Back In The Days When I Was YONGE (Part I)

I didn't follow my own rules about deciphering Old English penmanship up until a few months ago. It's the little things that really matter. I only knew my family surname was spelled YOUNG. It really didn't dawn on me that we were known as YONGE 200 years ago. I learned that from a book.

A few months ago, I found an passage in the book Black Slaveowners: Free Black Slave Masters in South Carolina, 1790 - 1860 by Larry Koger where William Simmons sold David Yonge, a free person of color, his wife Judy and son Frank for $1 each. I had recognized Frank as Frank (sometimes known as Francis) Young in the 1860 census as a free person of color. In addition, he lived near his brothers in Barnwell, SC.

I was so excited when I found this information and wrote about it in my blog "To be YOUNG and free." I knew that David and Judy were my 3x great-grandparents but that was by heart. I needed to prove it. Recently, ancestry.com released wills and probate records into their database. I found a lot of great information that will help expand my tree even further. Sometimes it is not straight forward as I had hoped. That's why you do not rely on just ONE source! I went to other research websites such as fold3.com and the SC archives database. I discovered a goldmine. Using all those resources, I was able to go back several generations to the early 1700s.

On Fold3.com, I found copies of the actual bills of sale from William Simmons to David Yonge. On July 25, 1814, David purchased his son Frank for an honorary sum of $1. If the census records are correct, Frank would have been 10 years old by this date.

On December 6, 1815, David purchased his wife Judy for an honorary sum of $1.The letter also states this would include all her future issue (i.e. children).

I found a third bill of sale which was not mentioned in the book. This time, William's generosity had run out. On June 20, 1816, David purchased his sons Bob and Gabriel for $600. In 2014, this purchase would have cost David $8,235. But guess WHAT! Bob is short for Robert! This is my 2x great-grandfather Robert Young! Census records were off by at least 10 years for both brothers. I am assuming Gabriel was born in 1806 and Robert in 1810.

William Simmons lived in St. Paul's Parish, Colleton County, SC. I consider this area one of my ancestral birth places since most of David and Judy's children were born there. Another son was confirmed as Wiley Young. He was born after 1816. There might be at least three daughters that I have not confirmed yet. I have to test those theories against my DNA if I can find a match in my list of cousins.

Where did David get the money to purchase his family? In the Journal of Negro History, occupations of free persons of color in the early 19th century included such trades as barbering, carpentry, tailors, butchers and shoemakers. In the 1860 census, Frank and Gabriel both indicated that they were carpenters. Therefore, it is likely they learned that trade from their father. David probably earned enough money through that skill to purchase his own freedom. One thing I didn't find were manumissions. I may not understand all of the circumstances for keeping the family as slaves after purchasing them but I do applaud him for keeping the family together. All 4 sons were found in the 1860 census as free persons of color. As a black slave owner, David might have freed his family upon his death. I haven't found any records confirming this yet.

What I did confirm is too much for one blog post. That's why I am splitting it up into three parts. Who would have thought that one small paragraph in an obscure book published in 1985 would have such an impact on my life 30 years later? I hope that Mr. Koger is still around so I can let him know how much his work means to me and that I was able to expand on it. The Yonges are alive and well!

This was Dorcas' Last Wish

I told my mother the other day that I found the Last Will and Testament of Dorcas Livingston, her great-grandmother. I was excited but I could tell she wasn't too thrilled. Old wounds started to flare up. This discussion is a touchy subject for my mother because of how her grandparents and real father mistreated her family all those years ago. As the family historian, I have the luxury of hindsight. I know what broke the family apart. I know why many names were lost over time. I also know why no one wants to go back there anymore.

I cannot write the wrongs done to my family over time, but the least I can do is bridge the gaps in family history. My job is to reclaim lost branches by identifying the past members of my ever growing family tree and sharing it with everyone. Maybe one day it will bring us all back together.

A debate has been going on about Dorcas for years. We barely knew anything about her. How many children did she and her husband really have? Who were her parents? A lot of history has been lost over time. Luckily most of the family is buried at Mt. Zion Church cemetery. Dorcas didn't have a headstone when she died in 1913. In the early 90s, the descendants took a collection and purchased a new headstone for her. Although they spelled her first name wrong (as Darkis) I do appreciate the effort. I recommend to everyone if you discover an unmarked grave of your ancestor, PLEASE purchase a headstone for them. It is something we should all do before these plots get lost over time.

Let's revisit my favorite place, Liberty Township, Orangeburg County, SC during the 1880 census. As usual, this is the only decade I have of my family's existence in the 1800s. I have more confidence in my research abilities now so this fact can't upset me anymore!

Here we have 6 kids including a set of twins, Adaline and Emeline (remember that name for later!). Afterwards, I knew of 2 more children, my great-grandfather William Livingston Sr. and George Livingston. Were there more than 8 children? I had no information to prove it.

George died of a stroke (apoplexy) in 1946 while traveling on a horse-drawn wagon to Cope, Orangeburg. My uncle Melvin Livingston was about 8 years old and the only one with him when he died. It was traumatic for a young boy to watch someone die in front of him. I can only imagine him as he ran back home 3 miles to tell his mom and the rest of the family that he was dead. Uncle Melvin was so spooked that he would never ride that horse again.

William provided their mother's maiden name as Dorcas Williams. I was never able to find her in the 1900 or 1910 census records. Her headstone at Mt. Hope cemetery only read that she died in 1913. That was all I knew of her until 2 weeks ago when I found her Last Will and Testament on the FamilySearch.org website. It was in the Charleston Probate Court Records! If I kept looking for Orangeburg Court Records I would have never found it.

This Will, dated March 18, 1908, provided a lot of clues into my family. I didn't know that she (or her husband Jace) owned land. It was her wish that the land and all property be split among her children. This document provided me with the answers I have been looking for. The children mentioned in the will included:

• Doctor Livingston - given 2 acres of land adjoining siblings
• Wesley Livingston - given 2 acres of land adjoining siblings
• Mamie Livingston - given 1 acre of land adjoining siblings
• Anna Livingston - given 1 acre of land adjoining siblings 
• William Livingston Sr. - executor and given an equal share of remaining land
• Johnson Livingston - granted personal property and given an equal share of remaining land 
• George Livingston - granted personal property and given an equal share of remaining land
• Adaline Curry - granted $1 
• Emaline Jenkins - granted $1
• Nette (Neetsy) Evans - granted $1
• Samuel Livingston - granted $1
• Grant Livingston - granted $1
• Doctor Livingston - granted $1
• Hattie Livingston - granted $1
• Cornelia Jones - granted $1

Jace and Dorcas (my 2x great-grandparents) had at least 15 children. It was a pleasant surprise to know that all of their known children survived between 1870 to 1906. I was also able to trace some of the kids and their descendants. Some of which I already blogged about that you can read in the links throughout this article. It's good to know the family name won't die out anytime soon.

I located my great-granduncle Johnson's WWI draft documents. He was 21 when he reported to the Army at Camp Jackson (Fort Jackson in Columbia) in 1918. This means he was born in 1896. Now I have an estimated 10 year window (1896-1906) of when his father Jace died. Johnson returned home from WWI with PTSD. He was confined to the asylum for a few years before he died.

One thing I did discover was that on Emaline's 1920 death certificate, her father was called J. S. Livingston. That was new to me. I thought his name was Jace all along. Could J. S. stand for JohnSon or John Samuel? When they called him Jace were they really saying Jase or J. S. all along? Another mystery to keep me up at night.

I also figured out who Dorcas' parents were. Morris and Frances Williams (my 3x great-grandparents) lived near their daughter in the 1880 census. Next door to them was Emaline Jennings, Dorcas' maternal grandmother (my 4x great-grandmother). Now I know where the name Emaline comes from! They were literally 3 houses away (on another page) and I didn't put it together until now. I hope to discover more about them in the near future and blog about it!

As Executor of the Estate, William returned to the probate judge 5 years later and documented his mother's death as May 24, 1913. All of Dorcas' debts were paid soon afterwards. Based on inflation, each of the older siblings that received $1 in 1913 would have been given $24.11 in 2015. It may not seem like much now but the dollar went a long way before the Great Depression. The real value is in the land. It was not specified on how much remaining land was split between the 3 siblings, however in 1961, my grandfather William Livingston Jr., was given 3 acres by his mother Maude Easterling-Livingston. We still have the land in our family to this day in the area known as Cope Town. Years ago my mother had to fight to get half of that land that she rightfully deserved. In fact, my mom passed her share to me a few years back. She knows it is in good hands. I am gladly keeping it in the family to honor the sacrifices made by my ancestors.

Seeing the Patterns in the Gibson, Graves and Tyler Families

Whenever a brick wall forms I look outside the box. I use all my resources and look for patterns. These patterns may be subtle but its a starting point for my theory. I test each theory out and if it doesn't work, I go back and test another. So far this is what works for me.

A few months ago I discovered an error in the Gibson family tree and I decided on revisiting that branch. My 2x great-grandfather Daniel Gibson (1825-1917) was the primary focus.

I have his death certificate from Orangeburg that had an actual birth date of March 25, 1825. I found that to be rare during that time period for African-Americans. This death certificate had the names of his parents, Daniel and Mariah on it. What is interesting is that my great-grandfather Moses Gibson b. 1879 was named the undertaker. I guess he took responsibility for burying his father at Macedonia Church cemetery. Moses was the youngest male son of Daniel and his 2nd wife Judy Salley. Moses was the only son I found living in Orangeburg during the early 1900s. He probably took care of his father till his death.

So you would think everything is fine and perfect in the Gibson family tree, right? Well something is WRONG.

I found the death certificate of Daniel's eldest daughter, Ellen Gibson-Hampton. She lived next door to Daniel in Union, Orangeburg when the census was taken in 1880.

Her 1927 death certificate also stated that her parents were Daniel and Maria Gibson. They cannot be the same people! There is a 28 year age difference between births. I seriously doubt if she was Daniel's sister. Unfortunately the 1870 census completely missed this part of Orangeburg again (Why must you make it so difficult for me census-takers?).

So now I had to think outside the box to get answers. Perhaps Daniel was not born in Orangeburg? Was he a Gibson?

I went to the 1860 census and noticed a pattern.

In the 1860 Slave Schedule for St. James Goose Creek, Charleston, SC the name Moses Gibson came up. Moses Gibson owned one 35 year old male enslaved person. Could this be my Daniel? The age is exact to 1825. Did Daniel name his youngest son after a former slaveowner? It seems very likely. Moses Gibson was employed as the Overseer to BrickHope plantation for Charles W. Graves. I am also a Graves! Moses must have purchased Daniel from the Graves family.

This is where St. James Goose Creek is on the map. Orangeburg is northwest of Charleston.

BrickHope plantation is now a housing development. The land where my ancestors lived, worked and died. I bet the current residents have no idea about its history.

So I left the census records and dug into the SC archives. Charles W. Graves was the grandson of Charles Graves and Ann Toomer. When Charles Graves died in 1840, he left his plantation to his two grandsons Charles W. and A. Duncan Graves. On April 6, 1847 the Graves brothers purchased tools, furniture and 73 slaves from the estate of their grandfather.

The highlighted names include Daniel (my 2x great-grandfather), Mary (quite possibly Maria his mother or Maria II his first wife), and Tenah. Tenah is my 3x great-grandmother Teener Graves.

Teener b. 1830 was the wife of David Graves b. 1830. Dave and Teener settled in Willow, Orangeburg after the Civil War and raised six children named Lewezer, Chloe, Dave Jr., Jerry, Betty and Cornelius. Lewezer Graves b. 1868 is my 2x great-grandmother. Thanks to all the census taker misspellings, I completely overlooked that Teener is actually Tenah/Tina and Lewezer is actually Louisa.

In 1891 Louisa married my 2x-great-grandfather William Landy Tyler b. 1861 in Orangeburg. They had 12 children including Jerry Tyler (named after his uncle Jerry Graves) and my great-grandmother Tenell Tyler b. 1891. Tenell was the 2nd wife of my great-grandfather Moses Gibson.

So now we have come full circle. By noticing common names passed through several generations, I was able to piece together the relationships in 3 branches of my family tree without the help of the 1870 census. I confirmed that Daniel was first a Graves before he was a Gibson. Hopefully I will be able to confirm Daniel's parents one day.

Re-Growing A Once Lost Branch - Judie Gibson's Family

My mother has the green thumb in our family. She has a knack for growing vegetables and plants. From her, I must have acquired a skill for re-growing lost family branches.

Recently, I told the story of my great-great grandmother Judie Gibson and the multiple maiden names I found for her on several of her children's death certificates. I initially thought she was the daughter of a Walker as stated on my great-grandfather Moses Gibson Sr.'s death record. After reviewing death certificates of Moses' sisters and analyzing my DNA matches, I have confirmed that Judie's maiden name was SALLEY.

I have one 3rd to 6th African-American cousin with a common Salley surname on 23andMe.com that has yet to respond. I also found 3 matches to Salley ancestors from Orangeburg in my DNA cousins list on AncestryDNA.com. I have a match to a 4th to 6th African-American cousin named Moaddar who is a direct descendant of Garvin Salley. This is where Captain Obvious swoops in and opens my eyes. In the 1880 Union Township, Orangeburg, SC census Garvin Salley b. 1846, his wife Rachel Salley, children and his mother (circled in green) were next door neighbors of Daniel Gibson, his wife Judie and their children (circled in red). RIGHT NEXT DOOR! How blind could I be?

Moaddar and I share the same 3X great-grandmother Lydia (Liddie) Salley. I also found the 1918 death certificate of Logan Salley b. 1860 who was the son of Dennis and Lydia Salley from Orangeburg. Logan was Garvin and Judie's brother.

I found a Judie Gibson (misspelled Julie) in Macon, Alabama during the 1910 census. This Judie was a mulatto born in SC with two children, Ernest and Jemima Walker! Judie had six living children.

That meant that my Judie left her husband and children for another man. She never divorced Daniel Gibson. There was a huge age difference (20 years) between them. Could he have been abusive? Did she feel trapped in a loveless marriage? Or was she seduced away? Those answers will remain lost in time unless I find some Gibson relatives that might know what really happened.

Judie had at least 2 children (Ernest and Jemima Walker) out of wedlock with someone who died before 1910. That man might have been Daniel Walker that lived near her in 1880 (circled in blue). As confirmed on their death certificates, the other 4 children of Judie were Martha Gibson-Cleckley, Moses Gibson Sr. (my great-grandfather), LouAnna Gibson-Huggins and Florence Gibson-Minnegan.

Daniel Gibson must have been married before. Daniel Gibson Jr., Henry Gibson, William Gibson, Ellen Gibson-Shields and JoAnna Gibson-Salley were the children of Maria Gibson. When Judie left, I guess the elder children raised their younger siblings. Finding out what Maria's maiden name was is a task for another day.

Now here is where the Salley DNA reveals what I feared. I also match to two DNA cousins whose mutual ancestor was Henry Salley Sr. (1690-1765) of Orangeburg. Henry was originally from Basel, Switzerland. The town of Salley in Aiken, SC was named after this family. The home of the world famous Chitlin Strut!! I don't even WANT to see that! LOL

That means Judie was a mulatto. Was Dennis Salley white or mulatto? I haven't found a trace of him yet. There is the strong possibility that Lydia was raped by a member of the slave-owner's household. Famed historian Alexander S. Salley Jr. wrote about "Plantation Mistresses" jn his book, The History of Orangeburg County, but never mentioned any by name that his family secretly were involved with.

I found the name Garvin Salley to be unique so I started digging some more.

On November 5, 1792 Patrick Shea registered 1,000 acres of land in Orangeburg adjoining land on Holmes Camp Branch owned by Robert Garvin Sr. (1766-1836) and John Salley (1740-1794).

Therefore the early Garvin and Salley families were neighbors. The Garvins came from Belfast, Ireland to Charles Town, SC around 1780. I have one DNA cousin that is a 5th to 8th generation match with the Garvin family. Her ancestor was James Garvin (1791-1878) from Orangeburg. She didn't provide any Salley connections in her tree. Unfortunately, I cannot determine if the families married into each other prior to 1845.

On March 25, 1853 John A. Salley registered 30 acres of land in Orangeburg along the South Edisto River that was surveyed by Robert Garvin, Jr.

Then I checked the 1860 Orangeburg census Slave Schedules for the Garvin and Salley surnames. Here is what I found:

• John A. Salley (1797-1870) owned 38 slaves in 1860. He was the largest slave-owner of the Salley family. A few acres away lived his nephew Howell.
• Howell A. Salley (1835-1912) owned 5 slaves in the 1860 Orangeburg census. Howell's plantation was located near John Garvin's plantation. 
• John Garvin owned 14 slaves.  James Garvin owned 7 slaves and Daniel Garvin owned one slave. 
• Howell's brother, Jacob Salley (1829-1895), owned 10 slaves. S.M. Salley owned 8 slaves. None of them had mulatto slaves.
• Henry F. Salley owned 13 slaves in 1860 including a 7 year old mulatto boy. 
• Howell A., Jacob and Henry F. Salley were sons of Howell Jones Salley (1799-1875) and Frances Ann Walker (1803-1890). She was the daughter of John Walker and Catherine Felder.
• John A. Salley and Howell J. Salley were sons of Jacob Salley (1769-1825) and Elizabeth Corbitt (1774-1830). Jacob was the son of John Salley (1740-1794) and Mary K. Wright (1745-1800). John was the son of Henry Salley Sr. from Switzerland mentioned before.
• Donald D. Salley (1816-1903) owned 5 slaves in 1850 Orangeburg and none in 1860. Donald later lived in Union, Orangeburg after 1870. Donald was the son of George Salley (1788-1828), grandson of John Salley and great-grandson of Henry Salley Sr.

My DNA matches on AncestryDNA come through Henry Salley Jr. (1723-1804), John's brother. None of the Garvins and Salleys listed above had a female mulatto that fit Judie's description. I do know that the white Salley and Walker families were related through marriage. Could some of the slaves been transferred to each other through a marriage bond? I have not figured that out yet.

Another day, another search. At least, I was able to get Judie's maiden name and grow that branch one more generation. For that, I am grateful.

My great-great grandma has 4 last names!

Most of the time you will read about how hard it is to find a maiden name for your female ancestors. In this case, I didn't have that problem. So what do you do when your great-great grandmother has 4 surnames?

I recently discovered that I made an error in the Gibson branch of my tree on my mother's side of the family. Since most of my ancestors from Orangeburg were not found in the 1870 census I made several assumptions that came out wrong. I did this years ago and unfortunately my mistakes were shared when I had my tree public on ancestry.com. Since I started this blog, it gave me a chance to revisit all my branches and fix my errors.

In June 1880, my great-great grandparents Daniel and Judie Gibson, lived in Union Township, Orangeburg, SC.

As you can see, Daniel and Judie had several children:
Daniel Gibson b. 1869
Henry Gibson b. 1873
William Gibson b. 1873
Florence Gibson b. 1874
Joanna Gibson b. 1875
Lou Anna Gibson b. 1878

My great-grandfather, Moses Gibson Sr., was born shortly thereafter in either 1879 or 1880.  When he died on September 4, 1927 his death certificate named his parents as Daniel Gibson and Judy WALKER.

And there lies my mistake. I assumed that Walker was her maiden name and I didn't need to search any further. I never bothered to find any other death certificates of Moses' siblings to confirm her surname.

Then I found another sibling, Martha Gibson born in 1882. She married Thomas Cleckley b. 1883 and lived near Moses in Cope, Union Township, Orangeburg in the early 1900s. Martha died at the age of 33 of a convulsion while shopping in a store in Cope on November 27, 1915. Martha was buried at Good Hope AME Church cemetery in Cope. Her death certificate read this:

Her mother was named Judy HENDERSON. Where did Henderson come from? The hell if I know!! I ruled out if Martha was the daughter of Daniel Gibson Jr b. 1869. He would have been about 13 when she was born. 

After that I found another sibling's death certificate, Florence Gibson. Florence was born in either 1874 or 1879. She married John Minnigan b. 1879 and lived near Martha and Moses in the early 1900s. Florence died of unknown causes on July 24, 1938 in Bamberg. She was buried at Lodgebridge in possibly Bamberg. Her sister, LouAnne Gibson-Huggins was the witness. Her mother was named Judy SALLY.

LouAnne Gibson b. 1878 married Jerry Huggins. They also lived near her siblings in Cope. LouAnne Huggins died of apoplexy on October 13, 1944 and is also buried at Good Hope. Unfortunately her death certificate named Juddy GIBSON as her mother.

I haven't been able to trace the whereabouts of the sister JoAnna Gibson b. 1875 and brothers, Daniel Gibson Jr. b. 1869, Henry Gibson b. 1873 and William Gibson b. 1873, with absolute certainty in the 1900s. I haven't found any death certificates yet for my great-granduncles.

Tracing Judie Gibson was difficult. A black Judy Gibson b. 1850 lived in Hilton Head, Beaufort, SC during the 1910 census with her niece Laura Hamilton b. 1889 and nephew Peter Hamilton b. 1890. This Judy was a widow and the mother of 4 children that were still alive. However, this may not be my great-great grandmother because Daniel Gibson Sr. died on September 11, 1915 in Cope. Daniel's death certificate said he was still married. His parents were Daniel Gibson and Mariah Gibson. My great-grandfather Moses Gibson was the witness.

 The 1917 death certificate of this Judy Gibson b. 1837 revealed that she was 80 years old when she died making her the wife of Renty Gibson b. 1845. Renty might have been a brother of Daniel. This was not my Judy since Renty and Judy were married in the 1880 Hilton Head, Beaufort census.

A mulatto SC born Judie Gibson b. 1850 lived in 1910 Macon, Alabama with her children Ernest Walker b. 1878 and Jemima Walker b. 1880. Earnest and Jemima were born in Alabama making it very unlikely that they were my relatives. This Judie was a widow and the mother of 6 children that were still alive. This would mean that Judie's actual children were Moses, Florence, LouAnna, Martha, Ernest and Jemima. But Moses and Martha were born in Orangeburg between 1879 and 1882. If this is true then Daniel Jr., Henry, William and JoAnna were probably the children of Daniel Gibson's first wife. I haven't found death certificates on any of these children yet. My Judie's death certificate is also missing. To add to the confusion, the Gibson family lived in an area of Orangeburg that was completely missed when the 1870 census took place. A lot of my ancestors on my mother's side lived there during this time so I couldn't double-check anything against the 1880 Union Township, Orangeburg County, SC census. My Gibsons could have been from Barnwell in 1870. I had to make assumptions that were initially wrong.

When I figure this one out, I will let you know. I am sure there is a logical explanation for all this.

Fatima Rutledge - The Case of Freedom

When you do ancestral research such as this you find a lot of interesting facts about slaves, slave-owners and free persons of color. It is rare when you find a court case that gives you almost everything you need in order to trace your family history.

This month I wanted to focus on a branch of family that I haven't discussed yet, the Rutledge family of Charleston, South Carolina. In certain branches of my family I can go back only a few generations. Some I have found little or no information. This was not the case with the Rutledges. As I discovered in my research, I have found many historical facts and case files dating back to the late 1700s.

Some of you may not be familiar with US history or SC history for that matter. So let's put the entire Rutledge family in perspective.

South Carolina Governor Edward Rutledge (1749-1800) was the youngest (age 26) signer of the Declaration of Independence. The history books paint him as a founding father but neither he nor his brother SC Governor John Rutledge (1739-1800), who eventually became the 2nd Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court, were eager to break ties with Great Britain. Both Rutledge brothers were slave-owners and voted to strike down any language in the Constitution that forbade slavery. However, after signing the Declaration of Independence, John and Edward began manumitting their slaves.

SOME were freed. Others were not.

FATIMA wasn't so lucky. She was my 6x great-grandmother on my father's side of the family and she had an extraordinary story to tell.

Fatima was born about 1743 in the kingdom of Morocco. She is the only ancestor that I knew of her life in Africa before being enslaved in the United States.

(A side note: One of my favorite songs is Marrakech by the acid-jazz group Incognito. Sit back and enjoy the video. I've seen them perform live several times when I lived in Atlanta. They put on a great show. Marrakech is a major city in Morocco. It seems like this stuff sticks in your DNA for real. WHO KNEW?)

Fatima didn't come from humble beginnings. She and her husband Francis were Muslim freedom-fighters. They were part of a group of Moors that were loyal subjects of the Sultan of Morocco, Mohammed ben Abdallah, otherwise known as Mohammed III (1710-1790). Interestingly enough, Mohammed's first consort was Lalla Fatima bint Sulaiman of Morocco. I am not sure if my Fatima was her or a descendant of them both. I cannot tell through DNA or documentation yet.

In 1769, Mohammed ordered forces to drive the Portuguese out of the port city of Mazaghan along the Atlantic Coast. The Sultan was able to win back the city but eight Moors were captured during the attack. The prisoners of war were supposed to be delivered to the Moroccan ambassador in England for hostage negotiations. Unfortunately, the Moors were instead shipped to America and sold into slavery in South Carolina.

Fatima and another Moor named Flora were purchased by Edward Rutledge who was an up and coming lawyer in Charleston. Just like his brother John, Edward Rutledge would eventually become the 39th Governor of South Carolina from 1798 to 1800. The future Governor owned up to 60 slaves before the Revolutionary War but after signing the Declaration of Independence, it was rumored that he freed most of his slaves. What really happened was that during the Siege of Charleston in 1780, the city was under attack. All citizens including many slaves fled for their lives. Some runaway slaves were offered asylum by the British forces to relocate to Nova Scotia, Canada as shown in The Book of Negroes. After the Siege was over and the British defeated, Fatima still remained a slave of Edward Rutledge.

Edward "favored" Fatima. That's why he kept her. That is until she got pregnant with his child. Having a mixed child with a slave would have ruined his promising political career. He got rid of her in order to avoid a scandal.

On August 10, 1783 Flora, Fatima and child were purchased by Alexander Oliphant, a family friend, from Edward Rutledge for 155 guineas (155 English gold coins or 162 English pounds & 15 shillings is equivalent to $240.30 US dollars). Thirteen days later Alex freed Flora for 75 guineas (78 English pounds & 15 shillings is equivalent to $116.30 US dollars) and Fatima & child for 80 guineas (84 English pounds is equivalent to $124 US dollars). If this transaction were to happen today, based on 2014 inflation rates, it would have cost Flora $2,584.44 for her freedom and $2,755.56 for Fatima & her child.

Who exactly was this child? He was known as NED RUTLEDGE my 5x great-grandfather. Ned is short for Edward. Ned was a mulatto. Ned would marry DIE SANDERS, relocate to Ladies Island in Beaufort and raise a family. My DNA test matched me with two descendants of John Rutledge Sr (1713-1750) a physician from Ireland who emigrated to SC in the mid 1730s and had 7 children with Sarah Hext from SC. They were the parents of the two governors. Therefore Governor Edward Rutledge was indeed my 6x great-grandfather.

Flora and Fatima eventually reunited with their former husbands. On January 20, 1790 the group of Moors petitioned the South Carolina House of Representatives as "free-born" subjects of Morocco that if they were ever brought to trial for a crime or misdemeanor, they would be treated as citizens of this country and not fall under the 1740 SC Slave Code (The Law for the better Ordering and Governing of Negroes and other Slaves). The petition, now known as The Moors Sundry Act of 1790, was reviewed and approved by a committee led by none other than Edward Rutledge.

(Another side note: My birthday is January 20th. Imagine my surprise when I found a court case from my ancestor that coincides with my birth date!)

The only other thing I knew about Fatima was that she had another son named Henry Rutledge. He was also a mulatto but I couldn't determine if his father was Francis or Edward. Hopefully Fatima lived a better life as a free person of color. It would be the last favor she ever got from Edward. His health started to decline shortly afterwards. He suffered from gout which made it very difficult for him to walk. On January 23, 1800 Edward Rutledge died of a stroke (formerly called apoplexy) in office after serving a little more than a year as Governor. He is buried at Saint Philips Episcopal Church cemetery in Charleston. I plan to visit his grave when I go back to SC this summer on vacation.

To be YOUNG and free

It was a pleasant surprise to find my ancestors as free persons of color in the 1860 Barnwell SC census. The nagging question was HOW?

For almost 10 years, I examined the surroundings, the documents, the relationships and my DNA test results to uncover any clues to who these people were and where did they come from.

In 1860 Barnwell County, SC there were 10 Young households. Of those ten, these four Young families of color were as follows:

Allendale Township
Frank Young b. 1804 a free colored man who was employed as a carpenter. He was known as Francis Young in the 1870 census.
Caroline Young b. 1824 his mulatto wife. Her parents were Titus Irvine and Judy Doe b. 1810. Titus was a slave of the Erwin family of Barnwell. Judy's mother Hester Doe b. 1775 was a free person of color in the 1820 Barnwell census.
David Young b. 1840 their black son. Lived near parents in 1870 Beldoc Township. David had children Frank Young b. 1864, Letitia Young b. 1867 and Emma Young b. 1869. No wife was listed.
Julia Young b. 1851 their mulatto daughter.
Sarah Young b. 1861 their black daughter.

Gabriel Young b. 1815 a free colored man who was also a carpenter. His family lived next door to Frank in 1860 and 1870.
Hannah Young b. 1813 his mulatto wife.
Edward Young b. 1855 their mulatto son.
Louisa Young b. 1856 their mulatto daughter. Named after her aunt.

Four Mile Township
Robert Young b. 1820 a free colored man who was a farm laborer. He was my 2x Great-Grandfather. Robert died between 1880-1890 in Hampton without any death record.
Nancy Young b. 1830 his mulatto wife. She was my 2x Great-Grandmother.
Loreander Young b. 1847 their mulatto daughter.
John Young b. 1852 their mulatto daughter.
Louisa Georgianna Young b. 1856 their mulatto daughter. Named after her aunt. Yes that name is popular!
James Nunnus b. 1841 a free mulatto farm laborer who was a tenant in the Young household. He was actually James Nunez from Burke Co., GA. James married Louisa in 1880.

Lower Three Runs Township
Wiley Young b. 1818 a free colored man who was a farm laborer.
Louisa Young b. 1822 his colored wife.

Over the past few years, I had befriended several people online claiming to be descendants of these families. Once we were able to compare DNA, it was determined that all 4 heads of their respective households: Frank, Gabriel, Wiley and Robert were indeed brothers.

But no one knew anything else. For years we couldn't a single shred of evidence. There were inventories, wills and other documents that were provided by the white Young families of Barnwell during the early to mid 1800s but not a single one had any of our ancestors' names on it. We couldn't verify the parents of those four men either. To add more confusion to the mix, the Y-DNA test results indicated that I am of haplogroup I1, which means I descend from someone of Northern European ancestry. The census records between 1860 to 1880 change the ethnicity of the Young brothers from colored to mulatto and then black.

There were two Young families in nearby Burke County, GA that also needed to be addressed. Burke County was only 4 miles away from Barnwell County and separated by the Savannah River. Burke's county seat is WAYNESBORO (what are the odds of that happening?). Allen Young (1784-1860) and Jesse Young (1777-1872) were free persons of color in the 1830 Company 66, Burke County, GA census. Allen was a mulatto born in GA, with wife Lesia "Lucy" Young had 12 children and they all relocated to Hamilton, TN in 1850. Jesse was also a mulatto born in Kentucky, married to Martha Young and had at least 5 children. There were probably more after 1830. Jesse died in Charleston, SC. It seemed like Jesse was a likely candidate to be my direct ancestor. That was until this weekend.

My 3x great-grandfather was David Young (spelled Yonge) was a free black man who purchased the freedom of his wife Judy and son Frank from William Simmons of St. Paul's Parish, Colleton Co., SC. If the years are correct, Frank was 10 years old when he was freed on July 25, 1814. Judy was subsequently freed on December 6, 1815. That would mean that the rest of Judy's children (hopefully including Gabriel) would have been born free. That is why I never found their names in any wills or slaves' bill of sale.

I did find David Young as a free person of color in the 1820 census. He lived near 2 other FPOC families, Betsy Bass and Sally Bass of Darlington, SC. I do have Bass ancestors but that mixture occurred back in the early 1700s in VA or so I thought. I would have to dig further into that to identify any relationships to the ones in SC. No other records on David were ever found. Was David a mulatto? DNA suggests yes, but who was the father? Aren't children of a mulatto and black still considered mulatto or just referred to as colored? Who knows what they were classified back then. As long as they were free I don't mind.

Doing research in the St. Paul's Parish resulted interesting results. On April 11, 1772 Algernoon Wilson was marking his 280 acre territory. His neighbors included Francis Yonge and his wife Susannah. There goes that name again. My Frank Young was also known as Francis. Could this be my 4x great grandfather? I couldn't find Francis' will or David's emancipation records. But I'm still looking.

I did find the November 6, 1817 will of Susanna Yonge in Barnwell, SC. She was a widow with one surviving daughter, Harriett P. Hagood, wife of Gideon Hagood along with their children. Susanna left a negro wench Patience and her two daughters Rhoda and Louisa, to Harriett. The will was proved on August 2, 1819. I wonder if that is the same Louisa that married Wiley? And who was David's mother? These are the questions that keep me up at night.

After I started writing this I googled Francis Yonge and the floodgates opened wide. I will have to go into detail about the ancient Yonge family of South Carolina at a later date. Apparently, we have our own ISLAND.

Bonus pic: We still kept the naming conventions alive in the 1900s. Left to right my dad William Young, his cousin Frank Young and another cousin Miller Murray at President Kennedy's funeral. No new Davids yet so far. I guess our generation broke that chain, but I will keep your memory alive David in this blog.