According to the 1880 census of Bull Doze township, Greene County, Dennis Swift was born in Maryland. He did not remain in Wilson County long, as he appears in no other county records. Swift married in Greene County in 1877 and gave his age as 24, which would have made him about 14 when he entered into this labor agreement with John H. Winstead of Joyners township, Wilson County.
On 11 January 1866, Malvina E. Rountree entered into an agreement with the Goldsboro District Office of the Freedmen’s Bureau to indenture four orphaned children — Dewitt, 13, Charles, 10, George, 8, and Ike, 6.
Malvina Gill Rountree was the widow of Jonathan D. Rountree, who died in 1865. By time the 1870 census was counted, none of these children were in her household.
Congress established the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (Freedmen’s Bureau) in 1865 to assist millions of formerly enslaved black people (and impoverished whites) in the aftermath of the Civil War. The Bureau provided immediate relief in the form of food, clothing, and fuel; managed confiscated or abandoned land; established schools for African Americans; legalized marriages; negotiated labor contracts; and investigated and adjudicated disputes involving freed people.
Millions of Bureau records, including invaluable correspondence by and about freed men, women and children; labor arrangements; marriage records; and various reports are available for genealogical research via Familysearch.org, Ancestry.com, the National Archives, and the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture. Many records have been digitized and indexed; many have not.
Researching Wilson County residents in Freedmen’s Bureau is complicated by geography. There was no Bureau office in Wilson, so those who sought the Bureau’s services had to apply to offices nearby. Wilson was officially under the jurisdiction of the Goldsboro Bureau office, and most relevant documents are found there. However, people who lived north of the town of Wilson, especially in the area of what is now Elm City, often looked to the Rocky Mount office.
The map above shows the locations of the five offices closest to Wilson County. A thorough search for documents of genealogical interest should touch Goldsboro, Rocky Mount, Kinston, Smithfield, and Raleigh.
We’ve met Rev. Henry C. Phillips, who arrived in Wilson from Edgecombe County in the late 1880s. This 1868 letter was written to a Freedmen’s Bureau official by a Henry C. Phillips, “a teacher of the Colored Children in the Hookerton village” in Greene County.
Was this the same man? His signature in the letter is very different than it appears on numerous marriage licenses 20 to 30 years later, when it is bold and assured and even a bit flamboyant. In 1868, however, Phillips would have been just a few years out of slavery, with relatively few chances to practice his penmanship. As an ordained A.M.E. Zion minister, Phillips, however, had daily opportunities to strengthen and polish his handwriting.
In 1866, Freedman’s Bureau officials in Raleigh investigated an anonymous complaint alleging corruption and mismanagement by a Wilson hotelkeeper engaged by the Goldsboro Bureau chief George O. Glavis to distribute clothing and blankets to freedmen in Wilson. Though the report below blandly sets out John J. Lutts‘ venality, the investigator’s astonishment at Lutts’ dishonesty peeks through. In a nutshell, Lutts spent lavishly on himself and his family, sold only some of the goods consigned to him, applied the proceeds to his personal debts, then presented Glavis with a bill for money owed. The investigation also disclosed that a local police officer, perhaps with Glavis’ permission, was skimming money off the top of fines collected pursuant to Bureau judgments. Lutts, a Pennsylvania native, had served as a Confederate officer in a Maryland regiment, and had arrived in North Carolina during the war. Misconduct aside, he and his family appear in the 1870 census of Wilson, where he was described as keeper of the Wilson Hotel.
Anonymous. “A Friend to Justice.” Wilson, N.C. June 4, 1866.
Makes charges against the Agent of the Bureau at Goldsboro. E.B.[?].285. Endrt. of Col. Brady Supt. Cent. Dist. Respectfully returned to Col. C.A. Colley A.A.G. — In compliance with your endorsement of the 22, Ult. I proceeded to Wilson, N.C. the 23, Ult. and continued until the 26 ult. the investigation of the charges made against an Officer of the Bureau in the Sub. Dist. of Goldsboro, in the within Anonymous Communication to the War Dept. I find that sometime in Feb. 1866. Chaplain Glavis sent clothing and blankets to J.J. Lutts an Hotel keeper at Wilson to be sold at auction and private sale. This clothing (I am told) was sent to Chap. Glavis by the National Freedmen’s Aid Society of New York for distribution and sale to freedmen in his sub dist. According to the invoices sent said Lutts by Chap. Glavis the value of the clothing amounted to $273.25 besides the blankets which latter were marked U.S. The invoices of the clothing you will find herewith marked A.-B.-C. and E.- together with a certified copy of a Private letter from Chap. Glavis to said Lutts in relation to this clothing and the amount of money if sold for, marked “D.” Also a true copy of the testimony taken during the investigation. The cash sales for Blankets and clothing sold by Lutts for Chap. Glavis are $111.90 — sold and charged on the books of Lutts for Blankets and clothing $42.25 making the total sales at Wilson so far as I could learn $154.15 which latter amount Lutts placed to the credit of Chap. Glavis and charged him as follows — viz. Cash $76.00 _ Eggs $16.00 _ Smoking pipe $15.00 _ Turkey $2.00 _ Tobacco $1.50 _ Telegraph 65/100 _ Chairs $3.50 _ Boots $10.00 _ Brandy $10.00 Board of Wife, child & servant $25.00 _ Board of himself, wife and child $9.00 _ Express package 50/100 _ Chickens $1.75 _ Total $170.90 _ Deduct sales clothing & Blankets $154.15 _ Balance $16.75 which leaves a balance due Lutts by Chap. Glavis of Sixteen and 75/100 dollars ($16.75) I found in possession of Mr. Lutts, who I found had no disposition to conceal the fact, 25 women skirts, 17 shirts, 38 jackets, and 6 pairs of blankets which I directed him to hold subject to the order of Major Stickney Asst. Supt. Sub List. of Goldsboro, my own order or that of a Superior officer of the Bureau. I further found that $45.00 had been collected (for fines imposed by Chap. Glavis) through a member of the local police of Wilson Co. named H.D. Patton and who was detailed by the Capt. of said local police for this purpose, this man Patton was allowed to collect in addition to the fines and judgements imposed by Chap. Glavis ten (10) dollars in each case for his services. Your attention is invited to the testimony of Mr. Thomas Hadley a citizen of Wilson who complains that he was, by Chap. Glavis, compelled to pay $90.00 unjustly and without a fair trial, and that instead of paying said $90.00 to the complainant “Gilley” a colored woman, she received only $40. while $50. was retained by the officer Patton. Patton testifies that he kept $25.00 for his services by order of Chap. Glavis, and paid $65.00 to the colored woman Gilly. _ This $90.00 was rendered against Mr. Hadley for money “supposed” to be due this woman “Gilly” _ not a fine _ Respectfully submitted. _ Respectfully returned to Maj. Genl. Howard, Comr. with attention invited to endorsement of Col. A,G. Brady Supt. Cent. List. & accompanying papers. B.R.F.& A.L.Hd. Ins. Asst. Come. /s/ Jno. C. Robinson, Bvt. Maj. Genl. Asst. Comr.
Raleigh, N.C. July 9 N.C.
Just eight months after Emancipation, freedman Riley Robbins entered into a sharecropping contract with white farmer David W. Weaver to tend a small (“one-horse”) farm north of Wilson.
Articles of agreement between D.W. Weaver and Riley Robins
I D.W. Weaver do promise to let the aforesaid Riley Robins have for the balance of this year enough of my land lying on the W&W R R five miles from Wilson to attend a one horse crop. With the understanding that he is to give me one half of the corn one half of the fodder one half of the cotton or whatever else may be raised except Peas. I also agree to furnish him with a house garden and potato patch
Witness W.L. Pearce D.W. Weaver This the 24th day of January 1866
I Riley Robins do promise to cultivate and attend the aforesaid crop to the best advantage and likewise to keep everything in good repair such as keeping the fence and ditches cleaned out &c
Witness W.L. Pearce Riley (X) Robbins
Approved Geo. O. Glavis [illegible]
——
The arrangement seems to have gone bad — note the “contract broke” scrawled at the top of the cover page — but I have found no further records.
U.S. Freedmen’s Bureau Records, 1865-1878 [database on-line], http://www.ancestry.com.
Alvin Bagley was later called upon by the Freedmen’s Bureau to answer questions about his indenture of young Edwin Bagley, whom he likely had only recently emancipated.
Hat tip to Sloan Mason for alerting me to this document.
On 24 March 1866, two white men appeared before justice of the peace A.G. Brooks to swear that Asa Exum had stolen a coat, a pair of pants, and a pistol from them.
As his surname suggests, Asa Exum apparently lived in neighboring Wayne County, North Carolina, but was familiar across southeastern Wilson County. Dr. L.A. Stith lived in Wilson, and Seth Hawkins Tyson near Stantonsburg. Someone investigated the charges and scrawled a brief note under the first entry: “Says he bought it from [illegible] or Guest.”
Roll 17 Miscellaneous Records, Goldsboro Subassistant Commissioner’s Office, North Carolina Freedmen’s Bureau Field Office Records 1863-1872, http://www.familysearch.org.
One of the great benefits of blogging is the insight and information contributed by readers. In October 2019, I wrote of an 1866 custody dispute referred to the Freedmen’s Bureau by John B. Batts, former owner of a woman named Penny and her children. (The 1860 slave schedule of Gardners township, Wilson County, lists John B. Batts with seven slaves — a 55 year-old man; a 21 year-old woman; boys aged 9, 8, 7, and 6; and a 2 year-old girl.) The children’s father, Abram, was seeking to take them, and Batts and Penny contested his claim. Batts did not name the children in his petition, nor did he give surnames for Penny and Abram.
Isabelle Martin cracked the mystery on the basis of information provided in Nash County marriage license applications filed in the 1870s. Penny Hines was the mother, Abram Sharpe was the father, and the children were Alexander, Adline, Amanda, Gandy, Joshua, and Peter Batts (and maybe others.) That the children adopted J.B. Batts’ surname, rather than that of their mother or father suggests (but does not prove) that they remained with him well after slavery, and demonstrates the folly of making assumptions about relationships among freedmen on the basis of their last names.
Here’s what I now know about the family:
We’ve already met Abram Sharpe here. He was enslaved by Benjamin W. Sharpe and named in Sharpe’s will. Abram Sharpe, son of Church Bynum and Thana Sharp, married Caroline Hines, daughter of Allen Hines and Harriet Hines, on 12 January 1869 in Wilson County.
In the 1870 census of Joyners township, Wilson County: farm laborer Abram Sharp, 30, wife Caroline, 19, and son John, 9 months.
In the 1900 census of No. 13 Cokey township, Edgecombe County: farmer Abram Sharp, 64; wife Caroline, 62; children Willie, 15, Mamy, 14, and Richard, 8; grandchildren Fred, 7, Nathan, 4, and Liza, 2; and widowed mother-in-law Harriett Hines, 77. But also, in the 1900 census of No. 10 township, Edgecombe County: farmer Abrom Sharp, 55; wife Caline, 50; and children Mamie, 8, Willie, 7, and Hattie, 30.
In the 1880 census of Cooper township, Nash County: Penny Hines, 40, hireling. [On either side, son Red Batts and daughter Amanda Batts Hargrove. All appear to have been working for white farmer Wiilis Eason.]
On 31 December 1883, Alice Batts, 19, daughter of Penny Hines, married Daniel Parker, 21, at Redman Hines’ in Nash County. [Is this another of Abram and Penny’s children? Or just Penny’s?]
[Was Penny a Hines because she remarried? Was her next husband Redman (or Reddin) Hines, called “Red”? Red Hines hosted or witnessed the marriages of three of the Batts children. In the 1880 census of Stony Creek township, Wilson County: ditcher Reddin Hines, 40; wife Penny, 40; and children Alice Ann, 15, Margaret, 12, Jno., 7, Calford O., 6, Charles B., 4, and Joe and Ida, 1.]
On 20 December 1874, Alex Batts, 19, married Mariah Daniel, 24, at Red Hines’ house in Nash County.
In the 1880 census of Stony Creek township, Nash County: ox driver Alex’r Batts, 23; wife Mariah, 26; and children Bettie, 4, Jno. Rich’d, 1, and Mary, 3 months.
In the 1900 census of Rocky Mount township, Nash County: farmer Alex Batts, 46; wife Maria, 45; and children Johnnie, 22, Joseph, 14, Laurence, 12, Mancy, 11, Lula B., 9, Rosco, 8, and Roy, 4.
On 26 December 1871, Adline Batts, daughter of Abram Sharp and Penny Batts, married Jerry Davis, son of Doctor O. Bunn and Harriet Davis, at Red Hines’ in Nash County.
On 4 November 1875, Charles Hargroves, 35, of Nash County, married Amanda Batts, 18, of Nash County, daughter of Abram Sharpe and Penny Hines, in Cooper township, Nash County.
In the 1880 census of Cooper township, Nash County: next to Red Batts, 23, hireling, and Penny Hines, 40, hireling, hireling Charles Hardgrove, 46, and wife Amanda, 18, hireling.
In the 1900 census of Township No. 14 Upper Town Creek, Edgecombe County: farmer Charles Hargroves, 63; wife Amanda, 38; and children John C., 16, Mance H., 13, Maggie, 11, Cora, 10, Bessie, 8, Ether, 5, and Ella, 1.
Manda Lane died 10 June 1914 in Township #12, Edgecombe County. Per her death certificate, she was about 53 years old; was married; and was the daughter of Abram Sharp and Pennie Forehand. Mance Hargrove was informant.
Ether Bryan died 11 June 1916 in Rocky Mount, Edgecombe County. Per her death certificate, she was born August 1894 to Charles Hargrove and Amanda Hines; and was married. Flora Hargrove was informant.
Mance Hargrove died 5 May 1945 in Rocky Mount, Nash County. Per his death certificate, he was born 22 June 1886 in Nash County to Charles Hargrove and Manda Batts; was married to Florida Hargrove; lived in Rocky Mount, Edgecombe County; was a merchant in a grocery store; and was buried in Unity cemetery, Rocky Mount.
Lillie Williams died 26 December 1947 in Sharpsburg, Rocky Mount township, Edgecombe County. Per her death certificate, she was born 15 March 1907 in Nash County to Charles Hargrove and Mandy Lewis; was married to Mandonia Williams; and was buried in Unity cemetery, Rocky Mount.
On 23 May 1878, Gandy Batts, 24, of Nash County, son of Abram Sharp and Penny Hinds, married Emily Whitley, 18, daughter of John and Crensy Whitley, in Rocky Mount, Nash County. Red Hines was a witness.
In the 1880 census of Stony Creek township, Nash County: farm laborer Gandy Batts, 26; wife Emily, 21, and son Balaam, 1.
In the 1900 census of Toisnot township, Wilson County: farmer Gandy Batts, 48; wife Emma, 40; sons Bailey [Balaam], 21, and Allen, 15; and cousin Charley Hines, 24.
Gandy Batts is buried in Elm City Colored Cemetery. His broken headstone, made in the anchor-and-ivy style, states: Gandy Batts died Sept. 22, 1908 Age 53 Yrs. Gone to a brighter home Where grief can not [come.]
Ballam Batts died 25 March 1952 at his home at 1000 Roberson Street, Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born 15 October 1886 to Gandy Batts and Emily Whitley; was married to Clara Batts; worked as a farmer; and was buried in Elm City [Colored] Cemetery.
On 10 May 1873, Joshua Batts, 20, of Nash County, son of Abram Sharp and Penny Hines, married Silvia Whitaker, 25, of Nash County, daughter of Gray Whitley, at John Joyner’s plantation in Coopers township, Nash County. Peter R. Batts applied for the license and was a witness.
In the 1880 census of Stony Creek township, Nash County: farmer Joshua Batts, 26, farm laborer; wife Sylvia, 28; and children William, 15, Fountain, 10, Ella, 6, Helen, 5, Ella, 2, and Mindy Ann, 1 week.
In the 1900 census of Morehouse Parish, Louisana: farmer Josh Batts, 54; wife Silvie, 52; and daughter Elvie, 15.
On 27 July 1878, Peter Reddick Batts, 22, of Nash County, son of Abram Sharp and Penny Hines, both of Wilson County, married Harriet Whitaker, 20, of Nash County, daughter of Jacob Whitaker, at Charlie Hargro’s in Cooper township, Nash County. Joshua Batts was a witness.
In the 1880 census of Cooper township, Nash County: Red Batts, 23, hireling, and Penny Hines, 40, hireling.
Peter R. Batts died between 1880 and 1885. On 5 January 1885, his widow Harriett Batts married Charles Farmer at the Wilson County Courthouse. Farmer adopted her and Red Batts’ infant son, Edward, and the family migrated to Arkansas.
In the 1900 census of Ellis township, Pulaski County, Arkansas: farmer Charles Farmer, 53; wife Harriett, 48; and son Claudis, 13, all born in North Carolina.
Edward Berry Farmer died 13 July 1938 in Brodie County, Arkansas. Per his death certificate, he was 62 years old; was born in North Carolina to Red Bats and Hattie Whitaker; and lived near Little Rock. Ida Taylor was informant.
Ida Taylor Parker died 17 January 1962 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Per her death certificate, she was born 11 March 1880 in North Carolina to Red Bats and Harriette [maiden name not given]; was a widow; and was buried in Mount Zion cemetery. Bernice Joyner, Oakland, California, was informant. [Taylor and Parker were married names. Presumably, Ida’s maiden name was Batts.]
State of North Carolina, Wilson County }
This is to certify that Stephen Privet of above named county and state has on his premises three children of color — whose mother is dead — and have no known father — name and ages as follows viz — Mary aged about ten years, Amy aged about five years, William aged three years — I have no hesitancy in commending the above named Stephen Privett as a suitable person to have said children of color bound to him — as he is perfectly willing to take them — Said children have no visible means of support. Given under my signature, this 5th day of Dec: 1865 Wm. G. Jordan J.P.
——
In the 1860 slave schedule of Black Creek township, Wilson County: Stephen Privett, who claimed ownership of one 18 year-old black man, one 20 year-old mulatto woman, and two mulatto girls, aged 3 and 1. [The girls may have been Mary and Amy, and the woman their mother.]
In the 1870 census of Black Creek township, Wilson County: farmer Stephen Privett, 59; wife Isabella, 55; children Cornelia, 21, and Robert, 18; farm laborer Joseph High, 20; and “apprentiss” William Privett, 8 [the boy named above].
North Carolina Freedmen’s Bureau Field Office Records, 1863-1872, Rocky Mount (Assistant Superintendent), Roll 56 Labor contracts, Dec 1865-Jul 1867. Hat tip to Debby Gammon for the lead on this document.