I recently shared in detail my connections and research interests related to Yazoo County, Mississippi. The King and Gilliam lines out of Yazoo from which I descend can be found on my mother’s maternal side. I made a commitment this year to focus on my mother’s maternal lines first and foremost. That is the part of my family tree with the least amount of information. Still, I would like to summarize some additional interests across my entire pedigree. Without further delay here they are:
PATERNAL LINES
Surname(s): ROBERTS, ROBINSON
Location(s): Franklin, Lincoln & Bolivar Counties, MS
Celia Ann Robinson Thomas, formerly Celia Ann Roberts is my 2x great grandmother who resided in Bolivar County, MS. When I requested her 1913 Death certificate from the MDAH I had no idea how it would propel me into seeking free people of color (FPOC) in Franklin and Lincoln County. Per the information provided on her death certificate, my Celia Ann was the daughter of a James Roberts from Franklin County, MS. With the information found on the death certificate I was finally able to locate Celia Ann in the 1870 and 1880 Census years living in Lincoln County with her father James Roberts and mother, also named Celia. I noticed from the 1870 Census that Celia Ann’s father James was listed as a mulatto which prompted me into seeing whether he could be found in 1860. And wouldn’t you like to know what I found?! I found a mulatto James Roberts (presumably the same one that is Celia Ann’s father) living free in 1860 and 1850 with his family. Free People of Color!
Actually, on these two census years I see that James’ father, Dread Roberts, is a mulatto man married to a white woman, Elizabeth Mitchell Roberts. Say what? Yes. Here is where my troubles and questions arise. If James was a FPOC living comfortably in Franklin and later Lincoln County, why did he and several of his children turn up living in Bolivar County with the last name Robinson? Well a couple thoughts come to mind. Come 1870 Dread Roberts and the rest of his children are now passing for white. This trend continues into 1880 and onward for all of Dread Robert’s children. They marry white people and their children become white as listed on every Census record post 1870. The only exception is my 3x great grandfather, James Roberts. So did he move to the Mississippi Delta and change his name because he married / partnered with a woman of color? Or was he himself phenotypically of defect to his own family?
So far I’ve located a number a of Dread Roberts white descendants a.k.a. my distant 4th and 5th cousins, but none are too familiar with their family history that far back. Hmm, I wonder why? I’m certainly not trying to ask anyone who obviously looks white to redefine who or what they are. I only want to have a complete and accurate history to pass down to my own children. This is one of my research areas where I am hoping DNA testing will prove most useful.
Surname(s): HENDERSON, GREEN(E)
Location(s): Mississippi Delta & King George, VA
Anderson Henderson, my 2x great grandfather, was always said to be the son of Hardie and Susan Dandridge Henderson. I accepted it. I rolled with it until I decided to order the pension record of Hardie Henderson. Boy did that muddy the water! Hardie, a Civil War veteran, has a pension file that is 90+ pages long. Long story short: Hardie does a good job including information on his spouse and their children. The first issue I came across was Susan, his wife, was a war widow. The documents state she was previously married to a Bob Green(e) who perished in Vicksburg. My next observation was that Hardie never lists Anderson as one of his children unless Anderson has another name unbeknownst to me. It would seem to me that my 3x great grandfather, Anderson Henderson was adopted by Hardie and took on his surname. However, his biological father is a Green(e). That naturally changes the whole ball game.
Surname(s): JOHNSON
Location(s): Desha County, AR & Bolivar County, MS
So the trend continues with these 2x great grandparents of mine. Here we have the mystery of William Fisher Johnson, another 2x great grandfather. Fisher was born in Desha County, AR to a Lizzie Johnson and his father is presently unknown. My hunch here is that he was likely born in or around Yoncopin on a plantation belonging to Matilda Johnson. Matilda Johnson was the wife and later the widow of the notable Judge Benjamin Johnson. I feel relatively confident that Matilda owned Fisher’s mother at some point in time. Anyhow, I am more concerned about Fisher’s father. I suspect he might be Thomas Johnson of Kentucky who is found residing rather closely to Lizzie and her children in 1870. Thomas Johnson, a white male, 48 years of age appears to be a widow with two teenage sons. Oddly enough Lizzie’s children are all listed with the last name Thomas during this Census year, but they can be found under Johnson in 1880. So I’ve pegged this Thomas Johnson character based off of Lizzie’s children’s surnames at various times. We shall see!
MATERNAL LINES
Surname(s): JONES
Location(s): SW Mississippi & SE Louisiana
Frank Jones. He is one of my 2x great grandfathers as well and I know Zilch about him prior to his marriage to Louisa Branch in Woodville, Wilkinson County, Mississippi. I’m hoping for a ray of bright light to find my way to the names of his folks. Frank Jones was a very common name the estimated year my ancestor was born because there are quite a few in the SW MS geographic area. Grrr…
Surname(s): KING, GILLIAM
Location(s): Yazoo & Warren Counties, MS
I talked about my King and Gilliam ancestors in detail already, so I won’t go into my research issues with them. I will add to my previous commentary that I’d really like to prove or disprove my grandmother’s claim to being a cousin to B.B. King. It’s not all about the celebrity here. For me a cousin is a cousin no matter who they are or their occupation. However, it never hurts to have a few exceptionally notable people in the family.