A Spot on the Map

Land has been tied throughout history to a place to dwell securely. For my 2nd great-grandparents, Mingo and Jane (Salter) Bryant, a single spot on the map represented their progression from being considered chattel property and owning property.

Mingo Bryant was born into enslavement in Georgia around 1823; his exact birthplace remains unknown.1 In January 1848, Mingo was included as chattel property in the estate of Echols Hightower, late of Dooly County, Georgia. Mingo was passed on to Henry A. Hightower, son of the deceased, in the estate distribution.2 Six years later, in 1854, the life of Mingo took a sudden turn when Henry A. Hightower migrated from Dooly County to Early County, Georgia.

Early County, Georgia

Figure 1. Georgia map highlighting Early County in red.  Early County map highlighting Damascus in red.

Henry A. Hightower purchased rich cotton land along a tributary creek in District 6, Early County, Georgia. The 1860 U.S. census documented 39 enslaved individuals on Henry A. Hightower’s plantation.3 In December 1860, Henry A. Hightower died intestate. An agreement was made in 1861 for Henry’s brother-in-law and neighbor, James Salter, to work the plantation for the remainder of the year.4 The land lots of the estate were sold to James Freeman, the new husband of Henry’s widow.5 

In February 1862, the enslaved people in the estate of Henry A. Hightower were distributed by the drawing of lots by the heirs-at-law. Mingo was among the enslaved people allotted to Elizabeth A. Hightower, a minor daughter of the deceased enslaver.6 Soon after, James Freeman, step-father and guardian of the two minor Hightower daughters, deeded the land lots of the estate to the girls. The minors’ estate also included thirteen enslaved people, including Mingo.7 This legal transaction kept Mingo bound to a specific spot on the map.

From Bondage to Land Ownership

The end of the Civil War brought emancipation and freedom to replace a surname given by a former enslaver. Mingo and his family selected the surname of Bryant. Instead of leaving the region, Mingo Bryant and his family chose to build their life as free people in the same area where they had been enslaved.

Mingo Bryant’s name appeared on the 1869 voters list for Georgia Militia District 854 in Damascus, Early County.8 In the 1870 U.S. Census, Mingo and his family were recorded living in District 6.9 Throughout the 1870s, Mingo Bryant appeared in the local tax digests, paying poll tax and tax on his meager personal estate.10

Then, in 1879, Mingo achieved what would have seemed impossible a decade earlier. He began paying taxes on 250 acres of real estate in District 6, specifically land lot 223.11 By 1880, the U.S. Census agricultural schedule listed “Mingus” Bryant as the owner of 75 tilled acres and 150 woodland acres, with a farm valued at $450.12 The location of the land bordered the plantations where Mingo had been held in bondage.

In Figure 2, Henry A. Hightower owned land lots 64, 97, 103, 104, 106, 137, and 139 (highlighted in yellow). James Salter owned nearby land lots 144, 145, 146, 175, 176, 177, 185, and 186 (highlighted in light blue). The land lot worked by Mingo Bryant is outlined in blue.

Figure 2. Land Lot Map of Early County Georgia:  Each square is a land lot containing 250 acres.
Georgia Landlots and Militia Districts – Landlots.

Mingo Bryant died between 1884 and 1885. His widow, Jane Bryant, paid taxes on 180 acres of land lot 223 in 1885. The following year, she began paying taxes on 100 acres of the adjacent land lot 218.13 In Figure 2 this land lot is outlined in red. The reason for the change in land lots is unknown.

In March 1889, Jane purchased 50 acres off the north side of land lot 218 for $100 from T. E. Hightower and J. H. Hightower. The grantors were likely Thomas Echols Hightower and John H. Hightower, nephew and son respectively of Mingo’s former enslaver, Henry A. Hightower. It is interesting to note that the deed was not recorded until December 1892.14

The land deeded to Jane Bryant remained in the family until January 1945, when it was the subject of an administrator’s sale. The legal newspaper notice stated in part, “…described lands of the estate of Jane Bryant, deceased: Twenty acres of land off of the east end of fifty acres extending across the north side of lot No. 218 in the 6th district of Early County…”15

The story of Mingo and Jane Bryant is a testament to their quiet determination to own a spot on the map.

Note: This blog post was created in part with the help of Gemini Notebook 2.0. The AI reviewed my rough draft to improve flow and clarity. The final post was reviewed, edited, and refined by me. All research and final content are my own.

Sources

  1. 1870 U.S. census, Early, Georgia, population schedule, Blakely, p. 30, dwelling 260, family 260, Mingo Bryant; digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCS1-8CC :  accessed 5 September 2015) Georgia > Early > District 6 > image 31 of 54. ↩︎
  2. Dooly County, Georgia, “Returns and Vouchers, Book No. 1 (1847-1854): 12-13, Mingo in the distribution of the estate of Echols Hightower, 1848; imaged, “Georgia, Probate Records, 1742-1990,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G93T-XZJC?view=fullText : accessed 13 March 2025) > image group no. 5768004 > image 26 of 653; Georgia. Department of Archives and History. ↩︎
  3. 1860 U. S. census, Early County, Georgia, slave schedule, 6th District, pages 10-11 (penned), line 16 (Henry Allen Hightower, owner); line 15 (Andrew M. Hightower, owner); line 34 (James Salter, owner); imaged, “1860 U.S. Federal Census,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7668/images/gam653_145-0168: accessed 24 June 2013). ↩︎
  4. Early County, Georgia, Court of Ordinary, Annual Returns, Book B (1857-1864): 280, James Salter, estate of Henry A. Hightower, 1861; imaged, “Georgia, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1742-1992,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8635/images/005756861_00157 : accessed 9 November 2022); citing Early County Courthouse, Blakely. ↩︎
  5. Early County, Georgia, Superior Court, Deeds, Book R (1890-1892): 556, indenture, James Freeman in the estate of Henry A. Hightower, 1862; imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3Q5-997R-F : accessed 16 April 2024); citing Early County Courthouse, Blakely. ↩︎
  6.  Early County, Georgia, Court of Ordinary, Annual Returns, Book B (1857-1864): 345, Elizabeth A. Hightower in estate of Henry A. Hightower; imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G93L-RJ6B?view=fullText : accessed 11 March 2025); citing Early County Courthouse, Blakely. ↩︎
  7.  Early County, Georgia, Superior Court, Deeds, Book B2 (1874-1880): 76, Sarah N. T. and Elizabeth Allen Hightower, minors in estate of Henry A. Hightower, 1862; imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3Q5-9G7Z : accessed 16 April 2024); citing Early County Courthouse, Blakely. ↩︎
  8. Early, Georgia, Returns of Qualified Voters Under the Reconstruction Act, 1867, page 1, Mingo Bryant;  imaged, “Georgia, U.S., Returns of Qualified Voters and Reconstruction Oath Books, 1867-1869,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1857/images/32305_1220705227_0294-00005 : accessed 5 September 2015); citing Georgia State Archives, Morrow. ↩︎
  9. 1870 U.S. census, Early County, Georgia, pop. sch., 6th District, Blakely, p. 30 (stamped), 31 (written), dwell. 260, fam. 260, Mingo Bryant household. ↩︎
  10. Early County, Georgia, Property Tax Digests, 1872-1875, unpaginated entries arranged chronologically, all years read for entries on Freedman Tax List relating to Bryant; imaged, “Georgia, U.S., Property Tax Digests, 1793-1892,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1729 : accessed 19 September 2021) > Browse > Early > image 252 of 922; citing The Georgia Archives, VOL3-5523. ↩︎
  11. Early, Georgia, Tax Rolls 1878-1882, unpaginated entries arranged chronologically, all years read for entries relating to Mingo Bryant; imaged, “Georgia, U.S., Property Tax Digests, 1793-1892,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1729/images/40881_1020705384_0347-00269 : accessed 19 September 2021); image 270 of 814. ↩︎
  12. 1880 U.S. census, Early County, Georgia, agriculture schedule, page 6, line 2, “Mingers” [Mingo] Bryant; imaged “U.S. Selected Federal Census Non-Population Schedules, 1850-1880,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1276/images/32668_236692-00167 : accessed 14 August 2026). ↩︎
  13. Early County, Georgia, Tax Rolls 1883-1887, unpaginated entries arranged chronologically, all years read for entries relating to Bryant surname; consulted as “Georgia, U.S., Property Tax Digests, 1793-1892”; digital images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/ : accessed 19 September 2021) Early > 1883-1887 > images 427, 577 and 733 of 751; citing Georgia Tax Digests, Georgia Archives, Morrow, Georgia. ↩︎
  14. Early County, Georgia, Deed Record S: 52-53, T.E. Hightower and J. A. Hightower to Jane Bryant, 18 March 1889; consulted as “Deeds, 1821-1900; numerical index to deeds, 1822-1920,” images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3QR-V9SZ-1 : accessed 26 July 2023). ↩︎
  15. “Administrator’s Sale,” Early County News (Blakely, Georgia), 8 November 1945, page 7, column 3; this notice ran every week through 3 January 1946; digital images, Digital Library of Georgia (https://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/lccn/sn85034007/1945-12-13/ed-1/seq-7 : accessed 22 July 2023). ↩︎

Longlasting – 52 Ancestors

Long-lasting is defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary as “existing or continuing for a long time”. This adjective describes the union of Thomas Jefferson Guice and Minnie Elizabeth Waters that lasted more than 72 years. Long-lasting also describes their careers that spanned 40 plus years each.

The Beginning

The journey of Thomas and Minnie began in 1912 at Tuskegee Institute (now University) in Macon County, Alabama.  Minnie Elizabeth Waters left her home in Earlington, Kentucky in 1911 to attend Tuskegee.1  In 1912 Thomas Jefferson Guice from Mount Andrew, Barbour County, Alabama entered Tuskegee.  Minnie and Thomas  are listed as students between 1912 and 1915.2, 3 The young lady from Kentucky and the young man from Alabama became friends, and their friendship evolved into a lifelong partnership.

Minnie E. Waters completed the course at Tuskegee in June 1915 and returned home for the summer.4  Thomas also completed the three year Blacksmith program at Tuskegee in 1915. The highlight of his training was shoeing the horse of Tuskegee’s president, Booker T. Washington.5

Commitment

Thomas and Minnie were married in Montgomery, Alabama on 2 September 1915.6  The newspaper in Minnie’s hometown published the following announcement:

“Miss Minnie Waters, of this city and Thomas Guice of Mt. Andrew, Ala. were quietly married in Montgomery Ala. the 2nd of this month.”7 

Their first child, Tommie Gwendolyn, was born the following year in Mount Andrew.8

By 1917, Thomas, Minnie, and their infant daughter had moved to Birmingham, Alabama.  Thomas quickly established himself as a blacksmith. Over the next decade, Thomas and Minnie expanded their family to include six children: Tommie, Reginald, LaVerne, Neva, Jarvis, and Gaynell.

Careers

Thomas Jefferson Guice worked as a blacksmith for over 40 years .  The 1917 Birmingham city directory listed him as a partner in Guice & Jones blacksmith shop.9  Thomas was employed by Crause-Crawford Mfg. Co. as a blacksmith when he registered for the World War I Draft in June 1917.  He claimed an exemption from the draft based on “doing government work”.10  In 1924 Thomas J. Guice was employed as a blacksmith with the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway Company (also known as SLSF or Frisco Lines) in Birmingham.11  He retired after 37 years as a blacksmith with the Frisco Railroad.12

Minnie Waters Guice was an elementary teacher and reading specialist. A highlight of her career came in 1966 when she was selected as her school’s Teacher of the Year.13 Minnie retired after 41 years with the Birmingham Public school system.14

The Final Chapter

On 16 May 1988, Minnie Elizabeth Waters Guice departed this life at the age of 92. She left to mourn her husband of 72 years 8 months, and their five children.15

Six weeks later, on  27 June 1988, Thomas Jefferson Guice, age 95, followed his wife into death.16

Thomas Jefferson Guice (1893-1988) was my husband’s granduncle.

Sources

  1. Rev. J. R. Evans, Editon, “Colored Column,” The Bee (Earlington, Kentucky), 7 June 1912, page 2, column 6, for “Miss Minnie Waters”; imaged, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/529777078/ : accessed 19 August 2026. ↩︎
  2. Tuskegee Institute, “Catalogue of Students,” Thirty-Second Annual Catalogue; The Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute 1912-1913 (Tuskegee: Institute Press, 1913), 110 and 113, entries for Minnie Elizabeth Water and Thomas Jefferson Guice; also subsequent years, with varying titles, specifically (1913-1914) 116; imaged, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/annualcatalogue1911tusk/ : accessed 21 August 2026). ↩︎
  3. Tuskegee Institute, “Catalog of Students,”  Thirty-Fourth Annual Catalog; The Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, 1914-1915 (Tuskegee: Institute Press, 1915), 118 for Minnie Deborah Elizabeth Waters, Earlington, Kentucky and 119 for Thomas Guice, Mt. Andrew, Alabama; imaged, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/annualcatalogue1914tusk/page/n144/mode/1up : accessed 21 August 2026). ↩︎
  4. Neva Waters, “Colored Column,” The Bee (Earlington, Kentucky), 15 June 1915, page 2, column 5, for “Miss Minnie Waters”; imaged, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/145528135/ : accessed 22 August 2026). ↩︎
  5. Thomas Jefferson Guice, funeral program, Byers Family Collection; privately owned. Distributed at the funeral of Thomas Jefferson Guice, 2 July 1988, Birmingham, Alabama. Inherited from Valencia Guice Byers. ↩︎
  6. “Alabama County Marriages, 1711-1992,” database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKMB-RHNZ: accessed 19 August 2026), entry for Minnie Waters and Thomas Guice, 2 September 1915; citing County Probate Courts, Alabama. ↩︎
  7. Neva Waters, “Colored Column,” The Bee (Earlington, Kentucky), 14 September 1915, page 4, column 2, for “Miss Minnie Waters” and “Thomas Guice”; imaged, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/529684757/: accessed 19 August 2026). ↩︎
  8. “Alabama, County Birth Registers, 1881-1930,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:WGMP-1Z3Z : 12 December 2019), Tommie Gwendolyn Guice, 23 January 1916; citing Birth, Mount Andrew, Barbour, Alabama, United States, multiple county Probate Judges. ↩︎
  9. R. L. Polk & Co.’s Birmingham City Directory 1917, XXXII:, 737, entries for “Guice Thos L (Guice & Jones)” and “Blacksmiths Guice & Jones””; imaged in “U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 4 September 2023) > Alabama > Birmingham > 1917 > Birmingham, Alabama, City Directory, 1917 > images 368 and 745 of 814. ↩︎
  10. “United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918”, database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9YRR-QK : 25 December 2021), Thomas Jefferson Guice No. 202, Draft Board 6, Birmingham, Jefferson County, Alabama, USA; citing United States, Selective Service System. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration.   ↩︎
  11. Polk’s Birmingham City Directory, 1924, XXXVIII (Birmingham: R. L. Polk & Co., 1924), 763, entry for “Guice Thos J”; imaged in “U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 2 May 2020) > Alabama >Birmingham > 1924 > Birmingham, Alabama, City Directory, 1924 > image 381 of 825. ↩︎
  12. Thomas Jefferson Guice, funeral program. ↩︎
  13. “Teacher of the Year [Mrs. Minnie Waters Guice],” The Birmingham News, 3 April 1966, page A-43, column 1; imaged, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/1149330771/ : accessed 21 August 2026). ↩︎
  14. “Mrs. Minnie Elizabeth Waters Guice,” obituary, The Birmingham [Alabama] News, 19 May 1988, page 4C, column 3; imaged, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/1152332822/ : accessed 19 August 2026). ↩︎
  15. Ibid. ↩︎
  16. Thomas Jefferson Guice, funeral program. ↩︎

SNGF – An Ancestor’s School Records

Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings has reminded us that it’s time for some Saturday Night Genealogy Fun.  Tonight’s theme is courtesy of Lisa S. Gorrell.  

Here is your assignment if you choose to play along (cue the Mission Impossible music, please!):

1) Do you have any records of your ancestors’ schooling, such as report cards, yearbooks, or photos?

2)  If so, please share one of them and what you learned about your ancestor(s) from the article.  

2)  Share your information about your newspaper article in your own blog post,…”

This is a photo of my father, Daniel R. Salter, when he received his Master’s degree from Tuskegee Institute in 1952.


52 Ancestors – Multiples

Mingo and Jane (Salter) Bryant are my paternal 2nd great-grandparents. They were born as enslaved people in Georgia. When freedom arrived, Mingo Bryant and his family remained in Early County, Georgia.

Mingo and Jane had eleven known children: Sam, born in 1852; Peter, born in 1856; Elbert, born in 1860; Mingus, born in 1864; Lucy, born in 1867; Edmond, born in 1870; Henry, born in 1872; Lucinda “Cinda”, born ca. 1873; Roxanne, born in 1874; John, born in 1877; and Exie, born in 1880.

Convention wisdom regarded children of farmers and sharecroppers as economic assets in the late 19th century and early 20th century. The economic survival of small farms depended on having all available family members working the land. This is illustrated in the 1870 census where Mingo, Jane, and sons, Sam (age 15), Peter (age 13) and Elbert (age 11) were listed as “Farm laborer”. None of the children attended school revealing that labor took precedence over formal education.1

By 1879, Mingo had acquired 250 acres of land.2 In the 1880 census Mingo was recorded as “Farmer”, reflecting his status as a landowner. Jane, and their children, Mingus (age 17), Lucy (age 15), “Edmun” (age 11), and Henry (age 9) were classed as “field hands”. The record shows that “Edmun” and Henry attended school and could read.3

Second Generation Farming Families

The children of Mingo and Jane continued laboring in the fields. They married and went on to establish large multi-child households of their own:

Sam and Mary (Batts) Bryant had 13 known children.
Peter and Caidian (Jackson) Bryant had 10 known children.
Elbert and Rachel (Hallman) Bryant had 9 known children.
Mingus and Sylvia (Sheffield) Bryant had 10 known children.
Frank and Lucy (Bryant) Sapp had 10 known children.
Edmund and Hattie (Cratic) Bryant had 9 known children.
James W. and Lucinda (Bryant) Walker had 3 known children.
Henry and Alice (Fuller) Bryant had 14 known children.
John and Roxanne (Bryant) Salter had 7 known children.*
John and Lula (Hall) Bryant had 5 known children.
Thomas and Exie (Bryant) Hopkins had 5 known children.

*In the 1910 census my paternal great-grandmother, Roxanne “Roxey” (Bryant) Salter reported the births of 11 children, but only 6 were living at the time.4

NameAgeOccupationAttended
School
John Salter – Head40Farmer
Roxey – Wife35Farm laborer,
home farm
Ethel – daughter16Farm laborer,
home farm		No
Rose – daughter13Farm laborer,
home farm		Yes
Frank – son10Farm laborer,
home farm		No
Arnold – son8Farm laborer,
home farm		Yes
1910 U. S. Census: John Salter household, Militia District 866, Blakely, Early County, Georgia

My paternal grandfather, Frank Salter (1898-1982), recalled that he had to quit school after finishing the third grade in order to work in the fields with his father.  The 1910 records show that at age ten, Frank Salter was indeed working full-time as a farm laborer.  It is a poignant example of the connection between a farmer with multiple children laboring in the field and economic survival.

Sources

  1. 1870 U.S. census, Early County, Georgia, population schedule, 6th District, Blakely, page 30 (stamped), 31 (penned), dwelling 260, family 260, Mingo Bryant household; imaged, “United States, Census, 1870,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/en/search/collection/1438024 : accessed 5 September 2015). ↩︎
  2. Early County, Georgia, Property Tax Digests, 1878-1882, unpaginated entries arranged chronologically, all years read for entries on Freedman Tax List relating to Bryant; imaged, “Georgia, U.S., Property Tax Digests, 1793-1892,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1729 : accessed 19 September 2021) > Browse > Early > 1878-1882 > image 247 of 702; citing The Georgia Archives, VOL3-5522. ↩︎
  3. 1880 U.S. census, Early County, Georgia, population schedule, 854 G.M. District, enumeration district (ED) 26, page 10B., dwelling 104, family 104, Mingus Bryant household; imaged, “United States, Census, 1880,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/en/search/collection/1417683 : accessed 5 July 2013). ↩︎
  4. 1910 U.S. census, Early County, Georgia, Militia District 866, Blakely, enumeration district (ED) 81, sheet 13B, dwelling 252, family 252, John Salter household; imaged, “United States, Census, 1910,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9RVX-W42 : accessed 27 February 2016). ↩︎

SNGF – An Unusual Newspaper Article

It’s time for our weekly Saturday Night Genealogy Fun.  Our topic this week is courtesy of Lisa S. Gorrell.  Our genial genealogist, Randy Seaver, has given us the following instruction: 

Here is your assignment if you choose to play along (cue the Mission Impossible music, please!):

  1. Have you found an unusual, chilling, amazing, or fascinating newspaper article about your ancestors?
  2. If so, please share the article and what you learned about your ancestor(s) from the article. Provide a source citation too!
  3. Share your information about your newspaper article in your own blog post…”

This is an article that I found several years ago while searching on the Chronicling America website.

The Memphis [Tennessee] Daily Appeal, 1 April 1880

Transcription:

SLAVERY IN THE WEST.

           ___________

The Special and Particular Attention of the Radical Press, and of the New York Herald, is Called to the Testimony of a Negro Man who Recently

___________

Made His Escape from the Bull-Pen near Rapid City, where He Witnessed Severities Never Heard of In Slave Times—A Political Trick Exposed.

____________

Mobile (Ala.) Register:  Information having reached our office that some of the “exodusters”—to use a prevailing Americanism—had returned from the promised land of Canaan without any unusual share of the fat of the earth, a representative of the Register sought some of the prodigals, and was rewarded in his exertions by securing the following interview with Mr. S. H. Senar, a respectable and gentlemanly-looking citizen.  Mr. Senar was found perfectly willing to express his views and decided opinions of the exodus movement.  His story runs this wise:

   A certain Mr. Martin Gladden having informed me that he had been in Cairo, where there was a good opening for the colored people, I thought it might possibly be a good thing for me to go where I could make a fairer living.  I had been out of employment here for a good while, and hearing of the general colored emigration from the south, I made up my mind to try one of the western States.  Three days after I got to Cairo I found work at two dollars a day, but in the course of the next five weeks the snowy weather set in and all work was stopped.  Being idle for a while I looked around and met Mr. Taylor Williams, who had a large number of colored people coming to him from Clarksville, Tennessee.  He immediately offered me free transportation if I would go with the new immigrants to Rapid City and work for him in the mines.  I consented and left for Rapid city on what I thought free transportation.  I kept the boarding-house for the miners, and at first all seemed apparently to work well, but in the course of a few days I ran short of provisions and applied to Mr. Williams for some.  He informed me that I was already pretty heavily indebted to him, in the sum of twenty-three dollars, for the transportation of myself and wife, and that I could not get any more.  I told him that my wife had been injured on the cars, and that I wanted a doctor.  Williams then promised to get a doctor for me, but I waited in vain, and finally I succeeded in securing medical attendance through the kindness of Mr. Tubbs.  I next informed Williams that I was sinking down under expenses, and that I would have to leave.  He gave me a fifty-cent ticket, and told me to go to a grocery and get some provisions.  As I had made up my mind to leave, and to write home for money, I went to the grocery and asked the keeper to give me twenty-five cents of groceries and the other quarter in change.  My object was to buy some stamps, for I knew very well that the letters left at the office to be mailed were never deposited in the postoffice.  The keeper refused to give me a nickel, but having borrowed the necessary amount from mr. Rowe, the kind-hearted postmaster of Rapid City, I wrote home and received money enough to take me back.

   “Did Mr. Williams wish to oppose your departure?”

   “Yes, sir!  He threatened to attach my baggage; but upon my informing him that I would see that I was treated right, he left without carrying his threats into execution.”

   “Are there many colored men in that neighborhood?”

   “There were a good many, sir; but those that can get out of the bull-pen, leave as soon as possible.”

   “What do you mean by the bull-pen?”

   “The place where these colored people are kept and watched so they won’t leave.  I tell you, sir, I was a slave once, but what I saw is worse than anything I ever knew or heard of in slavery tiems.”

   “Did you hear of or see any of the Kansas emigrants?”

   “Yes, sir, about fifty of them came on their way back as I was in Illinois.  They are beggars, all banked up and in a starving condition.  Some of them have to go to the souphouse to keep alive.”

   “Well, what is your opinion of this exodus movement?  Is the colored race acting freely in the matter?”

   “No, sir!  It is a regular political movement; and the colored people are duped.  I overheard some of the white folks who have this in hand say that they wanted to get us all out of the south if they could, and it is for no other purpose than to carry the election.  They try and get the poor negro in debt, and threaten to seize his things if he says he wants to go back.  I found out, since I left here, that this man Dick Taylor, who was here some time ago trying to get the colored people out of Mobile, is a partner of Gladden, and they get one dollar for every colored person they can entice out of a southern State.”

   “So you will remain here now?”

   “I am going to travel through the State and talk to the colored people about this.  I want them to know that the south is the best place for them, and that they can fare better here than anywhere else.”

   Mr. Senar also showed us a document signed by seven residents of Rapid City, and duly verified, in which the gentlemen assert that  H. M. Gilchrist and Taylor Williams have been bringing negroes by the car-load, promising them six and seven dollars per day.  That when they arrive there they naturally get provisions to live on, and consequently, run into debt.  That they are all unanimous in asserting that they never knew what slavery was until they came there.  The affiants ask the people of the south to point out the dupery to the colored people and rescue them from the toils of low, designing politicians.

   Mr. Senar was born in Alabama, and is a man over sixty.  He talks coolly and sensibly about the matter, and is entitled to full faith and credit.  He has made a mistake, suffered for it, and is now willing to use his exertions in saving some of his brethren from the same erroneous ways.

Source Citation:

“Slavery In The West,” The Memphis [Tennessee] Daily Appeal, 1 April 1880, page 2, column 7; imaged, The Library of Congress, Chronicling America (https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045160/1880-04-01/ed-1/seq-2/ : accessed 31 October 2020).

Stephen H. Senar (est. 1810 – bef. 1896) is my maternal 2nd great-grandfather. Before finding this article I had no knowledge of the “Exoduster” movement. It is incredible that my GG Grandpaw had the “get up and go” in his sixties to undertake such a journey.

SNFG – Extreme Weather Experience

Our Saturday Night Genealogy Fun topic tonight on Genea-Musings is courtesy of  Marian B. Wood.  Mother Nature has been kind to our host Randy Seaver, but what about the rest of us?

Here is your assignment if you choose to play along (cue the Mission Impossible music, please!):

1) Did extreme weather or a natural disaster ever affect you or your ancestor(s)? In what way(s)? How did you find this out? Describe one or more of the extreme weather experiences in your own life or in your ancestors lives.ry.

2)  Share your information about you or your ancestor(s) extreme weather or natural disaster experiences in your own blog post…”

Northern Alabama is known to its residents to be a “tornado alley”.  The area experiences an average of thirty tornadoes per year.  In 1974, while I was away at college, a series of tornadoes ripped across North Alabama.  It was considered a generational occurrence. Thirty-seven years later there was another Super Outbreak of tornadoes.  In 2011 between April 25th to April 28th deadly tornadoes struck in twenty-one states. 

My Extreme Weather Experience

On Wednesday, 27 April 2011 multiple tornadoes struck Madison County, Alabama.  One tornado touched down a few miles west of our house.  It traveled northeast for 1.04 miles, crossing the street behind our house, before ending.  Fortunately it only caused roof and shingle damage.  Other areas of Madison County were not so lucky.  Buildings were destroyed, there were multiple injuries, and nine people died.

The morning after the tornadoes it was very quiet outside.  I knew then that the power was still off. We had plenty of flashlights and battery operated lamps.  An old battery operated transistor radio enabled us to pick up what would become a daily EMA broadcast.  The EMA relayed the bad news that due to a widespread power outage in Madison County, gas pumps and ATMs were inoperable. There was no timetable to restore power lines down across the state.  The EMA also gave us the good news that sections of nearby Athens had power.  My husband immediately went in search of gasoline. He was able to top off the car fuel tank and get some cans of gasoline.  

How did we survive? Despite the apocalyptic loss of electricity, we didn’t descend into despair. The weather was perfect for spring with sunshine and great temperatures.  After obtaining gasoline our generator was hooked up to our refrigerator, so we didn’t lose any food. We had a supply of bottled water. Cooking was done on our grill in cast iron skillets.  It was too cool to take a cold shower so we improvised. Bathing consisted of sink baths using hot water from filled garden hoses warmed by the sun.  At that time we had a traditional wired line telephone, so we didn’t have to worry about charging our cell phones.  

Every morning the EMA did a radio broadcast giving updates on the recovery of power.  After power was restored to critical services, gradually business and residential power was restored. When power was restored to the gas pumps at a nearby Sam’s Club, the line of cars wrapped around the building and then down to the pumps.   

I remember going to church on May 1st and seeing people with wet hair.  My ‘bad angel” whispered, “they have hot water”.  So there I was, smack dab in the middle of church with some serious envy in my heart.  My “good angel” quickly changed my attitude to gratitude.  A few days later, on May 5th, power was restored in my neighborhood.  We had been without power for eight days.  The first thing I did when the electricity came on was take a shower and wash my hair.

A Day in the Life of Samuel Brazelton 

Samuel “Sam” Brazelton  was born about 1837 in Alabama, United States as an enslaved person. In December 1851, Sam appeared as a capital asset in the inventory of the Madison County probate of Henry Brazelton’s estate.1 

When freedom came in 1865, Sam Brazelton expected to claim his “unalienable Rights” to “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”.  Soon reality set in and Samuel Brazelton  entered into the grueling subsistence-based life of a sharecropper.  By 1879 Sam was renting twenty-five acres of tilled land from Elizabeth Brazelton, a former enslaver, for a share of his harvest.2 

To understand Sam’s world, we will look at a single day in his life.

A Snapshot in Time
Madison County, Alabama — Monday, 14 June 1880

On this day the Brazelton family household consisted of Sam, age 44, wife Sallie, age 35, and children Mahala (13), Mary (11), Anna (10), Sam (8), Thomas (5), Linda (2) and Luther (1).3

Like every working farm, the day started before sunrise. Sam arose before daybreak to start work in the fields. Sallie started the fire and began preparing a breakfast of hoecakes and salt pork on the hearth. While she cooked, the children started their household chores: feeding the livestock, milking the cows, gathering eggs from their chickens and hauling water for wash day.

Cotton was the chief product of Alabama. It was a labor-intensive crop in the 19th century. The Tennessee Valley region in northern Alabama produced 12% of cotton in Alabama. Madison County produced 14.1 % of cotton in the Tennessee Valley.4 In 1879 Sam’s farm produced four bales of cotton along with Indian corn and oats.5

Once the cotton spouted the farmer had to chop weeds and thin the cotton seedlings using a field hoe.6 June was chopping season, and many hands were needed to work the rows. After a break for breakfast, Sam headed back to the fields accompanied by several of his children.

Monday was laundry day. Washing clothes was an all day process for Sallie. Her oldest daughter, Mahala, helped tend the babies and assisted with the washing. Water was boiled in large cast-iron kettles. Lye was added to bleach the whites. The rest of the clothes were scrubbed on a metal washboard in hot soapy water to remove stains.7

At midday Sam and his helpers walked back home for a lunch of cornbread and salt pork. Sallie and Mahala joined the family for lunch. While they were eating, the census enumerator arrived. Sam answered the enumerator’s questions for the population and agriculture census.

After eating Sam and his helpers went back to the fields. Sallie and Mahala finished rinsing the laundry. The clothes and sheets were wrung out by hand and hung to dry outside on a clothesline. With the laundry washed and dried, Sallie and Mahala started preparing supper.

As twilight approached, Sam and his helpers returned from the fields. The livestock were watered and fed before darkness settled over the farm. Inside, the coal-oil lamps were lit providing a dim light. Supper was cornbread, salt pork, and collard greens from their small family garden.

Sam Brazelton and his family worked hard on that Monday in 1880 and every other day of their lives. They were thankful that it was a life lived as a family in freedom.

Note: An earlier draft of this post was polished using Google’s NotebookLM to improve flow and clarity. All historical research, family data, and final editing decisions are entirely my own.

Sources

  1. Madison County, Alabama, Probate,16, [1851-1858]: 266-268, inventory of the estate of Henry Brazelton, 1851; imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-8B3Y-SM6?view=fullText : accessed 22 July 2024) > image group number  5175980 > item 1 > images 140-141 of 266. ↩︎
  2. 1880 U.S. census, Madison County, Alabama, agriculture schedule, page 15 (penned), C, line 6, Sam Brazelton; imaged, “U.S., Selected Federal Census Non-Population Schedules, 1850-1880,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1276/images/32786_1220706416_0026-01143 : accessed 6 July 2026). ↩︎
  3.  1880 U.S. census, Madison County, Alabama, population schedule, enumeration district (ED) 227, page 345 (stamped), dwelling 150, family 155, Sam Brazelton household;  imaged, “United States, Census, 1880,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYYY-99LY : accessed 20 August 2016). ↩︎
  4. Komanduri S. Murty, “Cotton Economy and Slavery in Alabama during the Nineteenth Century,” Journal of Comprehensive Social Science Research (https://gexinonline.com/uploads/articles/article-jcssr-101.pdf : published 13 April 2023), page 1 ↩︎
  5. 1880 U.S. census, Madison Co., Ala., agriculture sch., p. 15 (penned), C, line 6, Sam Brazelton. ↩︎
  6. “Cotton and the Sharecropper,” blog post, Tamara Tabel (https://tamaratabel.com/2016/03/07/cotton-and-the-sharecropper/ : posted 7 March 2016). ↩︎
  7. “Tenant Farming,” Popular Grove Plantation (https://poplargrove.org/discover/gullah-geechee-2/tenantfarming/ : accessed 3 August 2026). ↩︎

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