Old settlers who attended the "Old Settlers Reunion"

Description: Old settlers who attended the "Old Settlers Reunion"

Date: August 1901

Newspaper published in: Athens, TX

Source: Trinity Valley Community College Library

This was written after the “Old Settlers Reunion” in 1901 in Athens, Henderson County TX

Athens Weekly Review
Aug. 1901
SOME OF THE OLD SETTLERS

We have tried to interview as many as we could to get some statistical data.

N. J. (Pete) BREWER of Chandler, been in the state 55 years and in the county 46 years; from 
Tennessee.

C. D. CREWS of LaRue has been in state 46 years and in the county 17 years.

Col. John D. KNIGHT, the remaining “Baxter kid,” has been in the county 51 years and he smiles yet 
when he sees a good looking woman and all are good looking (there is a hole in the page right here)

---- CARTER of Kaufman came from Georgia to Texas to this county in 1857. After 18 months 
returned to Georgia. Then came back to Texas in 1878, lived here three years then went to Kaufman.

J. W. CARVER of Brownsboro from Alabama, been here 47 years.

Sol PERRY, been in Texas 49 years, in this county 34 years.

J. F. RAY from Tennessee, been in Texas 39 years, in this county 31 years.

H. COOPER of Eustace, from Alabama, been in the county 53 years.

Mrs. W. M. STIRMAN of Wichita Falls, sister-in-law of W. B. STIRMAN, came to this county 56 years 
ago.

Rev. V. I. STIRMAN of Ennis, brother of President W. B. STIRMAN, came here 53 years ago.

Mrs. J. M. GARDNER of Aley, 37 years in the county. She has a varied experience and knows much 
of the early settlement of the country.

A. G. HUGHES, native 26 years.

Joe COKER from Georgia, been in county 33 years.

W. A. STALTER from Ohio; in the county 36 years; was a schoolmate of John Sherman of Ohio.

Geo. I. DAVIDSON of Brownsboro has been in the county 23 years.

J. T. SANDERS of Murchison has been in the county 23 years.

M. L. McWILLIAMS of Bolder, been in the county 43 years.

Wyley McGEE, born in Mississippi, been here 35 years.

W. B. Smith born in Texas and is 49 years old.

G. V. ADAMS 82 years old born in Virginia been in county 24 years.

W. M. Carmichael 86 years old been here 67 years born in South Carolina. Has a soft tooth in his 
head which he showed the editor.

Dan Donnell from Arkansas been here 52 years. Fought under Texas flag. He fought four years under 
Confederate flag and gave his leg.

T. J. PERRY, 57 years old, from Tennessee, been in Henderson county 51 years.

Henry McREA, 51 years old, born in Alabama, been in Henderson 41 years.

G. J. MITCHAM of Malakoff born in Henderson county, 41 years.

W. J. BULGER, 62 years old, born in Alabama; been in Henderson 43 years.

J. T. JACKSON, 70 years old, born in Georgia; been in Henderson 22 years.

J. T. SANDERS of Murchison been here 25 years.

A. S. TANNER of Malakoff born and raised in this county; is 45 years old a leading merchant of 
Malakoff.

L. W. MOORE of Brazoria county, in Texas 50 years; been away from Henderson 25 years; 
brother-in-law of M. E., J. I. and H. W. RICHARDSON.

N. R. ROYALL and wife of Palestine attended the reunion; both raised here.

W. J. WALLACE of LaRue from MIss. been in Texas 33 years in this and Anderson counties. Was 
first Lieutenant in a Mississippi company and commanded his company in a noted charge of 
Longstreet’s corps at the battle of Gettysburg.
W. M. McWILLIAMS of Bolder from Alabama been in this county 53 years. 

J. K. P. PARMER of LaRue form Alabama been in this county 52 years.

G. T. MARTIN of Wood School House; from Tennessee; been in county 53 years.

G. C. KEYS of LaRue from Kentucky; been in Texas 56 years, in Henderson county 25 years.

J. B. LEWIS of Ash, been in the county 45 years.

T. A. LANGLEY from Mississippi has been in county 16 years.

J. A. PATTERSON of Eustace from Alabama, been in county 54 years.

J. S. CARVER of Kenelm from Alabama been in this county 50 years.

J. M. KIRKLAND of Brownsboro from Alabama been in Texas 46 years; in county , 32 years.

J. T. BRISANTINE, been in Texas 47 years, and Mrs. BRISANTINE 49 years.

J. W. FULTON from Tennessee, been here 54 years.

G. W. and W. M. ROBERTS and T. J. DICKERSON of Poynor, raised here.

J. P. MILLER from Alabama, in county 45 years.

J. D. JORDAN of Brownsboro from Alabama in this county 32 years.

J. D. REYNOLDS of New York been in the county 47 years; from Georgia.

W. B. STIRMAN of Mance, president of the old settlers association of Henderson county; been in the 
county 56 years.

W. R. MURPHEY been in the county 33 years.

Joab McMANUS from Tennessee; in county 56 years, 87 years old; vice president of the association.

H. W. RICHARDSON been in the county 48 years.

George Riley DAVIS, born in the county, 46 years old.

Chas. M. COTTON, 54 years old, born in Alabama, 51 years in Henderson county.

W. R. ANDING born in Mississippi, been in the county 51 years.

Mrs. Jodie TINDELL, 63 years old, born in Alabama, 52 years in Henderson county.

Sam W. FRIZZELL; born in Kentucky, been in the county 22 years.

S. T. CROSSLY, born in Georgia born in Georgia been in the county 33 years. 

E. W. FROST of New York, born in Alabama, been in the state 44 years. 

Polly Ann LEE, 63 years old, wife of Sam LEE, born in Mississippi, 48 years in Henderson county.

Aunt Kit McGLOTHLIN, 73 years old born in Mississippi, been in state 59 years and in the county 39 
years.

K. K. KNIGHT, 56 years old born in Alabama, 52 years in Texas and 51 in Henderson county.

Hugh CARTER of Murchison, 70 years old, born in Tennessee, in Texas 54 years, 48 in the county; 
was member of Co. K 4th Texas.

J. B. WOFFORD, born in the county 47 years old.

W. A. PERRY, 52 years old born in Tennessee, been in the county 44 years.

Ed McDERMOTT, 56 years old born in New York City; been in Texas 34 and in this county 30 years.

Dr. T. M. MATTHEWS, Sr., born and raised in Virginia; came to Texas 50 years ago. Has resided in 
Rusk, Tarrant, Van Zandt and this county; been in this county 20 years. he raised eleven children, ten 
are now living.

Jno. B. Tindel, born and raised in the county, 42 years old.

J. N. PHILLIPS, 54 years old, born in Arkansas, 35 years in Texas; from 1873 to 1883 in Henderson 
county, now lives in Navarro co.

Fannie J. Rounsavall 58 years old born in Alabama; been in Henderson county 48 years.

Aunt Lizzie FRAZIER, 70 years old, born in Georgia, 48 years in Texas and 45 in Henderson co.

Jno. K. SIMMONS, 63 years old, born in Alabama, 36 years in Texas, 12 years in this county.

W. C. Taylor, 52 years, old, born in Arkansas, 49 in Texas 34 in the county.

Mrs. Mat BISHOP, 57 years old, born in Alabama, 48 years in Henderson county.

Mrs. Margaret PARSONS, 60 years old, born in Alabama, 48 years in Henderson county.

Mrs. Lucy NEFF, 63 years old, born in Virginia, been in Henderson county 50 years.

Mrs. Nannie MURPHEY, born in Alabama, been in Texas 48 years.

A. J. BOYD, 56 years old, born in Louisiana, 50 years in Henderson county.

Seth SCOTT, 45 years old, born in the county.

J. W. GAUNTT, 73 years old, born in Georgia, 55 years in this co.

Old “W” HOPSON, born in Ga. 36 years in Henderson county and plays the fiddle.

J. M. MITCHAM, 52 years old born in the county.

Jno. W. SLAUGHTER, 72 years old, born in Alabama 46 years in the state, 41 in the county.

Jesse WALLING, 59 years old, born in Nacogdoches county. Lived in this county 1855 to 1868 now 
lives in Hill county.

Mrs. S. E. GARDNER is 77 years old, came to Texas in 1847, born in Franklin County Alabama; come 
to Texas in a wagon, there were living then near Aley (now Tool) Ned DAY and Julius BARKER. Her 
husband, J. M. GARDNER, died in 1892. They married at Round Prairie in 1860. She saw wild 
buffalo in the country several were killed here after she came to the county. She has eaten buffalo 
meat killed in this county. The Indian camps and vessels looked recent. Court was held at old Buffalo 
two years after she came to the county. She attend parties at old Buffalo and has danced with Judge 
John H. REAGAN. Mrs. GARDNER is still sprightly and a great favorite with all her acquaintances. 
She is a perfect encyclopedia of knowledge of the early days of this country and her relations of the 
incidents and stirring events of those pioneer days are very interesting. In our brief note yesterday a 
mistake was made as to the time she had been in the county. She has been here 56 years, as long 
perhaps as any other person in the county.

Transcribed by Bunny Freeman March 2002

James W. Hopson election

Description: Elections

Date: April 14 1910

Newspaper published in: Athens, TX

Source: Trinity Valley Community College Library

Athens Weekly Review
April 14, 1910
For County Judge:
John S. Prince
For Sheriff
S. L. Usrey
J. P. Morrow
Dempsey Henry
Tom Murphey
J. H. Heffington
Dan Echols
W. M. Hardwick
Sam B. Walker
John Layton
For County Attorney:
A. B. Coker
D. M. Dickerson
For County Clerk:
Homer L. Parsons
Earl Jones
J. J. (Jim) Bradshaw
George R. Davis
H. T. Gilliam
For Tax Assessor:
W. H. Davis
For Supt. of Public Instruction:
C. D. Owen
For District Clerk: 
Ernest A. Landman
For Tax Collector:
Oran Scott
For County Treasurer:
T. D. Frizzell
Dan Donnell
For Commissioner Precinct No. 1:
G. P. Kinsey
For Commissioner Precinct No. 3
M. L. Murphree
For Justice of the Peace, Precinct No. 1:
Troop L. Davis
J. C. Lewis
For Constable Precinct No. 1:
J. W. Hopson
For Commissioner Precinct No. 4:
Boly Tindel
For Constable Precinct No. 4:
Albert W. Davis

William A Wells - 1900 census

1900 census

location: Smith County, Mississippi

date: 1-4, June 1900

William A Wells  head  white  male  Feb 1853  married - 27 years  Alabama

Annie J Wells  wife  white  female  April 1855  45  married - 27 years  9, 9  Mississippi

Mary E Wells  daughter  white  female  Nov 1872  26  single  Mississippi

Martha C Wells  daughter  white  female  Oct 1874  25  single  Mississippi

Bulah Wells  daughter  white  female  Jun 1877  22  single  Mississippi

Arthur A Wells  son  white  male  Jul 1879  20  single  Mississippi

Laura L Wells  daughter  white  female  Jan 1881  18  single  Mississippi

Lula L Wells  daughter  white  female  May 1884  16  single  Mississippi

Nancy L Wells  daughter  white  female  June 1889  10  single  Mississippi

Ollie C Wells  daughter  white  female  Oct 1894  5  single  Mississippi

William H Wells  son  white  male  May 1898  2  single  Mississippi

"United States Census, 1900," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M9FS-GY3 : accessed 11 Apr 2014), William A Wells, Beat 3 (west of Oschay Creek), Smith, Mississippi, United States; citing sheet 1A, family 10, NARA microfilm publication T623, FHL microfilm 1240828.

Arthur Wells - 1920 census

1920 census

location: Smith County, Mississippi

date: January 20, 1920

Arthur Wells  head  male  white  40  married  Mississippi  farmer

Ida Wells  wife  female  white  36  married  Mississippi

Zula Wells  daughter  female  white  16  single  Mississippi

Eula Wells  daughter  female  white  14  single  Mississippi

Sylvester Wells  son  male  white  12  single  Mississippi

Dorilla Wells  daughter  female  white  10  single  Mississippi

Bell Wells  daughter  female  white  7  single  Mississippi

Beatrice Wells  daughter  female  white  5  single  Mississippi

Priscilla Wells  daughter  female  white  3  single  Mississippi

Lois Wells  daughter  female  white  1  single  Mississippi

"United States Census, 1920," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MNTN-822 : accessed 11 Apr 2014), Auther Wills, Beat 3, Smith, Mississippi, United States; citing sheet 16B, family 268, NARA microfilm publication T625, FHL microfilm 1820894.

Arthur Wells - 1910 census

1910 census

location: Smith County, Mississippi

date: May 5, 1910

Arthur A Wells  head  male  white  30  married - 8 years  Mississippi  farmer

Ida M Wells  wife  female  white  26  married - 8 years  5, 4  Mississippi

Alcie M Wells  daughter  female  white  6  single  Mississippi

Eula Wells  daughter  female  white  4  single  Mississippi

Harmon S Wells  son  male  white  3  single  Mississippi

Dorilla M Wells  daughter  female  white  5/12  single  Mississippi

"United States Census, 1910," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MPDG-8PW : accessed 11 Apr 2014), Arthur A Wells, Beat 3, Smith, Mississippi, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 113, sheet 15A, family 172, NARA microfilm publication T624, FHL microfilm 1374772.

Arthur Augustus Wells

Arthur Augustus Wells

birth: July 17, 1879

location: Mississippi

death: November 5, 1957

location: Louisiana

father: William Augustus Wells

mother: Annie Jane Runnells

spouse: Ida Prince

1880 census

1900 census

1910 census

1920 census

1930 census

burial

children with Ida Prince:

Alcie Mazula Wells
Eula Wells
Harmon Sylvester Wells
Dorilla M Wells
Erma Bell Wells
Beatrice Wells
Priscilla Wells
Lois Wells
Linnie Wells

Arthur Wells - 1930 census

1930 census
location: West Carroll Parish, Louisiana
date: April 26, 1930

Arthur Wells  head  male  white  51  married - @ age 22  Mississippi   farmer
Ida Wells  wife  female  white  46  married - @ age 18  Mississippi
Dorilla Wells  daughter  female  white  20  single  Mississippi
Bell Wells  daughter  female  white  17  single  Mississippi
Beatrice Wells  daughter  female  white  15  single  Mississippi
Priscilla Wells  daughter  female  white  12  single  Mississippi
Lois Wells  daughter  female  white  10  single  Mississippi
Linnie Wells  daughter  female  white  8  single  Mississippi
Zula Dupree  daughter  female  white  26  widowed - married @ age 22  Mississippi
Troy Dupree  son  male  white  2  single  Mississippi
Eddie Dupree  daughter  female  white  1  single  Mississippi

"United States Census, 1930," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XMTF-Z79 : accessed 11 Apr 2014), Arthur Wells, Police Jury Ward 5, West Carroll, Louisiana, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 0008, sheet 17B, family 324, NARA microfilm publication T626, roll 825.

12 Years a Slave Discussion

Solomon Northup was a freeborn black man living in New York. His father had been born a slave, but was manumitted upon the death of his owner. Solomon’s father taught him to be a farmer, and upon the marriage of Solomon to Anne Hampton, farming became Solomon’s occupation. However, the industrious Solomon would also engage himself in other industries, including repairs on the Champlain Canal, river transportation, rail road construction, and, especially during the winter season, Solomon would play his beloved violin for compensation. 

His violin also became the root of his imprisonment. While walking along the streets of Saratoga Springs, New York, Solomon was approached by two men. The men, Brown and Hamilton, enticed Solomon to join their circus and play the violin. Solomon was offered high wages and eagerly accepted. The trio eventually ventured south to Washington, D.C., where after consuming alcohol with the two men, Solomon became ill. When he woke up in chains, Solomon realized he had been poisoned and kidnapped into slavery.

While in a slave pen in the shadows of our nation’s capital, Solomon declared the fact of his freedom and the injustice at his imprisonment. He was then beaten nearly to death. Throughout his almost twelve years of slavery, he rarely again mentioned that he had been born free in the state of New York. 

After transportation on a ship south to New Orleans, Louisiana, Solomon Northup was bought by slave owner William Ford. Ford’s plantation was located on the bank of Bayou Boeuf in Avoyelles Parish (I have crossed this same Bayou many times, as my husband was born and raised in a small town in Northeastern Louisiana, also called Epps.). Ford employed a brutal overseer, Mr. Tibeats. Tibeats was especially cruel towards Solomon. Later, because of financial hardships for Ford, Solomon was mortgaged to Tibeats. One day Tibeats and Solomon were in the process of construction of a weaving house, when Tibeats attempted to whip Solomon for a trivial reason. Solomon fought back against Tibeats, thus committing a crime punishable by death. On this occasion, Solomon was saved from a brutal beating by Ford. Several weeks later, Solomon again could not please Tibeats and his unreasonable nature, but instead of fighting back against Tibeats, Solomon took refuge in a great swamp. This refuge took place in the middle of summer, with snakes, alligators, and other unknown dangers also taking refuge within the swamp. After several days, Solomon made his way back to Ford’s plantation. There he was reunited again with Tibeats. This reunion was short-lived, however, and Solomon was promptly sold to Edwin Epps. 

Solomon would live in slavery for nearly ten years with Epps. Epps was a slave owner in the same general area of William Ford. Epps was especially known to his slaves for his cruelty and drunken belligerence. Slaves belonging to Epps were only given three days off work on the plantation the entire year. They were expected to work without ceasing the entire day, and many times into the night. No time off would be given for illness. It was frequent, while in a drunken state, Epps would have his slaves, to dance into the wee hours of the morning. This dancing would come after the slaves worked a full day in the fields and at their chores. Of course, the slaves would be expected to be at work the next morning and labor the entire day on very little rest. 

Finally, in 1852, Solomon Northup met the man who would set into motion his freedom. A Canadian, Samuel Bass, came to work on Epps’ plantation in the carpentry business. After hearing Bass and Epps debate the issue of slavery, Solomon soon realized that Bass had antislavery beliefs. With great trepidation, Solomon approached Bass and confided the great secret he had held for eleven years. Bass assured Solomon that he would endeavor to help him regain the freedom that was stolen. Solomon dictated a letter that Bass mailed, with the letter reaching acquaintances of Solomon. 

With bewilderment, I read the description Solomon gives of the day Henry B. Northup rode onto Epps’ plantation. The percentage of slaves released from slavery in this manner, or anything even close to this manner, is without a doubt minute. These were my favorite pages to read in the Northup narrative. With the arrival of Henry B. Northup, Solomon left the Epps plantation again a free man. 

When Solomon Northup was kidnapped, his wife was left a single mother of three children. She was a renown cook in the area of New York they resided, so she was able to provide some income. Her life and that of her children after the kidnapping of Solomon, was probably very hard. Solomon’s children were not dumb to their father’s circumstances. After seeing a picture in one of their school books of slaves being whipped, they became very upset because they knew that in all likelihood, their father was facing the same circumstances. In his absence, Solomon’s children kept his memory alive. Solomon even came home to a grandson named in his honor. 

Having very little intelligence as to Solomon’s whereabouts, I think Anne’s devotion to her husband is evident. What stopped her from taking another spouse to help provide for her and her three children? Solomon writes of his unabated love and devotion for Anne; she must have had the same for him. 

Solomon Northup gave a short version of the reunion with his family after his twelve years of slavery. When I first read this narrative several months ago, I was disappointed that Solomon had not left more details of his reunion with family members. I wanted to know how he spent his first moments with his wife, his son who was away upon Solomon’s return, etc. What was the first thing Solomon ate? How did his first night at home feel? However, after reading 12 Years a Slave for the second time, I am glad Solomon did not divulge all the details. The pages of a book are not adequate to capture those beautiful sacred moments Solomon had with his family. 

At the time of Solomon’s kidnapping, New York was a “free” state. From the description Solomon gives of his acquaintance and kidnapping by Brown and Hamilton, I am of the opinion that the two men intended, from the outset, to kidnap a black man. Even in the free state of New York, black men and women were not safe from the clutches of slavery.

Solomon Northup was able to survive twelve years as a slave in part because of his violin. Tibeats informed Edwin Epps that Solomon could play the violin, and at the request of Mrs. Epps, a violin was provided to Solomon. He would frequently turn to his violin to comfort his weary heart while in the clutches of slavery. Towards the close of his narrative, Solomon admits that he was indebted to his violin, who was his constant companion, and soother of his sorrows throughout his years of servitude. I am sure, the thought of one day being reunited with his family was another reason Solomon was able to survive. 

I imagine most mothers are able to most identify with poor Eliza. While Solomon describes the circumstances of her imprisonment with her children, eventual separation from her children, and subsequent demise, I imagined myself in Eliza’s position. My heart broke for Eliza when she kissed her sleeping children, crying for them as they slept peacefully in her lap, even though they were now slaves. When Eliza and her children were eventually physically separated, her heart break becomes real to me. I know how I would feel if my three children were ripped from my arms, especially knowing the prospect of the life that lay before them. It is hard for me to write deeply on this issue without tears forming on my face. Poor Eliza! No, I would not have been able to survive slavery without my children. I, too, would have died of a broken heart, burdened by the heavy loss of my children. Also, if I were fortunate enough to have my children with me and not be separated while in slavery, I could not have stood seeing them whipped unmercifully. 

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: Genealogy Selfie

Participating in my first Saturday Night Genealogy Fun!

This is my daughter, Riley Claire, standing beside the headstones of her great-great-great-great-grandfather, Colonel Gaines Chisholm Smith. He is buried in Athens City Cemetery, in Athens, Limestone County, Alabama; over 500 miles from where we live.

Peter Lesley Smith Obituary

Funeral services were held Saturday afternoon for P.L. Smith,75 year

old resident of the Floyd community, who died at his home early 

Saturday morning. The Rev. T.J. Fair officiated at the services which 

were held at Bayou Macon church under the direction of Catron-Golden

Funeral Home of Oak Grove.

The father of 14 children, 10 of whom survive him. Mr. Smith was born 

February 14, 1866 in Smith County, Miss. He moved his family to West 

Carroll in 1916, settling near Pioneer in Ward 2, where he was active

in the community and church life of the parish until his health failed

several years ago.

Surviving the deceased are his wife, five sons, five daughters, one

sister, 30 grandchildren and six great grandchildren. The sons are 

John and Earl of Darnell, Norris of Texarkana, Ark., P.L. Jr. of Ft.

Benning, Ga. and James of Floyd community. Daughters surviving are 

Mrs E.C. Smith of Oak Grove, Mrs. Paul Gentry of Darnell, Mrs. R.L.

Hooper of Floyd, Mrs. Walter Brown of Shreveport and Mrs. O.E. Materne

of Baton Rouge. One sister, Mrs. R.D. Blackwell of Taylorsville, Miss.,

also survives.

Peter Lesley Smith

Peter Lesley Smith

birth: February 4, 1870
location: Smith County, Mississippi
death: December 27, 1941
location: West Carroll Parish, Louiaiana

father: Henry Clay Smith
mother: Eliza Jane Garner

spouse: Matilda Joann Owens

marriage to Matilda Joann Owens - about 1893

1900 census

1910 census

1920 census

1930 census

1940 census

burial

obituary

children with Matilda Joann Owens:

1. Lula Smith
2. John D. Smith
3. Bury Smith
4. Minnie Smith
5. Bessie Smith
6. Edward Earl Smith
7. Winnie Smith
8. Norris Smith
9. Pearl Smith
10. Henry Clay Smith
11. Vondell Smith
12. Peter Leslie Smith, Jr.
13. James Carroll Smith

children's great-great-grandfather

Linnie Wells

Linnie Wells

birth: February 16, 1921
location: Mississippi
death: January 17, 2007
location: Louisiana

father: Arthur Augustus Wells
mother: Ida Prince

spouse: James Carroll Smith

1930 census

burial

children with James Carroll Smith:

James Douglas Smith

James Carroll Smith

James Carroll Smith

birth: May 7, 1919
location: Louisiana
death: June 8, 1990
location: Louisiana

father: Peter Leslie Smith
mother: Matilda Joann Owens Smith

spouse: Linnie Wells

1920 census

1930 census

1940 census

burial

children with Linnie Wells:

James Douglas Smith

children's great-grandfather

List of Books Read for SHSU - Master of Arts in History

History 5097 - African-American Slavery - Spring 2014

The Slave Trade: The Story of the Atlantic Slave Trade: 1440-1870, by Hugh Thomas

The White Man's Burden: Historical Origins of Racism in the United States, by Winthrop D. Jordan

From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans by John Hope Franklin and Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham

In Human Bondage: The Rise and Fall of Slavery in the New World, by David Brion Davis

12 Years a Slave, by Solomon Northup

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, by Harriet Jacobs

The Oxford Frederick Douglass Reader, by William L. Andrews

History 5373 - Civil War and Reconstruction - Summer I 2014

Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory, by David W. Blight

James Henry Hammond and the Old South: A Design for Mastery, by Drew Gilpin Faust

Mothers of Invention: Women of the Slaveholding South in the American Civil War, by Drew Gilpin Faust

The Fiery Trial, by Eric Foner

History 5384 - Texas History - Fall 2014

Babe: The Life and Legend of Babe Didrikson Zaharias, by Susan E. Cayleff

The Raven, by Marquis James

Tomlinson Hill: The Remarkable Story of Two Families Who Share the Tomlinson Name - One White, One Black, by Chris Tomlinson

Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire, by Robert Perkinson

History 5372 - Early National America - Spring 2015

Forced Founders, by Woody Holton

Affairs of Honor, by Joanne Freeman

The Hemingses of Monticello, by Annette Gordon-Freeman

Parlor Politics, by Catherine Allgor

American Lion, by Jon Meacham

God's Strange Work, by David L. Rowe

Trail of Tears, by John Ehle

Soul by Soul: Life Inside the Antebellum Slave Market, by Walter Johnson

History 5374 - Seminar in the History of the American South - Summer I 2015

The Mind of the South, by W. J. Cash

The Strange Career of Jim Crow, by C. Vann Woodward

American Slavery, American Freedom, by Edmund S. Morgan

A Stone of Hope: Prophetic Religion and the Death of Jim Crow, by David L. Chappell

History 5384 - Early Modern Europe - Summer II 2015

Carl L. Becker, The Heavenly City of the Eighteenth-Century Philosophers (1932), pp. 1-31
Paul Hazard, The European Mind [1680-1715] (orig. 1935), pp. xv-xx, 3-79.

History 5336 - Topics in History of Pre-Modern Europe Fall 2015

Mohammed and Charlemagne, by Henri Perinne

The Making of Europe: An Introduction to the history of European unity, by Christopher Dawson

Medieval Technology and Social Change, by Lynn White, Jr.

Plague and the End of Antiquity, edited by Lester K. Little

Living with the Dead in the Middle Ages, by Patrick J. Geary

Charlemagne: The Formation of a European Identity, by Rosamond McKitterick

The Inheritance of Rome: Illuminating the Dark Ages 400-1000, by Chris Wickham

The Rise of Western Christendom: Triumph and Diversity, A.D. 200-1000, by Peter Brown

History 5097 - Urban and Suburban History - Spring 2016

Rebels Rising: Cities and the American Revolution, by Benjamin L. Carp

The Park & the People: A History of Central Park, by Roy Rosenzweig & Elizabeth Blackmar

Unbound Feet: A Social History of Chinese Women in San Francisco by Judy Yung

Crabgrass Frontier, by Kenneth Jackson

The Origins of the Urban Crisis: Race and Inequality in Postwar Detroit by Thomas J. Surgrue

Saving the Neighborhood: Racially Restrictive Covenants, Law, and Social Norms, by Richard R. W. Brooks & Carol M. Rose

The Shifting Grounds of Race: Black and Japanese Americans in the Making of Multiethnic Los Angeles, by Scott Kurashige

Smeltertown: Making and Remembering a Southwest Border Community, by Monica Perales

History 5377 - The American West - Summer 2016

The White Scourge: Mexicans, Blacks, and Poor Whites in Texas Cotton Culture by Neil Foley

Migra!: A History of the U.S. Border Patrol by Kelly Lytle Hernandez

The Los Angeles Plaza: Sacred and Contested Space by William David Estrada

Contagious Divides: Epidemics and Race in San Francisco's Chinatown by Nayan Shah

History 5385: A Seminar on the History of Latin American Commodities - Fall 2016

Sacred Gifts, Profane Pleasures: A History of Tobacco and Chocolate in the Atlantic World, by Marcy Norton

Mercury, Mining, and Empire: The Human and Ecological Cost of Colonial Silver Mining in the Andes, by Nicholas A. Robins

Banana Cultures: Agriculture, Consumption, and Environmental Change in Honduras and the United States, by John Soluri

Andean Cocaine: The Making of a Global Drug, by Paul Gootenberg

Jungle Laboratories: Mexican Peasants, National Projects, and the Making of The Pill, by Gabriela Soto Laveaga

History 5389.01 Great Britain and the British Empire - Spring 2017

Ornamentalism: How the British Saw Their Empire, by David Cannadine

Colonialism and Its Forms of Knowledge, by Bernard Cohn

The Scandal of Empire: India and the Creation of Imperial Britain, by Nicholas Dirks

Ideologies of the Raj, by Thomas Metcalf

Making Empire: Colonial Encounters and the Creation of imperial Rule in Nineteenth-Century Africa, by Richard Price

English lessons: The Pedagogy of Imperialism in Nineteenth-Century China, by James Hevia

Spies in Arabia: The Great War and the Foundations of Britain's Covert Empire in the Middle East,  by Priya Satia

Imperial Reckoning: The Untold Story of Britain's Gulag in Kenya, by Caroline Elkins

History 5098.03 Auschwitz - Summer I 2017

Auschwitz, by Deborah Dwork and Robert Jan van Pelt

Anatomy of the Auschwitz Death Camp, by Yisrael Gutman and Michael Berenbaum

Commandant of Auschwitz, by Rudolf Hoess

The Auschwitz Volunteer: Beyond Bravery, by Witold Pilecki

Survival in Auschwitz, by Primo Levi

The White Man's Burden discussion

The White Man's Burden: Historical Origins of Racism in the United States by Winthrop D. Jordan

The White Man’s Burden: Historical Origins of Racism in the United States is Winthrop D. Jordan’s condensed version of his previous work,White Over Black: American Attitudes Towards the Negro, 1550-1812. A distinguished professor of History, Jordan attempts to establish the origins of racism in the United States and explain why racial slavery predominated the eighteenth and most of the nineteenth century in the United States. 

Winthrop begins his work, interestingly, by investigating English European’s initial contact with Africans. Although the English had references from antiquity of people with black skin, the sudden presence of many Africans was halting for the English. The English began looking for reasons to explain the Africans’ blackness. In point of fact, the English called Africans “black” suggesting the powerful impact the Negro’s complexion had on their perceptions (Jordan 1974, 5). The concept of “black” in England was loaded with intense meaning. For instance, black could mean soiled, dirty, foul, having dark or deadly purposes, sinister, atrocious and horrible, just to name a few Oxford English Dictionaryentries for the word black in the sixteenth century (Jordan 1974, 6). Calling Africans “black” gives insight into the already unmistakable distaste Englishmen had begun to display for black Africans. What, I wonder, was the Africans’ initial impression of the white Europeans? Africans would have at least been familiar with Albinism, but were they shocked at the white skin of whites? 

Englishmen seemed to have been very preoccupied with explaining why Africans had black skin. Winthrop delves into these theories, including the sun scorching the Africans’ skin and the well-known curse of Ham. Regarding the scorching effect of the sun on the Africans’ skin, some English Europeans realized that removal of the African from the scorching African sun did not cause the Africans to “whiten up.” This theory was even more debunked when it was observed that African children born in England were still black. If the sun scorched theory had been true, Africans born in England should have not been black (Jordan 1974, 8). Of course, the longstanding justification for African slavery, the curse of Ham and his descendants, was explanation enough for some Europeans to explain the black color of African skin (Jordan 1974, 9). Regardless of the reason, Africans were set radically apart from Englishmen because of their skin color.

I would next like to address the theme of African relation to apes. In our modern world, it is really unbelievable to read instances where Africans would not only be compared to apes, or orang-outans, but actually thought to copulate with and prefer them over other human beings. Again Winthrop goes back to the initial introduction of African peoples with Englishmen. Around this same time, the Englishmen likewise became acquainted with apes on the West coast of Africa. Apes were connected with blackness. One plus one is two, so it was a logical conclusion to the English that Africans and apes were linked. Examples are even provided of similarities of Africans and apes on nose shape, skull shape, muscle mass, etc (Jordan 1974, 17). The English took this link to the sexual level as well. Africans were referred to as libidinous and lecherous, and associations were also made between the ape and his “venerous-ness.” White men repeatedly commented on African sexuality, especially their “large, virile members” (Jordan 1974, 16). These first impressions gathered about Africans at the onset of African discovery, exploration and exploitation, were carried into the New World and left to simmer. Because of the African’s so-called deficiencies and supposed similarities between apes, I think it was easy for white men to enslave the entire race. We do not see complete enslavement of any other race of people except Africans. Skin color had to be one of the primary reasons behind African enslavement.

As the settlement and expansion of the New World grew, so too did the need for labor. Winthrop first describes the three forms of slavery that emerged in the New World. Free wage labor was present from the beginning and temporary servitude coincided with settlement of the United States. Chattel slavery was the last to appear, but indeed the most brutal and lasting (Jordan 1974, 20). Winthrop explains the concept of chattel slavery, and to me it was very interesting. The slave’s loss of freedom was complete. His slavery meant deprivation of liberty. Chattel slaves would serve in perpetuity, and this perpetuity carried over into the next generations. Slaves were treated as and thought of as beasts. The Negro slave fit the mold for every qualification (Jordan 1974, 33). Again, when Negroes are thought of as and treated as beasts, the enslavement of them comes almost natural. 

In addition, Winthrop suggests that slavery in the United States was learned from the Portuguese and Spaniards in the West Indies. In the Caribbean, by law Indians and Negroes had to serve for life. On the other hand, Englishmen did not have to serve for life (page 36). When slavery expanded in the United States, a racist base for slavery developed, for in New England, particularly, there was no economic reason for slavery. New Englanders had no staple crop to sustain that way of life. New Englanders treated Negroes differently from other English people and servants. Winthrop indicates this different treatment could not have alone been caused by slavery (Jordan 1974, 39). I wholeheartedly agree that even early English settlers to America were prejudiced against people with black skin. 

Another point I would like to make concerns African and African-American intellectual capacity. People were adamant that Negroes were “ignorant, stupid, unteachable, barbarous, stubborn, and deficient in understanding” (Jordan 1974, 90). Winthrop cites founding father, Thomas Jefferson, as repeatedly writing that Negroes were deficient in feeling and understanding. It is amazing to me how this thought pattern extended throughout several generations, even to my own. I can remember watching a football game on television when I was very small. Warren Moon was the quarterback. For whatever reason, the question of why there were very few black quarterbacks in the NFL was brought up. My grandfather answered me, “There aren’t any black quarterbacks because they aren’t smart enough.” Reading The Whiteman’s Burdenand correlating my own minimal experience with regard to African-American intelligence really makes clear to me the depth of racism in our country. 

Winthrop spends much time recounting Thomas Jefferson and his viewpoints on slavery. Brock Anderson mentioned that it is hard to say that Jefferson’s views on slavery extended to the entire populace of America, and I agree. While other people may have shared Jefferson’s opinions, certainly not all citizens could have agreed. The main point I would like to mention here, is the fact of Jefferson’s relationship with Sally Hemmings. For Winthrop to knowingly rely so heavily on Jefferson’s viewpoints as an example of conclusion in early America, despite the fact that while Jefferson was condemning slavery, he was carrying on a relationship with a slave whom he never manumitted, seems heavily biased to say the least. Notwithstanding, the intricacies of the relationship between Jefferson and Hemmings, and furthermore their relationship between master and slave is very fascinating to me. 

In conclusion, I believe the initial English repulsion toward the skin color of Africans and the virtually simultaneous need for hard labor in the United States, both led to the development of racism. 

Homer Mathias Rounsavall

birth: March 14, 1866
location: Texas
death: August 17, 1930
location: Jacksonville, Cherokee County, Texas

father: William David Rounsavall
mother: Fannie Richardson

spouse: Ella Sherd Harris
spouse: Mollie Hopson
spouse: Willia Drucilla Chester

1870 census

marriage to Ella Harris - 1885

killing of Floyd Reed with brother, William Rounsavall - 1898

marriage to Mollie Hopson - 1899

1900 census

marriage to Willie Drucilla Chester - 1909

1910 census

1920 census

1930 census

Hopson is Free in Shooting

death certificate - 1930 (killed by son-in-law Johnnie Hopson)

burial

children with M O:

Clara May Rounsavall - 1887
Fannie J Rounsavall - 1890
William Homer Rounsavall - 1892

children with Willie Drucilla Chester:
Gie M Rounsavall - 1911
Euno Johnnie Rounsavall - 1919
John W Rounsavall - 1923
Wesley C Rounsavall - 1925
Robert Nichols Rounsavall - 1927
Weno Georgie Rounsavall - 1930

Homer Rounsavall - death certificate

"Texas, Deaths, 1890-1976," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/K33P-5QQ : accessed 01 Apr 2014), H M Rounsavall, 17 Aug 1930; citing certificate number 38435, State Registrar Office, Austin; FHL microfilm 2135389.

Killing of Floyd Reed

Should read "Jim Hopson"
Dallas Morning News
August 21, 1898
page 3

Henry T. Cook - 1910 census

1910 census
location: Henderson County, Texas

date: April 29, 1910

Henry T Cook  head  male  white  28  married (2nd) - 7 years  Texas  laborer

Mollie Cook  wife  female  white  32  married (5th) - 7 years  6, 4  Texas

Bertha Cook  daughter  female  white  10  single  Texas

Lillie May Cook  daughter  female  white  2  single  Texas

Eva Cleveland  step-daughter  female  white  14  single  Texas

Era Day  step-daughter  female  white  6  single  Texas

"United States Census, 1910," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-12659-6168-10?cc=1727033 : accessed 01 Apr 2014), Texas > Henderson > Justice Precinct 5 > 0017 > image 21 of 30; citing NARA microfilm publication T624.

Mollie Cook and J. S. Bunch marriage

location: Cherokee County, Texas

date: March 30, 1919

"Texas, Marriages, 1837-1973," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F6YD-W96 : accessed 01 Apr 2014), J.S. Bunch and Mollie Cook, 30 Mar 1919; citing Cherokee Co. Texas, , reference P 245A; FHL microfilm 1531991.

Mollie Day and Henry T. Cook marriage

location: Athens, Henderson County, Texas

date: September 11, 1903

"Texas, Marriages, 1837-1973," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F61L-32Q : accessed 01 Apr 2014), Henry T. Cook and Mollie Day, 11 Sep 1903; citing Athens, Henderson, Texas, , reference p206; FHL microfilm 1481020.

Mollie Hopson and Edgar Cleveland marriage

location: Henderson County, Texas

date: September 14, 1893

"Texas, Marriages, 1837-1973," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F6YW-G98 : accessed 01 Apr 2014), Edgar Cleveland and Miss Mollie Hopson, 14 Sep 1893; citing Henderson, Texas, , reference Henderson Co., Texas; FHL microfilm 1481018.

Mollie Hopson and Henry T. Cook marriage

location: Henderson County, Texas

date: May 7, 1900

"Texas, Marriages, 1837-1973," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F612-RL9 : accessed 01 Apr 2014), H. T. Cook and Mollie Hopson, 07 May 1900; citing Henderson, Texas, , reference P 243; FHL microfilm 1481019.

Mollie Hopson and George W. Day marriage

location: Athens, Henderson County, Texas

date: December 4, 1902

"Texas, Marriages, 1837-1973," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F61L-DZ7 : accessed 01 Apr 2014), G. W. Day and Mollie Hopson, 04 Dec 1902; citing Athens, Henderson, Texas, , reference p81; FHL microfilm 1481020.

Mary Elizabeth "May" "Mollie" Hopson

birth: 1878

location: Texas

death: 

location: 

father: Wiley Marion Hopson

mother: Mary Elizabeth Howard

1880 census

marriage to Edgar Cleveland - 1893

marriage Homer Mathias Rounsavall - 1899

marriage to Henry T Cook - 1900

marriage to George W. Day - 1902

marriage to Henry T. Cook - 1903

1910 census

marriage to J. S. Bunch - 1919

children with Edgar Cleveland:

Eva Cleveland - 1896

children with Henry Cook:

Bertha Cook - 1900
Lillie May Cook - 1908
Willie May Cook - 1910
William Henry Cook

children with George Day:

Era Day - 1903