genealo.me

Hello, my name is Kenya Allmond and I created this site for interesting things I come across in my own genealogy research. My surnames by location are: Virginia (Isle of Wight): Allmond, Harris, Darden, Butler, King (Isle of Wight, Surry, Southampton): Eley, Bowers, Parham, Cypress, Doles, Gwaltney, Clayton, Holloman, Pretlow South Carolina (Mayesville, Sumter): Johnson, Bradley, Lesane (Collins, Summerville, Dorchester): Thompson, Middleton, Brooks, Felder Philadelphia: Johnson, Louis, Thompson

[genealo-me]

Another Lighthouse Related Find

Here's another situation where I was working on genealogy stuff and happened upon something lighthouse related.

My relatives are at the top of this page from the Portsmouth City Directory from 1933 but I immediately saw the USLS (United States Lighthouse Service).

More can be found about Holder Almy at the United States Lighthouse Society's J. Candace Clifford Lighthouse Research Library: https://archives.uslhs.org/type-person/engineers

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I Just Broke My Whole Family Tree: Are We Johnsons, Lesanes or Both?

I just broke my whole family tree, well not the whole tree but definitely the Johnson line. Famiy oral histoy says that my great grandfather Charley Johnson was born Charley Lesane but due to circumstances in the South he changed his name to Johnson when he moved to Philadelphia.

But then I found this marriage notice from Mayesville in 1916, I was definitely confused. Here was my great grandtather in South Carolina with the surname Johnson.

(Related: License to Marry Issued to Great-Grandparents on the Johnson Side)

I followed him back on the census.

In 1930, you see Charley in Philadelphia listed with his wife Rebecca, children Maggie, Elizabeth, Mary and Moses, and some lodgers.

In 1920, you see Charley Johnson in Mayesville, South Carolina, listed with his wife Rebecca and two daughters Maggie and Elizabeth.

In 1910, you see him listed as a son of Eliza Johnson who was a widow.

But I couldn't find him on the 1900 Census. Here you see Jack and Eliza Johnson's household.

Looking at the 1880 Census, I see Jack and Eliza Johnson's household had children Maggy, Milton and John.

If you look at the ages here in the 1880 Census vs. the 1900 Census, the children listed in 1900 are at least 20 years younger than those in 1880 and those from 1880 are no longer in the house.

There were several of the Johnson sisters that married Lesanes so my question was "I know we are Johnsons but are we also Lesanes or related by marriage?"

I had a theory that maybe Charley was not a child of Jack and Eliza Johnson but instead a grandchild because other grandchildren were listed in the household. So one of my cousins on the Johnson side and I scoured the 1900 Census for anyone named Charlie, Charley, or Charles around the age of my great grandfather, first in Sumter County and then in the state of South Carolina. At least we thought we did.

Months passed.

One day I saw what was going on with the 1900 Census. We just couldn't read the Census (the transcription is off as well).

What does this say?

I think it says Charles Lesane, grandson. (You can't imagine the number different ways that Lesane/Lesesne is spelled on the Census.) There's also something else there that I can't read.

Since I only see one daughter in the 1880 Census, I have assumed that Maggy was his mother. Since there's no 1890 Federal Census to look for, I am looking for the family in the South Carolina state census. And I plan to verify both his parents with any new information.

I have a lot of information on the Lesanes. I am no longer confused about the Lesane connection though I don't have the exact person. I still have a lot to verify with the oral history and relationships. I have so much more to research now.

Sources:

Newspapers.com - The Watchman and Southron - 1916-12-16 - Page 5

Year: 1930; Census Place: Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Page: 10B; Enumeration District: 0322; FHL microfilm: 2341831

Year: 1920; Census Place: Mayesville, Sumter, South Carolina; Roll: T625_1712; Page: 10B; Enumeration District: 132

Year: 1910; Census Place: Mayesville, Sumter, South Carolina; Roll: T624_1465; Page: 16B; Enumeration District: 0105; FHL microfilm: 1375478

Year: 1900; Census Place: Mayesville, Sumter, South Carolina; Roll: 1543; Page: 17; Enumeration District: 0111; FHL microfilm: 1241543

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Looking at the lands where my South Carolina ancestors lived, I stumbled upon a lighthouse on this Civil War map. I was scrolling in South Carolina and went too far to North Carolina. I recognized Frying Pan Shoal because there's a Texas Tower style lighthouse there. Then I looked up and saw the lighthouse. This is Bald Head Lighthouse (Old Baldy) on Bald Head Island.

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One Negro Woman Charlotte 1854

A year ago I found the will of William Allmond on an index of wills in Isle of Wight County, Virginia on Ancestry. It's taken me a year to circle back to look for the will on FamilySearch and I found it!

It's so hard to read but I do see "one Negro woman Charlotte", "one Negro boy Sam", "one Negro girl Hester" and "one Negro girl Salina".

Seeing my 3rd great-grandmother Charlotte and her children listed on here among the kitchen utensils and feather beds is just ... wow.

In the section with Charlotte, I was looking for Anthony, my second great-granduncle who was about a year old when this will was drafted in 1854 but I don't see him. My 2nd great-grandfather Moses was not yet born when this will was drafted.

I recognize Sam and Hester because I see them on the 1870 Census but I don't recognize Salina. The other daughter that I see on the 1870 Census is Liney so that is most likely Salina.

Now I really wonder because there's also Malinda who I see on the 1880 Census. Charlotte and Hester are living with her and her husband. Her age is consistent with Salina.

Sources:

Mixed Probate Records, 1643-1866 ; Indexes to Wills, 1850-1985; Author: Virginia. County Court (Isle of Wight County); Probate Place: Isle of Wight, Virginia (Ancestry.com)

Virginia. Circuit Court (Isle of Wight County); Virginia. Circuit Superior Court of Law and Chancery (Isle of Wight County), FamilySearch.org, Mixed probate records, 1643-1866 ; indexes to wills, 1850-1985, Mixed records, Vols. 25-26 1851-1859, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9TC-FHM8?i=214&cat=416816

Year: 1870; Census Place: Newport, Isle of Wight, Virginia; Roll: M593_1657; Page: 260A

Year: 1880; Census Place: Newport, Isle of Wight, Virginia; Roll: 1373; Page: 299A; Enumeration District: 032

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Hardy Johnson Found in Road Construction Camp for 1930 Census

It might just be me, but I get a little excited when I find relatives on the Census living in anything other than a house with just one family. (I'm especially intrigued with lodgers.)

A few months ago I found what appeared to be a brothel next door to some folks who share my last name on the 1870 Census.

Here on the 1930 Census, I found first cousin twice removed, Hardy Johnson living in a road construction camp on Highway 26 (now US Route 521*) in Indian Land township, Lancaster County, South Carolina, at the time of enumeration. There were 19 males in the camp with ages ranging from 14 to 38.

"Road construction camp" seems self-explanatory but I decided to look at the Instructions to Enumerators for the 1930 Census to see what it said about them.

I looked for an old map but was unable to find one. Here's a modern map of the area.

Source:

Year: 1930; Census Place: Indian Land, Lancaster, South Carolina; Page: 16A; Enumeration District: 0015; FHL microfilm: 2341938

U. S. Department Of Commerce, Bureau Of The Census, Fifteenth Census, Instructions To Enumerators, https://www.census.gov/history/pdf/1930instructions.pdf

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Slingshots Will Put Your Eye Out

I found this article from 1897 last year and put it aside. Looking at it again today the ages match up to my great-grandfather John Allmond and his brother, Moses (Lam).

I initially didn't think it was because generally when the newspapers were talking about black folks, they made sure they specified it. But now I'm wondering.

Meanwhile, I'm looking for a WWI draft card to see if Moses had a scar above his left eye.

Source: The Norfolk Virginian, Norfolk, Virginia, 01 Jan 1897, Fri • Page 6

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National Memorial for Peace and Justice In Montgomery, Alabama

I finally made it to the Equal Justice Initiative's National Memorial for Peace and Justice (also known as the National Lynching Museum). We actually drove there from Nashville in 2018 soon after it opened but arrived less than an hour before closing. A docent there told us that we would need at least an hour to walk through the site so we should come back another time. She was correct. It takes at least an hour.

The memorial square is made up of 800 hanging weathering steel monuments. When I walked into the memorial I thought they were like headstones as they were on the same level as the viewer. Each rectangle represents a county in which one or more documented lynchings took place. Inscribed on each rectangle are the name of the county and the names of the people who were victims of racial terror lynching in that county.

When you turn the first corner, the floor has a decline and the rectangles appear raised up. After the next corner, the floor descends even further and the rectangles are hanging all the way above the viewer's head. At that point, it's harder to read them and they seem closer together. The entire time you are in the square you can hear the running water from the fountain.

After walking through the hanging monuments, next is the memorial park. The memorial park has duplicates of all 800+ rectangles lined up and laying down. This is when I realized that they looked like coffins. Seeing them laid out that way really showed me the magnitude of the lives senselessly lost. And on top of that, one rectangle could represent one person or 20 people.

They are grouped by state and alphabetically by county so if you missed a rectangle for which you may have been looking, you'll have the chance to see it here.

After walking through the memorial park you see the sculpture by Hank Willis Thomas which addresses the contemporary issues of police violence and racially biased criminal justice.

Lastly, are historical markers created as part of the Community Remembrance Project. EJI’s community remembrance work is part of a larger movement to create an era of restorative truth-telling and justice that changes the consciousness of our nation. 

About the Memorial for Peace and Justice:

The National Memorial for Peace and Justice, which opened to the public on April 26, 2018, is the nation’s first memorial dedicated to the legacy of enslaved Black people, people terrorized by lynching, African Americans humiliated by racial segregation and Jim Crow, and people of color burdened with contemporary presumptions of guilt and police violence.

The National Memorial for Peace and Justice

The nation’s first memorial dedicated to over 4000 victims of racial terror lynchings.

True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice.

--Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Alick Spratley of Surry County, Virginia

How did I miss this? I had the information the whole time.

I found my 4th great-grandfather, Alick Spratley, following back on one of my maternal grandmother's maternal lines. I was so happy to go that far back that it didn't click that I got his information from the 1850, 1860 and 1870 Censuses in Surry County, Virginia.

WHAT?!!?

Here's the 1860 Census for reference.

He and his family were on the 1850 and 1860 Censuses. That means that he was free. I completely missed this but saw Alick's name while looking up information on another free ancestor.

I found him on this List of Free Negro in the County of Surry the year 1835.

He's listed here as Ellick Spratley, farmer and sawyer, living on the land of Josiah Holloman. I didn't know that a sawyer was a trade. It's a person who saws wood at a sawmill. (Someone else to keep up with later is that Josiah Holloman could be the same Josiah Holleman who was the original slaver owner of my 4th great-grandfather Isaac Holleman on my maternal grandmother's paternal side.)

I've run across several of these lists while looking in the Virginia Untold collection at the Library of Virginia but because I did not see the name of the ancestor I was looking for, I didn't examine it in detail. Yesterday, I finally paid attention. According to the Library of Virginia,

On 4 March 1833, an Act of General Assembly was passed "making appropriations for the removal of free persons of color" to the western coast of Africa and established a board of commissioners charged with carrying out the provisions of the act. Localities were required to report to the board regarding their ability to find free blacks who were willing to relocate to Liberia, though many were unable to find willing to or able to do so. For those localities that identified free blacks, the reports included names, ages, and sometimes height.

So not only was he free but he was also on the list of those willing to relocate to Liberia. Alick did not go to Liberia though.

In the 1850 Census, Alick appears with his first wife Lisha (King) with 7 children. Alick and Lisha were married August 4, 1830, in Surry County. In 1860, Alick appeared with a new wife (presumably) Malissa and 6 children.

Alick also shows up on the U.S., Selected Federal Census Non-Population Schedule in 1860.

In 1860, Alick owned a farm in Surry County that had 10 acres of improved land and 20 acres of unimproved land. The value of that land was $50. The value of his farming implements and machinery was $10. He had two sheep worth $4.

Since I found this I also looked on the 1830 and 1840 Censuses and found him there.

Every time I find answers to questions, those answers create more questions. Now, finding so many ancestors that were free before the Civil War, I'm wondering what life was like for them. I wonder how they navigated the institution of slavery especially since they could be sold into slavery for something like being delinquent in taxes. You also can see on the 1860 Census that neither he nor Malissa could read and write.

I also wonder how many of my grandmother's ancestors (both maternal and paternal) knew each other.

I think I know how Alick was free. I will post after some investigation.

Sources:

Year: 1830; Census Place: Surry, Virginia; Series: M19; Roll: 201; Page: 178; Family History Library Film: 0029680

Year: 1840; Census Place: Surry, Virginia; Roll: 576; Page: 233; Family History Library Film: 0029691

Year: 1850; Census Place: Southwark Parish, Surry, Virginia; Roll: 978; Page: 94b

Year: 1860; Census Place: Surry, Virginia; Roll: M653_1379; Page: 909; Family History Library Film: 805379

Census Year: 1860; Census Place: Sussex, Virginia; Archive Collection Number: T1132; Roll: 8; Page: 506; Line: 2; Schedule Type: Agriculture

Year: 1870; Census Place: Blackwater, Surry, Virginia; Roll: M593_1680; Page: 91B

Ancestry.com. Virginia, U.S., Select Marriages, 1785-1940 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2014.

Surry 1834 Free Negroes and Mulattoes, 1834, Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative Digital Collection, Library of Virginia, Richmond, VA

List of Free Negroes in the County of Surry for the Year 1835, 1835, Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative Digital Collection, Library of Virginia, Richmond, VA

List of Free Negroes and Mulattoes in the County of Surry [in] the year 1836, 1836, Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative Digital Collection, Library of Virginia, Richmond, VA

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Marvin C. Allmond Honored at Hometown Church in Isle of Wight County, Virginia

My uncle did a lot of good in this world while he was here and he hardly ever talked about it.

Last Sunday, the family church honored him.

I didn’t post about him when he passed away 2 years ago because his immediate family didn’t want it on social media. But I would not be where I am today if not for him. He helped A LOT of people, his former students at the University of the District of Columbia, students at his alma mater Virginia State University, family members, employees and many MANY others.

He is my example of how to be a great human being. He worked hard to get where he was. He often talked about the fact that people helped him so he helped others. He didn’t just give money. He gave time. He remembered where he came from and paid it forward.

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Hollimans of Isle of Wight, Virginia

I searched on Google for a publication called "Blacks In Isle of Wight" because I've seen it mentioned a few times. One of the results mentioned the name "Holliman" which is the maiden name of one of my 3rd great-grandmothers. I clicked on the blog and found this.

These are literally her parents (well, her father and stepmother) that this post is about. I saw the Freedmen's Bureau record mentioned here and was confused by the age difference thinking the woman was a daughter. Now I see I need to look at the census records again.

Isaac Holliman - A Story of the Old South, Part III

by Glenn N. Holliman Who were Ann Gray Holliman's Parents? The oral family tradition is compelling and dramatic.  Perhaps during the Ci

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A Quick Visit to South Carolina

We drove to Hemingway, South Carolina, for barbecue.

I was game because why not? Also, I have two family lines that are from South Carolina (Mayesville and Summerville). Both of sets of paternal great grandparents moved to Philadelphia from these towns in the 1920s. Mayesville is on the way and Summerville is not that far and I wanted to see them.

It was just a quick stop through and I will be back soon. Here are some photos.

Mayesville:

Summerville:

Here's the post about the barbecue:

We Drove To South Carolina For Barbecue

We drove to Hemingway, South Carolina, for barbecue because of a YouTube video. I was game because why not? Also, I have two family lines th

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Prostitutes, Bar Keepers, A Musician, and A Fisherman

Looking for people who may or may not be related to me in the 1870 Census, I stumbled upon this. I saw one woman listed as a prostitute and then turned to the page before to be nosey. I have never seen this up until this point.

I find it fascinating to be honest. You have prostitutes, barkeepers, a musician and a fisherman in these two boarding houses. They were neighbors to Daniel and Lovey Allmond, parents of Africa Allmond.

Source: Year: 1870; Census Place: Norfolk Ward 3, Norfolk, Virginia; Roll: M593_1666; Page: 177A

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Africa Allmond

Africa Allman/Allmand/Allmond/Ives

When I'm searching a genealogy database, normally the first thing I do is search for Allmond. Last year I found this pension card for Africa Ives also known as Africa Allman. I found it on FamilySearch but this one from Ancestry looks better. I think what stood out most was that his name was Africa.

I was going through my genealogy OneNote notebook and found a link to the pension card and decided to do some research.

Africa was born May 19, 1844, in Nansemond County, Virginia, to Daniel and Lovie Allmond. He enlisted as a Private in the Company E, 36th Regiment, United States Colored Infantry (also Company E, 2nd Regiment, North Carolina Colored Infantry) October 28, 1863 in Portsmouth, Virginia. His service paperwork describes him at 5 foot 7 1/2 inches tall. He served at Camp Point Lookout, Maryland in 1864 where he guarded prisoners. He was a Corporal when he mustered out at Brazos Santiago, Texas, on August 13, 1866. He was disabled in the Civil War with something related to his eyes.

Africa is listed on the African American Civil War Memorial in Washington, DC, as Africa Ives.

He married Jane Harris in Norfolk, Virginia, on May 11, 1867. He applied for his Civil War pension on December 21, 1912 and was approved. He lived in Norfolk on Monticello Avenue when he passed away on January 23, 1917 of Bright’s disease, acute or chronic nephritis.

I don't know if Africa is related to me but I do find it interesting because I've seen his parents Daniel and Lovie Allmond on incorrect family trees as the parents of my 2nd great-grandfather Moses. They had a son Moses as well.

In the 1870 Census, Daniel and Lovie lived in Norfolk with their younger sons, Daniel, George and Moses. They also had a daughter Sarah who married Jack Brickhouse on July 4, 1867.

I have to make a note to figure out the relationship between the Isle of Wight, Nansemond County and Norfolk Allmonds. The familial relationship is likely between the slaveowners though.

The following are additional pension cards and his service record.

Sources:

The National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; NAI Title: U.S., Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934; NAI Number: T288; Record Group Title: Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, 1773-2007; Record Group Number: 15; Series Title: U.S., Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934; Series Number: T288; Roll: 7

The National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; Compiled Military Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served with the United States Colored Troops: Infantry Organizations, 36th through 40th; Microfilm Serial: M1993; Microfilm Roll: 25

"United States Census of Union Veterans and Widows of the Civil War, 1890," database with images, FamilySearch, Virginia > Norfolk > All > image 69 of 95; citing NARA microfilm publication M123 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

National Park Service. U.S., Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007.

Ancestry.com. Virginia, U.S., Select Marriages, 1785-1940 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2014.

Virginia Department of Health; Richmond, Virginia; Virginia Deaths, 1912-2014

Year: 1870; Census Place: Norfolk Ward 3, Norfolk, Virginia; Roll: M593_1666; Page: 177A

Ancestry.com. Virginia, U.S., Select Marriages, 1785-1940 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2014.

Numerical Index to Pensions 1860-1934, Fold3, The National Archives, Publication Number: A1158, Record Group: 15, Roll: A1158_0256

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Memory Lane

From December 2015:

My uncle gave my grandma a photo of herself as a teenager (taken 70 years ago!). She said it had to be one of her granddaughters. She was in disbelief for a good while. Her: How do you know its me? Uncle: Because you wrote your full name on the back. Her: How do you know I wrote it? Uncle: Your handwriting is the same.

She starts flipping the copy over and looking at the back. Then she asked the same questions again.

Here's the photo:

You can barely see her features but the shape of her head and face could be any of her granddaughters. I never thought I looked like her before but this could easily be me.

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Remembering My Enslaved Ancestors

For #Juneteenth2021 I posted the names of my enslaved ancestors ALL DAY. I did one name per tweet for impact. With the exception of my 2nd great-grandfather's 4 siblings, these are all my direct ancestors and that's just the tip of the iceberg. There are so many that I don't know yet.

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Articles from My Mama

When I was home, I got these from my mama. They are pretty discolored and after I scanned them and started playing with the color I saw that someone wrote "Grandmama" and "Granddady" above them on the first article. I don't know if I did that. I probably did. Oops.

Both articles appeared in the Suffolk News-Herald. I don't know the date for the first one but the second one is from February 1978.

One thing I notice in both of these articles is how much my grandfather was involved in the community. How on earth did he do all of that while having to endure dialysis multiple times per week?

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Time stood still ...

Time stood still for a moment when I found this. I've known about it all my life and didn't know it was documented. I found this in the Virginia Pilot dated 03/04/1966. The town newspapers make no mention of this that I've seen.

The whole tone of this seems patronizing.