It had always been passed down in the family that Thomas has been owned by the Blacks. 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. Hi Susan, College, Advanced AA Gen. Class, September 2009, Alice, Robyn and Lajoye, CM AAHGS, September 2017, Robyn and Andrea, NGS Conference, May 2014. In freedom, Jean-Louis was known as Louis SEM or Louis FUSELIER until finally using SAM. 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.. Ninety percent of them were African-American, a far higher black percentage than for any other common name. -William Faulkner, "Call it a clan, call it a network, all it a tribe, call it a family. 2. Dick Lewis Barnett and Phillip Fry were African American veterans of the Union Army during the Civil War. They are part of Records of the U.S. Customs Service . CAs Push to Restore Voting Rights to System-Impacted Individuals Still in Custody, Eli Lilly to Cap Out-of-Pocket Insulin Costs, Asm. Picked by several celebrities (a couple of times even for a girl), adding up to an enthusiastically recommended choice. Oxford Bibliographies Online is available by subscription and perpetual access to institutions. After emancipation, he moved back with his mother, brothers and sisters and used the Cobbs surname. If the slaveholder or another free white man was their father, many Creoles did use either is first or last name as a surname. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. In Greek mythology, Athena is the name of the daughter of Zeus who was the goddess of wisdom, warfare, handicrafts, mathematics, and courage, among others. Accueil > > Avr > 18 > Uncategorized > common last names for slaves in the 1800s. African Americans tended to use surnames associated with their own families instead of the last slave owner. Louisiana, U.S., Slave Manumission Records, 1719-1820. A. Mr. Thomas Jefferson of Louisville, bought me when I was three years of age from Mr. Dearing. And please do share posts that interest you. Florence, Fiorella, Fleur, and Flower are translations, but we like Flora best of all. 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. 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. They called me "OCK". One frequently occurring name is Rolle. Thank you so much for your kind words. 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. Thanks for all you to do keeps us all so enlightened! Aruba Congo Bob D'Sean Latoya Dilsy Lopez Lunah African Emmaline Ebo Mema Milla Kyser Ibo Medwin Oilsay Cupad Viney Centere Minta Zoruba Tyzer Nefar Phiba LaVaughn Congo Bob Ladia Ikbo Abah Medger Bossy Shand Cufee Uri Zulu jenee Sorce Tomm Dedib Slave Names Of The 1800's Cena Billah Quarker Lamoney Minba Geto Tonesia Zulu Jana Brutis I hope this post also helps us to think about how the surnames former slaves had were connected to their experiences in slavery. This old French surname has Germanic origin, and means 'noble'. In 1870, he is listed as John Washington. Brief, but stimulating and thoughtful for students coming new to the subject. Q. This article is from the Encyclopedia of North Carolina edited by William S. Powell. 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. LOTTIE had been the name of the nurse before me and so they just continued that same name. "Injurious Names: Naming, Disavowal, and Recuperation in Contexts of Slavery and Emancipation." In The Anthropology of Names and Naming. . Ones occupation also set the naming method, such as Sheperd, Cooper, or Smith. You are the continuation of each of these people." 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. -Winston Churchill, "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." Students learn about President Andrew Johnson and the Congressional Republican's conflicting visions of how to rebuild the nation after the Civil War. 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. My maternal grandmother was an Auber. 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. Robyn. And now that it's been chosen by Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale, it could take off as their first son's nameKingstonhas. 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. If you can identify your ancestor's master, this source will prove of tremendous value to your research. 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. See flier for more details. However, research byLisa D. Cook and colleagueshas revealed evidence of racialized names from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Users without a subscription are not able to see the full content on The second hour is hands-on, and I want you to bring the deeds you've found along with your questions. Is this the same woman Eliza I see living with Thomas Crenshaw in 1880 and 1900? The three databases below provide details of 36,000 trans-Atlantic slave voyages, 10,000 intra-American ventures, names and personal information. 42. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW! Have you visited the Whitney Plantation yet? I belonged to him until emancipation. Here, our list of notable early African American names. This event is $25. 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. . Also, the government seemed to be in a almighty hurry to have us get names. I have gotten so many requests over the years from those who couldn't make the live webinars so I hope you enjoy this new feature. Surnames (not always those of former owners) would then be adopted as family names by former slaves and their descendants. It starts with a young man falling in love with a girl. Abara: Originating from the Igbo group of West Africa, Abara means 'spirit'. I make extensive use of tables for organization, analysis and citation in my research, and they have proven very popular with genealogists. Isaiah derives from the Hebrew Yeshayahu, containing the elements. The names they gave their children provide a valuable, if limited, index of that process over time. Thank you. If we consider the diverse circumstances that the tragedy of slavery created, we can understand the reasons why. Robyn, youve done it again! Thats high on my to do list. No, I don't know to whom she belonged before she was brought from Virginia to Kentucky. "More than half of the surnames are derived from the Christian or fore-name of the father," [1] and based on a total of 3,253,800 people, nearly 18 in every 100 persons was known by one of these fifty surnames. Testimony of Mollie Russell (widow of Phillip Fry), September 19, 1911: Q. Some of these individuals probably lived through the Civil War to become named citizens in Ashley County, Arkansas and may have taken the last name of Hollaway/Holaway or Terry/Tery. After emancipation, they all used the Terry surname because their families had been with the white Terry family for generations. . The surname issue really presents huge challenges for those of us doign this research, but you soulnd as though you are making headway. The population was more than 16 million and the industrial revolution was under way, which debunks any perception of a broadly colonial society. When slave owners married, they often received slaves as wedding gifts and inheritances from their wifes family. Practices undoubtedly varied, and different archival sources may yield different conclusions. Nat Turner's Rebellion One of the most famous slave revolts in American history came in 1831 when Nat Turner led a bloody uprising in Southampton County, Virginia. Chapter 4 gives a brief and introductory outline of naming in the United States during slavery and its consequences in African American culture. 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. Bernard Meaning: brave warrior Origin: French 4. Hi Rodney, BRATHWAITE - This name was derived from a geographic location in the north of England. You should give a TED talk! 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. Rather than being derived from the supernatural world, European given names were a mere handle or tag. After emancipation, he became William Smith. After the war ended and slavery was abolished, they exercised their freedom by changing their names. Dorothy, Doris or Dora: Meaning 'gift of God', this Victorian girl's name was popular in the 19th century. 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. 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. I found in the Civil War registry, an enslaved man who enrolled in the infantry under the name of Wash Ellis. Introduction. In small communities when slaves were sold, they were often bought by someone in the area. > | 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). An 's' at the end of a personal name also meant 'son of', for example Richards, Stevens, Williams and so on. Perhaps Wash Ellis registered under the name of one of his parents. The highest percentage of African names was found among male slaves in the eighteenth century, when . Join my mailing list below to learn about upcoming webinars. Elaine Fantham, Helene Peet Foley, Natalie Boymel Kampen, Sarah B. Pomeroy, H. A. Shapiro. 43. Search 30 million given names. They ran away, fought back, feigned illness, destroyed tools, and clung to their families. 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 . Slavery in America was the legal institution of enslaving human beings, mainly Africans and African Americans. Students learn about the violent responses to the transformation of US democracy that occurred as a result of Radical Reconstruction. In the. Slavery's reach is still with us, and part of the gift of doing African-American genealogy is recovering the stories of those caught in its grasp who could not in their own time leave their own witness.". Perhaps this caused some Slaves to ask: Am I my new name or am I still my old name? Join my mailing list below to receive my posts and get a free PDF with some of my favorite tips! Here, three different former slaves discuss their names and the changes they underwent after Emancipation. He took his last enslaver surname. You could not be signed in, please check and try again. Some of the most common or popular last names in the 1800s included Robinson, Clark, and Smith. 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. John Lewis was born in 1831; in 1844 he and several family members were given to George A. Washington of Wessyngton. 5. A valuable and incisive discussion, both theoretically and historically informed, of slave naming in two African societies, the Caribbean, and the American South. Farley, (English Origin) Victorian-era last names meaning "fern woodland". 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. My fathers name was John Crosby and he lived in the town of Geneva, Alabama, I had two brothers and one sister. I love that your example shows two brothers, who came to different conclusions about their surnames. The slave schedules of 1860 Arkansas do not give the names of the slaves. Hi Donna, . Fernsby, (Old English Origin) Derived from the old English words meaning "fern farmstead". 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. . ", "If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents and all the generations of your ancestors. 1. I communicate with them on Facebook. Just from the detail in your first comment, I knew there was a good chance you were already familiar with those authors. They were Nelson Nunn and George Nunn and they may have changed their names to Crosby too because they were my fathers children.. Herbert G. Gutman, The Black Family in Slavery and Freedom, 1750-1925 (1976). how the surnames former slaves had were connected to their experiences in slavery. Location the owner of ones ancestor is crucial for an African American genealogist to trace his family before 1870. This lifelong quest has helped me to better know my familys past. 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. I have been unable to trace several of his siblings and now wonder if it might be because others did not take that name. USA.gov, The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration Wheatley was traded into slavery at the age of 7 or 8 and imported to North America. 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. . Another slave named Bill who attended the sheep became Bill Shepherd. In fact, it's not even past." This entry was posted on Friday, August 28th, 2009 at 11:46 am and is filed under Civil War, Genealogy & DNA, Interviews. I was called by that name all the time I was with the Morrows. The, 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. In the 1760s Anglo-American frontiersmen, determined to settle the land, planted slavery firmly within the borders of what would become Tennessee. I was bornthe child of Phillis Houston, slave of Sol Smith. Dick Lewis Barnett and Phillip Fry were African American veterans of the Union Army during the Civil War. Place names that were disproportionately popular among Black Americans in history include Boston, Jamaica, York, and Africa. Thank you for commenting, and continued luck to you in your research. Augustin Meaning: a descendant of Augustine Origin: English 2. Alfred Francis Russell (1817-1884), 10th President of Liberia. 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. Names of prominent slaveholderse.g. And you get to tell the story of Jean-Louiss life in slavery and also in freedom. Names. Benson 2006 is one of the few general discussions of slave names. But the Slaves generally had two namesthe one given by the slave owner (e.g. This meant that army records documented their service with their old names instead of their new ones. 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. Ebba: One of the more unique girl names from the 1800s. One given name the childs family selected and kept secret and one the child was known by given by the slave owner. An accessible introduction to the field. Burton, Richard D.E. Names and Naming in Afro-Caribbean Culture. New West Indian Guide/Nieuwe West-Indische Gids 73 (1999): 3558. The origins of this last name date back to the pre-medieval period. 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? According to the latest search data available, Italian last names and their meanings are searched for nearly, 40,500 times per month. -Unknown, "Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city;)" Q. Rank. I focused on surnames but many of these books also discuss first names. 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 . EDHASA, 2006, 359 pages, (. Other common surnames included Jones, Matthews, Sinclair, and Bennett, Price, and Gray.. Turner was deeply religious,. 1760-1810 Persons declared to be "white by law" or "free" (part 1), (part 2) at Jamaican Family Search Genealogy Research Library. With your explanations in mind, I will go back over a couple of family groups and re-assess the surname ambiguousness I have in my notes. I am an engineer by day, but my true passion lies in genealogy. Your insight is always welcome and I am glad you shared these posts for other readers to see. My full name is Dick Lewis Barnett. We had to register as someone, so we could be citizens. For him, this meant claiming his new identity as a freedman and a citizen. LOTTIE had been the name of the nurse before me and so they just continued that same name. Besides the Morrows, whom else did you live with in Louisville? 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. 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. 26 September 2021 [PAST EVENT]: Acclaimed genealogist Melvin Collier and I will be presenting an all-new 2-hour lecture titled More Than Just Names: Incorporating Social and Community History Into Your Research from 1:00-3:30 EST (please note it is Eastern Standard Time). 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. 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. I am an engineer by day, but my true passion lies in genealogy. That is why you will find a lot of families in Louisiana with surnames like Baptiste, Narcisse, Jean-Louis, Nanette-Louise, Rene, Jacques etc Ive come across very few former slaves and fpoc using the surnames of their former owner. It means 'raven'. common last names for slaves in the 1800s. "While African-American genealogical research in many ways is like all genealogical research, the era of slavery makes the task especially challenging. Email:genealogy@slcl.org 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). . The link was not copied. that lists the slaves along with their surnames. Some of these examples come from the wonderful book, Voices of Emancipation: I served [in the War] as Henry Lock, the Lock being my old Massas name but since the War I have taken name of Rollie., [Edward] was owned by Drury Stovall and went by the name of Edward Stovall. 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. The name James has been a popular Victorian male names in the 1800s. This lively Old Testament nature name (belonging to one of the three beautiful daughters of Job) may be missing from the current US Top 1000 list, but it ranks highly here on Nameberry making it one to watch! 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]. This is due in part to officials imposing surnames on them based on their last owners. I am sure your father would also be very proud of your interest in family history. In Greek mythology, Daphne was the nymph daughter of Peneus, a river god. Cook Cook has an Old English origin, and it means 'one who cooks' or 'one who sold cooked meat'. By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. slave rebellions, in the history of the Americas, periodic acts of violent resistance by Black slaves during nearly three centuries of chattel slavery. 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. 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. Former slaves often made up surnames based on their occupations. . If a surname was needed, the slave owners family name might be used. For more details, see the flier here, and you can purchase them here. I am the applicant for pension on account of having served in Co. B. In 1911, Barnett and Fry's widow, Mollie, both applied for pensions from the government. Archambeau. Societies. In 1911, Barnett and Frys widow, Mollie, both applied for pensions from the government. Although it is not widely known, some African Americans used surnames before they were emancipated. Choose the best name for your child. Table 7. Middle Tennessee, where tobacco, cattle, and grain became the favored crops, held the . The most common of 603 names of female Slaves were Bet, Mary, Jane, Hanna, Betty, Sarah, Phillis, Nan, Peg, and Sary. This reading contains quoted text not authored by Facing History & Ourselves. Phone: 314-994-3300, Hours & Locations Comments/Suggestions314-994-3300, Copyright 2023. For personal use and not for further distribution. The 2000 U.S. Census counted 163,036 people with the surname Washington. Bernacki: Teatr; Mamontowicz-ojek: Szkoa Tyzenhauza s. 53, 54, 70, 86-89, 92; Wierzbicka: Sze studiw; Muzyka 1969 nr 2 (J. Prosnak). She was a Murphy.. 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) For more information about the records covered in this index, please contact the History and Genealogy Department. My great grandfather Wilson Percival was born in South Carolina and I believe he took his surname from last slave owners family. Such resistance signified continual deep-rooted discontent with the condition of bondage and, in some places, such as the United States, resulted in ever-more-stringent mechanisms for social control and repression in slaveholding areas. Wood were recorded as slave. Thomas mother, younger brothers and sisters remained with the Black family. Benson, Susan. . Caps statement implies that choosing his own surname was a part of exercising his newfound freedom. Smith.). They are recorded with the Ashby surname on subsequent documents. If the former slave had been befriended or assisted in getting established after the Civil War, they might have taken that persons name. George Duncan Ludlow (1734-1808), colonial lawyer. This may reveal your family used the surname of the slave owners wifes family. 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. No superior alternative has yet been found. I have been a researcher, writer, and lecturer for over twenty-five years. Thanks LaBrenda! Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Thomas Black Cobbs was owned by a small slave owner Catherine Black. 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! Thus, the patronymic surname can be effectively regarded as "keeper of the peace." This phenomenon is not unheard of with African American surnames. Copy this link, or click below to email it to a friend. This is such a well-written and informative post one that I know will open many eyes to the complexity of slave surnames, as well as many other aspects of the lives of the enslaved. Wide-ranging survey of naming practices in the (mainly Anglophone) Atlantic world both during and after slavery. You can use the links below to view more common surnames. 3. . 1. Letter to James Edward Calhoun, August 27, 1831. Robyn. 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. Most common last names names: 1-1000 | 1001-2000 | 2001-3000 | 3001-4000 | 4001-5000 Use the form below to get in touch with me and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Anouilh. . He was sold to my master William Orr and he always went by the name Edward Orr after that.. In fact, the previous enslaver widow sold most of the slaves. Ref. Slavery's reach is still with us, and part of the gift of doing African-American genealogy, "The past is not dead. 17. The fifty most common Victorian surnames in England and Wales for 1853 are listed in alphabetical order below. 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. In the 1930s, ex-slave Martin Jackson explained why he chose his last name after Emancipation: The master's name was usually adopted by a slave after he was set free. In another case Sukey Ann and he 4 children were manumitted by their Ashby owner with only their first names. Three formerly enslaved people discuss their names and the changes they underwent after Emancipation. 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. i have no way to confirm this. Place names that were disproportionately popular among Black Americans in history include Boston, Jamaica, York, and Africa. The top 5 most common Hispanic last names from the 1920s are: 1. I hope youll sign up to receive my postsif you do, youll get a free PDF with some of my favorite tips! Students consider how US history books, films, and other works of popular culture have misrepresented the history of the Reconstruction era. Q. . Now, that parents surname could very well be the surname of the most recent slaveholder or an earlier slaveholder. Another slave named Bill who attended the sheep became Bill Shepherd. Allard. . Olympic speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno might inspire some parents. But I tell you, trying to document that all those names refer to the same person is hard, hard work! 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. 18. The quote below, from a Southern Claims Commission file, is one of the most powerful and one of my favorites to use in lectures: I enlisted under Ross because that was my fathers name.
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