Apr 18, 2016 Orange County Review
You may be as puzzled as I about the origin of surnames for our African American ancestors and also, when they actually began to use those names. Unfortunately, research of this kind of issue is not yet conclusive. However, as more information becomes available, we will hopefully begin to see patterns. Until that time, we are left to develop hypothesis.
New records indicate that surnames for the enslaved people of color were more common than previously thought (though for those of us attempting to discover the histories, not nearly common enough.) The current thought is that despite having both a surname and a given name, the surname was seldom used in correspondence and even certain legal documents. Was it because the writer knew the person definitively, requiring no clarification? Or perhaps it was thought to be unnecessary and inappropriate to provide that which was considered "property" with the appearance of distinction or a sense of independence that could be attributed to having a family name?
Only a few years ago it was believed that slaves and the newly emancipated automatically took the names of their owners. Not! A few certainly did, but for the majority there is little connection.
In the case of Lucy Quarles’ will and the identification of the 66 individuals that were offered freedom, most had last names but only one or two carried the name Quarles. The names were listed and ran the gamut: Kenney, Crump, Tibbs, Madison, Nelson and more.
You are probably wondering, "So, where did they get the name?" A few possible explanations follow: Susan Madison (of the Quarles will) took the name from her "husband" Walker Madison. Marriage between enslaved persons was accepted and often encouraged, despite not being legally recognized until after emancipation. When and how the father of her children took the name Walker Madison has not been learned.
The same was true of Matilda Tibbs--mother of Qualls--who was likely given a first name reflecting the owner’s surname (whose father is believed to have been Frank Tibbs.) I found a Frank Tibbs listed as a preacher in Orange in the 1870s and am wondering if this is Qualls’ father. There was no Frank Tibbs or Walker Madison listed in the Quarles’ will. We can only speculate that both men were owned by someone else and had not been offered freedom. Often the children would take the surname of their mother who may have transitioned through more than one owner during multiple generations.
Some may have been assigned an owner’s name to differentiate them from another in the close community who carried the same given name. They also may have chosen to take the owner’s name; may have chosen a different person’s name out of respect, or may have selected a name after emancipation that suited their own preferences.
If you are now thoroughly confused, join the millions who hunt daily for their ancestors in a black hole rife with an absence of documentation! The good news is that the data is getting better every day. Until next week, be well.