Did your parents ever say that you would be the first to attend college in your family? I knew I wasn't the first on my dad's side but I was curious to see who on my mother's side could claim that title. Of course fate would have it that I would find proof that not one but TWO of my great grand-uncles attended Claflin University in Orangeburg, SC way back in the late 1800s. Claflin is the oldest Historic Black College & University (HBCU) in the state of South Carolina. Claflin celebrates its 145th year in existence with the theme "Celebrating Traditions, Pursuing Transformative Change." I like their Twitter hashtag as well: #AverageIsOver. Go Panthers!!
Claflin University was founded in 1869 and its mission was to educate freedmen and prepare them with skills as full citizens. Their standard college courses included English, geometry and physics. On March 12, 1872 the College of Agriculture and Mechanics' Institute for Colored Students was created with an 116 acre experimental farm. There, students learned trades such as surveying, steam engineering, bricklaying, carpentry, nursing, tailoring and domestics. If you completed the standard college courses you received a diploma. If you completed the rudimentary English courses and learned a trade you received a certificate. Grant Livingston b. 1870 and Samuel Livingston b. 1872 were both sons of Jace and Dorcas Livingston from Liberty Township in Orangeburg County, SC. In 1880, both sons attended school but Grant couldn't write. These two were the only ones that could read. Their parents were both illiterate and the other children were too young for school. It is not known how much education they received from public school but they probably left to help their parents on the farm. Once they reached their late teens, both young men went to college to learn a trade. Samuel and Grant Livingston were named as students in the 1889 - 1890 Claflin University Annual Catalog. They attended sewing/tailoring classes that year. From 1890 to 1891, Grant and Samuel Livingston were enrolled in the Third Grade English Curriculum at Claflin University. Courses include:
Reading — Fourth Reader.
Spelling.
Arithmetic, Multiplication, Division, etc., to Fractions.
Geography — United States to South America.
Language — Language Lessons.
Science — Physiology (Elementary.)
Writing.
Music.
Drawing.
Religious Instructions daily.
In 1891, Grant was enrolled in Carpentry and Painting. Samuel took Blacksmithing as a skilled trade.
By 1900, Samuel was a married father of three with his wife Frances b. 1877 and
grandmother Adella b. 1830 in his household located in Union Township of Orangeburg. His occupation was farmer. The later censuses said he had a 4th grade education. Grant
became a longshoreman, married Lula Aiken b. 1880 and had several children in
Charleston, SC. He spent most of his time out at sea throughout the years.
It is not known if they received their certificates for the trades they studied or actually used
those skills professionally.
In our Livingston-Wilkinson Family Gathering Souvenir Booklets we normally have a
page that lists all our University Graduates, next time I will petition to have Grant and Sam's names added as the FIRST of our family to attend college.
During the Civil War, South Carolina lost as much as 20% of its white male population in battle. Many of its plantations were burned to the ground. Freed persons of color were no longer considered as property but as human beings. When the fortunes of the former slave-owners were diminished, many of them left the area. In addition, several churches were abandoned as well. Prior to the war, prominent slave-owning families in SC had converted their slaves to Roman Catholicism and had them baptized. After emancipation, it was only logical that these freedpersons would remain tied to that religion. Here is a story about one of my early African-American ancestors and his role in the Catholic Church.
Frank Jackson was born on November 15, 1855 in Barnwell, SC. Frank was the son of George Jackson b. 1833 and Maryann Green b. 1840. Frank had a younger brother named James Jackson b. 1859. From what I was able to uncover was that George and Maryann were not married to each other. By 1863, George resided in Aiken, was married to Jane and was the father of two sons Anthony and Preston Jackson. Maryann resided in Barnwell, was married to John Graham and was the mother of two sons Benjamin and Edward Graham.
Poor Maryann was paralyzed and bed-ridden. Only young James lived with the Graham family. Frank was on his own by the age of 15. In 1870, he lived in the household of Ben Deedly of Bedloc, Barnwell and worked on the 8,000 acre Johnson farm. What is interesting to note that the foreman of the Johnson farm was James Morgan Jackson b. 1820, who is probably his grand uncle.
By his 18th birthday, Frank had earned enough money to own his own land. He relocated to the city of Walterboro, formerly a summer retreat for wealthy plantation owners, in the township of Blake, Colleton County, SC. Frank owned five acres of land next door to the Grahams and his brother James. In 1875, Frank married Louisa Lewis b. 1852. Frank helped raise Louisa's two sons Willie Smith b. 1870 and Henry Smith b. 1872 by a previous marriage. Frank and Louisa's children were Louisa Jackson b. 1874, James Jackson b. 1876, Kate Jackson b. 1878, Sarah U. Jackson b. 1883, George Jackson b. 1887, Cardoza Jackson b. 1888 and Annie Jackson b. 1890. Only 4 of their children lived past 1900.
Interesting side-note: George Jackson is my great-grandfather. He had a son named Frank Jackson and a grandson named George Jackson. So my family had five generations of alternating names between George and Frank.
When Frank and his family moved to Walterboro, he renewed his faith and practiced Catholicsm with the local residents. Frank's land is no more than a quarter mile from St. James the Greater Catholic Church located on Ritter Road. The church had burned down in 1856. By the time Civil War occurred plans for rebuilding the church were abandoned when white residents left the area. In the 1870s, a school house was built on the site called Catholic Hill by the free African-Americans who lived nearby. Residents used that building to educate their children and to pray. Frank helped build that school house.
By 1897 a new church was built. Frank was one of these parishoners mentioned in an old pamphlet that helped maintain and preserve the church for future generations. (Click the 3rd image to view his name)
Frank and his brother James remained close. They were neighbors in 1900. James was married to Nancy and had seven children of his own.
James Jackson died on November 20, 1916 from Bright's Disease. It was from his death certificate that I was able to identify his father's name. Frank Jackson died on November 21, 1926 of Dropsy. They are both buried in the church's cemetary on Catholic Hill. I have six generations of family buried there. To this day, my family still owns the land surrounding the church. To everyone, the church is a historic landmark. To me, its the house my great-great grandfather built.
A special thanks to Valerie Lewis-Mosely for providing me a copy of the St. James the Greater Church pamphlet.
My dad rarely talked about his youth when he was alive. The only thing he left was a scrapbook with a lot of cool pictures. Luckily for me, he told my mother a few stories about his adventures in the Navy. And boy, he was trouble with a capital T!
William Theodore Young was born in Charleston, SC in 1935. He was the 2nd son to James and Frances Young. I get my brown eyes from him. William (he hated to be called "Bill") attended the segregated school district in Charleston County. He graduated from the all-black Burke High School in 1953. Here he is at the high school prom. Maybe someone can recognize this woman.
William was a teenage father when he graduated. Yeah, he got some girl in trouble. That's a story for another day. He enlisted in the Navy to pay child support. On November 5, 1953 he and his high school friends joined the 6th Naval District in Charleston. My dad served two tours of service (8 years) on the Andromeda Class Attack Cargo Ship USS Mathews AKA-96. He saw action during the Korean War.
I am looking for the descendants of these service men. I don't have their full names but my dad wrote down the following: (From left to right: My dad, Smith, Davis, Mack, Lobo, Louie and Samuel)
His rank was TN-Stewardsman. He was a cook on the battleship. He told us that his captain disliked the black guys on his ship. He and his buddies endured a beating once they crossed the equator and the captain called it a welcome initiation. What I did learn was that they got their revenge one night by spiking the captain's food with a laxative! Dad was thrown in the brig for that mess!
Ironically, he received two good conduct medals during his two terms. With his pay he sent money home for child support, his mother and grandmother. We even have fine china he shipped over to his late mother to this day.
Once the ship landed in other countries, my dad and his shipmates were treated very well by the locals. Dad especially liked Italy, the Phillipines, Japan and China. As you can tell by these pictures, they liked him too.
My dad did a lot of drinking and gambling on that ship. As you can tell, he was a hit with the ladies. I wouldn't be suprised if I run into some blasian Youngs one day. He told us in Japan there were co-ed public toilets with no partitions. It was no problem for women and men to share a bathroom. But their bathrooms consisted of a hole in the floor leading out to flowing river of sludge and human waste behind the building.
One night in Japan, he and his buddies played poker against some Japanese men and won big. The local ladies were all over them. A fight broke out and the Navy guys beat up the locals. What they didnt know was that they were fighting the Yakuza. Enraged, the losers left and called for back-up. The women told my dad and his friends to run for their lives! A chase ensued and most of the guys got away. My dad didn't. He was cornered by at least 4 guys. The only way he escaped was by jumping a fence into the sewer. There he stayed hidden for hours flowing downstream until the coast was clear. He got back to the ship hours late covered in feces. He was hosed down and thrown in the brig for being AWOL. Thanks for almost causing an international incident DAD! LOL!
Left to right: Scott, King, Wilkes, Young and Slaughter
William was discharged honorably from the Navy on November 4, 1961. He did not want to serve under that captain anymore. He was good at keeping in touch with his old Navy buddies for a while. After he left the Navy, he relocated to Brooklyn. He began working for the US Post Office, got married to my mother in 1962 and went on to graduate from Brooklyn College in New York with a degree in drafting. I find it amazing how certain skills get passed down genetically. My grandfather was in construction and built his own home. My father could draw and did carpentry on the side. I am an engineer and artist. My niece wants to be an architect. Funny how that works!
When President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 my father, mother, god-parents and his cousin all attended his funeral.
(First pic: Dad, Frank Young and Gerald Murray. 2nd pic: Frank Young, Mom and Gerald Murray)
My dad died of cancer on November 11, 1995 which is federally observed as Veteran's Day. He is buried at Calverton National Cemetery in Long Island, NY. I always get lost when I go there to visit him until I see that tree near his grave. I normally lay stones or coins on his headstone. It's a fitting memorial for him.
For Mother's Day, I wanted to tell a story about my grandmother on my mother's side of the family. She was the only one I knew since my father's mother died before I was born. I mentioned my grandmother twice before in this blog (The Ghosts of Cope and The Easterling Family) but now is the time to tell about her life.
I wouldn't know the first thing about being a mother but I do know that it is full of love and sometimes sacrifice. You would want what is best for your family. I could only imagine that it is your children that is the only thing keeping you from giving up. So let me tell you about what my grandmother had to go through.
Izory Gibson was born in May 1919 in Cope, Union Township, Orangeburg, SC. She was the youngest daughter born to Moses Gibson, a farmer and his 2nd wife Tenel Tyler-Gibson. Moses' first wife Mariah died around 1908 leaving 4 living children for Tenel to raise. Moses and Tenel had 8 children together over the next 10 years. Tragedy would strike several times as three of Izory's siblings died at a young age. Unfortunately on October 13, 1920 Tenel died of kidney trouble and high blood pressure. She is buried at Good Hope AME Church cemetery in Orangeburg.
When Moses married his 3rd wife, Lizzie, she didn't want to raise his other children. So the remaining children were sent to live with their relatives. Izory and a few of her young siblings went to live with their aunt Stella Tyler. Moses died of cardiac arrest on September 4, 1927. He is buried at Macedonia Baptist Church cemetery in Orangeburg. Izory was now an orphan.
That was just the beginning of her troubles. She was a pretty brown skinned girl with long natural hair. A lot of young men took interest in her. At 13, she had her first child with a neighborhood boy named Clarence Mack. The family convinced her that she was too young to be a mother. A relative, Mozelle Johnson, "adopted" her first daughter Catherine. Izory got married at the age of 16 to Jim Curry b. 1897 and in 1935 had her 2nd daughter, Jimmie Lou. Jim and Izory fought to get Catherine back and lost. The Johnson family refused to give her up.
Jim Curry was a cousin of the Livingston family. They let him rent property and farm on their land in Cope. Jim Curry died suddenly in 1936. Izory was left with a child to raise. She had two children with William Livingston Jr. b. 1916 named Melvin b. 1938 and my mother Hester b. 1939. William wouldn't marry Izory. His mother Maud Livingston disliked Izory because she was not light-skinned. His uncle, George Livingston b. 1894 actually married Izory in 1940. George was a farmer and a good provider for the family. He raised Jimmie Lou, Melvin and Hester like his own. The younger children never knew who their real father was. George and Izory would have 2 more children Dolly Mae b. 1944 and George Jr b. 1945 together. Izory tried again to reclaim her first child. Like always, Mozelle would not give Izory her daughter back. Ironically, only 2 of Izory's children, Melvin and Hester, were light-skinned and Maud would spend quality time with them. The others were not allowed at her house.
Once again, tragedy struck. George Livingston Sr. died of a heart attack out in the field on January 5, 1946. Melvin ran home to tell his mother. Izory informed William Livingston Sr., of the death of his brother. Enraged, William Sr and Maud threw Izory and her children off of the family property. She was treated like an outcast. George was buried at Mt. Zion Baptist Church cemetery. Luckily, for Izory, her childhood friend's mother took her and her children in to live for the next few years.
Izory never dated another man. Instead, she got her own job working at a local grocery store. The eldest children took jobs as farmers and helped raise the younger ones. Life was hard but at least they had a home, clean clothes and enough food. Izora's sister, Stella Ann offered to move them all to Washington, DC with her but Izory couldn't bear to be so far away from her lost child Catherine. She finally accepted that her oldest had a better life without her. As the children grew, Izory insisted that they do not become farmers and strive for something greater. Jimmie Lou and Melvin got jobs in New York City and moved in 1955. Once they raised enough money, they sent for their mother and the rest of the young siblings. The family settled in Brooklyn, NY. They never returned to Cope. Izory would never see Catherine again.
After all her kids were married, life finally settled down to normal. Izory had time to focus all her love and attention on 12 grandchildren! My father owned and managed a brownstone in Brownsville, Brooklyn where Izory lived free of financial burdens for the rest of her life. There she helped raise all the grandkids until her death from breast cancer in May of 1976. She is buried in Plainlawn cemetery in Hicksville, NY with her daughter Jimmie Lou Curry.
My mother told me that after I was born, my grandmother took hold of me and basically cared for me like I was her child. I went everywhere with her. I have vivid memories of us going to the playground together with her pet dog. I was also by her bedside when she got ill. Years after her death I would have reoccuring dreams that my grandmother had left something valuable for me to find. I used to tell my mother that all the time. In the early 1990s, I insisted that we go to a Livingston-Wilkinson Family reunion for the first time. There, she ran into her long lost sister (pictured below are Hester and Catherine). The next year, my mother returned to Orangeburg and Catherine re-introduced her to her real father William Livingston Jr. He acknowledged that he was her father and left her a plot of land before he died. I guess the dream about my grandmother was right all along.
The surviving children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Izory Livingston go every Mother's Day to her grave and pay our respects. I am looking forward to this year's visit. May she rest in paradise. She definitely earned it.
My grandfather John James Young was born on April 30, 1899 in Goethe, Hampton County, SC. He would have been 115 years old had he lived this long. He was the youngest of 12 children born to Alfred and Charity Malery-Young. He always said he was born in an Indian reservation but I couldn't find a record of it. It was this rumor that made me uncover that our family is in fact of Creek Indian descent.
John James Young was raised by his sister, Ada Young-James, after the death of their
parents in 1900. I haven't found out what killed both parents. Several of his brothers and sisters died at a young age as well. His siblings nicknamed him “Dugey” as an infant. It is likely
he took the middle name of James to match his sister’s surname. He was known as
John J. Young in 1910 Goethe, Hampton, SC census. John was also a World War I
veteran just like his brother Zeke. After the War, he was employed as a truck
driver for a seed store. At the age of 20, John first married Georganna Cole
b. 1906 and had one daughter Mable Young
in 1921 (She was the grandmother of the rapper Swizz Beatz). That relationship was short lived. In 1929, John married Frances
Jackson b. 1909 in Charleston, SC. He met Frances through his sister Josephine Young-Jackson. Frances and Josephine were both nurses and Josephine also married a
Jackson family member. Frances raised Mable in their household as one of her own.
By the 1930
census, John was known as James Sr. and resided in District 21, Charleston, SC
with his wife Frances, daughter Mable and infant son James Young Jr. b.
1929. (Pictured below: He is affectionately known as Little James and granddad was Big James). During his employment as a truck driver, James Sr. was in an accident
that left his right leg severely injured. He would walk with a limp for the
rest of his life.
James Sr. was also a skilled carpenter. In 1930, he built a double home on
his own for his family at 1407 Orrs Court in Charleston, SC. The Young family
grew to add 4 more children including: my father William Young, Robert Young, John J. Young and Catherine Young-Dean. Every day James would gather wood and bricks to
build the main and guesthouses over the period of several years. As his
children grew up, they helped complete the Young family home. James became a chauffeur after the accident. Frances Young
died of breast cancer on June 30, 1956 in Charleston, SC. Big James never remarried. James Young Sr. died
of cancer on May 27, 1989 at the age of 90.
One of my favorite films was Secrets and Lies. It was a lovely English film made in 1996 about a woman who gave her daughter up for adoption. Years later the daughter comes looking for her mother. The twist is that the daughter is black and the mother is white. So how does a white woman incorporate a bi-racial daughter into her new family and explain it to everyone?
I have sort of the same problem. This is part of the family THAT WE DON'T TALK ABOUT.
On my mother's side I have a missing branch. The entire Easterling family has been a thorn in my side since I have been doing research. Most of them are dead and the others are virtually unknown. No one wants to talk about it. This secret remained dead for decades. But I REFUSE to let it die. I need to know. As far as I know, I am the only one that has a theory to what is the actual TRUTH. And it is not pretty.
My great-grandmother Maude Easterling was born in June 1893 in the Hamlet of Union, Township of Cope, Orangeburg, South Carolina. By 1914, Maude married William Livingston Sr. in Cope Town.They had six
children together including my grandfather William Livingston Jr. For some reason Maude suffered from mental illness. She died on January
21, 1942 in the state Lunatic Asylum in Columbia. There was no death record found for her in the State Archives or Department of Health. Maud is buried with her husband at Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Cope. In addition, another son, Earl Livingston, also went insane after he returned from serving in World War II.
My mother told me that her grandmother was a mean person but she was always nice to her. That was because of her light skin. Maude was born a Mulatto. My mother is also very light skinned. But Maude treated my grandmother and her other children differently based on their darker skin color. That is a story for another day.
Rumor has it that Maude's mother was working as a maid and was seduced by a white man. She was either 15 or 16 when she first got pregnant so it might have been rape. I was told she ran off with several white men. She had six Mulatto children. The problem I have is that Maude's mother died before 1900 and the children were abandoned by their father. I cannot find a proper record of who this woman was, but I do know her surname. She was a BUSBY (BUZBY/BUSBEE). What I was told was that the alleged father was an EASTERLING. This was the old South, interracial relationships were taboo and being an unwed mother was also brought shame to the entire family. It is possible that this young woman suffered in her short life and died broken hearted. This might be where the mental illness began in that branch of family.
Once I started doing real research, this is what I found:
In the 1900 Union Township, Cope, Orangeburg, SC census, the orphans used the surname BUSBY and lived alone. In 1910, the orphans changed their surnames to EASTERLING and lived with their uncle Webster Busby b. 1881 and his wife. By 1920, they were adults with their own families and gone their separate ways.
Luckily for me, I was able to purchase Webster's 1962 death certificate. He was the youngest of 13 children. His parents were William Busby b. 1832 and Margaret Lewis-Busby b. October 1845.
Their children were Webster, William, Queen, Harriett, Harriett Ann, Idella, Benjamin, Doci C., James Franklin, Cornelia, Ada and Effie. The Busby family were recorded as Black/Negro in the censuses from 1870 on up. I have saving a Busby ancestor story for another day!!
The orphan Mulatto grand-children were named:
·Rosa Lee Busby Easterling, born August 1885 in
Cope, Union, Orangeburg, SC. She was head of the household of her siblings in
1900 Union, Orangeburg, SC census. Rosa married a Black man named James Easterling
b. 1878 in 1907. Rosa had a son named Robert Tremble b. 1911 in Georgia by another man.
She may be the same Rosa Easterling that died in May 1975 in Elloree,
Orangeburg, SC. I have to buy her death certificate to see if she is really a Busby.
·Augustus Busby Easterling, born February 1888 in
Cope, Union, Orangeburg, SC. He served in WWI. He married Jessie May Easterling b. 1894 and had a
son William Roy Easterling on January 16, 1912 Orangeburg, SC. Augustus and his family relocated
to 2355 N. Orkney Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania after the war. William died in
February 1989 in Philadelphia.
·Maude Busby Easterling, born June 1893 in
Cope, Union, Orangeburg, SC. My great-grandmother on my mother's side of the family.
·Vivian Easterling, a male, born June 1890 in
Cope, Union, Orangeburg, SC. I couldn't find anything on him.
·William David Easterling, born January 1897 in
Cope, Union, Orangeburg, SC. He moved to Durham, NC by the 1920 census. He was incarcerated in a NC prison.
·Ollie Busby Easterling, born September 1892 in
Cope, Union, Orangeburg, SC. She married Lawyer Johnson b. 1888 in 1911
District 46, Union, Orangeburg. Their children were Marion b. 1913, Vernon b.
1914, Lawyer Jr. b. 1916, Nancy b. 1920, Lucille b. 1921, Ollie M. b. 1923,
Rosalie b. 1925, Walter b. 1927 and Lillian b. 1929. In 1910, Lawyer, his
mother and siblings lived near the Busby and Easterling households. Ollie johnson died on April 29, 1931 in Orangeburg, SC of high blood pressure, a weak heart and
bad kidneys. Her age was 41 (born 1890). Her death certificate listed parents
as David Franklin and Leiza Busby.
Here is the problem. Margaret Busby's 1900 census stated she had 13 children which I named above. None of those kids was named Leiza. Leiza might have been pronounced either Eliza or Louisa. None of that matches what I have. If this girl was 16 by time Rosa Lee was born, then her actual birth year was around 1869. That means she could have been Queen Busby who was born in 1869 Union, Orangeburg, SC as reported in the 1880 census. An interesting note is that Webster named one of his sons McQueen. So I am prone to believe that Queen and Leiza are one in the same. I do not know how or when she died. All I know is that her children were orphans in the 1900 census.
I really needed that 1890 census that was destroyed! It would have answered so many questions.
I also believe that Rosa adopted her siblings after she got married to James Easterling. That is why they took on the Easterling surname. Interestingly enough, James' father was named William Easterling b. 1842.
The only David Franklin I found was a black man born in 1861. He had a wife named Henrietta and a son David Jr b. 1879 in Union, Orangeburg, SC. So he might have been the father of the youngest Easterling child but I doubt if he was father to them all. I haven't been able to find another death certificate for any of the remaining siblings.
After I took my DNA test, I was still unable to determine who this missing father could have been. I have not found a descendant of the Black Easterlings that matches with me.
I had assumed that Leiza was a maid with the White Easterling family from that area. However I do not match with their known descendants.
It pisses me off that we believed this lie so long and went with it. A lot of people took this secret to their graves. I can understand the circumstances during that time and the strain it put on my family. I wish there was some way that they could have been spared the emotional trauma. I know it costed several people their lives, their freedom and their sanity. I just hope one day I can put their souls at rest when I find out the truth.
Out of the clear blue sky someone responded to a inquiry I made in the Ancestry.com message boards in 2008. By the end of the conversation I had found a new cousin! He shared with me something priceless, a painting of my 4x great grandfather, Henry Murray. I dont have many old photos of family members in the past so this painting I will treasure.
Henry Murray,
was born in April 1835 in Walterboro, Bowen District, Colleton County, SC. He
was the mulatto son of Peter and Peggy Murray. Peter Murray was also a mulatto, the son of the slaveowner John Murray and his slave Tinah. Being a mulatto had its privileges. Henry was an overseer at one of the six plantations owned by Charles Heyward. Henry's mother Peggy was a cook at the Pleasant Hill Plantation. In 1861, Henry married Julia Ann Wallace b. 1840 in Green Pond, Heyward Township, Colleton Co., SC. Julia kept house and raised
their 9 children and grandchildren in Heyward until 1919. Henry also had a 2nd family with Rebecca Gadsen b. 1863.
Henry was enrolled in the militia of Blake, Colleton in 1869. Henry was a farmer of his own land in Verdier, Colleton Co., SC from 1870 to 1910. Henry died in 1910.
