Slave
schedules are censuses taken in the 1850 and 1860 U.S. Federal Censuses that
contain the slave-owners’ names and the age, sex, and color of each of their
slaves. Columns also report the number of fugitive and manumitted slaves. There
is also a column that noted enslaved people who were “deaf, blind, insane, or
idiotic.” Unfortunately, very few names
of the enslaved were recorded. First names were only recorded for most who were
100 years old or older. The slave schedules are available for Alabama,
Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky,
Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, South
Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Virginia. They are not available for
other states.
This
week, author and genealogist Robyn Smith and I talked about historians’ frequent usage of the slave schedules in the TLC television series,
Who Do You Think You Are, as well as
Henry Louis Gates’ PBS television series, Finding
Your Roots. This has been and continues to be a frequent dialogue in the
genealogy community; many researchers express their concerns about how the slave
schedules are used and what conclusions should not be drawn from them. I decided
to present this hypothetical research story as an eye opener. I use the word “hypothetical”
because the research scenario itself and Jayson are fictional, but the ancestors,
documents, and conclusions presented in this blog post are factual. This scenario is a common occurrence.
Jayson
Boyce, a journalism major in the Department of Media, Journalism and Film at
Howard University, was given an assignment in his sociology class to write a comprehensive
research paper. The class had a choice – either a research paper detailing a social
aspect of a community or a research paper uncovering the history of a family,
from slavery to the present. The class had to utilize primary sources. Since Jayson
had always been curious about his family roots, he chose the latter. He was
confident that his father’s father could get him started.
Two weeks
later, Jayson flew home to Cleveland, Ohio to talk to his grandfather, who was
81 years old. His grandfather relayed to him how his father, Willis B. Boyce,
was born in 1909, near Poplar Grove, Arkansas, but his family moved to
Cleveland in the mid-1920s, when Willis was a teenager. Jayson did not know
that his family was originally from Arkansas. However, his grandfather gave him
another piece of valuable information. He shared that his father Willis
always talked about a cousin named Tony Boyce who would often come to Arkansas from
Mississippi to visit them. He was famously known as “Cuttin’ Tony from Como.”
After
gathering these important tidbits of oral history, Jayson went to Ancestry.com
to see what he can find out. With relative ease, he was able to find his family
in the 1900, 1910, and 1920 U.S. Federal Census records. They were living in
Phillips County, Arkansas. By the 1930 U.S. Federal Census, the family resided
in Cleveland, Ohio, confirming his grandfather’s account. Jayson also observed
that his
great-great-grandfather, John Boyce, was reported in the 1900 U.S. Federal Census
as being born in January 1872 in Mississippi. Several of John’s siblings were
also in his household, and they were born in Mississippi, too. Jayson
discovered that his family had migrated to Arkansas from Mississippi around 1885.
Since
much of the 1890 U.S. Federal Census was destroyed in a fire, Jayson tried his
luck with the 1880 U.S. Federal Census. He found his great-great-grandfather
John Boyce in the household of his father, Mack Boyce, as well as two of John’s
siblings who were in his household in Arkansas in 1900. They resided in Tate
County, Mississippi. Jayson observed on a map that Tate County is adjacent to
Panola County, where the town of Como is located just five miles from the
Tate-Panola County line. Therefore, he successfully traced back to his three-times-great
grandfather, Mack Boyce, whose age was reported as 35 in 1880. South Carolina
was reported as the birthplace of Mack’s father and mother, as noted in the last
two columns of the 1880 U.S. Federal Census. Undoubtedly being born around 1845
in Mississippi, Mack had been enslaved, and the family’s roots go back to South
Carolina.
The 1880 U.S. Federal Census of Tate County, Mississippi –
the Boyce Family
Two of Tony Boyce’s
children, Mack Boyce and Nancy Boyce Rice, lived next door.
1880 U.S. Federal Census; Census Place: Beat 1, Tate,
Mississippi; Roll: 665; Family History Film: 1254665; Page: 169D; Enumeration
District: 181
Jayson
couldn’t help but notice that Mack’s next-door neighbors were an elderly couple
named Tony Boyce & Lucy Boyce (see above). Tony’s reported age was 64, and his birthplace was
noted as South Carolina. Jayson concluded
that Tony Boyce was Mack’s father and therefore his 4-times-great grandfather. He
also discovered that “Cuttin’ Tony Boyce,” who used to visit his
great-great-grandfather John in Arkansas, was also another grandson of Tony
Boyce whom he was named for. Jayson was excited. Since his research paper
should start with slavery, he decided to gather more information on
Ancestry.com pertaining to Tony’s history, if possible.
Unfortunately,
Jayson couldn’t find his family in the 1870 U.S. Federal Census, which is a
pivotal census for slave ancestral research. He was disappointed since that
census is very often the first official record that recorded formerly enslaved
African Americans by their first and last names. But Jayson didn’t let that
deter him. He decided to see if the Boyce surname came from a Boyce
slave-owner.
Only one
Boyce showed up in the area from his search of the 1860 U.S. Federal Census. A
man named John Boyce, who was also born in South Carolina, resided in the Como
district during slavery. Columns 8 and 9 of the 1860 U.S. Federal Census
reported John Boyce’s real estate value as being worth $41,000 and his personal
estate value as being worth $34,000. Therefore, Jayson theorized that John was
a fairly wealthy man who likely owned slaves, including his family.
1860 U.S. Federal Census of Panola County, Mississippi –
John & Martha Boyce
Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database
on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com, 2009; Census Place: Panola, Mississippi;
Roll: M653_589; Page: 275; Family History Library Film: 803589
Jayson
soon learned about the 1850 and 1860 Slave Schedules and decided to research
those records, too. John Boyce was reported as owning 30 slaves in 1860 in
Panola County. Among those 30 enslaved people is a 42-year-old Black male. This
closely fits the profile of his 4-times-great grandfather, Tony Boyce, who was
born around 1816. Jayson knew that the ages for enslaved people or former
slaves were often estimated.
Jayson was very elated with his research findings. He organized
his numerous sources and wrote his 18-page research paper that documented his
family, starting with Tony Boyce as likely being enslaved by John Boyce during
slavery in South Carolina and Mississippi, to sharecropping on a farm in the Arkansas Delta, to being part of the Great Migration to the North, and to the present
in Cleveland, Ohio. He added a lot of anecdotes from his grandfather. He also included
maps showing the migration pattern of the Boyce Family, from South Carolina to
Panola County, Mississippi to Phillips County, Arkansas, and then to Cleveland,
Ohio. Jayson’s professor was impressed with his research paper and gave him an
A.
A year and
a half later, Jayson noticed that a researcher named Melvin Collier also has
Tony Boyce in his family tree on Ancestry.com. He contacted Melvin to see how
he is related to Tony. Melvin revealed to him that Tony Boyce was an older
brother of his great-great-great-grandmother, Clarissa Bobo. This made them to
be 5th cousins once removed. Mississippi to Africa: A
Journey of Discovery details how this relationship was
uncovered.
Like Tony
Boyce, Clarissa also resided in Tate County, Mississippi in 1880, just a few
miles from Como. Melvin also communicated to Jayson that Clarissa had been
enslaved by Dr. William J. Bobo, who brought her and her family to Panola County,
Mississippi in 1858 from Union County, South Carolina. Clarissa had been
previously enslaved by Dr. Bobo’s father-in-law, David Boyce (1781-1830) of
Union County. Two of David’s daughters, Margaret and Mary Marjory Boyce,
married two brothers, Dr. William Bobo and Barham Bobo Jr., respectively. Melvin
also e-mailed to Jayson more information that documented Tony Boyce in slavery.
This is what Melvin revealed to Jayson.
EVIDENCE #1:
Thirty (30) enslaved people appraised on the inventory of David Boyce’s estate,
February 23, 1831, Union County, South Carolina (transcription)
Toney was inventoried in the late David
Boyce’s estate in 1831. His estate record show that David Boyce’s wife, Agnes Turner
Boyce, inherited Toney from the estate. David died intestate (without having
made a will) on Nov. 22, 1830, and 25 of the 30 slaves went to Agnes. She later
moved to Panola County, Mississippi with some of her children around 1845.
South Carolina, Wills and Probate Records, 1670-1980;
Author: South Carolina. Probate Court (Union County); Probate Place: Union,
South Carolina; Estate of David Boyce, 1831.
EVIDENCE #2:
The 1850 U.S. Federal Census for Panola County, Mississippi, Agnes Boyce
This
census shows Agnes Boyce as the head of household, with her daughter, Mary Marjory
Boyce Bobo, and Mary’s son, Barham Bobo, living with her. Mary was the widow of
Barham Bobo Jr. of Union County, S.C., who died shortly after their son’s
birth.
Ancestry.com. 1850 U.S. Federal
Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com, 2009; Census Place:
District 13, Panola, Mississippi; Roll: M432_379; Page: 341A; Image: 303.
EVIDENCE #3:
The 1850 Panola County, Mississippi Slave Schedule, Agnes Boyce
This
slave census shows that Agnes Boyce owned 37 slaves in 1850 in Panola County,
Mississippi.
Ancestry.com. 1850 U.S. Federal Census - Slave Schedules
[database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com, 2004; Census Place: District
13, Panola, Mississippi; Roll M432; Page: 157.
EVIDENCE #4:
Slave Deed, Dec. 31, 1857, Panola County, Mississippi (transcription)
This deed
record was found while researching microfilmed Panola County deed records at
the Mississippi Dept. of Archives and History in Jackson. This deed shows that 21
named enslaved people, including one named TONEY,
were transferred from Mary Marjory Bobo to her son, Barham Bobo, in Dec. 1857. This
deed also states that Mary had acquired them from her mother, Agnes Boyce, on May 2, 1855.
Agnes died two years later on Dec. 28, 1857.
EVIDENCE #5:
Southern Claims Commission Record, Barham Bobo, Claim No. 16710, Sept. 17, 1872,
Panola County, Mississippi
Southern Claims Commission. Roll: scc_1071_1248_0001;
Place: Panola, Mississippi; Claimant: Barham Bobo; Claim Number: 16710; Claim
Date: 17 Sep 1872; www.fold3.com.
On March
3, 1871, Congress established the Southern Claims Commission to compensate
individuals who claimed to have had stores and supplies, such as horses and
crops, taken by or furnished to the Union Army during the Civil War. Testimonies
were taken by neighbors, friends, and former slaves to prove their claims.
Additionally, hundreds of African Americans filed claims, and their files
contain extraordinary personal data.
In 2006,
Footnote.com digitized and released the Southern Claims Commission records. Their
online database contains images of every claim and all accompanying paperwork.
Barham Bobo was one of 22,298 claims that were filed. His papers, dated Sept.
17, 1872, stated that several mules, mares, and horses, valued at $1,900, were
taken during the Civil War by the 11th Illinois Calvary Regiment from the
plantation of his mother, who died on Sept. 15, 1870. Being her only child,
Barham was the administrator of her estate. His claim was denied.
However, on the
line for the “Names and residences of witnesses who will be relied upon to prove the
other facts alleged in the foregoing petition” were the following
names: Tony Boyce, Jeff Williams,
Wat Boyce, William Boyce & others. This document was additional proof that
Tony Boyce was enslaved on the plantation that was once owned by Agnes Boyce
and that fell into the hands of her daughter, Mary M. Bobo, and grandson,
Barham Bobo.
Conclusion: One might understand why Jayson Boyce
was confident that his 4-times-great grandfather, Tony Boyce, had been last
enslaved by John Boyce. It was easy to conclude that. However, more research
revealed that Tony’s last enslaver was Barham Bobo III (1833-1900). He chose to
retain the Boyce surname likely because he had been born on David Boyce’s farm in
South Carolina, and he had remained enslaved by David’s widow, Agnes Boyce, after his
death, up until 1855. He was eventually transferred to Agnes’ grandson, Barham Bobo, in
1857. Tony was not the 42-year-old Black male reported for John Boyce in 1860. Therefore, slave
schedules should never serve as direct proof of one’s enslaved ancestor and
their enslaver, simply because they don’t contain the names of the enslaved.
