Freedmen's Bureau Labor Contract - 1865 James R Godbold

List of Freedmen Residing on James R Godbold's Plantation
in Franklin County, Mississippi
Oct 7th 1865

NAME	AGE	SEX	COLOR	FORMER OWNER	FORMER RESIDENCE
Silvester Crossley	47	male	2/3 white	James R Godbold	Woodside
Louisa Crossley	46	woman	black	do do	do
Andrew Crossley	11	male	1/3 white	" "	"
Kate Benton	45	woman	black	" "	" "
Jane Crossley	22	do	copper	" "	" "
Mathew Benton	11	boy	do	" "	" "
Missouri Benton	16	do	do	" "	" "
Hannah Benton	7	girl	do	" "	" "
Charlotte Pettis	18	woman	do	" "	" "
Jeni Pettis	1/2	girl	do	" "	" "
Robeson Monan	28	man	black	" "	" "
Clorinda Monan	21	woman	do	" "	" "
Joseph Monan	1/2	boy	do	" "	" "
Silvy Dixon	32	female	do	Departed from	the place
Clorinda Dixon	7	do	do	" "	" "
Therisa Dixon	4	do	copper	" "	" "
Davidson Dixon	2	male	black	" "	" "
Harriet Morris	34	female	do	" "	" "
Patsey Morris	6	do	do	" "	" "
Elec Morris	4	male	do	" "	" "
Elizabeth Morris	1	female	do	" "	" "
Nora Morris	1	do	do	" "	" "
Betty Morris	48	do	do	" "	" "
Isabelle Morris	13	do	do	" "	" "
Mary Morris	7	do	do	" "	" "
Rose Wells	45	do	do	" "	" "
Macdaniel Wells	15	male	do	" "	" "
Jinney Wells	9	female	do	" "	" "
Racheal Guthrie	22	do	do	" "	" "
Will Guthrie	3	male	do	" "	" "
Harrison Guthrie	1	do	yellow	" "	" "

Source: Record Group 105 - NARA Microfilm M1907: Records of the Field Offices for the State of Mississippi, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands 1865-1872
Roll #35
Natchez Office - Registry of Freedmen, August to October 1865

Tombstone Tuesday Thomas and Luisa Crossley

Thomas Silvester Crossley
Born 1819 - Died June 4 1899

Luisa Crossley
Born 1830 - Died July 12 1900

Pleasant Grove M. B. Church Cemetery
Smithdale, Amite County, Mississippi

Photograph Courtesy of Nathaniel Thomas

Time Line for Crossley Family Named in Lewis Weathersby's Will

Pleasant Grove M.B. Church
Crossley Family's Church
Smithdale, Amite County, Mississippi

1843 Jul 05 - Lewis Weathersby's will was signed on this date bequeathing the slave family in trust to his son Lodwick Weathersby. Thomas and his wife Lucy and their children Matilda, Sylvester, Andrew, and Dicey were to be given land, house and other provisions. The couple two daughters, Matilda and Dicy, were to be purchased by their parents for $300 each so they could tend to their parents in their old age.

Lewis' sons Lodwick Weathersby and Hatton Weathersby, and friend James M Smiley were appointed executors of his will.

16 Sep 1843 - Lewis Weathersby died.

1843 Nov- Lodwick Weathersby died.

1846 Mar 26 - Lodwick's widow Elphanie Obier married John Martin. Elphanie and John became guardians of the minor children of Elphanie and Lodwick.

1846-1847 - Lodwick's siblings, with the exception of Hatton, asked that the Negroes remaining in their father's estate be sold. Various petitions were presented to the courts concerning the property of their father Lewis Weathersby.

Hatton Weathersby, the guardian of the slave family, tried to have his father's wishes fulfilled but lost in the courts because he could not prove meritorious service. The section of Lewis Weathersby's will concerning the slave family would not be executed.

1849 - The six slaves who were to be freed were now a part of the estate of Lodwick Weathersby who had died without a will. Lodwick's daughter Missouri Ann and her husband James R Godbold complained how her mother and her mother's new husband had handled her father's estate. Missouri wanted her father's estate divided among his children.

The Crossley family were separated into lots to be given to Lodwick's children. Yellow Thomas and his wife yellow Lucy were given to Virginia Ann; yellow Sylvester went to Missouri Ann; yellow Andrew, Matilda, Dicey, and Dicey's child Leland were given to Solomon C Weathersby.

1855 - Virginia Ann Weathersby died without a will. The court divided her estate, which included Thomas and Lucy who were described as Old Tom and Old Lucy valued at $500 together. Thomas and Lucy were given to Virginia's brother William Weathersby.

Oct 1865 - Sylvester (Thomas and Lucy's son) and his wife Louisa and their son Andrew were named in the Freedmen Bureau Labor Contract on the Woodside Plantation of James and Missouri Weathersby Godbold.

1870 - The Crossley family was living in Summit, Lincoln County, MS.

SOURCE
A Genealogist's Guide to Discovering Your African American Roots
by Franklin Carter Smith and Emily Anne Croom
The Slaves of Liberty, Freedom in Amite County, Mississippi 1820-1868
by Dale Edwyna Smith
Amite County Chancery Court Records, Case Number: 4588, Lewis Weathersby
Amite County Chancery Court Records, Case Number: 4598, Virginia Ann Weathersby
Freedmen's Bureau Labor Contract of James R Godbold
Mississippi Department of Archives and History
National Archives
Photograph Courtesy of Nathaniel Thomas

Lewis Weathersby Couldn't Prove Meritorious Service

Siblings James Pearly Crossley and Mazie Crossley Robinson
Children of Nathaniel Crossley, Sr
Grandchildren of Andrew Crossley
Great Grandchildren of Sylvester Crossley
Great Great Grandchildren of Thomas and Lucy Crossley

Lewis Weathersby tried to emancipate six family members of one slave family prior to his death in 1843 but was deterred by the laws of Mississippi, which required the consent of the legislature upon proof of meritorious service.

Meritorious manumission could be granted to a slave who distinguished himself by saving the life of a white master or his property, inventing something that a white slave master could make a profit from or snitching on a slave rebellion. The laws of Mississippi specified that the owner had to cite some meritorious service by the slave as the ground for his petition.

Lewis Weathersby did not prove meritorious service; manumission for the family was denied. Lewis did not give up on emancipating the family, parents Thomas and Lucy, and their children Matilda, Sylvester, Andrew and Dicy. He made provisions in his will for the family to be nicely situated, offering them quasi freedom which his heirs saw as emancipating the family, circumventing the decision of the Mississippi legislature.

Between the state of Mississippi protecting the institution of slavery, deaths, and the greed of the family, the portion of Lewis Weathersby's will concerning the family was never fulfilled.

How are the siblings connected to my family?
The siblings' mother was Estella Scott Crossley
Estella Scott was the daughter of James Pearly Scott and Catherine Markham.
Catherine Markham Scott and my great grandfather Monroe Markham were siblings.

SOURCE
A Genealogist's Guide to Discovering Your African American Roots
by Franklin Carter Smith and Emily Anne Croom
The Slaves of Liberty, Freedom in Amite County, Mississippi 1820-1868
by Dale Edwyna Smith
Amite County Chancery Court Records, Case Number: 4588, Lewis Weathersby
Mississippi Department of Archives and History
Answers.com
Photograph Courtesy of Nathaniel Thomas

The Will of Lewis Weathersby 1843

Amite County Courthouse
Courtesy of J Stephen Conn, on Flickr

The ancestors of my Crossley cousins were bequeathed a quasi freedom, land and provisions in the 1843 will of Lewis Weathersby. The Weathersby heirs were not thrilled with this provision in the will.

Extraction of Lewis Weathersby Will Pertaining to the Crossley Slaves

In the name of God Amen I Lewis Weathersby of the County of Amite and State of Mississippi being of sound mind and disposing memory do make ordain and publish this my last will and testament hereby revoking all former wills and codicils by me made...

15th I give and bequeath to my son Lodwick L Weathersby my faithful servants Thomas and his wife Lucy and their children Matilda, Sylvester, Andrew and Dicy in trust and under the following conditions, "to wit" in as much as the said Thomas and Lucy have served me for several years with great fidelity, it is my earnest desire and I do hereby enjoin it upon my said son Lodwick L Weathersby and that he enjoin it upon his heirs executors and administrators to make the said Slaves Thomas and Lucy as comfortable in life as possible, that he furnish them and their children with a house separate from others, that he provide a horse, farming tools, a small tract of land for their separate use, and that they have suitable time to work the same, and he attend to the sale of their little crops, furnish them with a cow for milk, and two hundred pounds of sugar, and one hundred pounds of coffee yearly, and that in consideration of these things, he require of them reasonable service and should the said slaves Thomas and Lucy at any time be able to raise a sum of money sufficient to compensate said Lodwick Weathersby say three hundred dollars for each, for the services of their daughters, Matilda and Dicy These he shall give to the said Matilda and Dicy to said Thomas and Lucy to serve and comfort, them in their old age.

SOURCES
Amite County Will Records 1818-1848, Vol 1, Pages 248-252, Microfilm Number: 6217
Microfilm found at Mississippi Department of Archives and History
Case Study of the Crossley Family

Case Study of the Crossley Family

In the previous post, I showed a photograph of two of my Crossley cousins. For anyone connected to or interested in the Crossley family of Amite and Lincoln Counties, Mississippi, I would like to recommend this book, A Genealogist's Guide to Discovering Your African American Ancestors, by authors Franklin Carter Smith and Emily Anne Croom.

Per a 1843 will, the progenitors of the Crossley family were the slaves of the Weathersby family of Amite County. The parents were to be allowed to live free and the children were to be allowed to purchase their freedom. Of course, there was a court case.

You may read directly from the book about the Crossleys through Google Books. You may purchase the book at Amazon

Wordless Wednesday Crossley Siblings

James Pearly "J. P." Crossley and his sister Mazie Crossley Robinson
Their parents were Nathaniel Crossley, Jr., and Estelle Scott.

How do the siblings connect to my family tree?
The siblings' mother was Estelle Scott.
Estelle Scott's parents were James Pearly Scott, Sr., and Catherine Matilda Markham.
Catherine Markham was the sister of Monroe Markham, my great grandfather.

Estella Scott Crossley's Obituary
Nathaniel Crossley Sr's Obituary
Catherine Markham Scott's Headstone

Photograph Courtesy of Nathaniel Thomas