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Henry Bartee (c.1807-1874)
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In 1895, when 64-year-old Miles Howcott applied for a licence to marry his second wife Roxana Hassell, he stated that his father was Henry Bartee and his mother Mariah Howcott. [1] The application described both of Miles’ parents as coloured and stated that both were dead.
Henry Bartee at Hertford
The 1870 census includes only one person in North Carolina with the name Henry Bartee. [2] He was living at Hertford, about 14 miles from Edenton. Despite being the county seat, Hertford was a small town with a population of only 486 in that year. The census records that Henry was 63 years old, which indicates that he was born about 1806-1807. [3] All the members of his household were described as born in North Carolina and were listed as follows:
Apart from Thomas Skinner and James Cochrane, who were described
as mulatto, Henry and all the members of his household were recorded as
black. None of the adults could read or write. This was not surprising, as
from 1831 until the abolition of slavery it was illegal in North Carolina to
teach any slave to read or write. [4]
The 1870 census states that Penny and Thomas had been married in September 1869. This is confirmed by the marriage licence records of Perquimans county, which state that a licence was granted at Hertford on 28 September 1869 for the marriage of Thomas Skinner (son of Henderson & Laura Skinner) and Pennie Bartee (daughter of Henry & Jenny Bartee). The marriage was solemnised two days later by Rev Daniel White. [5]
Henry
and Virginia (evidently also known as Jenny) were among the large number of
former slaves whose marriages were not legally registered until after the end
of the Civil War. In order to do so, on 1 June 1866 Henry Bartee came before
the Clerk of Pleas and Quarter Sessions for Perquimans county and
acknowledged Jenny Gorhan to be his wife, stating that
they had been living together as man and wife for thirty years. [6] The
county courthouse used at that time had been built in 1823-1825 and remains
in operation.
On 13 August 1866, Henry Bartee was one of five trustees of the African Methodist Episcopal Church Zion who purchased a plot of land at Hertford from the Commissioners of that town. [7] The land had frontages to Dobbs Street and the “main road from Hertford to Edenton” (i.e. South Edenton Road Street). The sale price was one dollar and the authorised use of the land was for “the establishment and occupation of a Church for Divine Worship”. The site is on the south-east corner of the road junction and still used by St Paul’s AMEZ church, the current building being of modern construction.
North Carolina did not establish a state-wide system for registering deaths until 1913, so there is no record of many of the earlier deaths that took place in the state. Neither Henry nor Virginia appear in the 1880 or a later census, which indicates that they had both died by then. The estate file for Henry Bartee includes a short account dated 10 October 1874, so he probably died earlier in that year. The account relates to assets of corn, fodder and cash worth a total of $35.29 and expenditure on his funeral as well as barn rent paid to Mrs Arps. [8] No will appear in that file and it does not identify any family members. [9]
Henry at Hertford would have been about 23 years old when Miles was born and so of a suitable age to be his father, but that fact alone is not sufficient to identify him positively in that role. There was plenty of time between Miles’ birth (around 1830) and the 1870 census during which another Henry Bartee might have died. Further evidence is needed.
Fortunately, it is possible, largely with the help of scanned and indexed original records made available by FamilySearch, to chart how Henry Bartee who was still a child when he was allocated to Robert Bartee of Chowan county in 1814 was the same individual who appears at Hertford in 1866 and later.
Slavery and surnames
Until emancipation, the vast majority of the black population of North Carolina were held in slavery. The situation faced by many of those held in bondage is described in detail by Allen Parker, who was born into slavery in the northern-east part of North Carolina in the 1830s and escaped in 1862. [10] His account was published in 1895 and describes a world where the slaves lived in log cabins and were at the beck and call of their masters and of anyone else to whom they were hired out or sold. Whether slaves were allowed to marry depended on their respective masters. In the many cases where couples had different masters, even if they were married the husband could only visit his wife and children when not required for work, often having to walk many miles. All children born to an enslaved woman were the property of her master, even if the father were a free black man or a white man. It was therefore likely that a slave would adopt the surname of the mother’s master rather than that of the father’s master.
Bartee slaveholders
It is highly probable that the surname of Miles’ father was the same as that of a person who had held him and/or his mother. The key to identifying how many Henry Bartees might have been living around 1830 is to explore the history of the Bartees in the vicinity who held slaves. The following table lists all of the householders in North Carolina with Bartee or a similar surname found in the FamilySearch indexes to the United States censuses from 1790 to 1850 and who are recorded as holding slaves.
Chowan and Pasquotank are both situated on the north side of the Albemarle Sound, to the west and east respectively of Perquimans county.
Robert Bartee (died c.1802)
Robert Bartee senior of Chowan county died in about 1802. His wife Elizabeth survived him by only a year or two. The couple had married in 1797 and their three children – Elizabeth, Arthur (who died as a child) and Robert - were all infants at that stage, so their estates were administered by various guardians during the period up to about 1820. Papers relating to the administration include the earliest reference by name to Henry Bartee, on 18 January 1814, when the following slaves were allocated from his father’s estate to Robert Bartee junior:
“Negroes, Diver, Dinah & Child, Sarah Henry and Joe.” [17]
The evidence pointing to the identity of Henry’s forebears will be reviewed in another article.
Most of the administrators’ accounts do not mention slaves by name when recording the amounts received for hiring them out. An exception is the account dated 10 March 1817 that was made by Samuel Rea to his ward Robert Bartee and evidently refers to the year 1816. [18] The reckoning includes as income received:
“Hire of Diver last year £35-19-6d Hire of Boy Henry £1-13-0d”
Robert Bartee (died 1840)
Robert Bartee junior married Martha Mixson on 23 April 1821 in Chowan county. [19]
Martha was a daughter of Jeremiah Mixson of Chowan county, whose will, which was made on 11 February 1826. [20] Jeremiah left “unto my daughter Martha Bartee the land and plantation which formerly belonged to Nathaniel Miller with all the improvements thereon, and all such other property as may be in the possession of his heirs based, that was mine & what sheep that runs down on the creek and river.” Martha was also to receive “negroe woman Philis, Darcas & her youngest child”, however this bequest was changed in a codicil made on 30 November 1826, so that “I wish to alter that gift so as to give her negroe girl Julia, that I purchased at public sale, which is in her possession, instead of Darcas's youngest child……” Jeremiah’s will was proved in December 1828.
Another of Jeremiah’s children was Charles W Mixson, who placed a spiteful but informative advertisement in the “Edenton Sentinel and Albemarle Intelligencer” (1 May 1841) offering a $50 reward for the return of Penny Howcott “about 40 years of age”, who had run away about two months earlier. He said that the fugitive had a mother and son five miles above Edenton at Howcott’s plantation. [21] It has not been established whether and, if so, how Penny may have been biologically related to Maria Howcott.
Because he was the head of a household, Robert’s name is recorded in the 1830 and 1840 censuses in Chowan county. [22] [23] Inhabitants other than the household head were not mentioned by name in those years, but the census records do contain an analysis of all the members of Robert’s household:
The records of the 1840 census are arranged by six divisions of Chowan county (Edenton, Green Hall, Lower Edenton, Middle, Rockahock and Upper). Robert was living in the district called Lower Edenton or the “District below Edenton”, which is the part of Chowan county lying to the east of Edenton itself. His household consisted of these groups of individuals:
Robert did not long survive the latter census as he died intestate in July 1840. [24] During the next few years the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions for Chowan county was busy issuing orders in connection with the administration of his estate by his widow Martha and dealing with associated disputes. Films of the relevant papers amount to a collection of 66 images.
An inventory and account of sales of Robert Bartee’s chattel property is dated 31 October 1840. After listing the sales of numerous items, it adds this note:
“Negro Slaves as follows, to-wit man Henry – man Joe man Anthony, ditto John, woman Jinny & child Noah woman Dorcas & child Harriett, do. Julia & child Matilda do. Sall and 4 children viz Esther, Fred, Tom and Miles Eliza & child Lucy and Girl Anna”. [25]
This indicates that Henry and Jenny had a son Noah then and no other living offspring.
In 1841, some of Robert Bartee’s land was allocated to his widow. No plan is attached but the boundaries with other landholdings and geographical features are described. [26]
An order made in February Term 1843 appointed three commissioners to “divide the Negroes belonging to the Estate of Robert Bartee deceased between John L Ferrell & wife Martha, Thomas B Long & wife Elizabeth M and Susan Bartee and make report at next term”. [27] A total of 19 slaves were listed in the report, of whom these six individuals were allocated to the Ferrells:
John L Ferrell (1806-1866)
John L Ferrell and Martha Bartee were married on or shortly after 17 November 1842 when their marriage licence was issued in Chowan county, the bondsman (i.e. guarantor) being Charles W Mixson. [28] Martha was presumably a daughter of Robert and Martha (Mixson) Bartee who had married in 1821. [29]
The 1850 and 1860 census records are more informative than those of earlier years. The free population (of all races) are listed by household, with the name of each individual shown. Separate “slave schedules” were arranged by the name of the master, with limited details about each slave held, including their age, sex and colour but not their own name.
In the 1850 census, John L Ferrill was listed as living in the “district below Edenton” in Chowan county. [30] He owned real estate worth $500 and had been born in North Carolina. The members of his household at that time were:
John L Ferrell was recorded as holding three slaves who were living in the town of Edenton [31], their details being:
Although he was described in the census as a farmer, John L Ferrill had other business interests as he was also listed in the census “schedule of industry” in same year as one of the 14 owners of fisheries that were operating in the county. [32]
By the time of the 1860 census John L Ferrill had moved to Hertford in Perquimans county, where he was listed as aged 53 and working as a clerk in a hotel. The value of his personal estate (information that had not been collected in 1850) was given as $3,300. The only other person recorded as a member of his household in 1860 was Martha Ferrill, aged 58. Both John and Martha had been born in North Carolina. [33] John Ferrill has not been found in that census as owning slaves.
John L Ferrell (born 1806) was buried at Cedarwood cemetery, Hertford in 1866. [34] The cemetery is a short walk south-east from the plot at Dobbs Street that was acquired in the same year by Henry Bartee and the other trustees for the construction of St Paul’s AMEZ church.
Conclusion
The evidence establishes that Henry Bartee and his wife Virginia, whom he had been with since about 1836, were held as slaves by Robert Bartee junior when Robert died in 1840. A boy called Henry was among the slaves allocated to Robert Bartee in 1814 and it is highly likely that this was the same person as the father of Miles, son of Maria Howcott. The only alternative explanation would be that Henry who was a “boy” in 1814 died or was sold and then replaced by 1840 with another Henry of similar age. As the total number of slaves that Robert Bartee held by then was only 18, that possibility is highly unlikely.
After Robert died, Henry and Virginia along with their son Noah were allocated to Robert’s daughter Martha and her husband John L Ferrell. In 1850 John and Martha were living in the district below Edenton; their slaves, who at that time numbered three, were in Edenton itself, presumably having been hired out.
By 1860, John and Martha Ferrell had moved to Hertford. The part of North Carolina that include Chowan and Perquimans counties was fought over during the course of the Civil War and finally lost by the Confederacy by the end of 1864. It is not known where Henry lived at the various stages of the Civil War, so all that can be said about the date of his freedom is that it probably took place between the Emancipation Proclamation of 1 January 1863 and the collapse of the Confederacy in April/May 1865.
Notes
(Many of the links are to the FamilySearch website, which requires registration and signing in before viewing some of them. There is no charge for doing so.)
[1] "North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979 ," database with images, <i>FamilySearch</i> ( https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-33842-7729-54?cc=1726957 : accessed 26 March 2016), Washington > Marriage licenses, 1894-1902, vol 3-4 > image 135 of 1563; county courthouses, North Carolina. [2] The index to the 1870 census on FamilySearch includes a total of 33 people living in North Carolina with the surname Bartee or a variation. 11 of these were described as black, eight of whom had been born in South Carolina. [3] "United States Census, 1870," database with images, <i>FamilySearch</i> ( https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267-11898-71168-16?cc=1438024 : accessed 26 March 2016), North Carolina > Perquimans > Hertford, Hertford > images 9 & 10 of 14; citing NARA microfilm publication M593 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). [4] “Act Passed by the General Assembly of the State of North Carolina at the Session of 1830—1831” (Raleigh: 1831). [5] "North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979 ," database with images, <i>FamilySearch</i> ( https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1971-26925-41975-96?cc=1726957 : accessed 26 March 2016), Perquimans > Marriage records, 1839-1870 > images 1602 & 1603 of 1775; county courthouses, North Carolina. [6] “Perquimans county Register of Deeds - Freedmen marriage records, page 12, entry 48. ( https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9VH-L4Z2?mode=g&i=10&cat=174633 : accessed 26 March 2016), image 11 of 38. [7] "North Carolina, Freedmen's Bureau Assistant Commissioner Records, 1862-1870," database with images, <i>FamilySearch</i> ( https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1-11224-23640-12?cc=1803698 : accessed 26 March 2016), Roll 36, Records relating to lands and property, deeds and leases, 1862-1863, 1866-1870 > images 21 to 24 of 165; citing NARA microfilm publication M843 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). “Gorhan” is presumably a variation of the surname Gorham, as C S Gorham held 12 slaves in Chowan county at the time of the 1850 census. [8] James Arps, a white farmer living with his wife and other family members, are listed as the next household but one after the Henry Bartee’s family in the 1870 census of Hertford. [9] "North Carolina Estate Files, 1663-1979," database with images, <i>FamilySearch</i> ( https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1961-35403-4493-5?cc=1911121 : accessed 26 March 2016), Perquimans County > B > Bartee, Henry (1874) > images 1-3 of 3; State Archives, Raleigh. [10] “Recollections of Slavery Times” by Allen Parker (Worcester, Mass, 1895). http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/parker/menu.html : accessed 10 March 2016. [11] "United States Census, 1790," database with images, <i>FamilySearch</i> ( https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-25121-72868-77?cc=1803959 : accessed 26 March 2016), North Carolina > Chowan > Not Stated > image 4 of 8; citing NARA microfilm publication M637, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). [12] "United States Census, 1800," database with images, <i>FamilySearch</i> ( https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-22847-40001-48?cc=1804228 : accessed 26 March 2016), North Carolina > Chowan > Chowan > image 12 of 16; citing NARA microfilm publication M32, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). (8th record up from the foot of the page). [13] "United States Census, 1810," database with images, <i>FamilySearch</i> ( https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-25137-32718-71?cc=1803765 : accessed 26 March 2016), North Carolina > Pasquotank > Not Stated > image 4 of 61; citing NARA microfilm publication M252, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). [14] "United States Census, 1820," database with images, <i>FamilySearch</i> ( https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-25104-75899-66?cc=1803955 : accessed 26 March 2016), North Carolina > Pasquotank > Pasquotank > image 8 of 28; citing NARA microfilm publication M33, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). [15] "United States Census, 1830," database with images, <i>FamilySearch</i> ( https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-25130-60461-77?cc=1803958 : accessed 26 March 2016), North Carolina > Chowan > Not Stated > images 41 & 42 of 50; citing NARA microfilm publication M19, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). [16] "United States Census, 1840," database with images, <i>FamilySearch</i> ( https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-25157-35930-38?cc=1786457 : accessed 26 March 2016), North Carolina > Chowan > Lower Edenton > images 1 & 2 of 6; citing NARA microfilm publication M704, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). [17] "North Carolina Estate Files, 1663-1979," database with images, <i>FamilySearch</i> ( https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-23007-13929-14?cc=1911121 : accessed 26 March 2016), Chowan County > B > Bartee, Elizabeth & Robert (1802) > image 43 of 105; State Archives, Raleigh [18] "North Carolina Estate Files, 1663-1979," database with images, <i>FamilySearch</i> ( https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-23007-14092-34?cc=1911121 : accessed 26 March 2016), Chowan County > B > Bartee, Elizabeth & Robert (1802) > image 57 of 105; State Archives, Raleigh. [19] "North Carolina Marriages, 1759-1979," database, FamilySearch ( https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F8TK-WJN : accessed 26 March 2016), Robert Bartee and Martha Mixson, 23 Apr 1821; citing Chowan, North Carolina, reference ; FHL microfilm 6,330,287. [20] Transcript available online at: http://www.ncgenweb.us/tyrrell/MXN1826.HTM [21] Charles W Mixson’s advertisement has been summarised as follows: “Charles W Mixson advertised in the local paper offering a fifty dollar reward for Penny Howcott, “about 40 years of age,” run away two months since. Announcing that the fugitive had a mother and son five miles above Edenton at Howcott’s plantation, and a second daughter in town at Mrs Ward’s in addition to a son in Perquimans, a brother in Edenton, and another in Bertie, Mixson speculated that she might have been “lurking about some of her acquaintances or relations in Edenton”. He ended by announcing “I will give the above reward for the said negro Penny, if delivered to me, or confined in any jail, so that I get her again – or I will give the same reward for her head alone”. (“Harriet Jacobs; a life” by Jean Fagan Yellin (New York, 2004), page 61). [22] "United States Census, 1830," database with images, <i>FamilySearch</i> ( https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-25130-60461-77?cc=1803958 : accessed 26 March 2016), North Carolina > Chowan > Not Stated > images 41 & 42 of 50; citing NARA microfilm publication M19, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). The 1830 census does not record which part of Chowan county the household lived in. [23] "United States Census, 1840," database with images, <i>FamilySearch</i> ( https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-25157-36047-72?cc=1786457 : accessed 26 March 2016), North Carolina > Chowan > Lower Edenton > images 1 & 2 of 6; citing NARA microfilm publication M704, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). [24] "North Carolina Estate Files, 1663-1979," database with images, <i>FamilySearch</i> ( https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-23007-13418-32?cc=1911121 : accessed 26 March 2016), Chowan County > B > Bartee, Robert (1841) > image 22 of 66; State Archives, Raleigh. [25] "North Carolina Estate Files, 1663-1979," database with images, <i>FamilySearch</i> ( https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-23007-13427-33?cc=1911121 : accessed 26 March 2016), Chowan County > B > Bartee, Robert (1841) > image 56 of 66; State Archives, Raleigh. [26] "North Carolina Estate Files, 1663-1979," database with images, <i>FamilySearch</i> ( https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-23007-13726-97?cc=1911121 : accessed 26 March 2016), Chowan County > B > Bartee, Robert (1841) > image 40 to 43 of 66; State Archives, Raleigh. [27] "North Carolina Estate Files, 1663-1979," database with images, <i>FamilySearch</i> ( https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-23007-13552-28?cc=1911121 : accessed 26 March 2016), Chowan County > B > Bartee, Robert (1841) > image 14 of 66; State Archives, Raleigh. The 1843 list includes one slave, by the name of Harrison, who was not listed in the account made in 1840. Harrison was valued at $60, which suggests that he was an infant who had been born during the interval. [28] "North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979," database with images, <i>FamilySearch</i> ( https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1-14709-62289-59?cc=1726957 : accessed 26 March 2016), Chowan > Marriage bonds, 1741-1868, vol A-G > image 2054 of 2467; county courthouses, North Carolina. [29] The bondsman for the licence was Charles W Mixson, who was a brother of Robert Bartee’s wife. [30] "United States Census, 1850," database with images, <i>FamilySearch</i> ( https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267-12394-282758-36?cc=1401638 : accessed 26 March 2016), North Carolina > Chowan > Chowan county, part of > image 52 of 59; citing NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). [31] "United States Census (Slave Schedule), 1850 ," database with images, <i>FamilySearch</i> ( https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267-11901-12342-98?cc=1420440 : accessed 26 March 2016), North Carolina > Chowan > Chowan county > image 18 of 45; citing NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). [32] “Between the River and the Sound” by Thomas R Butchko & Bradley A Barker (Edenton, 2012), page 46. [33] "United States Census, 1860," database with images, <i>FamilySearch</i> ( https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-25273-35429-77?cc=1473181 : accessed 26 March 2016), North Carolina > Perquimans > Yeopim District > image 17 of 23; from "1860 U.S. Federal Census - Population," database, <i>Fold3.com</i> (http://www.fold3.com : n.d.); citing NARA microfilm publication M653 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). [34] “Find a Grave” http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSsr=481&GScid=47076&GRid=98046105& Accessed 26 March 2016.
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