52 Ancestors 52 Weeks Week 22 - Prince Albert Bailey

52 Ancestor 52 Weeks  Week 22 – Prince Albert Bailey

Interesting enough that I knew my second great grandfather’s name yet didn’t remember who shared the information.  It was possibly his grandson and my great uncle Ocie who called me once a year.  It was mentioned that Prince was from Mississippi and lived in Alabama.  The name “Prince Albert” stood out in my mind.

In researching the records to find Prince Albert Bailey, the 1870 US Census of Clarke County, Mississippi revealed in the household headed by Margaret Bailey, twenty-eight, white, with seven children also living in the home was Prince Albert Bailey, a black servant, age 20, born in Alabama and a black domestic servant, Rachael Bailey, age twenty-seven.  The household listed before Margaret was James M. Bailey, age thirty-three, white male born in North Carolina living alone.  There is an untold story in this record between the families.  My family’s Prince Albert Bailey lived his life in Hale and Marengo Counties Alabama.  Yet he may have lived in Mississippi for a time while born in Alabama.     The majority of the population of Marengo County came from South Carolina and Virginia.  There are Bailey family lines that moved to the Faunsdale area from the previous mentioned states.

Prince Albert’s father, Peter Bailey was born 1831 in Virginia and died 1 Sep 1930 in Demopolis, Alabama.  Marengo County numbered third in the production of cotton in the state of Alabama and by 1840, blacks outnumbered whites.  Most of the blacks were enslaved and laborers for crops as well as mining.  Interesting enough there is some research that shows some Bailey family lines moved to Mississippi from Alabama.  Prince Albert married Adeline King in Demopolis and their children were Caroline, Mary (my great grandmother) and Lena.

Hoping this part of my journey fills in some blanks revealing some of the untold story.

Sources: Online: US Federal Census 1870, Dist. 2, Clarke, MS; US Federal Census 1880 & 1900 Gallion, Hale, AL; 1910 Prairieville, Hale, AL; Alabama Death Index 1908-59; Alabama Death & Burial Index 1881-1974; AL Genealogy Trails – Marengo Co. AL History, Bailey – James W. Bailey Jr. research (2000).

52 Ancestors 52 Weeks Week 21 – Dallas Carroll

52 Ancestors 52 Weeks Week 21 – Dallas Carroll

“Common lore in the Town Creek Alabama area is that there was a Cobb woman that loved him so much and after she married another man, named her daughter, Dallas.”

So was Dallas, my 2^nd great Uncle a lover?  His only known living niece, Dorothy remembers him as being of bronze coloring, not too tall but delightful to be around.

His Military Registration Card, dated September 12, 1918 records him as being medium height, medium built with black hair and eyes.

Dallas was the first-born son of Henry Carroll/Cal and Celia Sherrod  (married in 1882) born May 7, 1883.  Dallas was raised on the farmland where his father Henry was acquiring acres upon acres to secure the family’s future.  Henry was born during the enslavement period in 1858 to an enslaved mother, Emma Sims and stated his father was “A Dutch Sea Captain”.  Dallas’ father believe the way to success was landownership and exposed his first son, Dallas as well as his nine other sons and one daughter to farm life.   It has been told that Henry was a tough taskmaster and his son’s rebelled when they were grown.  At twenty years old, Dallas married Gertrude McDonald on Sunday, November 23, 1903 in Lawrence County, Alabama.  I was told that he loved horses and sure enough by April 18, 1910, he was living with his wife, Gertrude and working at a private stable in Town Creek.  Dallas appears to have been the first son to leave his father’s farm.

Dallas’ wife, Gertrude appears to have disappeared from the records and the 1910 Census show they had no children.  She may have died but we aren’t sure.  In 1918, Dallas is living in Chattanooga, Tennessee according to the city directory without a wife and working as a presser at Peerless Dry Company.  By the 1920 census, he is living at 3704 Chandler Avenue in Chattanooga with his new “wife”, Essie.  No marriage record has been found in Alabama or Tennessee.  Dallas was working on his in laws, William and Mariah Hawkin’s farm.  Back to what he knew from his father’s farm in Alabama but not for long.  By 1927, Dallas and Essie are living at 1105 W. 38^th Street in Chattanooga and he has become a Pullman Porter on the railroad.  Dallas and Essie are listed in the Chattanooga Directory through 1931.  There are no records showing that Dallas and Essie had any children, however Essie appears to have a daughter, Evira Abernathy, born about 1917.

Dallas’ work as a porter on the steamer railroads took him out west for April 5, 1930, he is renting a place on North Grand West in Salt Lake City, Utah.  The census records him as head of household 103 and paying ten dollars rent.  He is married but no wife his listed, born in Alabama.  Living around him are other Steam Railroad employees that are listed as Negroes most with Tennessee roots.  Various occupations listed are machinist helper, lubrication, porter and cook.  Some of these employees have wives listed with no occupation and perhaps they are on this census because they were on a stopover in Salt Lake City waiting for a train going East.  Dallas was working during the peak times of the Southern Railway System that developed a large company from a number of other companies including the Tennessee Railroad.  The company system had over 8,000-miles of track and ran through thirteen states.  The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters launched a successful effort that organized African American workforce made up of porters and maids.

Dallas was about forty-seven in 1930 and his occupation choice offered him an opportunity to be a part of the African American middle class.  His route was mainly in California according to his niece, Dorothy who remembers stories he told her when she was young.  You see, Dallas became ill (possibly TB) while working out west as a porter and moved back to Alabama living with his brother, Otis Cal and family.  Dallas’ wife Essie Carroll was found listed in the 1940 US Census, Chattanooga as a widow, which gives us a target time of his death because no death records for Dallas, has been located. 

Dallas’ story is a perfect combination of documented records, verbal history passed down in our family and tied to a very important part of migration, growth of Chattanooga as a city and introduced me to key roles of African American during a golden age of travel.  Loving the historical journey of finding family.

52 Ancestors 52 Weeks Week 20 Julius Copeland

52 Ancestors 52 Weeks Week 20 – Julius Copeland

Julius Copeland was born in Hanover, Virginia which is about five miles from Richmond in December 1844. Hanover’s population was about 15,000 at the time of his birth.  Somehow Julius ended up in northwest Alabama from Virginia. There were a few Copeland families living in the Alabama area that migrated from various areas. In 1850, one Copeland farmer in Franklin County own $4,000 worth of real estate and $800 personal estate.  In researching the surname in the area, some were born in Tennessee and Alabama.  No family stood out that connected my Julius who is my second great grandfather.  He is the father of my great grandmother Sallie Copeland that married my great grandfather, John Carroll/Cal.

Julius at the young age of seventeen was caught up in the Civil War and joined the United States Colored Troops, Company E, 42^nd Unit in Chattanooga, Tennessee on 11 September 1864 for three years.  His military service came after the Battle of Chattanooga on the 24th November 1863 and not long after the company was organized 20 April 1964.  His military records show he was five foot three inches tall, yellow complexion with brown eyes and black hair.  Before the war his occupation was a waiter.  By today’s standards, he doesn’t seem to have been very tall and add to it his complexion was yellow.  Can’t help but wonder if he worked as a waiter, was he free or a slave?  Was his ancestry mixed and if so, with what type of people?    Julius name was spelled various ways as Julian Copelin, Julas Coupland.

He joined the United States Colored Troops in 1864 and was promoted twice during his service in the Civil War from a private to corporal.   The 42^nd Unit was mustered out 31 January 1866 and if Julius had previous been a slave, he was now free.  He became a farmer in Lawrence County, Alabama and married Pearlina Burt on 5^th of September 1871.   They had two children, Richard and Sallie.  His wife, Pearlina died about 1919 after many years of marriage.  Julius was the father figure to his daughter’s children, Minnie Pearl, Richard, Howard and Alvin Cal for Sallie separated and divorced her husband, John Cal in 1922.  Julius did not remarry and lived with his daughter the remainder of his life.  He filed and began receiving a pension from the US Military in 1896.  Julius collected that pension until he died in 1934.

It is an honor that Julius is part of the Civil War Memorial in Washington, DC.  This family historian had not thought much about African-Americans being such a significant part of the Civil War.  As we are coming up on the Memorial Day celebration, it does my heart good to know our family is represented by my second great grandfather Julius Copeland.

52 Ancestors 52 Weeks Week 19 – Missie (Missy) Austin

52 Ancestors 52 Weeks Week 19 – Missie (Missy) Austin

Missie was born according to most documents in Georgia between 1866 and1868.  This would be about ten years after her oldest brother, Henry Carroll/Cal was born in 1858.  Henry is my 2^nd great grand father, also born in Georgia.  According to the 1870 US Census for Lawrence County, Missie was the fourth born child (age1) of Emma Sims who married Joseph Austin about 1868.   The mystery of where Missy and some of her siblings were born in Georgia before migrating to northwest Alabama creates a brick wall in our family research.  Missy grew up in the small rural town of Town Creek, Lawrence County, Alabama on a tenant farm. 

Missie married Fred Sherrod 14 April 1888 in Lawrence County.  Fred died in 1894 and in the 1900 U.S Census, Lawrence County list Missie is a widow with five children;  Lela (1890), Velma (1892) William (1893) Gertrude (1894), Fred Ida (1895).  Fred would have been a young man of about thirty-five and not finding a death certificate makes me wonder whether he became ill or had an accident leading to his death.  Missie a young woman of about thirty-three with five children continued on the tenant farm to make a living and provide for them.  Missie knew the work of a farm after all that is what her parents Joseph and Emma did from the time they arrive in Town Creek shortly after emancipation. 

Fortunately, she met and married Hugh Jackson in Leighton, Colbert County on the 4^th of January 1903.  Missie and Hugh had a son, Emmett and a daughter, Beatrice Jackson.  Life must have been on the upswing  for the couple had seven children that of course would help on the farm along with them.  However, the forward movement lasted too short awhile for by 1920, Missie was back on her on living as a widowed head of house.  The house couldn’t have been too large yet Missie, her eighty-three year old mother, Emma along with some of her children and grandchildren lived in the home.  Can’t imagine how they managed but they did. Missie’s mother, Emma Austin died in 1927 and by 1930, Missie was living with her single younger son, Emmett who was twenty-seven.  This represents a culture of assisting family and making the best of circumstances.  No record has been found of where Missie was during the 1940 Census but we are fairly certain she remained in Alabama throughout her life. 

Missie Austin Sherrod Jackson died in Morgan County, Alabama in 1952.  My gg aunt Missie lived through difficulties with her parents being enslaved to beginning anew in a new state, tenant farming, becoming a new wife twice, having seven children, making it on her own and providing home a for her mother Emma Austin in her last years.  There is no question that each of stands on the shoulders of our ancestors.  The question now is will we leave enough strength for our descendants to stand on our shoulders. 

This family historian feels the responsibilities that have been passed on by our ancestors.

52 Ancestors 52 Weeks Week 18 Mary Eliza Bailey Watkins

Mary Eliza Bailey is my great grandmother on my paternal mother’s side of the family.  Mary was born about May 1876 in Macon, Hale County, Alabama to Prince Bailey (1851-1930) and Adeline King (1852-1931).  Both of Mary’s parents appear from the records to have been born in Alabama.  Prince Bailey’s parents are recorded as being born in South Carolina.  Mary’s siblings listed in 1870 are all sisters, Caroline (1871), Lena (1879), Margaret (1883) and Anna (1885).  Mary was one of the middle sisters.  The family lived in Beat 8, Macon, Hale County, Alabama in 1880 and her father, Prince worked as a laborer.

So far on this journey, this is the first picture found from this generation and was taken in Indiana, Pennsylvania during the late 1930’s.

Mary met and married Wesley Watkins on 8 December 1892.  She appears to have been fourteen years old and in my mind very young to get married in our times.  By the 1900 census great grandmother Mary was married to Wesley, living in Gallion, Hale County, Alabama and had the following children: Lula, Smith, Floyd, Oather/Otis, Wesley and Lillie Mae.  She would have one more child in 1916, my grandmother Lois.  I find it exciting that I met all of my uncles and aunts with the exception of Lula (must find out what happened with her).

Mary’s husband Wesley worked as a coalminer and followed the coalmining industry to Ernest, Pennsylvania by the 1930’s.  One of her younger sons, Otis remembered growing up in Demopolis that is 9.72 miles from Gallion (Hale County) in Walker County.  Walker County was once ranked as the leading producer of coal in the country.  Our family verbal history is that Mary’s father, Prince Bailey was from Mississippi and sure enough I did find a record from Clarke County, Mississippi that supports him living there and working as a labor in the household of a Margaret Bailey. 

The life of a coalmining wife was surrounded with concern and worry of men going into the mines and possibly not surviving the workday.  The mining companies provided separate house for different groups of people yet underground in the mines the men took the same risk and endured the same hazards.  I’ve heard that Mary participated in bootlegging yet I’ve found no proof of the story.  Mary lost her husband in 1929 in Ernest Pennsylvania to a heart attack.  By the 1930 Census, she was living with her youngest daughter, Lois who was expecting her first child, my father.  Mary died in Pennsylvania about 1953 after a brief illness.

It is fit to write about Mary Eliza Bailey Watkins on this eve of Mother’s Day.  The journey will continue with hope and plans to learn more about my great grandmother.