Here, our list of notable early African American names. If we consider the diverse circumstances that the tragedy of slavery created, we can understand the reasons why. Got.the name.Auber.. Hi Roxana, Register now! I took the name of Jackson for the reason that I preferred to go by my fathers name, rather than the name of my last owner.. 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. 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. You should give a TED talk! 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. Elaine Fantham, Helene Peet Foley, Natalie Boymel Kampen, Sarah B. Pomeroy, H. A. Shapiro. 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. 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. ", "If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents and all the generations of your ancestors. It helps me to understand the complexity of surname variation I have found in researching the ancestral patterns of an African-American cemetery in my local area. The highest percentage of African names was found among male slaves in the eighteenth century, when . 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. Hi Susan, The table below shows the most common last names with statistics on the heritage and ancestry of those with the surname. Edited by Gabriele vom Bruck and Barbara Bodenhorn, 178199. . Manifests - Alphabetical by Slave Names Return to Slave Manifests main page Click on each Slave name to view information on that voyage. However, a small change to searching on C?lbert, which accounts for the variations in spelling expands that initial list to 877 enslaved people owned by people with those names. As a result, many slaves used the surnames of their owners wifes family. Kindest regards, Were there any famous slaves? Testimony of Dick Lewis Barnett, May 17, 1911: I am 65 years of age; my post office address is Okmulgee Okla. ", "If you can't get rid of the skeleton in your closet, you might as well make it dance! - Jane Howard, "Friends are God's apologies for relations." John C. Inscoe, "Carolina Slave Names: An Index to Acculturation," Journal of Southern History 59 (November 1983). Abel, et al. 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. Renate, Injurious Names: Naming, Disavowal, and Recuperation in Contexts of Slavery and Emancipation. In The Anthropology of Names and Naming. . 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. All rights reserved. That alone can make if difficult to research an African- American family during those years. In the 1760s Anglo-American frontiersmen, determined to settle the land, planted slavery firmly within the borders of what would become Tennessee. 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. Chery Meaning: derived from the Latin Cariacus, which means "land belonging to Cariu"; darling Origin: French 5. I also meant to email you and tell you how I enjoyed your article in the last NGSQ. This causes many researchers to wrongly conclude that enslaved people did not have surnames until after emancipation, which was not the case. I did not even check the 1850 slave schedule. Start your year off with tips and strategies that can help you in the new year & beyond. It was after emancipation on that I went back to work for Col. Morrow and where I got the name Lottie, as already explained. Each is present in your body. This may reveal your family used the surname of the slave owners wifes family. The brothers were sold when they were very young and remained with their last owners nearly thirty years. 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. 1-86-NARA-NARA or 1-866-272-6272, Finding Aids for the National Archives at Atlanta, National Archives Catalog (National Archives Identifier 2767350). This phenomena makes research very complicated when you dont know the mothers surname. Copy this link, or click below to email it to a friend. 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. Ethereal and delicate, Cassandra was in the Top 70 throughout the 1990s but is now descending in popularity. Many names, whether African derived or English, refer to birth circumstances, including both the ubiquitous day-names, which derive from the West African Akan-Twi language group, and others such as birth order and time of birth (e.g., day of the week, month, or season). Bernacki: Teatr; Mamontowicz-ojek: Szkoa Tyzenhauza s. 53, 54, 70, 86-89, 92; Wierzbicka: Sze studiw; Muzyka 1969 nr 2 (J. Prosnak). Through a video-based activity, students explore how Radical Reconstruction changed the nature of voting rights and democracy in the South. If the slaveholder or another free white man was their father, many Creoles did use either is first or last name as a surname. Of course my mother wasnt a Bradley fore she married. A. Lottie Smith was my name and what they called me before I met Phillip and was married to him. In fact, it's not even past. -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." this page. Thanks for your comment, They called me OCK. 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. For more details, see the flier here, and you can purchase them here. After emancipation, they all used the Terry surname because their families had been with the white Terry family for generations. Just from the detail in your first comment, I knew there was a good chance you were already familiar with those authors. Q. Sabe, Anque, Bumbo, Jobah, Quamana, Taynay, and Yearie) used in the Slave quarters. .When I got home after the war, I was wearing the name of Lewis Smith, but I found that the negroes after freedom, were taking the names of their father like the white folks. Peneus saved Daphne from Apollos romantic obsessions by transforming her into a laurel tree. Seating is limited. So far Ive found no one who can give me any information about how these people assumed the Culbert surname. With mythological names rising, the handsome son of Zeus and god of medicine, music, and poetry among many other things might offer an interesting, if high-pressure, option. Most did not want to use their former owners surname, even through about 20% did use the slave owners name. There are issues, too, about how to interpret the recorded names, which have been classified in different ways depending on researchers interests. This page is currently showing names ranked from 1 to 1000. Table 7. A valuable and incisive discussion, both theoretically and historically informed, of slave naming in two African societies, the Caribbean, and the American South. Both are excellent researchers and historians. Picked by several celebrities (a couple of times even for a girl), adding up to an enthusiastically recommended choice. 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 . Although it is not widely known, some African Americans used surnames before they were emancipated. CAs Push to Restore Voting Rights to System-Impacted Individuals Still in Custody, Eli Lilly to Cap Out-of-Pocket Insulin Costs, Asm. Smith.). Some last names recognize certain histories or describe important events or narratives that mean a lot to the family. Available from 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 (accessed May 6, 2022). . This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. The difficulties include using records that provide no surnames, the constant sale and breakup of families, and the lack of identification of fathers. In the. I am an engineer by day, but my true passion lies in genealogy. Even that feels like something. In 1836, William Turbeville died leaving an estate with several slaves who were brothers: Turner, Nelson, Simon, Jordan, and Jacob. The following documents are excerpts from government records in which Dick Barnett and Mollie (Smith) Russell explain when and why they changed their names. They identified 21 distinctly Black male names, among them biblical classics such as Abraham and Moses, and word names including Freeman and Prince. He identified father, mother and siblings in a Freedmans bank deposit in 1873, when he was already in New York City. 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. They called me OCK. Q. The top 5 most common Hispanic last names from the 1920s are: 1. Benson, Susan. 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. LOTTIE had been the name of the nurse before me and so they just continued that same name. Herbert G. Gutman, The Black Family in Slavery and Freedom, 1750-1925 (1976). . Hello 20 August 2022, 1-3:30 pm [PAST EVENT], Eastern Standard Time: Join me for a two-hour lecture and workshop on Using Deed Records. Because I like to let formerly enslaved people speak for themselves, here are several examples of freedmen and women discussing their surnames. Enslaved people resisted in ways large and small. 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. Wonderful to have first hand account that help shine light on the attitudes of our ancestors. The population was more than 16 million and the industrial revolution was under way, which debunks any perception of a broadly colonial society. Robyn. It had always been passed down in the family that Thomas has been owned by the Blacks. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW! Facing History & Ourselves, "Changing Names," last updated May 12, 2020. Hi Rodney, Three formerly enslaved people discuss their names and the changes they underwent after Emancipation. Index by slave owner's name | Surname unknown or illegible. One given name the childs family selected and kept secret and one the child was known by given by the slave owner. 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. 1. 44. Perhaps this caused some Slaves to ask: Am I my new name or am I still my old name? 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. 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. Thank you for your kind comment and I am glad my post helped some with the complicated reasons behind the surnames enslaved people had. Other common surnames included Jones, Matthews, Sinclair, and Bennett, Price, and Gray.. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Recognizable patterns of change in names and naming practices are evident from the mid-eighteenth century to the early nineteenth century and on through the 1860s. Once the slaves were freed they found they did need another name besides a given name. 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. . Brief, but stimulating and thoughtful for students coming new to the subject. Enslaved people suffered constant sale, where children were frequently torn away from parents at young ages and spouses were often separated. Evie (F) (English origin) means "life" or "lively". Claudia Bautista,Santa Monica, Calif. You must have JavaScript enabled to use this form. A. Lottie Smith was my name and what they called me before I met Phillip and was married to him. A favorite of British novelists including Evelyn Waugh and P. G. Wodehouse, Ambrose has an air of blooming well-being and upper-class erudition. If a surname was needed, the slave owners family name might be used. State of residence is Missouri unless otherwise noted. It starts with a young man falling in love with a girl. In 1850, Ward. Surnames like Chantimel have disappeared, while names like Horsford and Ackie, coming from Antigua (where they are common), or Quarless, Dowden, Chandler, and Dottin from Barbados, have enriched Grenada's family history and cultural identity. Copyright 2023 Facing History & Ourselves. The name James has been a popular Victorian male names in the 1800s. 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. Delva Toussaint Louverture (1743-1803), a former slave, he enslaved a dozen people himself before becoming a general and a leader of the Haitian Revolution. Smithsonian Institution. This unique-sounding French last name means 'bold' or 'daring'. In 1870, all of them were listed with the surnames of their last owner; however, each one of them named their sons for one of their brothers. 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.. The result was the birth of mulatto, quadroon, or mustee (mestee) children. Louisiana, U.S., Slave Manumission Records, 1719-1820. Names and Naming, African Africans arriving in the American colonies and later the United States continued to give their children African names well into the nineteenth century. Beginning in the early nineteenth century, more biblical names were given to enslavedchildren, a reflection of the widespread attempts to Christianize enslaved communities. No superior alternative has yet been found. Olympic speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno might inspire some parents. Thank you as always, your posts are so helpful. In doing slave research in Barbados, I have found one group of enslaved Chase ancestors who were manumitted (freed) and given the last name of the former slave owner. When they were sold away they remembered their loved ones and they created extended kinship networks. Wide-ranging survey of naming practices in the (mainly Anglophone) Atlantic world both during and after slavery. I also have a Slavery and Freedom Collection available for $20. Thanks for all you to do keeps us all so enlightened! Enslaved peoplethemselves sometimes chose names denoting weather conditions at the time of their child's birth or some distinctive feature of his or her appearance. 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. Whereas names withAfrican, classical, or other unique origins were popular during enslavement, --- often continuingfrom one generation to the next and creating a distinctive nomenclature unlike that of southern whites -- free black peopleoften used more traditionally Anglicized versions of their first names. E. Togo Salmon Conference, E. Togo Salmon Conference 1993 Mcmaster University: Goodyear III, Frank H. "Photography changes the way we record and respond to social issues". One ancestor was known as Baber Masse, Elizabeth SENET and Elisabeth Leveille in different documents. 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. Is this the same woman Eliza I see living with Thomas Crenshaw in 1880 and 1900? Corbin Corbin has an Old English origin. According to the latest search data available, Italian last names and their meanings are searched for nearly, 40,500 times per month. It gives the age and sex of the slave and the number of slaves of each age and sex. 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. You are the continuation of each of these people.". Almost every major tome on slavery discusses slave naming practices in some form or fashion. Along with records from churches,manumission societies, enslavers, and estate settlements, these documents provide a vast pool of data from which to trace patterns and trends from the colonial period through emancipation. 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 . No, I dont know to whom she belonged before she was brought from Virginia to Kentucky. I have been a researcher, writer, and lecturer for over twenty-five years. Explore the most common surnames in England. See flier here. I made up my mind I'd find me a different one. 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. College, Advanced AA Gen. Class, September 2009, Alice, Robyn and Lajoye, CM AAHGS, September 2017, Robyn and Andrea, NGS Conference, May 2014. Dear Robyn, I presume no death certificate for her survives? Have you visited the Whitney Plantation yet? In more than thirty years of researching my ancestors and hundreds of others enslaved on one of Americas largest plantations, slaves owned by mid-sized planters and small farmers, reviewing thousands of documents I have come across various situations that might give others clues on what to look for. In small communities when slaves were sold, they were often bought by someone in the area. My hat goes off to you and your passionate efforts. Thank you. This article is from the Encyclopedia of North Carolina edited by William S. Powell. In 1911, Barnett and Fry's widow, Mollie, both applied for pensions from the government. 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. 2. The majority of these slaves used the surname Lewis instead of Washington. Where did you get the maiden name of Smith from? This is true in some cases but not all. No superior alternative has yet been found." Allard. Location the owner of ones ancestor is crucial for an African American genealogist to trace his family before 1870. Students consider how US history books, films, and other works of popular culture have misrepresented the history of the Reconstruction era. . 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 . It is these single names that have been most often studied. 77th U.S. Col Inf and Co. D. U.S. Col H Art under the name Lewis Smith which was the name I wore before the days of slavery were over. Examples include: Francois, Jean, Pierre, and Leon for men; and Manon, Delphine, Marie Louise, Celeste, and Eugenie for women. Former slaves often made up surnames based on their occupations. Garcia (The Spanish form of Gerald, Garcia would be the son of Gerald. The different spellings are due to the non-consistent spelling rules in Norway in the 1700s and 1800s. My Louisiana Creole ancestors who were free persons of color and former slaves practiced a unique naming tradition I think comes from Latin cultures. Accueil > > Avr > 18 > Uncategorized > common last names for slaves in the 1800s. I'll illustrate transcribing deeds, show you how to find your county deed records on FamilySearch, and you will receive my PDF Beginner's Guide to Using Deed Records, a $12 value! 6. Remember me. Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press. She was the great patroness-goddess of the city of Athens. 6. 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. I would still recommend all of these books, except the first one listed for obvious reasons. You can read the introductory maps for a high-level guided explanation, view the timeline and chronology of . Perhaps Wash Ellis registered under the name of one of his parents. Famous name bearers: many King Louis of France, Sandra Bullock's son and actor Louis Partridge. Thanks for this very thoughtful article. My father would be 105 if he were alive. 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. Another common practice was to select a surname that fit the personality of an individual, such as Hardy or Rambler. Besides the Morrows, whom else did you live with in Louisville? Baby Name Generator. Slavery existed in the United States from its founding in 1776 and became the main . A. Mr. Thomas Jefferson of Louisville, bought me when I was three years of age from Mr. Dearing. However, the enslaved occasionally had surnames, which became normal leading up to and after emancipation as a mark of assimilation into free society. Drawing on extensive archival records, this digital memorial allows analysis of the ships, traders, and captives in the Atlantic slave trade. Phone: 314-994-3300, Hours & Locations Comments/Suggestions314-994-3300, Copyright 2023. And please do share posts that interest you. 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. And now that it's been chosen by Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale, it could take off as their first son's nameKingstonhas. It comes from the same Greek root as 'ambrosia', the food of the gods, said to confer immortality. Edmon S. Conner Recalls About His Career", "Law and the Cultural Production of Race and Racialized Systems of Oppression", "Runaway Slaves and Servants in Colonial Virginia", Slavery in the Courtroom: An Annotated Bibliography of American Cases, "Soldier of Furtune: John Smith before Jamestown", "YSTUMLLYN, JOHN ('Jack Black') (d. 1786), gardener and land steward | Dictionary of Welsh Biography", "Strong, Jonathan (c. 17471773), de facto freed slave", "Juan Francisco Manzano | Slave Narratives | The MoAD Salon | MoAD - Museum of the African Diaspora", "Relatos sobre la India Juliana. They are recorded with the Ashby surname on subsequent documents. There are so many examples of every kind of scenario, and I think it just speaks to the variety of experiences our ancestors had. Our headquarters are located at: 89 South Street, Suite 401, Boston, MA 02111. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. 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. A Wessyngton slave named Bill who was the plantation's blacksmith was known as Billy the Smith during slavery. 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. 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. Users without a subscription are not able to see the full content on 782 Lists of Slave owners with names of slaves Tamme, 766 Tom, 766 West, 766 Will, 766 Barker, Nathaniel Harry, 591, 700, 746, 767 Barkley, Barbary Grace, 651 In 1870, he is listed as John Washington. You can use the links below to view more common surnames. . Since those are the countries from which many of America's original settlers came, it's hardly surprising. Post Author: Post published: 18 avril 2022; Post Category: . Data from the 2010 Census tells a different story. Thomas Black Cobbs was owned by a small slave owner Catherine Black. Names from the Bible were another common practice, for given and surnames. St. Louis County Library. In Greek mythology, Daphne was the nymph daughter of Peneus, a river god. I was only three years old when she died. 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. 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. by John C. Inscoe, 2006; Revised May 2022 by NC Government & Heritage Library. Another common way of distinguishing people would be 'son of', for example Johnson (son of John), Richardson, Wilson, Harrison etc. Many of the graves are unmarked or the markers have been damaged, but many descendents still live around here, so we hope to identify as many of the possible graves as we can. Harriet Tubman and some of the slaves she helped free. I have been unable to trace several of his siblings and now wonder if it might be because others did not take that name. In fact, it's not even past." I especially recommend Mother, Thy Name is Mystery! If the name is spelled Rodrigues, the name is Portuguese but has the same meaning) 3. 1. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries African-American slaves retained Africanisms in their naming practices. Best of luck to you in your research, The following is a list of historical people who were enslaved at some point during their lives, in alphabetical order by first name. Genealogy becomes so much more than just names and dates, it really feels like a true passion indeed. Evidence indicates that many enslaved parents named their children after the first generation or so of family members brought to America. Geographic names were common, as were the names of ships or distant ports for enslaved peopleborn in places such as Wilmington or New Bern. I am the identical person who served in the said companies under the name of Lewis Smith. Dick Lewis Barnett and Phillip Fry were African American veterans of the Union Army during the Civil War. Fernsby, (Old English Origin) Derived from the old English words meaning "fern farmstead". My surname of SAM originated from Sem or Sam FUSELIER, a free man of color who freed my ancestor,Jean-Louis, out of slavery in 1811. European, Javanese and African and Indentured Servitude in First Contact and Early Colonization of Brazil, France and its Empire in the Indian Ocean, France and the British Isles from 1640 to 1789, George Montagu Dunk, Second Earl of Halifax, Green Atlantic: the Irish in the Atlantic World, Histories and Historiographies of the Atlantic World, Impact of the French Revolution on the Caribbean, The, Indentured Servitude in the Atlantic World, Indian, Internal Slave Migrations in the Americas, Interracial Marriage in the Atlantic World, Liverpool in The Atlantic World 1500-1833, Maritime Atlantic in the Age of Revolutions, The, Marriage and Family in the Atlantic World, Material Culture of Slavery in the British Atlantic, Money and Banking in the Atlantic Economy, Napolon Bonaparte and the Atlantic World, Nation and Empire in Northern Atlantic History, Native American Histories in North America, Native Americans and the American Revolution, People of African Descent in Early Modern Europe, Pets and Domesticated Animals in the Atlantic World.

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