Dec 22, 2016 Orange County Review
Several months ago, I came across a fellow named Dr. Peter T. Johnson who, per court records, lived in Orange County, Virginia perhaps as early as the 1830s and continued as a resident until at least 1880.
You may remember an earlier column where I shared the information about Mrs. Lucy Quarles of Bloomsbury and the documentation of her disposition of an estimated 75 enslaved men and women. Peter T. Johnson was Lucy Quarles’ nephew and was bequeathed several of her slaves. There were others who were provided with their freedom but who declined the offer, subsequently choosing who would be their next “master.” Peter Parker, Susan Madison and her children Tinsley, Henry and Walker chose Peter T. Johnson. But wait, there is more!
A woman by the name of Nancy Clark (family connections if any are not yet known) was living with Mrs. Quarles. She was willed a woman by the name of Martha said to be ‘the daughter of my woman Sucky.’
Lastly, for today’s story, was an enslaved woman named Clio, also said to be the daughter of Sucky, who was bequeathed to a niece believed to be living in Louisa County. One big question that will require a meticulous re-read of the entire will: were Sucky and Susan the same person?
I know you are asking, “Is there a point to all of this?” The short answer is, “Of course.”
Further research of census, birth, death and marriage records offer some fascinating factoids. Nancy Clark was listed in the household of Peter T. Johnson in the 1850 census and it would be fair to presume that ‘Martha’ was there as well. On March 24, 1853, Peter T. Johnson and Nancy Clark were wed. On April 27, 1859, widower Peter T. Johnson married Georgianna Cave. Yet no death record for Nancy Clark has been found.
In January 1855, Clio (there is no other individual in the slave records with that name) gives birth in Orange County to a female child named Polly. They are listed as owned by Peter T. Johnson. It appears that by the early 1850s several if not all the family members related to Susan Madison are residing with Peter T. Johnson. But where was his place?
Civil War records reveal that Confederate troops in 1863 were not only encamped on Dr. Johnsons’ place but also he was being paid for providing various supplies. These records sent me to the maps drawn by Confederate engineers and there it was: Dr. Johnson’s place well-marked. A cross reference with current-day maps with indisputable landmarks revealed what I believe is the accurate location. A call to the owner promises a future site visit. But the story is more interesting yet!
The Freedman’s Bureau files and the 1867-’69 personal property tax records indicate that several of the above mentioned enslaved were working or living at Johnson’s after Emancipation, including a man named Esquire ‘Squire’ May with his wife Clio Madison! The plot thickens.
Clio and Squire’s daughter Polly, b. 1855, married Frank Ellis, grandparents of a wonderful individual named Clara Ellis Payne. The Ellises owned land that adjoined land owned by Squire May and much of this land adjoined land formerly owned by Peter T. Johnson.
Clio died in 1869, possibly while living on Johnson’s property. Where she was buried?
We are examining deed records to determine if there were additional ties between the Mays, Madisons and Johnson.
Until next week, be well.