Dottin from Barbados, have enriched Grenada's family history and cultural identity. The difficulties include using records that provide no surnames, the constant sale and breakup of families, and the lack of identification of fathers. Hi Jann, 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. FamilySearch Centers. 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 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. Hi Pat, Danish West Indies, Denmark, Records of Enslaved People, 1672-1917 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. Robyn. Ebba: One of the more unique girl names from the 1800s. He stated that he had always been known by his fathers surname Scott, even before he was freed. I belonged to him until emancipation. This is common. Also largely unrecorded are the alternative names the enslaved used among themselves, sometimes called country names or basket names; they may also, according to African practice, have had multiple names over a lifetime. The box for father states unknown in law. Her marriage record states her name is Sarah Charlotte Gale, her father being John Sinclair Gale! common last names for slaves in the 1800s. Benson, Susan. Who called you by that name and where was it done? This is another instance of oral history being a key component in tracing African American ancestry. My father would be 105 if he were alive. ", "No matter what you've done for yourself or for humanity, if you can't look back on having given love and attention to your own family, what have you really accomplished? As enslavement continued through the 1800s, African American culture included naming practices that were national in scope by the time of emancipation, and intimately related to the slave trade. They cut it off from OCTAVIA. Allard. They called me OCK. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW! John Lewis was born in 1831; in 1844 he and several family members were given to George A. Washington of Wessyngton. Our headquarters are located at: 89 South Street, Suite 401, Boston, MA 02111. Nameberry is a registered trademark of Nameberry, LLC. Alfred Francis Russell (1817-1884), 10th President of Liberia. The three databases below provide details of 36,000 trans-Atlantic slave voyages, 10,000 intra-American ventures, names and personal information. College Advanced AA Gen. Class, November 2012, Robyn, Aaron, Karen, Katherine and Michael, October 2014, African-American Family History Conference, February 2015, African-American Genealogy Group Conference, October 2016, Central Maryland AAHGS, with Alice Harris, September 2015, Howard Comm. Just go to my Vimeo page and make your selection. My Vimeo ON Demand video page lists six videos you can choose from to watch for 3 months ($15 each): -Finding the Last Slaveowner: Guidance and Case Studies, -Cluster Research: Using Groups of People to Find Your People, -Using Deed Records to Uncover Your Family, -Putting it All Together: Making Sense of All the Research You've Done and, -More Than Just a Name: Incorporating Social and Community History Into Your Research. These require Microsoft Word and a Windows platform. Mary Deborah Petite, "1836 Facts about the Alamo and the Texas War for Independence". 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. This potential brother had been sold to a local and remained there in SC. Table 7. (Media Note: If you quote a post, please credit me by name, Robyn N. Chery Meaning: derived from the Latin Cariacus, which means "land belonging to Cariu"; darling Origin: French 5. Augustin Meaning: a descendant of Augustine Origin: English 2. Rank. Besides the Morrows, whom else did you live with in Louisville? Of the 972 names of male Slaves recorded between 1619 and 1799 the leading ones were Jack, Tom, Harry, Sam, Will, Caesar, Dick, John, Robin, Frank, Charles, Joe and Prince. He was a planter with 20,000 acres of land in East Florida and was at the forefront of slavery in The . In these cases, unless the name change had been passed down in the family by oral history, it would be impossible to trace the family back any further. A small number of creoles in Louisiana also acquired surnames derived from ethnic identities in Senegal. Names. Harris: A patronymic meaning son of Harry. They are recorded with the Ashby surname on subsequent documents. See flier for more details. Students learn about President Andrew Johnson and the Congressional Republican's conflicting visions of how to rebuild the nation after the Civil War. 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. CLICK HERE TO SAVE YOUR SEAT! I did a post sometime ago about Slavery Studies, where I named some of the top books on the subject. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Abebe: The genesis of this Ethiopian name is Amharic, and it means 'flower' or 'blossom'. Thanks for this very thoughtful article. A valuable and incisive discussion, both theoretically and historically informed, of slave naming in two African societies, the Caribbean, and the American South. The poster on each page *provides the link to the handout* for that lecture, so be sure to copy it. St. Louis County Library. Free black slave holders could be found at one time or . 6. Just makes me sad for the human spirit that anyone, let alone hundreds of thousands of people could participate in it. 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. Cheryll Cody, "'There Was No Absalom on the Ball Plantation': Slave-Naming Practices in the South Carolina Low Country, 1720-1865," American Historical Review 92 (June 1987). Join my mailing list below to receive my posts and get a free PDF with some of my favorite tips! You can find many more examples of the above in my post, The Mind of the Slaveowner. . Each is present in your body. There has been disagreement about whether it was slaveholders or the enslaved who gave the recorded names. Please submit permission requests for other use directly to the publisher. Robyn. A. Mr. Thomas Jefferson of Louisville, bought me when I was three years of age from Mr. Dearing. The resources Im getting from my colleagues through Facing History have been just invaluable. 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. Robyn. I also see that in 1900 she is listed as widow with 1 child living, so you may have luck trying to find out who her child was. This may reveal your family used the surname of the slave owners wifes family. 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. Eugene D. Genovese, Roll, Jordan, Roll: The World the Slaves Made (1974). The Washingtons of Wessyngton Plantation: Stories of My Familys Journey to Freedom is proudly powered by WordPress Entries (RSS) and Comments (RSS). And you get to tell the story of Jean-Louiss life in slavery and also in freedom. Thanks for writing this post! 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. Remember me. . 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. Emphasizes the giving and repeated use of names as a performative act of domination. I also have a Slavery and Freedom Collection available for $20. In more than thirty years of researching my ancestors and hundreds of others enslaved on one of Americas largest plantations, slaves owned by mid-sized planters and small farmers, reviewing thousands of documents I have come across various situations that might give others clues on what to look for. Is this the same woman Eliza I see living with Thomas Crenshaw in 1880 and 1900? Isaiah derives from the Hebrew Yeshayahu, containing the elements. After I had returned to Louisville from Danville, My sister, Lizzie White, got to calling me Mollie, and it was with her that the name started. I have been a researcher, writer, and lecturer for over twenty-five years. I found in the Civil War registry, an enslaved man who enrolled in the infantry under the name of Wash Ellis. I also meant to email you and tell you how I enjoyed your article in the last NGSQ. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW! 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. Im very familiar with the work of Gwendolyn Hall and Elizabeth Shown Mills. It is from this myth that the plant genus, Phoebe is the Latin variation of the Greek name Phoibe, which derived from. Also, the government seemed to be in a almighty hurry to have us get names. A. Lottie Smith was my name and what they called me before I met Phillip and was married to him. 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. Register now! . Burton, Richard D.E. Names and Naming in Afro-Caribbean Culture. New West Indian Guide/Nieuwe West-Indische Gids 73 (1999): 3558. . Florence, Fiorella, Fleur, and Flower are translations, but we like Flora best of all. Minerva is the long-neglected name of the Roman goddess of wisdom and invention, the arts and martial strength, one of the. 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. James) will have . Hello Students learn about the period of violence in the South from 1873-1876 and examine its role in influencing elections and ending Republican control of Southern state governments. In 1800, Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman were able to escape their terrible life of enslavement and were able to help other slaves trapped in a world of forced labour and grant them freedom once again due to the Underground Railroads that helped him, his partner Anna Murray Douglas and many other fugitives sneak away from the horrible When retained, a given name was generally changed to its full form: Thomas, not Tom; Elizabeth, not Bet. Karen Halttunen, Murder Most Foul, p. 175. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Famous name bearers: many King Louis of France, Sandra Bullock's son and actor Louis Partridge. A krio from.Freetown Sierra Leone. Bailey, Word Stories Surrounding African American Slavery. Tell me the name you were called before you met Phillip Fry? The surname issue really presents huge challenges for those of us doign this research, but you soulnd as though you are making headway. No, I don't know to whom she belonged before she was brought from Virginia to Kentucky. Use the form below to get in touch with me and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. When I was born my mother was known as Phillis Smith and I took the name of Smith too. State of residence is Missouri unless otherwise noted. I was called by that name all the time I was with the Morrows. Edited by Gabriele vom Bruck and Barbara Bodenhorn, 178-199. You can read the introductory maps for a high-level guided explanation, view the timeline and chronology of . Thank you for your kind comment and I am glad my post helped some with the complicated reasons behind the surnames enslaved people had. Oxford Bibliographies Online is available by subscription and perpetual access to institutions. The table below shows the most common last names with statistics on the heritage and ancestry of those with the surname. Letter to Armistead Burt of September 1, 1831, sfn error: no target: CITEREFCalhoun1837 (. The given name Athena was derived from the city name Athens, which is of uncertain origins. Others who wanted no connection to their former owners used surnames like Freeman or Freedman. I hope this post also helps us to think about how the surnames former slaves had were connected to their experiences in slavery. 6. Ethereal and delicate, Cassandra was in the Top 70 throughout the 1990s but is now descending in popularity.

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