As the day progressed an interesting sub-theme emerged regarding slaveholders and the people they enslaved, particularly in light of actor Ben Affleck's request to leave out mention of his own slaveholding ancestors in an episode of Finding Your Roots. The story infamously came to light during the Sony email hack in late 2014. The presentations and ensuing discussion got me thinking again about my own slaveholding ancestors.
Sometimes the universe provides grace in preparation for something unexpected and unwelcome. That's exactly what happened to me when I was inexplicably drawn to read Edward Ball's Slaves in the Family. I thought there was good chance I might have slave owners on my paternal side, which goes back ten generations in North Carolina. Not soon after reading Ball's book, however, I learned of a slaveholding family on my maternal side when it was revealed in a probate record that my ancestor, Sarah Smith, went court to retain ownership of several slaves as part of her dower right following the death of her husband in 1849. I found this discovery far more devastating than if it had been the expected North Carolina branch.*
As requested, Ned (Edward) and Laura were set aside as Sarah's dower right. At the time, the Smith family slaves included Jane and child Caroline, Mary, Edward (aka Ned), Mary, Joanne (d. 1851) and Lorra/Laura.
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| 1850 Slave Schedule, Nodaway Township, Andrew County, Missouri |
Name Age Gender 1850: Sold to:
Jane 22 Female Sarah Smith S. L. Gant
Mary 10 Female Sarah Smith V. B. Wood
Edward 8 Male Sarah Smith John P. Smith
Molly/Mary* 6 Female Sarah Smith Wm. Fulkerson
Laura* 5 Female Sarah Smith John P. Smith
Caroline* 3 Female Sarah Smith S. L. Gant
Joanne 1 Female Sarah Smith Died in 1851
* = Mulatto
Aside from the Tar Heels, I had naively deluded myself into thinking my family was free of the taint of slavery because they were largely Midwesterners who'd migrated from the Northeast. Edward Ball's unvarnished look at his own family's history provided me with a useful road map for beginning to understand the legacy of slavery. While -- just like Ben Affleck -- I still wish I didn't have slaveholding ancestors it pretty much makes me a quintessential American.
This legacy, as much as my Quaker roots, or any of my other branches, when combined tells the complex, flawed story that is America. After the Affleck debacle If You Only Read One Book About the Legacy of Slavery: ‘Slaves in the Family’ was one of the many editorial pieces which appeared. Like the writer, I found this book to be the first step towards confronting my complicated legacy. I am still searching for descendants of the Smith family slaves. Because they were sold out of the family in the 1850s I have to first find them in the 1860 slave schedule with another owner -- again unnamed with only an estimated age as a clue -- and then hopefully as freed people in 1870. The surname Smith only compounds an already challenging task, but it remains some of the most important family research I will ever do.
1. 1850 U. S. census, Andrew County, Missouri, slave schedule, Nodaway Township, p. 212, Sarah Smith, head; NARA microfilm publication M432, roll 422.
*Curiously, I have yet to find a slaveholder among my North Carolina ancestors.
