Part 2: When the Ancestors Just Leap Off the Page!

Note: Part 1 of this research story can be read here.

Just when I think that tracing an African-American family couldn’t get any easier for some people just from sitting at the computer conducting online research, more information surfaces!  If only it had been this easy to break down that "1870 Brick Wall" when tracing some of my own enslaved ancestors! Nevertheless, the same excitement as if these were my blood people is still experienced. More has been found concerning Anthony’s roots in Upson County, Georgia, specifically his enslaved Kendall ancestors!

While researching the Kendalls of Upson County, I knew I had heard of this particular county before, but I just could not remember how.  Then, my mental light bulb came on!  Upson County was one of the focus counties of historian and genealogist David Patterson, who also moderates the Slave Research Forum board on AfriGeneas. He had gathered much data on enslaved African Americans in Upson County.  David wrote, “My project to examine Upson County society through slavery and Reconstruction began in 1994 as a simplistic response to the anonymity of the 1850 and 1860 Census Schedules 2 (Slave Inhabitants); I wanted to demonstrate the extent to which someone could construct a surrogate for the censuses, naming every slave who had ever lived in Upson County” (source).  Therefore, I was eager to send David the link to my blog post about the Kendall Family to see if he was familiar with Dr. David Lane Kendall Sr., who owned 61 slaves in Upson County shortly before he died on July 28, 1860.

Now, this is where it gets even “gooder”. How many people are fortunate to have information about their enslaved ancestors handed to them on a “silver platter,” so to speak? Not many! David excitedly responded to my e-mail with the following, “A few years ago I spent a day at Emory combing through all the relevant Kendall family papers. I can send you my findings after I get home….”  My excitement level elevated a few more notches after reading his e-mail!  Well, after waiting about 7 hours, David’s response appeared in my inbox. He provided the following concerning Anthony’s enslaved Kendall ancestors:

Betty Kendall Prater (Anthony’s 3rd-great-grandmother, born around 1846):

(1)   Betty inventoried and appraised at $900 on November 30, 1860. (Source: Upson County Record of Accounts Book E, p. 201) 

(2)   Betty distributed to Thomas R. Kendall, January 7, 1862 (Source: Upson County Record of Accounts Book E, p. 329)

(3)   My note: Betty was legally "owned" by Dr. Kendall's 17-year-old son Thomas when she gave birth to Wesley Kendall in/around 1863 (Anthony’s great-great-grandfather).

Harrison Kendall (Anthony’s 4th-great-grandfather; father of Betty; born around 1825):

(1)   Note: "Harrison, bought 1838" (Source: Chestnut Grove Farm Journal, 1834-1843; Loula Kendall Rogers Collection, Emory University; p. 5)  

(2)   Harrison in list of "Field Hands... Boys", 1840 (p. 32)

(3)   Harrison on Chestnut Grove "home place" for 1841 (p. 37)

(4)   Harrison listed in "Numbers and Names of Negroes, 1842" (p. 48)

Dorcas (Darcus / Darkess) Kendall (Anthony’s 4th-great-grandmother; mother of Betty; born 1830):

(1)   Note: "Dorcas, daughter of Cheener [born] 19 Decr. 1830"  (Source: Chestnut Grove Farm Journal, 1834-1843, p. 6)

(2)   Note: "Attached to Chestnut Grove Farm, 1834" (p. 5)

(3)   2 dresses made [for her] in May, 1836 (unnumbered page)

(4)   Listed as child of Cheener in 1842 (p. 48)

(5)   Probate of Dr. David Kendall's estate: Darkis & 3 children [not named here, but see next entry], inventoried and appraised at $2,000 on November 30, 1860  (Source: Upson County Record of Accounts Book E, p. 201)

(6)   "Dorcas & children, Nora, Tilday & Emeline" distributed to Mrs. Louisa Kendall (widow) on January 7, 1862 (Source: Upson County Record of Accounts Book E, p. 329)

Cheener / Cheena / Chena (Anthony’s 5th-great-grandmother; mother of Dorcas; possibly born around 1800):

(1)   Cheener first mentioned: “Attached to Chestnut Grove Farm 1834” (Source: Chestnut Grove Farm Journal, 1834-1843; Loula Kendall Rogers Collection, Emory University; p. 5)

(2)   Note: “Wiley, son of Cheener, born 19 Jan. 1833”  (Source: Chestnut Grove Farm Journal, 1834-1843; Loula Kendall Rogers Collection, Emory University; p. 6)

(3)   Two aprons made for Cheena in 1836 (unnumbered page dating to 1836, list of clothes made) [would have been made by or under the supervision of Kendall’s wife, Louisa (Steele) Kendall]

(4)   Cheener listed among “Numbers and Names of Negroes 1842” (p. 48)

(5)   Dr. David Kendall’s daughter Loula Kendall Rogers wrote a list: “Old characters known in my childhood . . . Aunt Chena.  Cooked for the field hands.” (source: unnumbered, undated page from Loula W. Kendall Journal 1855-59, written in pencil in her adult or old age hand)

(6)   David noted the following: “Safe to assume Cheener died prior to Nov. 30, 1860 because she is not listed in Dr. Kendall’s estate.”

I still remain in awe about all of these findings – gathered just from sitting and researching at my computer! A special thanks to David Patterson for the additional information!

Provided by David Paterson.  Inscribed on the back: "Bellwood, Upson Co. Ga. The old Kendall Home.  A true type of the old Southern Plantation house.  The fence was only put up until a new one was built, and the carriage drive improved, like the pastel picture." [Added underneath in the shakier handwriting of old age:] - "This picture was taken when I was a child. Loula Kendall. 1850."

Unusual and Unexpected Research Findings: The Great Stuff We Stumble Upon!

Panola County, Mississippi Courthouse (northern), Sardis, Mississippi
 

Sometime ago, I called out sick from work (again!) and drove down to the northern Panola County, Mississippi courthouse in Sardis to conduct some research. I’d uncovered that my great-great-grandmother Polly Partee’s likely last enslaver was Squire Boone Partee, who had died in 1864. I used and underlined the word “likely” because I had found a preponderance of evidence that pointed to him which included the following:

(1)   Grandma Polly (born circa 1833 in North Carolina) and her children took the Partee name, and a white Partee family owned slaves in Panola County per the slave schedules: Squire B. Partee, 43 slaves (1850) and 71 slaves (1860);

(2)   Oral history from my late cousin Isaac Deberry, who remembered his mother telling him that Grandma Polly came off the “ole Partee place” where she had been a great cook during and after slavery;

(3)   In 1870, just five years after slavery ended, Grandma Polly was living adjacent to Squire’s widow, Martha Partee, per the 1870 Panola County census;

(4)   Grandma Polly named one of her sons “Squire”, but the family called him “Uncle Square”.

As you can see, I had very strong evidence, but I wanted documented proof. I wanted to find Grandma Polly's name in a pre-1865 document. Since Squire Boone Partee had died during slavery in 1864, my goal was to find his estate papers and hopefully find a slave inventory that recorded her and her children, including her daughter Sarah Partee Reed, my great-grandmother who was born around 1852.  Thankfully, I found his estate record, but a slave inventory was not found. I was terribly disappointed. However, as I browsed the papers in his estate record, I found something quite interesting!  Doctor visits to his plantation were recorded, and the entries included the names of some of the enslaved. 

This finding was quite revealing to me because I had assumed that nearly all enslaved African Americans on plantations throughout the South had their root doctors who used their own remedies to care for the sick.  As I discussed in the last chapter of Mississippi to Africa: A Journey of Discovery, when Africans were forcibly extracted from Africa, they brought with them their experience working with roots and herbs as healing agents.  Principally due to slavery and the unavailability of some traditional African plants, the remedies of root doctors, who were also called conjurers, root workers, and herb doctors, were a combination of some Native American and European folk remedies and the extensive African knowledge of medicinal root use.  In many cases, midwives were often the root doctors of the slave communities. 

Well, from 1860 to 1864, doctor visits to the white Partee family and their slaves were recorded, and the cost of each visit was charged to the estate. Visits to Grandma Polly were recorded numerous times!  Like Grandma Polly, some of the slaves were named, while a number of entries were “medicine for four negroes”, or “visit to Patsy and three negroes”, or “visit to Negro woman". One entry even stated, “Visit at night, woman in abortion”, who was apparently an enslaved woman who was losing her unborn child, a common occurrence. The doctor’s name was noted as Dr. H. B. Dandridge, who was recorded as a physician in the 1860 Panola County, Mississippi census.

The following are just 3 scanned pages of over 15 pages of recorded doctor visits. Slave names are underlined in red.  One should never wonder why people become quickly addicted to genealogy research when many of us encounter unusual and unexpected findings that add to the thrill of the search!

From March 2 to March 10, 1860, daily visits to Grandma Polly were made.

1861

1864