Kellye Hawkins found a family in New Bern, North Carolina
Finding family in New Bern
In two separate ads, Daniel Rouse of New Bern, NC, asked for help finding his ten year old son, General, who disappeared from Market Wharf three days earlier.
In these two ads, Daniel Rouse announced that his son, General, had gone missing from Market Wharf in New Bern, North Carolina. The coastal town of New Bern was a majority Black town, and Black men represented the town in North Carolina's house of representatives and in other leadership positions. After the war, New Bern's major industries were lumber, tobacco, and fishing; more African Americans owned businesses there than in any other city in the state. (History and Architecture of Long Wharf)
In a majority Black town, five years after slavery ended, what happened to General Rouse? Was he, as his father suspected, kidnapped?
General Rouse, 1870 Federal Census, New Bern, NC
It isn't clear what happened to General, but he appears in a household with his siblings, Charity, Polly, Wendall, Julia C, and Sarah Rouse. Also in the household are Caroline and Edward Mumford. Although he disappeared in 1869, his family found him by the following year.
General Rouse, 1900 Federal Census, New Bern, NC
By 1900, General is married to Margarett Blunt, and the couple has a fifteen-year old daughter named Susan J. Rouse, probably named for his mother. They lived next door to his sister, Sarah, her husband, and their five children. General Rouse's occupation is listed as a fisherman. Other sources mention his occupation as "umbrella mender."
General Rouse, Death Certificate, June 13, 1916
When he died in 1916, General Rouse was described as a "peddlar." His birth year was listed incorrectlly as 1863. Rouse was born in 1859; he was 54 when he died. The cause of death was listed as "heart failure caused by indigestion."
"Resisting Arrest," The Daily Journal (New Bern, NC), September 16, 1885, 1.
General seems to have lived a life fraught with encounters with the law. I found newspaper articles describing charges of disorderly conduct, improper use of a firearm, and resisting arrest. This article describing General fleeing law enforcement implies that he was a well-known figure. The tone of the article implies that he was poor, and it pokes fun at his name.
There is surely a lot more to know about General Rouse than the 1869 ad in which he was kidnapped--or maybe he ran from his father--and the 1885 newspaper account in which he sought to escape arrest.
Although I am not related to General Rouse, he came from the same town as my ancestors. Knowing his story, reveals something about the African American community in New Bern, NC after emancipation.
Without this advertisement, I would not have known about him and his family.
Kellye Hawkins, PhD.
Member, African American Genealogy Group, Philadelphia
kdhgenealogy@gmail.com