Nov 7, 2016 Orange County Review
The “Sold to Louisiana” story was quite a hit! I have received responses from far and wide and am extremely grateful. It will be a long and arduous process and believe me, all thoughts are welcome.
As the research continues, it occurred to me that others may be interested in the questions and the obstacles that may not have been predicted.
The elephant in this room goes by the name of “not documented”: a name attributed to him based on the premise that the enslaved individuals were considered property and not dignified as humans, much less peers. There remains little documentation except that which is related to property, i.e. sales, bequests, a few manumissions, and a few death records. In these transactions, researchers consider themselves fortunate if a given name is recorded, but seldom is there a surname.
Imagine you are looking for your grandfather’s grandfather and all you have to go on is that they called him “Sam” and that he was believed to have lived on a plantation in Orange County. That is until his owner was drowning in debt and decided to sell Sam south to the cotton-producing states.
That is where we are in this most recent quest to find 16 Virginians sold by James Madison to Louisiana in 1834.
What we know:
James Madison was the Virginia owner and seller.
William Taylor was the buyer and removed the enslaved to Pointe Coupee Parish in Louisiana.
A Mr. Nicholls accompanied them from Virginia to Louisiana.
They arrived in Louisiana in Nov. 1834. We are presuming that was the arrival in Pointe Coupee.
Documents indicate that Nicholls reported the arrival to Mr. Madison, leaving us with the presumption that he was employed, at least for this task, by Madison, not Taylor.
One of the slaves was named Betty and described as a girl of poor health. There was communication between Taylor and Madison regarding Taylor’s resistance to paying for her.
Taylor had two plantations: Lakeland, a sugar plantation and Briers, a cotton plantation. Both have been geographically located.
Taylor advertised the sugar plantation for sale in 1842 and then again in 1847 and 1848.
Taylor died in 1850 in Kentucky and was buried with family in Frankfort, KY.
The Taylors had no children.
The Taylor diary awaits our review!
The 1860 Census Records—slave schedule and traditional--indicate that Lucy Lewis Thom Taylor was residing in Pointe Coupee Parish and owned more than 100 slaves.
What we do not know:
There is no record of the sale.
How they traveled to Louisiana: overland or by boat? We are exploring slave ship manifests and studying overland routes.
Was Nicholls a permanent employee of Madison’s residing in Orange?
Was William Taylor living in Louisiana before the purchase? When did he buy the two plantations? Court records in Pointe Coupee should be revealing.
Did Taylor have a will? Perhaps, if he died intestate, was there a chancery suit recorded in Kentucky or Louisiana or both? Again, court records should be revealing.
When and where did widow Lucy Taylor die?
Were either of the plantations sold before her death?
If she died prior to 1865, what became of the slaves? Sold or freed?
After Emancipation, did the former enslaved Virginians remain in Louisiana or return to Virginia?
We have an enormous task ahead of us, but the potential findings are well worth the effort. Stay tuned.
Until next week, be well.