52 Ancestors 52 Weeks Week 26 - Wiley Woodard (1)

52 Ancestors 52 Weeks Week 26 – Wiley Woodard (1)

Wiley Woodard (I) was born about 1784 in Brunswick County, Virginia.  He was a black man, perhaps a slave or born as a free man of color.  The story of finding him was amazing to me.  Back in the day, the only way to research was writing down what was known based on interviews of family members about various branches. Knowing about my grandfather, John Henry Woodard, led me to finding his father, Wiley Woodard (2) and mother, Josephine Martin.  They married in Meriwether County, Georgia on 18 July 1868.  Documentation was found in John Henry Woodard’s West Virginia’s death certificate for 15 January 1932 and in the 1900 US Census for Meriwether County in the small town of Odessadale Georgia, leading me to Wiley Woodard (2) was born in Virginia about April 1825. 

The challenge was moving back in time to Wiley Woodard’s (2) parents.  The trial was finding information without “proper documentation” for Georgia didn’t begin recording deaths until later than what was needed.  You see it appeared Wiley (2) died about 1905-09 for he was not found in the 1910 census and his wife; Josephine was listed as a widow in that record.  While researching at the Georgia Archives standing in line to make copies, a red book was on a shelf above the copier.  It caught my attention and was titled 1860 Georgia Census Index.  I moved with the strong feeling that it needed to be check out while my thought was why do you need to look at that book, blacks where slaves then and weren’t listed until the 1870 Census.  Going with the flow, I reach for the book and while still standing in line, looked for any Woodard listings.  Sure enough, I found one listing for “Wiley Woodard” and quickly left the line and to pull the film for review on the microfiche machine.  I found Wiley Woodard (I) listed as a black man and the path of my journey changed.  He lived in Milledgeville, Georgia and additional records showed he was a free person of color born in Brunswick County, Virginia that worked as a brick mason and his sponsor (required at that time for any free person of color) was Thomas Crowder, also born in Brunswick County, Virginia.  Wiley (1) was listed 1837-1845 in the Baldwin County Free Persons of Color Registers and in the 1850-1860 US Census.

Further research found that James Woodward, 1793-1839 of Norfolk, Virginia, a cabinetmaker emancipated his slaves.  The question became was Wiley (1) one of the emancipated slaves?   Thomas Crowder, Wiley I’s sponsor owned slaves and included Lucy with children, Wilson, Milton, Sally and Wiley among them.  When Thomas died his friend H. J. Malone managed Thomas’ estate and purchased these slaves.  H. J. died within a couple of years of the purchase and had a son, Chris Malone and Amanda Malone.  Amanda was married to man named Gilbert and they lived in Meriwether County.  Perhaps it is all a coincidence or mayhap it tells a story.

There are additional hints that lead me to claiming Wiley Woodard (I) and while I don’t tie him to Wiley Woodard 2, I do believe the ancestors speak on the journey.

52 Ancestors 52 Weeks Week 25 - Hannah Woodard Rosser

52-Ancestors 52-Weeks Week 25 – Hannah Woodard Rosser

This morning while having coffee on my cousin’s front porch in Pennsylvania very near where I was born, a sound was heard all around.  The sound took me back to the days when we would hear the call of the coalmines several times a day.  I knew this noise that could be heard all over the area and there was another tone when there was an accident in the mines.  People would rush to the closest mine entrance to find out what was going on and whether anyone, particularly any family members where injured.  You could smell and hear the anxiety of wives, mothers, sisters and children while they waited to hear the news. 

You see I’m from a coalmining family on both my maternal and paternal side.  The Watkins, Bailey, Woodard and some of the Carroll/Cal had their roots from Virginia, Georgia and Alabama.  Some followed the coalmining industry after leaving the plantations or farms.  So far in my research, it appears working in the mines was by choice rather than forced labor to provide for their families.  This week I’m thinking about Hannah Woodard, my grandfather’s older sister.  Hannah was born in Meriwether County, Georgia and sometime after having her first child, Josie Woodard (Sep 1892), she married Henry Rosser in 1894.

Henry and Hannah where living in the Saint Marks area of Georgia farming.  For some reason after they had two sons, William  (1895) and James (1897) in Georgia, they moved to Etowah County Alabama and are listed in the 1910 US Census.  Henry worked in the Alabama mines.  Etowah is a beautiful area where some of the stately homes reflect the elegance of the old south.    I wonder about the mines in the area particularly when Hannah and Henry Rosser along with their two sons lived in the area.  Henry Rosser, their youngest son was born in 7 June 1906.  Hannah’s oldest daughter, Josie remained in Meriwether County with her grandparents, Wiley and Josephine Woodard.  Henry Rosser Sr. died of a heart attack after the family moved to Jefferson County, Alabama on 24 July 1918.  The children with the exception of Henry Rosser who was twelve years were all grown.  Hannah was left in the small town of Sayre, a small coalmining town that is now one of the dead towns of Alabama with her youngest son.

It must have been a very difficult time for Hannah and her family.  Her younger brother, John Henry Woodard lived in Sayre with his wife Susie Mae Young and oldest children, Ruth and Mary Catherine.   Somewhere in the area she met Andrew (A.J.) Moore, a coal miner who was born in Alabama after Henry died.  Hannah and A.J. married in Alabama and followed the coalmining industry from Alabama to West Virginia and on to Scranton, Pennsylvania.  Branches of the family settled along the way in Logan, and Fairmont, West Virginia with some continuing migrating to Pittsburgh and Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Henry Rosser/Ross shared many memories about his mother, Hannah and his stepfather, A.J.  It took many years for the various branches to reconnect for we lost family ties along the migration path.  What a delight to be in touch with various family members through social media.

52 Ancestors - 52 Weeks - Missing Bailey

The last couple of weeks my blog has taken me to the Bailey Branch of the family.  We had Mary Bailey daughter of Prince Albert Bailey, son of Peter Bailey who was born about 1810 in South Carolina.  Peter was found based on death certificates of Prince and Merritt Bailey in Marengo County Alabama.  Then we find Rebecca Carr living according to the 1880 US Census, Spring Hill, Marengo County with her father Peter Bailey along with her three sons, James H., Freeman and Aaron Carr plus a daughter Daisy.  Later Rebecca born about 1830 in South Carolina is listed as divorced.  Also, in the 1880 Census living with Peter Bailey is a daughter Ann Bailey, age 35, single with a number of children all listed as Mulattoes.  Peter's wife is Matilda born about 1835, certainly too young to be these children listed mother.

On this portion of the journey, the fog has set in no allowing me to see what direction to head.

Now Captain Robert Bailey was a land owner that found Faunsdale that was later know as Baileyton in Marengo County.  Records show that Bailey families moved to the area from Virginia and South Carolina.  There was or may still be the Bailey Plantation in Berkeley, South Carolina and some notations of Sumter County, SC as well as Edisto Island, South Carolina.  Freedman listed in this area in 1866 were Pheobe Bailey, Mary Bailey, Peter Bailey and John Bailey.  Checking on Bailey Slaveholders and their location we came up with the following areas:

Amelia Co., VA      Baker Co., GA    Dougherty, GA   Halifax Co., VA    Halifax Co., NC and Marshall, NC.

There is a ton of research on Bailey families but little information that refer to the slaves they own so far.  There are will that list owner like James Bailey who died in 1826 and was son of James Bailey.  The appraisal done for his Will list he had 10 Negroes (no names) valued at $3,225.00.

So it appears very quickly that I reached the notorious brick wall for African Americans.  No way will this be accepted for with all the research and information on Bailey families, there has to be something of value that will taken me back.

52 Weeks 52 Ancestors Week 23– Peter Bailey

52 Weeks 52 Ancestors Week 23– Peter Bailey

How did I meet Peter Bailey and are the documents found really for my 3rd great grandfather?  Last week I wrote about my 2^nd great grandfather, Prince Albert Bailey.  Prince fit the verbal history past down in our family as the father of Mary Bailey, my great grandmother who married Wesley Watkins in Alabama.

This family historian through the Alabama Deaths, 1908-1974 index on FamilySearch.org, met Peter Bailey.  The record for Prince Bailey of Demopolis, Marengo, Alabama list his death 04 Jan 1930 and in that record his wife is Adiline (Adeline) and his father is Peter Bailey, born in Virginia.  There was no information about his mother.  So now the journey begins to learn as much as documents will yield on Peter Bailey.

Peter appears to have married Ella Carter on 31 Dec 1870 in Marengo County according to Alabama Marriages on familysearch.org and on prairebluff.com, Marengo County Alabama Marriage Index, colored, 1866-1871, Black Families of Alabama Black belt.   It was necessary to pause at this finding for Ella is not listed as Prince’s mother and this marriage took place years after Prince was born about 1851 or 1852.  Was this because of the slavery period when Alabama didn’t permit enslaved people to marry or was Prince the child of another woman? In searching line by line in the 1870 US Census, Spring Hill, Marengo County with a P.O. Box Demopolis, there is a Peter Bailey on page 4, line 15, household 33 who is a 60 year old black male born in South Carolina working as a farm laborer. This Peter was born about 1810 and living with him is Martha Bailey, age 39 keeping house.  Prince, age 20, in 1870 was living in Clarke County, Mississippi, a few counties west of Marengo.  A record of one Peter Bailey, married to Ella was found in the 1880 US Census, Demopolis, Marengo with a birthdate of around 1839. 

If this is Prince’s father one must question Peter’s birth year for Prince’s is listed as 1851 or 1852.  Could this Peter be a brother of Prince for the birth state is listed as Alabama and in Prince’s death record, his father Peter’s place of birth is Virginia?

Fast forward to 01 Sep 1930, the date Lue Bailey age 90 died.  Her spouse in the Alabama, Deaths, 1908-1974 (familysearch.org) Demopolis, Marengo is listed as Peter Bailey.  Lue estimated birth year is 1840 and appears to be too young to be mother of Prince, born 1851 or 1852.  Next in Alabama Deaths, 1908-1974 Merriett Bailey, male, colored, age 75 (estimated birth year 1839) died on 25 Jun 1914 in Old Spring Hill, Marengo.  The record lists Peter Bailey as his father without any listing under mother same as Prince Albert Bailey’s record.

Bailey slave owners settled in the Faunsdale/Baileyton Lands during the 1800s. Further research shows there were Bailey slaveholders in Amelia and Halifax Counties, Virginia as well as Halifax County, North Carolina and there was the “Bailey Plantation” in Edisto Island, SC. In pondering and reviewing the documents found there are many miles to go in attempt to find out more about Peter Bailey and most of all to sort it all out on my Journey.

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.