Browse Items · Last Seen: Finding Family After Slavery

William Ransom searching for his brothers Benton and James Ransom

The Christian Recorder (Philadelphia, PA)

May 2, 1895

INFORMATION WANTED.—
Of my brothers and sisters. There
were five of us, three boys and two
girls. The boys' names were Ben-
ton Ransom and James Ransom,
and my name is William Ransom.
I was taken from mother when one
year old, and never have seen them
since. I got letters from them when
I was preaching at Wentville, Mo.
My…

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William H. Todd finds his mother, age 100, after 40-year separation

Pittsburgh Dispatch (Pittsburgh, PA)

March 12, 1891

FOUND AT LAST.
A former Slave, Now in Ohio, Hears From
His Long-Lost Mother.
SPRINGFIELD, O., March 11, - After 40 years'
separation William H. Todd, an ex-slave at
Washington Court House, Fayette county, has
discovered the whereabouts of his mother, now
100 years old, living at Macon, GA., through a
letter received last night. …

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Vina Johnson reunited with her husband George Perry after 43 years

The Highland Weekly News (Hillsboro, OH)

August 14, 1873

Wedding After Forty Years of
Separation.
Our town is all agog this morning
over the wedding that is to be cele-
brated [celebrated] in a day or two between Aunt
Vina Johnson, an old colored lady of
our place, and a former husband,
from whom she has been separated
for forty years. Forty-three years
ago Aunt Vina was the slave of a Mr.…

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Vianna McQueen searching for her daughter Eveline Wagner

Southwestern Christian Advocate (New Orleans, LA)

March 9, 1882

DEAR EDITOR ---- I have a daughter
in Louisiana. She lived at Mr.
Justus C King's. Her post office is
Waterproof, sometimes I got letters
from L'Argent post office. I
received a letter from her Oct. 3,
18__, and she said she had sent me
$10, and I did not get it. It has
been near two years ago, and I
have not heard from her…

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Unnamed person seeking their sister Harriet Barquet

Southwestern Christian Advocate (New Orleans, LA)

December 22, 1887

MR. EDITOR.—I wish to inquire for my sister, Harriet Barquet, whom I have not heard from in 14 years; when I last heard from her she was living in New Orleans. She has a sister by the name of Mattie Carter, who was living in Natchez, but is now living in Shreveport, La., with me. When I last heard from her she had a daughter by the name of Delia…

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Tom Carnahan, the only black police officer in Lincoln, NE, finds his brother after two decades

The McCook Tribune (McCook, NE)

November 4, 1886

TOM CARNAHAN, the colored member of the Lincoln police force, has been treated to a genuine surprise by the arrival of his brother from Texas, whom he has not heard from in twenty years. Before the war Tom and his brother were slave chil-dren in Arkansas and were separated by the war. Tom drifted to the north and his brother to Texas. A short…

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Titus Davis searching for his brothers Davie and Charles Davis

Southwestern Christian Advocate (New Orleans, LA)

October 28, 1880

DEAR EDITOR-- I wish to inquire for two lost brothers. Their names are Davie and Charles Davis, and belonged to William Tapscut, of Buckingham Co., Va. The last known of Davie he was sold to a speculator named Wilkins, who took him to Lynchburgh, Va. The last known of Charles he was sold by Ben Tapscut, in Richmond, Va. There is another brother,…

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Sandy Sprattly seeking information of her mother Canddis Sprattly and sister Manervie Sprattly

Richmond Planet (Richmond, VA)

June 22, 1895

NOTICE.
I am writing to find my mother and
sister. My mother's name was Canddis
Spattly, and my sister's name was
Manervie Sprattly. I have been away
every since the war closed. I got one
letter from them long ago when I
entered Pennsylvania. I was born at
Surrey Court-house, Va Aunty Spratty.
I left my mother and sister in…

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Rev. Mack Henson finds his father

The Austin Weekly Statesman (Austin, TX)

March 26, 1891

A SAD DEATH.

After Many Years an Aged Father Meets His
Son and Soon After Dies.

A pathetic death occurred in thi
city day before yesterday that i
worthy of more than a passing notice.

Since the war Rev. Mack Henson, a
colored preacher of this city, who because
of his earnestness as a minister
and his courteous and gentlemanly…

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Rev. C. Mays seeking information about his son Collin Rufus Mays

Southwestern Christian Advocate (New Orleans, LA)

April 4, 1878

Information Wanted.

I will be thankful for any information
concerning my son, Collin
Rufus Mays. He left home two
years ago and wrote us regularly
for a year, since that we have not
heard from him. He is 22 years
old, a brown mulatto, about 5 feet
10 inches high, would weigh about
160 pounds. Was near Marshall,
Texas, when last…

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O. B. Armstrong searching for fellow servicemembers

The National Tribune (Washington, DC)

September 29, 1910

O.B. Armstrong, Punta Gorda, Fla., en-
listed [enlisted] at Camp Casey, Va., July 27, 186[?]
in the 2d U.S.C.T., and served as First
Sergeant, Co. D, until mustered out Jan.
16, 1866, at Washington, D.C., and would
like to hear from any of his old comrades.
He will answer their letters.

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Naro Gillespie seeking information about his father Charles and several siblings (1st of 3 ads)

Southwestern Christian Advocate (New Orleans, LA)

April 15, 1880

DEAR EDITOR ------ I desire to learn
the whereabouts of my father,
mother, sisters and brothers. My
mother married the second time.
Her first husband was Wm. Price,
by whom she had four children ----
Sarah, Harriet, Mary and William.
I was the first by the latter husband,
named Charles. The others
were Monroe, Charley,…

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Naro Gillespie searching for their siblings, including their sister Mary Ann and father Charles Walker

Southwestern Christian Advocate (New Orleans, LA)

October 20, 1881

DEAR EDITOR— I wish to enquire for my people, mother. father, sisters and brothers. Mother was married twice. By her first husband William Price she had four children. Her name is Hannah Price. The name of the four children are Sarah, Mary Ann, William and Harriet. Harriet is dead and left seven children. I knew three of them, Levi, Bifle, Jerry…

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Nancy Jones seeking information about her son Allen Jones

The Christian Recorder (Philadelphia, PA)

May 20, 1886

INFORMATION WANTED OF MY SON,
Allen Jones. He left me before the
war, in Mississippi. He wrote me a letter
in 1853 in which letter he said that he was
sold to the highest bidder, a gentleman
in Charleston, S. C. Nancy Jones, his
mother, would like to know the where-
abouts of the above named person. Any
information may be sent to…

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Mrs. Woodsen finds sister Mrs. Culton after 42-year separation

Pittsburgh Dispatch (Pittsburgh, PA)

July 12, 1891

WERE SOLD IN SLAVERY.

Story of Two Sisters Who Were Reunited
After Forty-Two Years.

BONNE TERRE, Mo., July 11.--An event
rather out of the usual line occurred here
this week in the meeting of two sisters,col-
ored women, who under the operation of the
old slavery regime were separated 42 years
ago, when both were children, and had…

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Mrs. Fanny Barber searching for her son John Barber

Southwestern Christian Advocate (New Orleans, LA)

March 16, 1882

MR. EDITOR ---- I read in your
paper of Dec. 23, 1881, about my
son. His name is John Barber,
but changed to John C. Evans. He
was sold to a trader in 1851, at the
age of fourteen. I have written
two letters but have received no
answer. I am very anxious to
hear of him, as I am alone in this
world. Mrs. Fanny Barber, No.…

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Mrs. Clara Bashop searching for her daughter Patience (3rd of 4 ads placed)

The New York World (New York, NY)

October 2, 1892

A THIRTY YEARS' SEARCH.
Mrs. Bashop's Pitiful Quest for Her
Daughter, Patience.
THEY WERE SEPARATED AT AN AUC-
TION [AUCTION] SALE OF SLAVES.
The Aged Mother Sought in Many States
for Clues of Her Missing Child, but
Without Avail—Now She Wants "The
World's" Million Readers to Assist
in Finding the Girl for Whom She
Has Slaved So…

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Mrs. Anna Mollie Wright reunited with her daughter Mrs. Anna Freeman after 29 years

The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer (Wheeling, WV)

April 11, 1892

AFTER TWENTY-NINE YEARS
A Mother and Daughter are Reunited.
The Daughter a Clarksburg Woman who
Was Sold During Slavery Days.
Special Dispatch to the Intelligencer.
FINDLAY, O., April 10.-A remarkable
reunion of mother and daughter who
had been cruelly torn from each other
at the slave block in 1863 has just taken
place in this city.…

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Mrs. Ann Read (formerly Clarissa) searching for her mother Perline, sister Sephrony, and brother Anderson or any family (1st of 2 ads placed)

Southwestern Christian Advocate (New Orleans, LA)

January 19, 1882

DEAR EDITOR ----- I belonged to
John Rowden of St. Charles county
Missouri. I was called Clarissa. I
was sold to Mr. Kerle, a planter
My mother was named Perline. I
was the youngest of mother's first
children. I had a sister named
Sephrony, and a brother called
Anderson. I don't know much
about mother's second children. …

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Mrs. Amy Frenchy (formerly Amy Morris and Amy Baxter) found her mother Feraby

The Black Hills Daily Times (Deadwood, Dakota Territory)

May 4, 1884

AFTER MANY DAYS,
A Former Slave Hears from
Her Old Home.
A Separation of Thirty Years
Having Elapsed.
A Scrap of History.
Years before the war of the rebellion,
Wm. Eli Baxter, a lawyer and planter,
lived in Hancock county, Georgia, not
far from the town of Sparta. He own-
ed [owned] 150 slaves, among the number, Fer-
aby [Feraby],…

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Melindy Stewart searching for her mother Eliza, father Jack, and siblings

Southwestern Christian Advocate (New Orleans, LA)

August 19, 1880

MR. EDITOR—I desire to inquire for my mother, Eliza; father, Jack, brothers, Alfred, Anthony and Wilson, and sisters Frances and Elvira, who belonged to John Seal, of Colfax, Grant parish, La. Sister Elizabeth and myself came to Texas about twenty-five years ago, with John Seal. The last I heard of my folks mother wrote me directly after…

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Mary Jane Drew Coleman Burnett seeks information about her mother Evaline Jone Drew

The Christian Recorder (Philadelphia, PA)

November 29, 1900

Information wanted of Eveline
Jone Drew, my mother, who about
eleven years ago lived in Duffield,
near Thannadoah junction, West
Virginia. When last heard from,
about four years ago, she lived in
Pittsburg, Pa. My father's name
was Addison Drew. My brother
Richard Beale, and my sister, Ma-
haley Anne Carter, also lived in
Pittsburg. My…

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Lucy Clarke searching for her mother Nancy Love

Southwestern Christian Advocate (New Orleans, LA)

March 18, 1880

DEAR EDITOR - Please allow me
to make inquiry for my mother,
Nancy Love. We were separated
about the year 1850, in Mississippi.
I was then but an infant of about
9 months. We belonged to Anderson
Moss. He sold my mother to
Mr. Ned Herndon, a speculator in
slaves. He sold her to Mrs. Hooker,
a widow in Jackson, Miss. It was
then…

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Jane Walker searching for her relations

The Newberry Herald (Newberry, SC)

April 21, 1875

INFORMATION WANTED--An almost unintelligible letter from Jane Walker, a colored woman living in Noxubee, Miss., has been handed us for publication. We can only make out of it that the writer is anxious to ascertain the whereabouts of her relations that she may go to them. She says that she at one time belong to Mr. Whit Walker, is now married and…

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J. W. Williams seeking information of his grandparents Joshua and Mahala Williams or any of their descendants

The Christian Recorder (Philadelphia, PA)

December 21, 1893

INFORMATION WANTED--Of
my grandparents or their descend-
ants.
My grandfather's name was
Joshua Williams; his wife was
named Mahala Williams. They
were owned by James Harving at
Wedgefield, S. C., who sold them
to Governor Manning of S. C. He
carried them to the State of Loui-
siana. The owner having failed to
sell my mother whose…

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