In a previous blog, I described how my initial research into my maternal lineage revealed some important information that I had not been aware of up to that point. I knew that my mother’s side of the family has deep roots in the state of Georgia, and I assumed that her entire line had been based in that state since whenever our distant forebears were transported there from Africa. If anything, I expected that there might be some branches of the lineage extending from the neighboring state of South Carolina. But when I searched the 1900 census schedules for Richmond and Jefferson counties in Georgia, I found that two of my thrice-great grandfathers in that state had actually been born in Virginia. The history of the internal domestic slave trade in the antebellum South reveals why such findings as mine are common among African American researchers.
The current historical consensus is that between 1790 to 1860, over 1 million enslaved African Americans were transported from the upper South, particularly the greater “Chesapeake” region of Virginia and Maryland, to the expanding “cotton belt” states of Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. This was an enormously traumatic experience that disrupted the family bonds of enslaved African Americans. By the 1850s, they largely consisted of people who had been inhabitants of Virginia and Maryland for about three to five generations on average. The narratives and interviews of formerly enslaved persons from the greater Chesapeake region describe a constant state of dread they had of the prospect of being sold (or having family members sold) to distant destinations in the deep South, and thus being separated from their loved ones. And although the family relations of enslaved persons were not legally recognized, the reality is that they fully experienced this process as a traumatic separation from children, parents, siblings, spouses, extended family, and community.
Similar to how Freedmen’s Bureau Transportation Records can reveal the efforts of recently emancipated to locate and reunite with separated family members, the Registers of Signatures of Depositors from the Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company (Freedman’s Bank) can also offer a brief glimpse into this aspect of African American history. Although I have not found any documents in these records pertaining to my own ancestry and genealogy, the information that sheds light on the domestic slave trade is captivating to me from a historical perspective. Since the Registers of Signatures of Depositors typically provide both the place of birth and the current state of residence for each depositor, the records inadvertently disclose the massive forced migration of enslaved African Americans that occurred by foot, rail, and coastwise vessels during the decades leading up to the Civil War.
The relevant records are reproduced on NARA Microfilm Publication M816, Registers of Signatures of Depositors in Branches of the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company, 1865-1874. These records have also been digitized and made available on the genealogy websites FamilySearch.org and Ancestry.com in partnership with the National Archives. By utilizing the search engines available for either of these online databases, a researcher can get some insight into the scale and demographic patterns of the domestic slave trade in the antebellum South.
Inspired by my own interest in this topic, I conducted an informal survey of the Freedman’s Bank databases in which I noted the places of birth and current residences of depositors. Virginia is listed as the place of birth for a significant percentage of depositors in states throughout the deep South. No other southern state comes close except for South Carolina which makes up a distant second. Other than depositors who were born in their current states of residence, Virginia natives made up the largest group of depositors in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama. Maryland natives also made up a significant cohort of depositors in those three states. South Carolina natives made up the top out-of-state depositors in Georgia and Tennessee by far and slightly edged Virginia as the top contributor of non-native residents in North Carolina.
Based on my trial survey, Virginia natives made up the following approximate numbers for the listed southern states:
- Mississippi (959)
- Tennessee (767)
- Georgia (747)
- Alabama (667)
- Louisiana (526)
Although native Virginian depositors made up a significant portion of the non-native depositors in Georgia and Tennessee, South Carolina natives strongly predominated in those two states. The approximate numbers of South Carolina born depositors in those two were as follows:
- Georgia (2,884)
- Tennessee (2,868)
The chief deep South residences for depositors born in Maryland were Louisiana and Mississippi:
- Louisiana (155)
- Mississippi (150)
The prevalence of Maryland born African Americans in these two states was likely based on the propensity of slave traders in that state to transport enslaved captives by ship through the Chesapeake Bay, down the Atlantic coast, around Florida and into the Gulf of Mexico, to the final destination at the port of New Orleans. Recently, in 2015, this Maryland to New Orleans connection was highlighted in a major news report detailing Georgetown University’s sale of over two hundred enslaved persons to planters in Louisiana. That news account merely shed light on what was a common occurrence in the decades leading up to the Civil War. Freedman’s Bank deposit records, in conjunction with some of the Freedmen’s Bureau records, are among the records at NARA that can provide a small glimpse into the lives of formerly enslaved African Americans who experienced this forced migration.
I randomly selected four deposit records from New Orleans, LA to provide examples of the type of information that can be found in these sparse records. I chose these New Orleans records simply because they generally provided more details in the remarks compared to branches in some other locations. But similar records can be found in deposit records from Freedman's Bank branches throughout the deep South, especially in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama.
Roll 12: New Orleans, Louisiana; Jun 20, 1866-Jun 29, 1874, Account F
The 1867 deposit record above, from New Orleans, LA, shows that 50 year old Rosetta Taylor was born in Norfolk, VA. The name of her former "master" is listed as the "William Brothers." She was the widow of Frank Taylor, but was currently married to Philip Packer. The names of her children are listed as Georgiana Wilson, William, and Aleck Allen. Most importantly for this topic, in the remarks it reads, "When she was sold away from Norfolk in 1847, she left her three children there [illegible] heard from them since the blockade of the city. In case of death and the children could not be found she wants her money to go to [illegible] Johnson."
Roll 12: New Orleans, Louisiana; Jun 20, 1866-Jun 29, 1874, Account No. 327
In another 1867 deposit record from New Orleans, LA, Mrs. Truelove Malone states that she was born in Orange Co., VA. She was currently married to Montelius Malone and had three children named John, Louisa, and Susan Wright. Regarding her children, the first part of her card reveals that she "left two of her children" in Virginia with her former mistress, Nancy [Bakum?] and a third with John Porter. In the remarks towards the bottom it reads, "When she left Orange Co about 23 years ago, she left her children there. They were very young, has heard of them last about 20 years ago..."
Roll 12: New Orleans, Louisiana; Jun 20, 1866-Jun 29, 1874, Account No. 333
Elizabeth Washington, married to Aaron Washington, was born in Baltimore, MD. In the remarks section it is revealed that, "John Carpenter her father & Isabella Carpenter her mother are in Millersville [Anne Arundel, Co., MD] near Baltimore. Mrs. E. Washington has no children, has a stepchild called Twissie Washington."
Roll 12: New Orleans, Louisiana; Jun 20, 1866-Jun 29, 1874, Account No. 962.
This final deposit card reveals that Charles Cray left Maryland when he was “11 or 12 years age & been in N.O. [New Orleans] & Mississippi ever since.” At the time of his deposit, he was “about 60” years old and described as having a “Dark Brown” complexion. The names of his father and mother are listed as Isaac and Maria; his father is “in Maryland” while his mother is dead. Charles’ wife’s name is listed as Fanny, and his living children are listed as Daniel (22), Henderson (16), and Harriet, (29). In the remarks, it is written that “children Charles & others dead.”
Regarding Charles’ siblings, the remarks reveal that he had only one brother who is deceased. He had three sisters named Rachel, Eliza, Cely, and Lucy who, like him, were all sold from Maryland to New Orleans. Of his four sisters, he knows that Eliza and Lucy are still in New Orleans. He also mentions that “Eliza is the widow of Nelson” and “Cely is the widow of Benton.” For the other two sisters, the remarks show that Charles no longer knows their whereabouts. “Rachel came away from Md when he did, and she was sold away in [New Orleans];” and Lucy also “came out [from Maryland] the same time as others,” but he doesn’t know where she is.
As genealogical research increasingly becomes more popular among African Americans, researchers should be cognizant of the history of the internal domestic slave trade. The overwhelming majority of such researchers will likely need to trace their lineage across state lines spanning the entire South. The Federal records preserved at NARA, particularly Freedman’s Bank records, Freedmen’s Bureau records, and military pension applications (of formerly enslaved veterans), are crucial to documenting this history. These records are of high value to both genealogists researching their family history and academic historians or journalists interested in the history of the slave trade. The Freedman’s Bank records highlighted above illustrate how those records can contribute to this endeavor.