Have you ever found yourself bored and just started typing in names at a research site just for the fun of it? Well, that is what I did this morning (at 4 AM).
I was at the Family Search Labs site and was looking for some specific records but was having no luck! I finally grew tired of it and just started typing in names. I found several interesting things but the one that interested me most was finding some information on the children of my 2nd-Great-Grandfather, Elbert Stevenson. Of course, I have the info on my great-grandfather. I had not been able to find much on his siblings though! So, I simply typed in my 2nd-great-grandfather’s name and South Carolina as the place and was surprised to find a couple of death certificates for 2 of the 3 girls.
Just like that I now have their birth dates (that was listed on the death certificate) and their death dates as well as the names of their husbands. Upon doing a Census search, I was able to find records from 1900 to show several of their children.
I know it is veering off into alternate branches but you never know who may be the one who has all the family history!
Of course, along with the good news I also found bad news! I’ve done quite a bit of research but never found any records of my ancestors having owned slaves. Well, now I have it. I’m not really sure how it works but I found a record from 1850 that shows Elbert owning 1 slave, a 14-year old black female. It really saddens my heart to find this but I feel it was inevitable that I would eventually do so. Most of my research on my Maternal side showed good news on the slave front. Most of them were obviously against slavery and helped with the Underground Railroad and such.
So, harsh reality slaps you in the face! I feel quite different today when reading about issues concerning slavery. Before I was proud of all the efforts my ancestors had done to help stop slavery. I’m just saddened to finally find the evidence of slavery in my tree! As I said, it was inevitable, especially with so many Southern ancestors. I just hate having to find it! That’s probably why I never learned about the slave schedules!
What about you, how did you feel when you first discovered that your ancestors were slave owners?
I’ll try to get some of this together and post about what I have found on my great-grandaunts as soon as I can!
Have a great day!
Ken
Ken, I felt a lot like you did. Now that I am starting to collect the documentation, I am more focused on sharing it with others–especially ancestors of slaves who face big challenges in tracing their lineage. If my ancestors’ unfortunate history can be of benefit to others, then I will do what I can go share what I know.
Thanks for the reply Amy! I wonder how I would go about finding out the name of the slave that he owned? There’s not a lot published in 1850 that I know of. I didn’t even know there was a slave schedule!