African American Research
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Presented to the Ninth Hartage Family Reunion
Atlanta, Georgia
August 8-11, 2002
When Rev. George W. Hartage and the Shipp brothers decided to organize a new African Methodist Episcopal church at the abandoned old Good Hope Church at Doyle in 1925, their work was probably easier than it might have been because they were all long-time friends. The Hartages and Shipps had known each other since slavery times and were from the same area of Marion County: the old Red Bone district. This colorful name was dropped in 1878 and the village became known as Brantley, according to Nettie Powell in her 1931 History of Marion County 1827-1930. Brantley is four miles north of Buena Vista on Highway 41 and adjacent to Tazewell, which lies to the east.
George Hartage and the several Shipp brothers chose wives who were either from Brantley or nearby Tazewell. He wedded Laura Jane Battle whose family lived near Tazewell. Union Hill AME Church, later renamed Samuel Chapel after Samuel Shipp—father of the Shipp brothers, would probably never have happened without this shared history. The other enabling circumstance was that the Shipps had relocated at Doyle and the Hartages were living in the area as well. The Shipps apparently grew weary of the ten-mile journey to the old Sales Chapel AME at Brantley. George and Laura Hartage might have desired a church more convenient than Mahala Chapel AME, where they were members and which was about five miles away.
In this paper I report on the history of these three families from the late slavery period until 1880, three years after the official end of Reconstruction. The reader will recall that Reconstruction began after the end of the Civil War in 1865 and extended to 1877. It was a period during which the Federal government controlled the governments of the states of the Southern Confederacy, which had seceded before the war, in order to implement certain political, social and economic changes following the end of slavery. These states were then readmitted to the union. My report relies mainly on census data. I examined these data against the background of Nettie Powell’s History of Marion County, together with historical maps, historical facts and other historical information for Marion County contained on the web site of the Carl Vinson Institute of Government at the University of Georgia in Athens. I looked at the entire census for Marion County for the following years: 1860—both the slave census and the census of free persons, 1870, 1880 and 1900. (The 1890 census for most of the U.S. was destroyed in a warehouse fire.) For a reality check I visited the Brantley, Tazewell, Mahala Chapel, and Doyle areas on Tuesday, August 6, 2002.
THE HARTAGES
The history of the African Hartages in Marion County during slavery is easy to
trace because there was only one: Webster Joshua, who was the only slave
belonging to Zachariah Hardage and Delilah Hardage. (This is the usual
spelling of this old English surname, Hardage. When George, oldest son of Webster
Joshua, learned to read and write, he changed the spelling, whether
deliberately or in error is not clear.) The census of 1860 lists a nine-year-
old black male slave living in the household of this couple at Red Bone along
with their three children aged 4, 3 and 1. The slave censuses did not list the
slaves by name, only the name of their owner, their sex and age, and the
number of slave houses. We can be sure, however, of Webster’s identity because
the 1870 census lists him by name, age 18, as living in the household of his
former owners at Red Bone along with their five children. One wonders if
Webster Joshua was an orphan or if he had been separated from his family
through a sale. Zack and Delilah Hardage may have been able to afford only
him. They were of modest means, owning 300-400 acres of land, according to the
valuation in the 1860 census.
So Webster Joshua would have been born in 1851 or 1852, according to the census data. He married Manerva Butts or Mathis in 1872. She already had two sons: Jonas Butts and a younger son named Bris or Briscoe. Webster Joshua accepted Bris as his own and gave him his surname. The couple’s first-born, George, issued in 1873. In the 1880 census, they were enumerated in the Tazewell district, a large area that stretched from Brantley all the way east to the Schley County line. It included the Mahala Chapel area, Doyle and Putnam. Whether they had already moved to the large farm near Mahala Chapel owned by one of the several Hoggs in this district and where the Hartage family lived for many years is not clear.
The 1880 census indicates that neither Webster nor Manerva could read or write. In addition to Bris, 8, and George, 7, the couple had Martha or Mattie, 3, and Richard or Robert, 8 months. Webster Joshua died around 1887 at age 35 or 36. His grave location is unknown. Manerva, who died in 1927, is buried in Mahala Chapel Cemetery. Webster Joshua’s slave owners are buried at New Providence Baptist Cemetery at Brantley across the fence and about 25-30 yards from where Samuel Shipp and his sons are buried in the Shady Grove Baptist Church Cemetery.
THE BATTLES
In 1860 there were three whites by the name of Battle who owned slaves in the Tazewell district: Rhody Battle who had three slaves in two houses, W.L. Battle who had 21 slaves in four houses, and John R. Battle who had 18 slaves in three houses. Henry Battle, the father of Laura Jane Battle who married George Hartage in 1896, could have come from either the W.L. Battle plantation or the John R. Battle plantation. He was born between 1832 and 1842. The census records for 1880 and 1900 are in sharp conflict as to his age and year of birth. (He could not be located in the 1870 census, which is not unusual because of the upheaval, displacement and dislocation in the aftermath of emancipation and the war.) The writer inclines toward the later date.
By 1880 he was married to a woman named Tymy whose family is unknown. They had nine children: Ann, 14, Martha, 13, Pinkney, 12, Lucy, 9, Harrison or William Harris, 7, Lula, 6, Olela, 6, Oscar, 4 and Laura, 2. Neither Henry nor Tymy could read or write. Tymy passed around 1890. Henry remarried in 1899 after practically all his children had left the nest. He lived until 1927. The places of burial of Henry and Tymy are unclear.
THE SHIPPS
Several families by the name of Shipp were among the earliest settlers of
Marion County, which was created in 1827. They were from North and South
Carolina, were for the most part wealthy planters, and they settled from
Brantley west to the Kinchafoonee district and beyond. When Chattahoochee
County was created in part from Marion County in 1854, some of the Shipp
plantations were incorporated into the new county. When they arrived in Marion
County to claim land that they acquired either through the land lottery or
through other means, they would have brought their slaves with them. So like
their masters, the slaves owned by the Caucasian Shipps most likely came from
the Carolinas.
The census of 1860 shows a David Shipp, 60, living with his wife, Lucina, 55, and a son David, 18, at Red Bone. He owned 2,500 to 3,000 acres of land but had only three slaves at his homestead. The slaves were living in a separate house. There was a female, 40, a male, 18, and a female, 12. When compared to age data in the 1870 census, it seems that the slaves would have been Samuel Shipp, his sister Louiza, and their mother. The 1870 census shows Samuel Shipp, 30, married to Carry (Mary) Bonnett or Barret, 25. Living with them were John R., 10, Ellen, 4, Emma, 3, and Albert, 1. Samuel’s sister Louiza, 23, was enumerated in the next house where she lived with Henry and Daffne Story, 23 and 18 respectively, and one Bradford Gray, 22. One could question whether John R. is the child of Samuel and Mary Shipp or whether his age is correctly stated. In any case, he was not enumerated with them in the census of 1880. Neither Samuel nor Mary could read or write in 1870.
Although the 1880 census of the household of Samuel Shipp contains some obvious errors in age, the data will be reported as recorded. Listed were Samuel, 45, Mary, 35, Lula Barret--Mary’s daughter, 15, Albert, 14, James, 13, William, 11, Menzer, 8, Joseph, 6, Arto, 5, Ellen, 15, Emma, 14, and Louisa, 30. Samuel had learned to read and write by 1880; Mary could not. Samuel Shipp died some time after 1900; his wife Mary died in 1905.
Conclusion
Neither Samuel Shipp nor Webster Hartage was plantation-reared. They were both
raised close to their masters as personal servants, which gave them an
advantage and improved their social and economic chances and opportunities in
life. Although Samuel was about 12 years older than Webster, in the close-knit
slave community of Red Bone they would certainly have known each other,
especially since they were from the same social class.
Afrigeneas is an electronic mailing list created to provide a forum for African Ancestored genealogists,( and all others interested) to share our queries, our research, our experiences, our resources, and to provide each other a mutual support system in our search for the ancients. You are Invited to join us! mailto:[email protected] Subscribe Afrigeneas or Subscribe afrigeneas-digest ============================= ||Where Things Are and How To Navigate|| ============================= ~ARCHIVED MESSAGES ON-LINE http://www.msstate.edu/listarchives/afrigeneas/ ~POST TO THE LIST? *Send eMessage mailto:[email protected] The Afrigeneas News http://www.afrigeneas.com/news.html African Ancestored Genealogy Home Page http://www.afrigeneas.com/ The Surname Registry http://www.afrigeneas.com/surnames.html The Slave Data Collection http://www.afrigeneas.com/slavedata/ The African-American Community Site http://www.afrigeneas.com/community/ Organized by geography, links and societies to help you with your research How To: Unsubscribe/PostPone/Subscribe To cancel/postpone/restore your subscription to Afrigeneas http://www.msstate.edu/cgi-bin/majordomo Other Options For Changing Status ~CHANGE Your Mail Status? *Send eMessage mailto:[email protected] *IN THE BODY OF YOUR MESSAGE *to be added to list: Subscribe Afrigeneas *to end mail: Unsubscribe Afrigeneas *to put mail on hold: Unsubscribe Afrigeneas *to restart mail : Subscribe Afrigeneas *to get the digest: Subscribe Afrigeneas-digest *to stop the digest: Unsubscribe Afrigeneas-digest ~COMMENT /FEEDBACK re Afrigeneas Mail? *Send eMessage mailto:[email protected] Valencia King Nelson mailto:[email protected] Co-Owner/Moderator Afrigeneas Mailing List "THE CHALLENGE OF AFRICAN AMERICAN RESEARCH" by Curt B. Witcher, FUGA (Ancestry Magazine, Sept/Oct 1997, Vol. 15, No. 5) <<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>> ======================================================= Conducting successful African American genealogical research can be a challenging adventure. In recent years, the challenge has been lessened and the adventure heightened by the growing body of publications relating to this ethnic group. Special-interest groups and genealogical societies nationwide are publishing key guides, new bibliographies, and important how-to books. Before delving into published sources, however, it is always important to pause long enough to organize one's own personal papers and review standard research methodology. PUTTING IT ALL IN CONTEXT Important in any genealogical investigation as a part of sound research methodology, but particularly key when researching African American ancestors, is the process of framing one's research within the proper context. Some veteran researchers simply call this process "contexting." Contexting involves: (1) understanding what is transpiring in the nation, state, county, and city for the particular time period being researched; (2) knowing the migration, naming, prejudice, and settlement patterns of the particular family and ethnic group being investigated; (3) understanding the religious, benevolent, political, and other special organizations which might have been extant in the geographic area and may have interacted with the ethnic group in question; and (4) being cognizant of the implications laws, codes, and regulations may have had on the creation, maintenance, and location of pertinent historical records. The revised edition of "The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy" (Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1997) includes a very useful chapter entitled "Tracking African American Family History." The chapter provides genealogists with an excellent foundation for researching this ethnic group, detailing various types of records, the types of information they contain, and where one can locate them. The chapter also has a generous number of notes and concludes with a bibliography. AFRICAN AMERICAN MILITARY HISTORY There are many important resources for the researcher of African American family history. One of these is the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society. Joining this society is a wise move for the family historian interested in this ethnic group. Another helpful resource is a massive tome dealing with the African American military experience entitled "Black Soldiers-Black Sailors-Black Ink: Research Guide on African-Americans in U. S. Military History, 1526-1900," compiled by Thomas Truxtun Moebs (Chesapeake Bay, VA: Moebs Publishing Co., 1994). Nearly 1700 pages, this work is largely a bibliography of sources, arranged in several major sections to assist the researcher in accessing specific materials. The first section is a bibliography of writings by African Americans, followed by an annotated chronology. The next two sections contain a subject bibliography with author cross-references, and a listing of unit histories from 1729 to 1900. Ten appendixes round out the publication, covering more than four hundred pages. United States Colored Troops' regimental records, Congressional Medal of Honor winners, Confederate publications, and portraits of veterans can be found in these appendixes. What makes this work particularly useful is its comprehensiveness. While many genealogists initially prefer publications which provide family names with associated vital events and family data, comprehensive bibliographies, properly used, certainly can be worth one's research time. Such bibliographies provide the researcher with a vast collection of resources crucial to establishing the proper context in which to conduct research, as well as citations to records that can be searched for more family-specific data. Citation analysis, the process of looking through the citations, notes, and bibliographies of published materials for further leads and resources, is a less-frequently-used but quite worthwhile endeavor for family historians. This process assists one in finding as much supporting documentation as possible while working to acquire the maximum amount of primary source materials. BLACK HERITAGE SITES At the recent American Library Association annual meeting, an important work for African American researchers, Black Heritage Sites: An African American Odyssey and Finder's Guide, by Nancy C. Curtis, Ph.D. (Chicago: American Library Association, 1996), received the prestigious Denali Press Award. This award is given to reference works of outstanding quality and significance that furnish information about ethnic and minority groups in the United States. This compilation, arranged by general geographic region within the country, yields much detail about a significant number of historic sites. The material is very useful for building a context within which to conduct area-specific research, and also supplies some potentially useful family data. Each section contains endnotes, as well as a bibliography of works consulted by the author. AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE CONFEDERACY As with other areas of genealogical research, periodical literature plays a vital part in African American family history. There are a significant number of African American historical and genealogical societies which publish newsletters and quarterlies. There are also special issues of local, regional, and state genealogical periodicals focusing on African American records and research methodology, as well as numerous articles in geographically-based magazines. One of these special issues is unique-volume fourteen of the Journal of Confederate History series (Atlanta, GA: Southern Heritage Press, 1995). This particular volume has a series title which accurately describes the nearly two hundred pages of text: "Forgotten Confederates: An Anthology about Black Southerners." And what an anthology it is! The work contains a number of heavily footnoted articles on the role of African Americans in the Confederacy. A number of these notes may very well lead to sources of data that are vital for particular family history research. Other articles contain abstracts and lists from compiled military records, extensive biographical sketches, obituaries, veterans' narratives, and selected correspondence. The issue is completed with a bibliography of sources for the study of African American Confederates. A compilation such as this special issue challenges the researcher to investigate all possibilities and search for a wide range of records while engaging in Civil War-era African American genealogical research. It also challenges the researcher to seek facts and rigorous documentation rather than give credence to stereotypes and information found in undocumented general-history texts. INTERNET SOURCES The Internet can play a key role in assisting those engaged in African American research. There are a number of excellent sites which assist the researcher in locating historical data, help identify individuals who are working on particular family lines, and provide a means for networking. A number of these sites can be easily located by using one of the many Internet search engines, such as Yahoo (http://www.yahoo.com) or Altavista (http://www.altavista.digital.com), or by visiting some of the more popular genealogy sites, such as Cyndi's List (http://www.cyndislist.com), and looking for the ethnic or African American pages at the site. The Afrigeneas Homepage (http://www.msstate.edu/archives/history/afrigen/index.html) is an excellent example of the type of information researchers can find when looking for African American genealogy sources on the Internet. The page is well organized and contains numerous links to important genealogical resources worldwide. From this home page, one can subscribe to the Afrigeneas mailing list, a place where queries can be asked and answered, significant research discoveries can be shared, and information about upcoming symposia, conferences, and seminars can be disseminated. There are a host of other links on the Afrigeneas Homepage, including links to The Genealogy Home Page, ROOTS-L RESOURCE, the African American Genealogy Group of Pennsylvania, the USGenWeb Project, the African-Native American Genealogy Page, underground railroad data, books and pamphlets on African Americans, a directory of genealogical libraries, and basic search strategies. As with an increasing number of sites, this site also links the genealogist to searchable data files, including the National Park Service's United States Colored Troops database. One can also find a link to The Afrigeneas News. The Afrigeneas News is an online newsletter intended to be a center for sharing genealogical tips and resources from the African American online chats at America Online and from the Afrigeneas mailing list. Among its many informational items, this online newsletter contains a question-and-answer section called "From the Archives," a list of current commemorative events scheduled around the country (such as the 9th Cavalry cemetery dedication in Las Animas, New Mexico), links to genealogy books, and numerous valuable links from the main Afrigeneas Homepage, such as black studies on microfilm, Britannica black history, and explanations of important historical events. Researchers from novice to seasoned genealogist can find much assistance at this Internet site. With these works - and the other sources certain to be found as one explores them -- the genealogists interested in African American family history should enjoy much success. Curt Witcher is the department manager for the Historical Genealogy Department of the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana; adjunct professor in Indiana University's Continuing Education Program; and a genealogical instructor and lecturer. He is the past president of the Federation of Genealogical Societies and is currently the national volunteer coordinator for the Civil War Soldiers Names Index Project. The article above was originally featured in Ancestry Magazine, Sept/Oct 1997, Vol. 15, No. 5. It is available online at: http://www.ancestry.com/magazine/articles/enjafam.htm ====================================================== BLACK GENEALOGY & HISTORY LINKS & RESOURCES <<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>> ======================================================= GENEALOGY ARTICLES ONLINE "The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy," Revised, Edited by Loretto D. Szucs & Sandra H. Luebking -- Chapter 15, "Tracking African American Family History," by David Thackery http://www.ancestry.com/home/source/src488.htm "African-American Case Studies" by Roseanne Hogan, Ph.D. (Ancestry Magazine, Nov/Dec 1996, Vol. 14, No. 6) http://www.ancestry.com/magazine/articles/afamcase.htm "African-American Family Research" Part 1 by Roseanne Hogan, Ph.D. (Ancestry Magazine, Mar/Apr 1996, Vol. 14, No. 2) http://www.ancestry.com/magazine/articles/afamres1.htm "African-American Family Research" Part 2 by Roseanne Hogan, Ph.D. (Ancestry Magazine, Jul/Aug 1996, Vol. 14, No. 4) http://www.ancestry.com/magazine/articles/afamres2.htm "The Challenge of African American Research" (above) by Curt B. Witcher, FUGA (Ancestry Magazine, Sep/Oct 1997, Vol. 15, No. 5) http://www.ancestry.com/magazine/articles/enjafam.htm "The Freedman's Savings and Trust Company and African American Genealogical Research" By Reginald Washington (Prologue: Quarterly of the National Archives and Records Administration Summer 1997, vol. 29, no. 2) http://www.nara.gov/publications/prologue/freedman.html "Institutions of Memory and the Documentation of African Americans in Federal Records" By Walter B. Hill, Jr. (Prologue: Quarterly of the National Archives and Records Administration Summer 1997, vol. 29, no. 2) http://www.nara.gov/publications/prologue/hill.html "Preserving the Legacy of the United States Colored Troops" by Budge Weidman (Prologue: Quarterly of the National Archives and Records Administration, Summer 1997, vol. 29, no. 2) http://www.nara.gov/education/teaching/usct/usctart.html GENEALOGY WEB SITES Christine's Genealogy Web site http://ccharity.com/ Africa WorldGenWeb Page The African - Native Genealogy Homepage http://members.aol.com/angelaw859/index.html Afrigeneas http://www.msstate.edu/archives/history/afrigen/index.html Civil War Soldiers & Sailors System: U.S. Colored Troops http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/ Black Studies: A Select Catalog of NARA Microfilm Publications http://www.nara.gov/publications/microfilm/blackstudies/blackstd.html BLACK HISTORY Gale Salutes Black History Month http://www.gale.com/gale/bhm/blackhm.html Everything Black: History & Culture http://www.everythingblack.com/ Black History: Exploring African American Issues on the Web http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/BHM/AfroAm.html African Heritage Month http://www.dal.ca/~acswww/dalbh.html Smithsonian: African American History and Culture http://www.si.edu/resource/faq/nmah/afroam.htm African American Perspectives: Daniel A. P. Murray Pamphlet Collection, 1818-1907 From the Library of Congress' American Memory Project http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/aap/aaphome.html African American Odyssey: A Quest for Full Citizenship From the Library of Congress' American Memory Project http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/aohome.html
Copyright 1999-Present by The GAGenWeb Project Team
Many thanks go to Mary Kathryn Kozy, Virginia Crilley, Harris Hill, Carla Miles & Angela Covington for their work on the site over the years.