Hi Jann, The slave schedules of 1860 Arkansas do not give the names of the slaves. No, I dont know to whom she belonged before she was brought from Virginia to Kentucky. However, the common practice by slaveholders was to only use the given names of enslaved people in documents such as estate papers, court and deed records. Almost every major tome on slavery discusses slave naming practices in some form or fashion. . 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! Many took the surname of famous or celebrated people; such as Lincoln, Grant, and Washington was very popular. The first published African-American poet & author Phillis Wheatley was born in West Africa. I hope youll sign up to receive my postsif you do, youll get a free PDF with some of my favorite tips! This entry was posted on Friday, August 28th, 2009 at 11:46 am and is filed under Civil War, Genealogy & DNA, Interviews. I did not even check the 1850 slave schedule. this page. When I was born my mother was known as Phillis Smith and I took the name of Smith too. Also included here are common names among slaves, many of which were classical and had ties to the Bible or mythology, such as Keziah and Venus. After the war ended and slavery was abolished, they exercised their freedom by changing their names. Ethereal and delicate, Cassandra was in the Top 70 throughout the 1990s but is now descending in popularity. Relish, (Old French Origin) Derived from relaisse meaning "flavor or taste". Tags: African American Names, African American Surnames, African Names, Black Surnames, Last Slave Owner, Plantation Owners, plantation slavery, Slave Family, Slave Naming Patterns, slave trade. Even tiny steps are huge in someones life. There are many factors to consider in determining what surnames African Americans used. A. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You can find many more examples of the above in my post, The Mind of the Slaveowner. Hi Pat, While Smith remains the most common U.S. surname, for the first time, two Hispanic namesGarcia and Rodriguezmade the top 10. Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press. I made up my mind I'd find me a different one. The Genealogy Source Table Collection includes 10 blank, editable source tables for death certificates, city directories, obituaries and funeral programs. In the early years, especially between the 1860 and 1880s, families even changed a surname several times until they settled on a certain one. Baby Name Generator. Mary Deborah Petite, "1836 Facts about the Alamo and the Texas War for Independence". Elaine Fantham, Helene Peet Foley, Natalie Boymel Kampen, Sarah B. Pomeroy, H. A. Shapiro. FamilySearch Centers. Corbin Corbin has an Old English origin. Olympic speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno might inspire some parents. I am not able to find any slaveholders in the Versailes area by the name of Ellis. Love you, This financial assistance was available to all Civil War veterans and their families. I was only three years old when she died. 7. One thing I envy about the Catholic church is the baptisms available for even the enslaved people there. Thanks for adding your very experienced voice to the conversation. On Anglican (Church of England) baptisms records the child legally and officially is documented with the surname of the mother if she and the father were not married. Harriet Tubman and some of the slaves she helped free. The highest percentage of African names was found among male slaves in the eighteenth century, when . Bernacki: Teatr; Mamontowicz-ojek: Szkoa Tyzenhauza s. 53, 54, 70, 86-89, 92; Wierzbicka: Sze studiw; Muzyka 1969 nr 2 (J. Prosnak). The difficulties include using records that provide no surnames, the constant sale and breakup of families, and the lack of identification of fathers. It means 'bought land'. Where did you get the maiden name of Smith from? The top 5 most common Hispanic last names from the 1920s are: 1. But the bureau also compiled lists of the fastest-growing surnames in the United States and these include Zhang, Li, Ali, Liu, and Khan - a testament to the wonderful diversity of our nation. . Isaac evolved from the name Yitzchaq, derived from the Hebrew word, Lysander is a distinctive Greek name that could be thought of as a more creative cousin of Alexander. For more information about the records covered in this index,please contact the History and Genealogy Department. Unique Surnames to Grenada. It had always been passed down in the family that Thomas has been owned by the Blacks. For descendants, I would add the substantial emotional impact of seeing an ancestor's name attached to a dollar value, or being valued in a list with silverware and cattle. Special slave censuses were kept in the early 1800s. What remains utterly amazing to me is that in the worst of circumstances, and in spite of every attempt to crush any idea that slaves were anything other than commodities, slaveholders did not succeed. In small communities when slaves were sold, they were often bought by someone in the area. is for you. Many Welsh surnames follow this pattern, with Jones (from 'John's son) being the most common. Garcia is the Spanish variation of the word Gerald that means a pointed weapon, like a spear. The Voice of the Black Community in California, Last Updated on October 14, 2010 by Paulette Brown-Hinds. Some last names recognize certain histories or describe important events or narratives that mean a lot to the family. . I would still recommend all of these books, except the first one listed for obvious reasons. Slavery was coexistent with the founding in 1670 of the first permanent colony in South Carolina, and early official records occasionally contain the names of slaves.3 An inventory of the estate of Francis Jones in 1693 lists 'a negro man Jack' and 'a negro Woman name Jugg.'4 An inventory of the The fifty most common Victorian surnames in England and Wales for 1853 are listed in alphabetical order below. Both are excellent researchers and historians. However, the enslaved occasionally had surnames, which became normal leading up to and after emancipation as a mark of assimilation into free society. These require Microsoft Word and a Windows platform. See more details in the flier here and they are available for purchase for $10 . Louis (M) (English origin) means "famous warrior". One of my grandfathers in Africa was called Jeaceo, and so I decided to be Jackson. Your current browser may not support copying via this button. In 2001, I began a process of transcribing names of some of the largest slaveholders and matching the surnames with numbers of African Americans on the 1870 . This was the case with several others from Wessyngton. However, a small change to searching on C?lbert, which accounts for the variations in spelling expands that initial list to 877 enslaved people owned by people with those names. It is from this myth that the plant genus, Phoebe is the Latin variation of the Greek name Phoibe, which derived from. 13 March 2022, 1-2:30pm [PAST EVENT], Eastern Standard Time: Cant find some of your ancestors in the census? 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. So I asked my mother and she told me my father John Barnett, a white man, and I took up the name of Barnett . In doing slave research in Barbados, I have found one group of enslaved Chase ancestors who were manumitted (freed) and given the last name of the former slave owner. Some of the most common or popular last names in the 1800s included Robinson, Clark, and Smith. Robinson: A patronymic of the name Robin. I have been a researcher, writer, and lecturer for over twenty-five years. He stated that he had always been known by his fathers surname Scott, even before he was freed. No superior alternative has yet been found. Dick Lewis Barnett and Phillip Fry were African American veterans of the Union Army during the Civil War. They identified 21 distinctly Black male names, among them biblical classics such as Abraham and Moses, and word names including Freeman and Prince. Former slaves often made up surnames based on their occupations. Users without a subscription are not able to see the full content on Robyn. Several names have been added under the letter representing the person's last name. Use the form below to get in touch with me and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Most did not want to use their former owners surname, even through about 20% did use the slave owners name. Spencer is a name that has everything: it's both distinguished sounding and accessible, dignified but Spencer Tracy-like friendly. You are the continuation of each of these people.". In ancient history, Lysander was the name of an esteemed Spartan naval commander and his literary cred comes from one of the two star-struck young men in Shakespeare's. My great great grandfather in Mississippi took the surname of the previous SC enslaver, whose widow sold him away. 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! If the slaveholder or another free white man was their father, many Creoles did use either is first or last name as a surname. . Runaway ads illustrate how many slaveholders knew the surnames of their slaves. On another branch, members of the Griffin family from around Campbell County VA all stuck together and are believed to have kept family bonds & name of their father after Emancipation. Practices undoubtedly varied, and different archival sources may yield different conclusions. In freedom, Jean-Louis was known as Louis SEM or Louis FUSELIER until finally using SAM. I just cannot imagine (thankfully) the idea of my name being changed with every new owner, with not having any idea of what my parents surnames were, of having a white father but not being able to have a father/child relationship with himand all the other myriad of circumstances that enslaved people faced. But I tell you, trying to document that all those names refer to the same person is hard, hard work! When Wessyngtons owner George A. Washington married Margaret Lewis in 1849 her father gave the couple twenty-nine slaves. 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. I especially recommend Mother, Thy Name is Mystery! Miracle, (Old English and Latin Origin) Derived from the first name Mauritius meaning "dark". According to the latest search data available, Italian last names and their meanings are searched for nearly, 40,500 times per month. 2. Finding the Slave Who Bore Philomene Daurat. There is also another historian, Gwendolyn Midlo Hall who did work on African ethnicities in Louisiana, you can read more of that here if you havent seen that yet: http://whitneyplantation.com/the-louisiana-slave-database.html, Again, I applaud you for doing the research on the history of the areas where your ancestors livedmany researchers dont realize how crucial that understanding is. . common last names for slaves in the 1800s. Distinctively Black names were thought to have risen from the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements, which promoted the use of names with connections to Africa. It starts with a young man falling in love with a girl. 40. CLICK HERE TO SAVE YOUR SEAT! One ancestor was known as Baber Masse, Elizabeth SENET and Elisabeth Leveille in different documents. I belonged to him until emancipation. Thank you. However the frequent rebellions by . Brief, but stimulating and thoughtful for students coming new to the subject. This event is $20. Many of these were names of heroesbut not Lincoln. The Language of Names. 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. 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. Q. The Washingtons of Wessyngton Plantation: Stories of My Familys Journey to Freedom is proudly powered by WordPress Entries (RSS) and Comments (RSS). 41. Thats high on my to do list. Here are some common black last names: Jackson Davis Brown Wilson Harris Lewis Clark Walker Hall Thomas Young Allen King Wright Scott Baker Adams Nelson Carter Mitchell Perez Roberts Turner Phillips Campbell Parker Evans Edwards Green Hall Baker Bell Coleman Crawford James Reyes Most Common Black Last Names At her death when Thomas was ten, he was sold to Solomon Cobbs who lived nearby. The name.Auber.is also.in.Haiti and.is of.French orign. Thanks for commenting and continued luck in your research, 19. My fathers name was John Crosby and he lived in the town of Geneva, Alabama, I had two brothers and one sister. My Louisiana Creole ancestors who were free persons of color and former slaves practiced a unique naming tradition I think comes from Latin cultures. In French-speaking Louisiana, Slave names reflected the dominant language and thus were generally different from those in the English colonies. Jackson: This name is a patronymic of Jack. . "Injurious Names: Naming, Disavowal, and Recuperation in Contexts of Slavery and Emancipation." In The Anthropology of Names and Naming. 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. Nameberry is a registered trademark of Nameberry, LLC. In the late 1830s, Nathaniel Terry of Todd County, Kentucky died leaving a plantation of fifty slaves. 1760-1810 Persons declared to be "white by law" or "free" (part 1), (part 2) at Jamaican Family Search Genealogy Research Library. Best of luck to you in your research, Rounding out the Top 40, here are the next 30 most common names among African-Americans and Caribbean people: Taylor (Jayceon Terrel Taylor "The Game") Wilson (Charlie Wilson) Moore (Shemar Moore) White (Barry White) Lewis (Carl Lewis) Walker (Jimmie J. J. Walker) Green (Al Green) Thompson (Kenan Thompson) Washington (Denzel Washington) 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. Ones occupation also set the naming method, such as Sheperd, Cooper, or Smith. Oxford Bibliographies Online is available by subscription and perpetual access to institutions. "The past is not dead. Former slaves often used surnames names of historical figures such as Washington, Jefferson or Jackson. They were all sold to different owners: Connell, Rose, Johnson, and Hughes respectively. 2. An 's' at the end of a personal name also meant 'son of', for example Richards, Stevens, Williams and so on. Explore the most common surnames in England. Pinckney, Randolph, and Rutledgeappear only incidentally among any list of modern Black peoples names. Tell me the name you were called before you met Phillip Fry? You already know the rich historical terrain of FPOC in Louisiana, what terrific grounds for family research. College, Advanced AA Gen. Class, September 2009, Alice, Robyn and Lajoye, CM AAHGS, September 2017, Robyn and Andrea, NGS Conference, May 2014. Most common last names names: 1-1000 | 1001-2000 | 2001-3000 | 3001-4000 | 4001-5000 1. Eliza Moore (1843 - January 21, 1948) Source = Pinimg. Names. 2023 The Voice of the Black Community in California. . Its knowledge that I think most Americans (not even just white Americans) dont have and it is endlessly fascinating and sobering both at the same time. I liked the name better than Octavia, and so I took it with me to Danville, and was never called anything else there than that name. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. The following is a list of historical people who were enslaved at some point during their lives, in alphabetical order by first name. Q. The names that were brought together to form "Geffery" were "Gaufrid" (territory-peace), "Godafrid" (god-peace), and "Galfridus" (song-peace). So far Ive found no one who can give me any information about how these people assumed the Culbert surname. The 2000 U.S. Census counted 163,036 people with the surname Washington. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. I liked the name better than Octavia, and so I took it with me to Danville, and was never called anything else there than that name. Evie (F) (English origin) means "life" or "lively". A. I was first called by that name in the family of Col. Morrow in whose service I was in Louisville, Ky., just after the war. College, Advanced AA Gen Class, September 2011, AAHGS Annual Genealogy Conference, November 2008, Howard Comm. Perhaps this caused some Slaves to ask: Am I my new name or am I still my old name? 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. Wide-ranging survey of naming practices in the (mainly Anglophone) Atlantic world both during and after slavery. Please submit permission requests for other use directly to the publisher. In 1870, all of them were listed with the surnames of their last owner; however, each one of them named their sons for one of their brothers. All of them are alive in this moment. Q. Register now! LOTTIE had been the name of the nurse before me and so they just continued that same name. 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. This may reveal your family used the surname of the slave owners wifes family. I love how you have documented the history of your own surname. American slave owners or slaveholders were owners of slaves in the United States which typically worked either as agriculture laborers or house servants. And even though slave marriages were not legal, many enslaved people followed the practice of the wife taking her husbands surname: My mother was named Mary Bradley and my father was named Hilliard Bradley. Davis: This name is a patronymic of David. However, research byLisa D. Cook and colleagueshas revealed evidence of racialized names from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. I belonged to him until emancipation. Thanks for all you to do keeps us all so enlightened! CAs Push to Restore Voting Rights to System-Impacted Individuals Still in Custody, Eli Lilly to Cap Out-of-Pocket Insulin Costs, Asm. ", "Families are like fudge; mostly sweet with a few nuts. Flora, the name of the Roman goddess of flowers and spring, who enjoyed eternal youth, is one of the gently old-fashioned girls' flower names we think is due for a comebackalongside cousins Cora and Dora. This potential brother had been sold to a local and remained there in SC. Even that feels like something. . Evidence indicates that many enslaved parents named their children after the first generation or so of family members brought to America. Table 7. I communicate with them on Facebook. But the meanings of names certainly evolved over time, and some have argued that the principles according to which an individual name was given (e.g., after a relative or ancestor) are at least as important as its apparent meaning and type. If we consider the diverse circumstances that the tragedy of slavery created, we can understand the reasons why. 42. I hope this post also helps us to think about how the surnames former slaves had were connected to their experiences in slavery. See footnotes for source information. Just from the detail in your first comment, I knew there was a good chance you were already familiar with those authors. Abel, the name of Adam and Eve's unfortunate younger son, compensates with positive connotations: capable, competent, ready and willing. . Choose the best name for your child. Drawing on extensive archival records, this digital memorial allows analysis of the ships, traders, and captives in the Atlantic slave trade. > | Index main page>| Index by slave owner's name, Index to "Descriptive Recruitment Lists of Volunteers for the United States Colored Troops for the State of Missouri, 1863-1865"(NARA Microfilm Publication M1894 - 6 rolls). Geographic names were common, as were the names of ships or distant ports for enslaved peopleborn in places such as Wilmington or New Bern. Abebe: The genesis of this Ethiopian name is Amharic, and it means 'flower' or 'blossom'. 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. 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. Hi Jim, 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. My mother then told me my fathers name was John Barnett, a white man, and I took up the name Barnett., My mothers name was Jane and she was called Jane Nunn because she belonged to the Nunns. Students explore the legacies of the Reconstruction era today, reflect on the idea of democracy as a continuous process, and consider how they can best participate in the ongoing work of strengthening our democracy. Alfred Francis Russell (1817-1884), 10th President of Liberia. They called me "OCK". . Although it is not widely known, some African Americans used surnames before they were emancipated. Middle Tennessee, where tobacco, cattle, and grain became the favored crops, held the . The population was more than 16 million and the industrial revolution was under way, which debunks any perception of a broadly colonial society. Cook Cook has an Old English origin, and it means 'one who cooks' or 'one who sold cooked meat'. My mother's name was Octavia Smith and it was from her that I got it but where the name came from to her I never knew. Most Popular African Last Names Or Surnames. I am awar eof the different naming traditions practiced in that area and I thank you for sharing them here for my readers. Newly emancipated slaves also frequently chose new first names, discarding those associated with slavery. These require Microsoft Word and a Windows platform. Email:genealogy@slcl.org Minerva is the long-neglected name of the Roman goddess of wisdom and invention, the arts and martial strength, one of the. James) will have . Therefore, a few of the most common first names of the time such as Mary (rank 815) and Sarah (1010) will appear in the list and surnames which correspond to personal names (e.g. I was called by that name all the time I was with the Morrows. Robyn. Farley, (English Origin) Victorian-era last names meaning "fern woodland". Q. The majority of these slaves used the surname Lewis instead of Washington. Nonetheless, this is a situation where two brothers selected different surnames. The last U.S.census slave schedules were enumerated by County in 1860 and included 393,975 named persons holding 3,950,546 unnamed slaves, or an average of about ten slaves per holder. Introduction. When they were sold away they remembered their loved ones and they created extended kinship networks. Turner was deeply religious,. Accueil > > Avr > 18 > Uncategorized > common last names for slaves in the 1800s. Frederick Douglass (1818-1895), born into slavery in Maryland and escaped to the Northeast in 1838, where he became an internationally renowned abolitionist writer, speaker, and diplomat. common last names in the 1800s Patronymic surnames such as Jansen/Janssen, Hansen, and Petersen are the most common names in the far north (Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein). Robyn. In fact, it's not even past." My full name is Dick Lewis Barnett. . Is this the work of the evil spirits or from my bad karma? Is this my fate!To worsen matters, a given new European label applied only to one aspect of the nature (whereas his/her original name referred to a total identity) of the enslaved and this was an effective way to try to fragment a victims mindset. They called me OCK. The name of the tragic mythological Trojan princess who was given the gift of prophecy by Apollo, but was condemned never to be believed, Cassandra has been used for striking characters in movies and soap operas. They reflect an acculturation process by which generations of enslaved people, increasingly removed from the direct influence of their first enslaved African ancestors, adopted the conventions of their enslavers, eventually creating a culture and value system all their own. There are a wide array of sources that provide us with slave surnames, from the slave narratives and interviews, to freedmans bank cards, runaway ads and Southern Claims Commission records. -Unknown, "If you can't get rid of the skeleton in your closet, you might as well make it dance!" . Seating is limited. I did a post sometime ago about Slavery Studies, where I named some of the top books on the subject. Osprey Publishing 2008. . I love to hear from my readers.
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