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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. Miracle, (Old English and Latin Origin) Derived from the first name Mauritius meaning "dark". Brown: A common last name derived from an ancestor's complexion or the color of their hair. Beginning in the early nineteenth century, more biblical names were given to enslavedchildren, a reflection of the widespread attempts to Christianize enslaved communities. Thats high on my to do list. Instead a wide variety of surnames came about that would be the family name for future generations. They were Nelson Nunn and George Nunn and they may have changed their names to Crosby too because they were my fathers children.. 3. I belonged to him until emancipation. The battle was long and hard-fought, with pro-slavery campaigners arguing that the slave trade was important for the British economy and claiming that enslaved Africans were happy and well-treated. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW! For him, this meant claiming his new identity as a freedman and a citizen. 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. Bailey, Word Stories Surrounding African American Slavery. Oxford Bibliographies Online is available by subscription and perpetual access to institutions. Many took the surname of famous or celebrated people; such as 'Lincoln', 'Grant', and 'Washington' was very popular. By examining periods of violence during the Reconstruction era, students learn about the potential backlash to political and social change. A. The surname issue really presents huge challenges for those of us doign this research, but you soulnd as though you are making headway. They cut it off from OCTAVIA. 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]. Even many given names of ancestors eventually became a surname, such as Todd or William. The practice was common until its abolition in 1865 with the end of the Civil War and the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution.. For the time being, we are using this as the Slavery Plantation umbrella or portal. 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! Hi Rodney, Wood were recorded as slave. Others who wanted no connection to their former owners used surnames like Freeman or Freedman. I communicate with them on Facebook. Phillis Wheatley (May 8, 1753 - December 5, 1784) Source = Wikimedia. I find it interesting that they often used the strange phrase he calls himself in the ads, as if having a given name and a surname was silly: Ran away from the subscriber on the 25th of October, a well set dark mulattoe man named Jem, but calls himself James Ferguson.. After the war ended and slavery was abolished, they exercised their freedom by changing their names. These cookies do not store any personal information. Spencer is a name that has everything: it's both distinguished sounding and accessible, dignified but Spencer Tracy-like friendly. No superior alternative has yet been found." Five of the slaves were sold to the Washingtons and brought to Wessyngton. I want.to.know.where we (who are.descendants.of.freed.people.who.got sent.back.to Sierra Leone.from.maybe Nova Scotia.) In fact, it's not even past. 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. Please share, in the comments below, examplesyou have come across of the surnames of enslaved people, especially if it was different from their last slaveholder. It means 'bought land'. 13 March 2022, 1-2:30pm [PAST EVENT], Eastern Standard Time: Cant find some of your ancestors in the census? I am the applicant for pension on account of having served in Co. B. Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. 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 lifelong quest has helped me to better know my familys past. Copyright 2006 by the University of North Carolina Press. is for you. Slavery existed in the United States from its founding in 1776 and became the main . ", "Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city;)", "Where does the family start? Im very familiar with the work of Gwendolyn Hall and Elizabeth Shown Mills. If you can identify your ancestor's master, this source will prove of tremendous value to your research. Students examine the factors that led many northerners to turn against federal policies passed during the Reconstruction era that protected freedpeople. I was called by that name all the time I was with the Morrows. Thank you, my dear friend, for adding this about enslaved people owned in the Caribbean is really important, as some of the customs were certainly different. Q. As a newspaper that publishes in the spirit of the Black Press, the Black Voice News has given voice to the voiceless and shined a light on systemic inequities and disparities since 1972. Besides the Morrows, whom else did you live with in Louisville? 3. 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. The top 5 most common Hispanic last names from the 1920s are: 1. I am sure your father would also be very proud of your interest in family history. Popular English baby names by decade - 1840s - 1990s 1840s 5 Robert - 53 Margaret - 47 The 1860s first saw the Rimmers' use of 1870s Boys Girls Total registered births - 1,944 1 John - 160 Mary - 151 The 1870s first saw the Rimmers' use of What was the first girl's name in the 1900s? 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! 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. In 1870, he is listed as John Washington. In 1801, the British government took the first census for Great Britain and Ireland. She served that family for a long time, perhaps more clues to her past lie in his family roots. I truly believe they used surnames of each of their former owners for some of their childrens middle names. Major types on which most would agree are European place and literary names, European personal names in hypocoristic (pet or diminutive) form, biblical and classical names, and names of African origin. Many of the former slaves and some free people of color took the first name of their father, mother and sometimes former slaveowner as their last. Edited by Gabriele vom Bruck and Barbara Bodenhorn, 178199. They identified 21 distinctly Black male names, among them biblical classics such as Abraham and Moses, and word names including Freeman and Prince. However, research byLisa D. Cook and colleagueshas revealed evidence of racialized names from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Wheatley was traded into slavery at the age of 7 or 8 and imported to North America. 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 Born in Union County, South Carolina, he was sold to his last enslaver in 1858 and then brought to Mississippi. Injurious Names: Naming, Disavowal, and Recuperation in Contexts of Slavery and Emancipation. In The Anthropology of Names and Naming. 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. No, I don't know to whom she belonged before she was brought from Virginia to Kentucky. It was after emancipation on that I went back to work for Col. Morrow and where I got the name Lottie, as already explained. You can use the links below to view more common surnames. Best of luck to you in your research, Baby Name Generator. State of residence is Missouri unless otherwise noted. The surname Williams occurs roughly 550 times per 100,000 people in the U.S. You can find explanations for each of the table columns below, or use the following links to view more last names for different ancestries. Thank you so much for your kind words. You are the continuation of each of these people." 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. There are issues, too, about how to interpret the recorded names, which have been classified in different ways depending on researchers interests. Search 31 million family names. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW! The naming of slaves has not been treated in dedicated monographs, but it often figures in general accounts of plantation culture and the practices of enslavement. Q. Kaplan, Justin, and Anne Bernays. I think mostly about family separationas a mother now myself, the very idea that my dear child could be sold to who knows where, never to be seen again..just reduces me to tears anytime. This old French surname has Germanic origin, and means 'noble'. Osprey Publishing 2008. He was a slave owner and, in 1800 as Chief Justice of New Brunswick, he supported slavery in defiance of British practice at the time. By the late 19th century, England was home to about 300 surnames with traceable genealogy. 2. Also, the government seemed to be in a almighty hurry to have us get names. Now, that parent's surname could very well be the surname of the most recent slaveholder or an earlier slaveholder. I am generally called Cap Sherrod but I was married under Cap Ross and have voted under the name Ross, A good many people call me Cap Sherrod because I belonged to Sherrod but I calls myself Cap Ross.. 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. There are 15 tables, blank and editable for you to populate, as well as samples of using each. 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. Used by permission of the publisher. common last names for slaves in the 1800s. -Hugh Kingsmill, "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?" Bernacki: Teatr; Mamontowicz-ojek: Szkoa Tyzenhauza s. 53, 54, 70, 86-89, 92; Wierzbicka: Sze studiw; Muzyka 1969 nr 2 (J. Prosnak). Join my mailing list below to receive my posts and get a free PDF with some of my favorite tips! Corbin Corbin has an Old English origin. 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. Cook Cook has an Old English origin, and it means 'one who cooks' or 'one who sold cooked meat'. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Hello Melvin, Chery Meaning: derived from the Latin Cariacus, which means "land belonging to Cariu"; darling Origin: French 5. In 1911, Barnett and Frys widow, Mollie, both applied for pensions from the government. 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. Surely the hundreds of black Culbert people living today cannot all be connected to those three cases. Augustin Meaning: a descendant of Augustine Origin: English 2. David Nicolle, Graham Turner: Poitiers AD 732: Charles Martel Turns the Islamic Tide. Robyn, youve done it again! You can read about this in the following two posts on my blog. Names. . Students consider how US history books, films, and other works of popular culture have misrepresented the history of the Reconstruction era. The result was the birth of mulatto, quadroon, or mustee (mestee) children. They called me "OCK". Ebba: One of the more unique girl names from the 1800s. Jackson: This name is a patronymic of Jack. A. Mr. Thomas Jefferson of Louisville, bought me when I was three years of age from Mr. Dearing. This is due in part to officials imposing surnames on them based on their last owners. 1. Because I like to let formerly enslaved people speak for themselves, here are several examples of freedmen and women discussing their surnames. Numerous historical sources confirm that enslaved people had surnames that they used among themselves and in many cases were known by their slaveholder. Free black slave holders could be found at one time or . 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. If the name is spelled Rodrigues, the name is Portuguese but has the same meaning) 3. You can also look up Charleston Manifests by Slave Owner These records are also available through the National Archives Catalog (National Archives Identifier 2767350). Peneus saved Daphne from Apollos romantic obsessions by transforming her into a laurel tree. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2006. 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. It had always been passed down in the family that Thomas has been owned by the Blacks. . I was called mostly Lewis Smith till after the war, although I was named Dick Lewis Smith After the War, I was wearing the name Lewis Smith, but I found the negroes were taking the names of their fathers, like the white folks. There are many factors to consider in determining what surnames African Americans used. Thanks for writing this post! 42. Over time, East Tennessee, hilly and dominated by small farms, retained the fewest number of slaves. Surnames. 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. Gradually, to show contempt for Slaves, the captors used Buck and Wench for naming the genders till they became trade terms, like Filly and Shoat.Contempt for the male was removing his honorific attachment to fatherhood and manhood by being addressed as Boy. Once the vigorous years of his prime were passed, he was allowed to assume the title of Uncle. Females were called Gal, girl, or the name of some animal. Copyright 2023 Facing History & Ourselves. The Missouri Compromisealso referred to as the Compromise of 1820was an agreement between the pro- and anti-slavery factions regulating slavery in the western territories. 2023 The Voice of the Black Community in California. 17. 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. Leo (M) (Russian origin) means "lion". 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. Many of these were names of heroesbut not Lincoln. The campaign in Britain to abolish slavery began in the 1760s, supported by both black and white abolitionists. Through DNA matches, I believe I have recently found a brother of my mothers great grandfather. 40. The three databases below provide details of 36,000 trans-Atlantic slave voyages, 10,000 intra-American ventures, names and personal information. The origins of this last name date back to the pre-medieval period. Almost every major tome on slavery discusses slave naming practices in some form or fashion. Thats a goal that I am working towards. There was often a fluidity to the surnames that enslaved people had. Facing History & Ourselves, "Changing Names," last updated May 12, 2020. A valuable and incisive discussion, both theoretically and historically informed, of slave naming in two African societies, the Caribbean, and the American South. Robyn. 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. Famous name bearers: many King Louis of France, Sandra Bullock's son and actor Louis Partridge. -Thich Nhat Hanh, evolve theme by Theme4PressPowered by WordPress, Maryland Genealogical Society Holiday Luncheon, December 2017-2, Washington FHC Annual Conference, May 2011, Baltimore Family History Conference, October 2017-2, International Black Genealogy Summit, September 2016-2, Carroll County Genealogical Society Dinner, June 2018, Baltimore Family History Conference, October 2017, Reginald Lewis Museum, September 2011-2.jpg, Maryland State Archives Family History Festival, October 2014-2, Central Maryland AAHGS Meeting, March 2013, Robyn, Vonda, Andrea and Glenn, NGS Conf., May 2014, Maryland Genealogical Society Holiday Luncheon, December 2017-1, Howard Comm. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one" Most common last names names: 1-1000 | 1001-2000 | 2001-3000 | 3001-4000 | 4001-5000 My father once told me his grandfather ran away from the Carrington place and changed his name to Williams. All of them are alive in this moment. Women tended to have two names, and slaves often just had one. Anouilh. Slaves were generally listed with just one name and thus with little to none of the genealogical information recorded for free whites. In the 1760s Anglo-American frontiersmen, determined to settle the land, planted slavery firmly within the borders of what would become Tennessee. 1. LOTTIE had been the name of the nurse before me and so they just continued that same name. Davis: This name is a patronymic of David. I was called by that name all the time I was with the Morrows. How did you ever come by the name of "Mollie"? 41. 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 . I was only three years old when she died. Abebe: The genesis of this Ethiopian name is Amharic, and it means 'flower' or 'blossom'. ", "Case Overview: Ann Williams, Ann Maria Williams, Tobias Williams, & John Williams v. George Miller & George Miller Jr", "Augustine Tolton: From slavery to being the first black priest", "Cornish (and Other) Personal Names from the 10th Century Bodmin Manumissions", "Gospel-book with added Cornish records of manumissions ('The Bodmin Gospels' or 'St Petroc Gospels')", "Following Brigid's Way The Irish Catholic", Charity Folks, Lost Royalty, and the Bishop Family of Maryland and New York, "The Untold Story of How an Escaped Slave Helped Sir Francis Drake Circumnavigate the Globe", "Slave's 400-year-old grave in Dutch Jewish cemetery now a Black pilgrimage site" by Cnaan Lipshiz, Times of Israel, 6 February 2021, Roman Theater and Society: E. Togo Salmon Papers I, "Professor Says He Has Solved a Mystery Over a Slave's Novel", "Day of history to unfold in Muthill museum", "Cornelius Tacitus, The History, Book I, chapter 13", "An Old Actor's Memories; What Mt. Of course my mother wasnt a Bradley fore she married. Explore the most common surnames in England. Claudia Bautista,Santa Monica, Calif. You must have JavaScript enabled to use this form. She was a Murphy.. See flier for details; cost of this event is $25. But there was also the detective Nero Wolfe, hero of many mystery stories. My Louisiana Creole ancestors who were free persons of color and former slaves practiced a unique naming tradition I think comes from Latin cultures. One ancestor was known as Baber Masse, Elizabeth SENET and Elisabeth Leveille in different documents. Enslaved women were raped, creating children with white fathers who in most cases did not claim them and even sold them away. But I tell you, trying to document that all those names refer to the same person is hard, hard work! A favorite of British novelists including Evelyn Waugh and P. G. Wodehouse, Ambrose has an air of blooming well-being and upper-class erudition. Proving their identity as former soldiers often revealed some of the most detailed explanations for former slaves choice of surnames. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. Students consider what it means to be free by learning about the choices and aspirations of freedpeople immediately after Emancipation. Picked by several celebrities (a couple of times even for a girl), adding up to an enthusiastically recommended choice. 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. A. Lottie Smith was my name and what they called me before I met Phillip and was married to him. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. 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. Robyn. When Wessyngtons owner George A. Washington married Margaret Lewis in 1849 her father gave the couple twenty-nine slaves. It comes from the same Greek root as 'ambrosia', the food of the gods, said to confer immortality. Since those are the countries from which many of America's original settlers came, it's hardly surprising. 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. 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. Abel, et al. It gives the age and sex of the slave and the number of slaves of each age and sex. Relish, (Old French Origin) Derived from relaisse meaning "flavor or taste". Just go to my Vimeo page and make your selection. A. Hi Jim, Perhaps Wash Ellis registered under the name of one of his parents. Were there any famous slaves? Lastly,emancipation itself often provoked many to choose new surnames, one of the few actual freedoms freedmen had. Thank you for your kind comment and I am glad my post helped some with the complicated reasons behind the surnames enslaved people had. 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. Emphasizes the giving and repeated use of names as a performative act of domination. So just a few things to be aware of when researching any African-American ancestors. To date there are no book-length studies covering the naming of slaves across the Anglophone Atlantic, but Burton 1999 and Kaplan and Bernays 1997 provide useful entry-level discussions for the Caribbean and mainland United States, respectively. I love that your example shows two brothers, who came to different conclusions about their surnames. Finding State Laws About Slaves and Free Blacks, More Suggestions for White Slaveholder Descendants, http://justthinking130.blogspot.com/2009/09/calvin-r-yarborough-where-it-all-began.html, http://justthinking130.blogspot.com/2013/11/many-rivers-to-cross-my-priscilla.html, https://www.historicpathways.com/articles.html, http://whitneyplantation.com/the-louisiana-slave-database.html. Throughout the colonial period, as many as one-fifth of the enslaved people in North Carolina retained African names; Quash, Cuffee, Mingo, Sambo, Mustapha, and Sukey were among the most common recorded. EDHASA, 2006, 359 pages, (. I have been a researcher, writer, lecturer and teacher for over twenty years. Three formerly enslaved people discuss their names and the changes they underwent after Emancipation. . Through Reclaiming Kin, I share tips on genealogy skillbuilding for all genealogists, and on researching slavery and the enslaved. One name you find frequently used was Freeman or Freedmen to declare their new freedom. Another interesting fact is that Creole surname use also evolved over time and varied from record to record with the same person. Where did you get the maiden name of Smith from? Even tiny steps are huge in someones life. They did so either to take on a surname for the first time, or to replace a name or surname given to them by a former master. Along with Abraham and Prince, other early African American names currently in the US Top 1000 include Alonzo, Athena, Daphne, Elijah, Isaiah, Israel, King, Phoebe, and Titus. You should give a TED talk! Archambeau. Well, I got to thinking about all us slaves that was going to take the name Fitzpatrick. Names from the Bible were another common practice, for given and surnames. Thomas Black Cobbs was owned by a small slave owner Catherine Black. A. Lottie Smith was my name and what they called me before I met Phillip and was married to him. Former slaves often used surnames names of historical figures such as Washington, Jefferson or Jackson. They ran away, fought back, feigned illness, destroyed tools, and clung to their families. Theres always more to learn! Who called you by that name and where was it done? . Genealogy becomes so much more than just names and dates, it really feels like a true passion indeed. American slave owners or slaveholders were owners of slaves in the United States which typically worked either as agriculture laborers or house servants. 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. There has been disagreement about whether it was slaveholders or the enslaved who gave the recorded names.