Life of a Slave on the Gaines farm 1857-1865

There are plenty of available sources, first hand and otherwise, that describe the daily life of a slave. However, these are few when compared to the thousands of enslaved people we have no record of. Fortunately, we can catch a glimpse of the lives of the enslaved people at the Gaines plantation via guardianship settlement records filed by James E. Gaines. James was made guardian of Abraham's son, William, in 1857. As William was minor and legal heir to Abraham's estate, James had record all financial transactions for the estate. This included everyday purchases, account settlements, rental income, and most importantly - some details about the enslaved people there.

Slave Story. LC-F8- 9243 [P&P], National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress, Washington D.C.

Income

July 1, 1859 - July 1, 1860

               - T. Ramsey note for hire of John                     1858           45.65
               - Yancey's note for hire of John                                         144.00
               - T. Polk for hire of John                                   1859          202.50
               - R.R. Guill for hire of Henry                            1859          150.00
               - L. Dillard for hire of Dennis                            1859          200.00

  8/1861  - Allsbrooks note for hire of Wallace                1859            50.00
               - For hire of boy Dennis one month                                     14.00
12/1861  - W. Allsbrooks for hire of John                                            80.00
               - Hire of Wiley one month                                                     20.00
  2/1862  - A. Couts for hire of Dennis                             1860          205.80
  6/1862  - bal. on Allsbrooks note for hire of Wallace                       100.00
10/1864  - W. Bourne for hire of John in                          1860          175.00
                                                                                         1861          140.00
                                                                                         1863          110.00

  1/1865  - Mrs. Norfleet for hire of Wallace                      1864         150.00
               - Mat. Adams for hire of George                        1862         125.00
               - interest on same                                                                 15.00
  7/1865  - Weatherford for hire of Dick                             1862        200.00
               - W. Gossett for hire of boy John                        1863          41.66
               - W.B. Allsbrooks & J.R. Elliott for hire of John                                                        
                                                                                           1860        120.00
                                                                                           1861        150.00
              - D. Williams & B.A. Crenshaw for hire of Joe     1862        125.00


Expenses

July 1, 1859 - July 1, 1860
               - J.T. Hutchison for negro girl bought                                 1833.76
               - Ch_____'s midwife fee in 2 cases                                         4.00
               - Midwife fee for Betsey                                                           2.00
               - paid Negro for basket                                                            1.00

July 1, 1860 - July 1, 1861
               - midwife for Mariah                                                                 2.00
               - Jail fees at Elkton for boy George                                          6.90
               - Tompkins for taking of George                                             75.00
               - expenses to Elkton                                                                2.50

10/1861  - Thomas for Negro hats                                                        11.25
11/1861  - Flannel for Martha's child                                                       1.50
               - Ede midwife for Betsey                                                          2.00
  1/1862  - 10 prs. Negro shoes                                                             28.00
  6/1862  - 1 pair shoes for Phill.                                                              2.50
  7/1862  - dresses for negro children                                                      1.50
               - midwife fee for Maria                                                              2.00
  8/1862  - 2 pair shoes for Hetty and Clarissa                                        3.10
10/1862  - Midwife fee for Eliza                                                               2.00
               - 10 yds. striped goods for negros                                            3.50
11/1862  - 22.5 yards Negro jeans                                                         11.25
  4/1863  - 87 yds. print goods for negros                                              44.50
               - 18 gal. cider for negros                                                           2.25
  5/1863  - canoe for boy Dick                                                                  3.00
  7/1863  - Mrs. Holt for weaving negro cloth                                           5.00
  8/1863  - 7 yards calico for negros                                                        1.65
               - pair of shoes for Clarissa                                                        2.50
  9/1863  - 12 negro blankets                                                                 24.00
               - 2 yards of flannel for Martha's child                                        1.60
               - 6 pr. Dutch brogans for women                                             10.52
               - 3 pr. Dutch brogans for boys at $0.20                                     6.00
               - 2 pr. Dutch brogans for boys at $0.15                                     3.00
               - 4 yrds. Flannel for Lissa's child                                               1.80
               - Sukey as midwife for Sallie                                                     2.00
               - Sukey as midwife for Maria                                                     2.00
  3/1864  - Hat for boy                                                                               1.50
  7/1864  - Flannel for Martha's child                                                        2.00
               - Sukey midwife for Martha                                                        2.00
               - 4.5 yards Cottonade for negros                                               4.05
               - 5 yards Calico for negro children                                             1.75
  9/1864  - 6 hats for negros                                                                      7.50
               - paid negros for corn                                                               85.00
  1/1865  - paid Girl Caroline for work                                                       2.75
               - paid John for making shoes for negros                                    3.75
               - 1 pair shoes for Negro girl                                                        2.25
               - 5 yards Bleached domestic for Henry's shroud                        4.50
     1867  - paid Wiley for building Chimney                                               5.00                                          


        So, specifically what this shows us is the type of provision made for these enslaved people. What becomes immediately apparent is that James operated according to his brothers will and started hiring out the slaves fairly often. It's also interesting that on October 26th, 1865, James held a sale of all the farming equipment and closed any farming operations. I would presume this is due to emancipation.

Other items of note:
- I am curious if the men who were hired out possessed a particular skill or was it just labor?

- George ran away! This ledger (shown above, 1860/61) indicates that George ran away but was captured and jailed in Elkton, KY. George is very fascinating and I cant wait to show more of what I've found out about him.

- Are the items shown purchased for slaves typical or atypical? What kinds fo interpretations can be made from these items?

- Who is Sallie? I've not found any other mention of her. Perhaps she is the Negro girl James purchases in 1859/1860 from Hutchison?

- There were a lot of children born in this time span! 10, actually. I should be able to find their names by finding their parents in later census records.

- Henry died in January of 1865. Apparently he was covered in a shroud of bleached domestic. I wonder where he is buried? I'll eventually have a post about burial sites!

- In Sept. 1864, James paid "negros" $85.00 for corn and in 1867 paid Wiley $5.00 for building a chimney. What can be interpreted from this?






 

An 1853 TN Supreme Court Case: Determining Origins

Going backwards in records to find information on enslaved people can be a real challenge. A lot of times, your only hope is finding Deeds or other court records that specifically mention the transfer of a slave. If you're lucky, it gives an age and sex. When going back, this sometimes yields success, but more often you're left with a dead end. That's why its important to search more than just Deed records! There can be a trove of info in less searched record groups. In my case, that's the Tennessee Supreme Court cases at the Tennessee State Library and Archives. Special thanks to Ralph Sowell for turning me on to this!

I was able to find the following case, "Hutchison v Norfleet & Draughan" (MT 248). In this case, Abraham Gaines's brother-in-law Willie L. Norfleet was being sued by multiple people to recover debt. There's a lot more to the case (such as Abraham being implicated in fraudulent dealings...), but for our purposes we're going to look at the sale of Norfleet's estate to satisfy his debts.

This sale included his slaves! Names and ages included. This is important as Gaines purchased many of the slave that were sold. But, this is where things kind of took an interesting turn for me. While this ledger of slave sales is great for the information purposes, I found myself staring at a list of names with prices attached to them. Prices attached to people. And not just adults, but children too. Little children. I was staring at a document that showed peoples children being taken from them.

Portion of Willie L. Norfleet estate sale. Tennessee State Library and Archives

As a historian in the south, I often hear apologist arguments making claims of "that was life" or "they knew to expect being separated" as if to say because it was a norm, these people didn't feel any pain. I have two girls, 6 and 8 years old. The thought of them being taken from me with no recourse whatsoever is heartbreaking! That a white slaveholder can pay $804 for a little girl or $622 for a little boy and take them from their parents seems to speak a great deal of how white slaveholders understood slaves to be. As property and property only.

Anyway, the record is very important to giving these people more origin, even if its only a few years.

Here's what the list recorded:

Name                       Age                            Purchase Price                      Purchaser

Robin                          50                                   $315                                A.C. Gains
Charles                      42                                    $584                                R.D. Carr
Nelson                       35                                    $855                                D.B. Baird
Willie                         38
John                          20                                     $1089                              A.C. Gains
Wallis                        17
George                      15
Martilla                      65                                    $0.10                               A.C. Gains
Hetty                         50                                     $62                                  A.C. Gains
Clarissa & child        35                                     $403                                A.C. Gains
Maria                         1                                      $306                                W.S. Baldry
Emily                        32                                     $725
Mary                         15
Fanny                       13                                      $800                                Samuel Dunn
Judy                          9                                       $489                                A.K. Smith
Myra                         4
Charles                      7                                      $652.50                           Geo. Whitehead  
Ann                           6                                       $400                                 J.B. Williams
Mary                         4                                       $804                                 A.K. Smith
Washington               2               (Clarissa's child - purchased with her)
Lewis                        5
Saul                         75

So, a few things that pop out:

- This is where Abraham acquired John, Martilla, Hetty, and Clarissa and her kid(s). They are all  shown on the 1857 inventory.

- Wallis(sic) and George are both shown here with no purchaser but there is a Wallace and George on the inventory record as well. Same guys? Yes. Turns outs this court case originated in a Robertson County, TN Chancery Court case in which Abraham Gaines purchased a life interest in Wallace, George, and America. However, America is not shown on the 1857 inventory. Did she die or was she sold? Lewis, who I think is the Lewis (5) on this list above, was purchased by P.F. Norfleet at the same time Gaines purchased Wallace, George, and America.

- This shows Abraham purchasing Robin. He's not present in 1857 so he had either died or had been sold. If he was sold, I may be able to find a record of this.

- Martilla was purchased for $0.10 - a very sharp contrast to $1089 spent on John. Granted, there is a significant age difference, but why was she purchased? Was this to keep family members together?

-Discrepancy in ages. Other documents will attest to the fact that many folks simply did not know exactly when they were born, especially slaves. Some of these people on this list can be found in records much later, but an appropriate age change is not indicated.

Lots of good information and lots of new questions! If you have any comments or questions, let me know!

The Will & Inventory

So lets jump right in.

First a little background. Abraham C. Gaines (1805-1857) and two other business partners purchased a large tract of property in Port Royal from George B. Hopson in 1839. This included the Town of Port Royal, certainly a speculative endeavor. Gaines quickly grew his fortune by selling and renting lots and houses in Port Royal and also by farming. In 1848 he married Lucy Louisa Norfleet, thereby marrying into one of the wealthiest families in northern Middle Tennessee. He and his wife had one son, William Bailey Norfleet Gaines, in 1849. Unfortunately, Lucy died in 1850 when William was still an infant.

House built by A.C. Gaines ca.1840. Yeah, I know, its rough.

Sometime between likely between 1839 and 1845 (though some evidence suggests earlier and by somebody else, but that's for another post), Abraham built a house that still stands today. The house became the center of his principal farm in Port Royal. Today, the house is all that remains of the multiple buildings that made up the farm in the mid 19th century.

Throughout the 1840s and 1850s, Abraham continued to grow his estate, especially by the acquisition of African American slaves.This was especially true after 1853. However, this came to a halt in April 1857 when Abraham died. Prior to his death, Abraham left a will which stated that he wished for his executor/ guardian to his son to

"...keep my slaves and property together and work them on the farm as in my lifetime. Should the hands increase so they cannot be worked profitably on the farm, then the guardian may hire out such of the hands as he thinks best. Should any of my negroes become ungovernable, or otherwise unprofitable, or should slave property become unsafe from Abolitionism, then he shall with the advice of my trustees, sell my slaves and invest the money as they think best."  1


Abraham's younger brother, James, was appointed executor of the estate and guardian to Abraham's son, William. After Abraham's death, James filed an inventory of Abraham's estate for the courts. This is where I got the first glimpse of the names of the enslaved people here at this farm:


 Name                             Age

Henry                               55
Phillip                              35
Willie                               33
Dennis                             33
Henry                              32
John                                 24
Dick                                 23
Wallace                     No age given
George                      No age given
Joseph                             19
Harris                              17
Smith                               16
Jacob                               12
Malica                              32
Martilla                            65
Hatta                                60
Clarisa & 2 children        31

• Maria                     3
• Sam                       5

Martha & 5 children       30
       All between 6 months and 11 years

• Lylie
• Wanica
• Frank
• Ned
• Meris
• Able

Eliza                                30
      All between 7 and 10 years

• Jennie
• Annie
• Edmond
• Lou
• Thom
• Richard

Betsey                              20

• Louis                    6 months
• Ella                       2

That's 36 men, women, and children enslaved at the Gaines farm in 1857.2 Now I've got names. The goal from this point is to figure out where these people came from and where they went after emancipation. Ideally, after I present more of the background history and documents, I'll post about one former slave at a time and give as much detail as possible on that one person.




1 Montgomery County, Tennessee, Will Book O, pg. 366. Montgomery County Archives, Clarksville, TN.
 
2  Montgomery County, Tennessee, Will Book O, pgs. 432-433, 438. Montgomery County Archives, Clarksville, TN.

A Story to Tell

        Port Royal, TN has quite the story to tell. At least, I think it does. But I may be biased a bit. Port Royal is my home and I have been fortunate to call it that for close to 15 years. About 45 years ago, my grandparents purchased an old plantation home there and my father spent the latter part of his childhood there. This house became an important fixture of many of my childhood memories. In fact, I still live there today. But more about that later. A decade ago this year I began my career in TN State Parks at Port Royal State Historic Park. This allowed me the time and setting to become immersed in the stories of the area. So, in a way, I've been intertwined with Port Royal my entire life and now even my own personal story is part of the bigger story of Port Royal.
Over the past 15 years I have explored nearly every square inch of the area. I've presented hundreds of programs to park visitors. I've researched and found settlers forts, found remains of early 19th century flatboats, protected native American graves, and documented historic houses. I've stood with Cherokee people as they walked on a restored segment of the Trail of Tears for the first time since removal. I've crawled under houses and photographed hewn logs, documented prehistoric Native sites, and written lots on all of the above. I've tackled many subjects of Port Royal's history...except one.

Slavery.

The enslavement of people by other people.

Eliza Norfleet Gaines Williams, former slave on the Gaines Plantation.

I'm not gonna lie. I think part of me may have deliberately not explored slavery. It's uncomfortable. Its gross. Sure, I studied it in the survey classes in college and it factors heavily into any understanding of the early (or current) American South but I've never taken the time to let it be real to me. But it certainly was real and it happened to real people. I have chosen to seek out the reality of this and to make it real. Down the road, I'll write about a moment that this began to come to fruition.

Regardless, it's time. Is time to tell this story of how enslaved people were used to make Port Royal succeed as an early trade center. It's time to tell the story of how families were torn apart and of how identities were forged. Its time to find forgotten grave markers in the woods with rarely more than a crude limestone marker. I'm going to be focusing on the enslaved people who lived at the Gaines plantation in Port Royal - my home today. I may get off on a tangent or two but this group of people will be the central theme. Also - please comment! I'm by no means an expert and need all the help I can get.

So, Port Royal has a story to tell and its not just White. Or Red. It's also Black.