Slave Names Revealed -- The Will of James Camp of Spartanburg Co., SC (1817)

For my first post in months, I wanted to contribute to the CoAAG. I haven’t been able to post but I’ve been reading and I have to say, the groundswell of effort made in the genealogical community for this cause has thrilled and pleased me. If I was any whiter I’d be clear so I can’t walk in the shoes of those treated differently because of the color of their skin, but I have ancestors that were persecuted and murdered for their religious beliefs. So maybe, just maybe -- even if I can’t share their experiences precisely -- I can at least commiserate with some aspects. I do know that I can share the pride that comes with knowing that my forebears persevered in the face of overwhelming odds.

I feel strongly that the names of any enslaved persons we can locate should be put out there and shared with everyone. They may not have had last names then, but their descendants do now. They deserve – like everyone does – to know where they came from.

I have not located any of my own ancestors that owned slaves. Now that’s not to say I don’t have any, just that if I do I haven’t come across any in my nearly two decades of research. My ex-husband’s lines are another matter. Most of his lines are primarily from the southern states so there’s likely a number of them. Sadly I never spent the time on his lines that I have on my own so this is the only one that I’ve found , but I post it here now.

This is the will of my daughter's 6th g-grandfather, James Camp, of Spartanburg Co, SC. James was born around 1765 in Culpepper Co., VA and married Sarah Jennings around 1797 (perhaps in Nottaway Co., VA.) James and Sarah moved to Spartanburg Co., SC and apparently had a large plantation. James died in early 1817. His will was written in January of 1817 and was recorded the 15th day of May, 1817.

I know precious little about this family. James and Sarah's daughter Narcissus (b. 1800) -- my daughter's 5th g-grandmother -- married Thomas Desix Brian around 1820. Thomas and Narcissus had a son named Alfred Aaron Brian, who fought in the Civil War and was featured earlier in my blog here.

I hope someone finds this information helpful. Here’s to giving enslaved persons their names back.

-- Patti

WILL OF JAMES CAMP

In the Name of God Amen I James Camp of Spartanburgh Destrict being of sound mind memory and understanding for which I thank Almighty God and calling to mind the uncertainty of human life and desirious of desposing of such worldly estate as it has been pleased God to bless me with do make and ordain this to be my last will and testament in manner and form following viz. It is my will and desire that my my Just debts and funeral expenses be first paid.

Item 1st I give and bequeath unto my Sone Alphred a Negroe Boy named Carter when he arives to the age of twenty one years

Item 2d I give until my daughter Narsosissy a Negroe girl named Riah on her marriage day allso a good beast worth sixty dollars and a saddle

Item 3d I give unto my Sone George one Negroe Patrum when he arives to the age of twenty one years old One Negroe boy Name Jack

Item 4th I give my Sone Langly when he arrives at the age of twenty one years old one Negroe boy named Lewis

Item 5th I give to my daughter Harriet on her marriage day or arrives at lawful age one Negroe girl named Arrabell

Item 6th I give unto my two youngest sons James and William five hundred dollars each or one Negroe boy each Equil to the above Negroe boys which I give to my other sons when they arrive at the age of twenty one years old.

Item 7th I give to my beloved wife Sarah Camp the Balance of my Negroes, Viz) One fellow named Farmer, three wenches Dice, Jane and Claracy allso one small Negroe girl named Filler (Phyllis?) allso the whole of the Stock of every kind allso my dwelling house & plantation whereon I now live allso my mill and plantation adjoining to it over the river allso all my house hold and ketchen furniture Black smith tools and plantation utensels and stills it is to be further understood that she is to raise school Clothe the children Clear of Bord and when they come of age or marry she is to give them one horse Saddle and bridle each to be worth Eighty dollars all except Narsosissy allso one feather bed and furniture each and one cow and calf each.

Item 8th it is further my will that my loveing wife sell my land in Virginia and lay out the money in young negroes for the use of my children and allso my plantation on Buck Creek known by the name of West Harrisses place

Item 9th I will that the whole of my property left my wife during her life at her death by equelly devided amongst my children

Item 10th I will that all my land not mentioned bee Equilly devided amongst my children

Item 11th I Nominate my loving wife & James Young Executors to this my last will and testament here unto revoking and renouncein all other wills here to fore made by me in witness where of I have here unto set my hand

Seal the 28th day of January 1817

James Camp (seal)

Alexander Copeland

George McWilliams

William Copeland

Recorded 15th day of May 1817

Wm. Lancaster O.S.D.

Tombstone Tuesday - A.A. & Martha (McDowell) Brian

I'm ashamed to admit it but this is the first time on my blog that I've featured a member of my daughter's father's family, i.e., someone not related to me. When we were married I did quite a bit of research on his family and it's about time that I featured some of it. Besides, my daughter IS related to them. So.....bad me! Bad me!

These are the headstones of my daughter's 3rd-g-grandparents, Martha 'Mattie' Texas McDowell, and her husband Alfred Aaron (or Aaron Alfred) Brian. The couple are buried in the Gorman Cemetery in Gorman in Eastland Co., TX.

Mattie was born on 27 Dec 1847 in Spartanburg Co., SC. She was the daughter of Mjr. Calvin McDowell (1816-1878) and Mary C. Ballenger (1822-1912). A.A. and Mattie had nine known children.

A.A. was born c1840 in Inman, Spartanburg Co., SC, and was the son of Thomas Desix Brian (1796-1871) and Narcissus Camp (1798-?). He enlisted in the Civil War in Charleston on 13 Apr 1861 and served as a Pvt. and then as a 1st Sgt in Company K of the 5th Reg. SC Infantry Volunteers. He was wounded in VA during the war and was in attendance during Lee's surrender at Appomattax courthouse. After the war he taught school for a while.

The Brian family moved all over and it's been hard for me to keep track of them. In 1880 they were living in Campobello in Spartanburg Co., SC. They may have spent a short time in Pulaski Co., AR before finally settling in TX around 1888. The family spent some time in Hunt County and lived in Knox County in 1910-1912, where A.A. applied for and received a Confederate pension.

At some point before Mattie's death on 10 Jun 1921 the couple had moved to Gorman in Eastland County, where Mattie was buried. Afterwards A.A. may have moved to Lorenzo in Crosby Co., TX (perhaps to live with one of his sons or daughters) before he was admitted to The Confederate Home in Austin on 7 Sep 1927. He sent a typed letter to his daughter-in-law Mary Irene (Blount) Brian from the home on 7 Dec 1931 and signed it himself. He stated then that he was suffering a bit from his kidneys but was getting around well. He died there on 17 Aug 1932 and was buried beside his wife Mattie.

Ahhhh, Serendipity!

I know I’ve mentioned the word before on my blog -- specifically regarding my Browning v. Beck casefiles and the location of Margaret (Markee) Browning’s tombstone -- but once again I find myself putting the word to good use.

As usual, background! This weekend has been a free one for me and since my calendar appeared open I decided to scamper off to Quitman, a tiny town in east Texas, to attend a Cemetery Preservation Workshop presented by Gerron Hite, the Director of Cemetery Preservation of the Texas Historical Commission. It was a 5-hr presentation on Texas cemetery law with a focus on access issues, procedures to follow when surveying a cemetery, and the process required to get your local cemetery designated a Historic Texas Cemetery. We broke for lunch and the last hour was taken up with a brief overview of gravestone cleaning. Most recommended for those of us preferring something we can buy over the counter, unlike the BioWash or D/2 (sold online)? Orvis. Available from your local feed store or quilt/rug cleaning store, it’s a non-ionic soap that, along with a good amount of water and some soft wooden craft scrapers, should solve many of the basic issues like moss or lichen that plague old stones. I’m going to try my hand with it as soon as possible.

Of the 50+ people there, one man stood out because he was wearing a Chicago T-shirt. I couldn’t help but notice because as everyone who reads my blog knows, I’m an Illinois girl. I mentioned the shirt and soon discovered it was a gift; he was a native Texan after all. (Ah well, nobody’s perfect!) He introduced himself as Deason Hunt and he and his wife and I talked genealogy for about ten minutes or so, exchanging pleasantries and interesting stories. I mentioned I wrote a blog and he said he did too and that he was rather new at it. He wanted to check out my blog and asked if we could also exchange blog addresses. Sure! After we did so the workshop began again and except for a few smiles and nods on our way out he and I didn’t get to speak at length again.

I recalled our conversation a few hours after my return home and decided to look up his blog. I went there and I could tell at first glance it certainly didn’t seem like the amateur effort he’d made it out to be! I enjoyed reading an entry or two and then thought to click over to the section he has labeled as “Family Bios.” It was there, with the listing underneath his own name -- HUNT, Annie Elizabeth (Fears) -- that a bell began to ring loudly in my head.

I scrambled to open my genealogy database, hardly believing that it was possible for something to be that random. It couldn’t be…..but in a moment, with the click of my mouse, I knew that it was. I knew I’d recognized the name!

I got very excited and pulled out the card Deason had given me in order to give him a call. I introduced myself again and reminded him we’d met this morning at the workshop. I then explained that I was pretty sure he was related to my ex-husband and therefore, my daughter, through his Hunt side. We tossed a few names about and it didn’t take long for us to make the connections and realize he and my daughter were indeed related! I did some quick calculations and figured out that my daughter and Deason are (if I’m not missing a generation here, and it’s very possible since my database on this is sketchy) 3rd cousins, 4x removed.

Serendipity at work, once again. Had to be. I only decided this morning at 5 am that I was even going to drive the 2.5 hrs one way that it took to get to Quitman and believe me, decisions don’t come easy at 5 am when remaining all cozy and comfy in the covers sounds like the plan to follow! And then consider my decision to pick Deason out of the crowd to choose to talk to. Honestly, part of that decision was that Chicago shirt he wore. If he hadn’t worn that shirt (and had a vague look about him of my mother’s uncles as well) I don’t know that I would have chosen to do anything but the polite nod and smile that people do in social situations.

But he did, and I did, and now we know our families are related. How bizarre. Ain’t genealogy grand?