Andrew Gustavus - Part 2

A few weeks ago, the photograph of Andrew Gustavus was identified. In a previous post, I wrote about how we discovered his name. You may read about it here.

Andrew was born about 1856, the son of James Gustavus and maybe Sarah Macon. He was a success at farming and got himself a wife, Lucy Watson. The couple married, 03 Feb 1885, in Copiah County, MS.

They had two sons, one was deceased by 1900. Their remaining son was Joe, born about 1887. Thomas Moore, a 26 years old nephew, was in the household and he along with Joe helped with the farming. The family was still farming in 1910; Joe was out of the household and a niece and nephew was in the household, eleven years old siblings Jack and Josie Scott.

Andrew was 67 years old in 1920. His wife Lucy died during the spring of 1915, Joe was grown and gone, and farming alone was likely too much for Andrew. He left the rural community near Heaths Store and moved to town, to Hazlehurst. Rachel came with Andrew to town or maybe he met her there. According to census records, they were man and wife in 1920.

The 1920 census listed his occupation as a farmer working his own account. Andrew is still a farmer, in 1930, but he is now a worker; by 1940 the occupation line is blank. Per the oral history, Andrew lived behind Miss Nell Harris, which the census records of 1930 and 1940 support.

Nell Harris was the daughter of Lewis Bingaman Harris and Lucy Ella Rice. Lewis died in 1891, leaving his wife Lucy to raise a family of five daughters and one son.

Andrew lived in the rear of this house in the woods.

Lucy Ella Rice was the older sister of Elizabeth Macon Rice. Elizabeth married Charles Adams Taliaferro. Charles and his father Peachy were the slave owners of a branch of my paternal family members.

By 1940, Nellie was in the house alone with a couple of lodgers. Andrew was a widower since the 1930 census. I saw one record where Nellie died about 1961. I don't know when Andrew died but I know he lived beyond 1943.

I was hoping Andrew was connected to my Durr family, my father's paternal family. Surprisingly, he is connected to my father's maternal family, a nice surprise.

The lady is Nellie Harris in her home.

Lucy Gustavus' Death Certificate, Andrew's Wife
Photographs Courtesy of Georgia Wise

Christmas Gentleman Identified Andrew Gustavus

We believe we know the name of the distinguished, dignified African American man in photographs with a Christmas gift in his hand shown on this blog during the Christmas season. I do community research and the name is already on my family tree.

A few years ago, Georgia Wise and her family shared pictures of the gentleman. On the above picture, he is standing with two small boys adorned with their Christmas gifts. One of the boys is Georgia's father who remembered they called the man Uncle Gus. In December 2013, he remembered the man's full name was Andrew Gustavus.

Looking over the emails from Georgia, I learned Andrew was born during slavery and he told the young boys tales of eating from a trough.

Memories of the Trough from the Slave Narratives
"Ebry day dar wus a big pail uf milk put in a big trough in front uf mammy Lit's house, under a shed, fur all uf de little black chilluns ter eat wid bread in it. Ebry one uf us hed er spoon en we wuld dip in ter it en see who culd git the mostern. Mammy Lit wuld beat me ober de head en tell me not ter be so greedy en eat it all frum de udders." Barney Alford of Mississippi

"Mrs. Sartin had a long wooden trough constructed just outside the kitchen door in which was placed "pot-likker", milk, and a generous portion of cornbread in a pulverized state. About the middle of the morning Mrs. Sartin would walk to the negro quarters, and have all the little negroes who ranged in age from 1 to 8 rounded up like so many small animals."
Harry Bridges of Pike County, Mississippi

"There was a long trough about a foot deep in Grandma May's house. This she filled with buttermilk and broke up corn bread in it. Each child that was big enough to stand was given a cockle shell to get their something to eat out of the trough." Mollie Edmonds of Mississippi

Andrew was born about 1856 in Mississippi per the census records. In 1870, he was 14 years old living in the household of his father James Gustavus, a farmer. James and his family plus two adult sons and their families were living as neighbors.

1870 Copiah County Census of Gustavus Family

James married Sarah Macon, 30 Apr 1874, in Copiah County. Sarah is probably a second wife and not the mother of Andrew. There is an eight year gap between Andrew and the next child in the household.

Andrew's father, James, was described as a brick mason on the 1880 census. Father and son were neighbors. Andrew was living in the house with his sister Nancy and her children. All members of the family indicated their birthplace was Mississippi. In the previous census, James and Sarah listed their birthplace as South Carolina.

Andrew and his father were both listed on the 1880 agriculture schedule as farmers, both renting the land with their own tools. Andrew rented 25 acres from William L Shelby near Heaths Store in rural Copiah County, Mississippi. Andrew had a mule and horse, 3 calves were born. He raised pigs and chickens. He made 50 lbs of butter, grew corn, cotton, Irish and sweet potatoes. Andrew's farm was productive.

Did Andrew remain a farmer, marry, have a family? To be continue on next post.

Wordless Wednesday Christmas 1920s II