SANKOFA'S SLAVERY DATA COLLECTION
(James) Rogan Plantation
Location: Ripley, Tippah Co., MS
Constructed: 1845
History:
Alabama (1826 - 1845)
James Rogan (age 31), his wife Sarah Netherland and their two children Maria
and James W. journeyed from Tennessee down the Holston and Tennessee Rivers
by flatboat and arrived in Asheville, St. Clair Co., AL in 1826 [Bardsley, 1961].
There, James Rogan founded and operated a mercantile business at Gunter's Landing,
a store (Asheville, AL), and later, a tannery. By, 1830 James Rogan's family
had grown (6 free whites). One slave, a young black man (age 10 - 24) was enumerated
in the Rogan household [U.S. Federal Census, 1830]. He may have traveled with
the Rogan family to TN four years earlier. James Rogan eventually co-founded
Asheville's first school, Asheville Academy, and church, Mount Pleasant, served
as postmaster at Asheville for several years, and was elected Judge of the County
Court. After three more children were born, Rogan prepared to move his family
to Tippah County, MS.
Mississippi (1845 - 1866)
In 1845, James sent his 14 year old son Lafayette with slaves, livestock, and
farming implements to clear the land, plant crops, and build a dwelling house
[Bardsley, 1961]. The industrious Rogan slaves had built a well-constructed
main house, smokehouses, big barns, stables, and slave quarters strung out across
the hill. James and the remainder of his family moved into the finished home
in 1846 and began farming operations. Rogan was such an upstanding citizen,
he was considered "Judge" of the Probate Court, although he was not
officially elected. Through the years leading up to the Civil War, Rogan continued
to run his small farm. After his wife's death in 1854, James Rogans noted that
it had beent eh first death in his family "white or black, for about 32
years [since 1813]" [Bardsley, 1861]. So it is likely that the same slaves
who were with the Rogan family in 1830 - 1854 were all still living.
During the War, Rogan's farm was constantly raided, occupied and pillaged by Union troops. After the War had ended, a few of the Rogan ex-slaves remained at the farm to work on the shares.
Associated Surnames: Boyd, Rogan
Associated Free White Names
Associated Black Slave Names
1830: Slaves of James Rogan, St. Clair Co., AL
From the 1830 US Federal Census, St. Clair Co., AL
- male, age 10-24
1833: Slaves of James Rogan, Asheville, St. Clair Co., AL
From James Rogan, Hill Country Pioneer, by Virginia O. Bardsley
- James Rogan bought his first slaves sometime after 1833, when he purchased land near Asheville Academy where cotton was raised as a cash crop.
1850: Slaves of James Rogan, Ripley, Tippah Co., MS
From the 1850 US Federal Slave Schedule, Tippah Co., MS
- male, age 23, mulatto
- male, age 22, black
- male, age 19, mulatto
- male, age 12, black
- male, age 12, black
- male, age 3, black
- female, age 30, black
- female, age 25, black
- female, age 17, mulatto
- male, age 1/12, black
- female, age 6, black
1860: Slaves of James Rogan
From the 1860 US Federal Slave Schedule, Tippah Co., MS
- female, age 45, black
- female, age 45, black
- male, age 38, mulatto
- male, age 37, black
- male, age 28, mulatto
- female, age 27, black
- male, age 22, black
- male, age 19, black
- female, age 15, black
- male, age 12, black
- female, age 10, black
- male, age 6, black
- Note: 2 slave houses
1860: Slaves of James Rogan
From James Rogan, Hill Country Pioneer, by Virginia O. Bardsley
- Aunt Nancy: cook
1865: Slaves of James Rogan
From Southern Claims Commission Files, James Rogan, Claim #16866
- Tom: servant; d. ca. 1865
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