There were more

Sep 28, 2017 Orange County Review

Last week, readers were informed about a new find: “The Journal of Proceedings of the Colonization Board of Virginia 1853-1858.” Among other data, the journal included rules and regulations, minutes and most importantly, the names of those free blacks who were transported to Liberia, the date they left, their former owner, the name of the ship and the date it sailed. It is nothing short of fascinating information. The discoveries continue.

Facebook can be searched for stories of those who relocated to Liberia; there are a few published books. The American Colonization Society, the National Archives and the Virginia Historical Society also possess a wealth of material. Regrettably, the two major genealogical resources—Family Search and Ancestry.com—do not yet have data beginning as early as 1865 (following Emancipation) that would shed light on the occurrence of those who might have returned to their homes.

I also came across a site entitled the Virginia Emigrants to Liberia Project [1]. There is much to be gleaned from this site, but for now I am pleased to report six additional names from Orange County.

These individuals were emancipated by John H. Bumgarner of Orange County and sailed on the M.C. Stevens for Robertsport, Liberia on May 28, 1857 and arrived on July 23, 1857. Their names and ages were listed as follows: Monroe Hall (28), Jane Hall (22), John Hall (25), Benjamin Johnson (16), Lucy Johnson (14) and Reuben Johnson (21).

Was Jane married to Monroe or John? Were Monroe and John brothers? Or perhaps, all three were siblings. Based on the stated ages, one might surmise that the Johnsons were all siblings. A thought that immediately comes to mind is where were their parents? Did Bumgarner own any other enslaved people of color and chose only to free these six? Another scenario could have been that Bumgarner purchased these six with the full intention of manumitting them and sending them to Liberia.

The search will continue, though painfully tedious and at a pace that moves at snail-like speed.

It is always an education and this journey is no exception.

Eligible candidates for the relocation were required to prove their status as free people of color (i.e. no runaways). If you were Emancipated by a former owner and your relocation to Liberia was mandated as part of the manumission agreement, your passage of approximately $50 was provided by the Colonization Board of Virginia. However, if you chose to leave on your own authority as a person of color born to freedom or who had purchased his or her freedom, you were required to pay your own costs.

An estimated 3,700 people of color emigrated from Virginia to Liberia between 1820 and 1865. The climate, foods and indigenous environment was very different from what these native Virginians were accustomed and many did not survive. This same scenario was true of those sent to the sugar and cotton plantations of Louisiana. It would be interesting to know if there was a significantly higher survival rate for those emigrants native to Louisiana who relocated to Liberia, but then that is minutia that may never see the light of day. (Focus, Zann.)

And remember that not all the information lies in repositories and scholarly work; networking with families and their special knowledge is invaluable. Case in point was an email received after last week’s article: “…enjoyed the article on the Gordons. I have a friend from Liberia and I told her about it. She plans to read it online. She still has family in Liberia, although she is an American citizen.”

Until next week, be well.

[1] Emigrants Database, Virginia Emigrants to Liberia, Virginia Center for Digital History, University of Virginia (/liberia/index.php?page=Resources ion=Search%20Emigrants).