Browse Items · Last Seen: Finding Family After Slavery

Nelson Hart searching for his sister Harriet Shipley

The Chicago Weekly Tribune (Chicago, IL)

July 30, 1863

INFORMATION WANTED--Of Harriett Shipley,
(colored) a light mulatto. She left St.
Louis about five weeks since, and went up
the Mississippi river with a number of other
contrabands, and is supposed to be now in
Minnesota. She is about twenty-one years of
age, a light mulatto, and has been brought up
to house work. Any information concerning…

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M. A. Hobson searching for their brother Jack Copp

Southwestern Christian Advocate (New Orleans, LA)

April 26, 1883

MR. EDITOR:--I wish to inquire for my brother, who left us in Eutaw, Ala., in 1865, and has not been seen since. Owner's name was Mrs. J.H. Copp. His name was then Jack Copp; mother and father, Eliza and Julius Copp. After freedom we took father's name Hobson. We are all alive except Lemuel. Let this be read from all pulpits where the SOUTHWESTERN…

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Ed Kneeright searching for his grandmother Lucy Walter and her children Rachel, Cherry, and Sam Walter

Southwestern Christian Advocate (New Orleans, LA)

May 17, 1883

MR. EDITOR:--I desire to inquire
for my grandmother and children.
We belonged to Mrs. Peggy Achili.
She lived in South Carolina, Wins-
borough [Winsborough] county; my mother died
there when I was three weeks old.
Mrs. Achilli moved us to Missis-
sippi [Mississippi], and stopped in Yallabusha
county. I was there until I was 12…

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G. V. Medlock searching for his grandfather Daniel, grandmother Betsy as well as several aunts and uncles

Southwestern Christian Advocate (New Orleans, LA)

June 7, 1883

DEAR EDITOR ---- I wish to inquire for my kin people, those whom I know anything about, and whom I have never seen since I was about five or six years old. I left them about Dec. 28th, 1865, in Limestone county, Texas, on the Navasota, near Springfield. My people, all belonged to the Strouds. Grandfather was Daniel --- I suppose since freedom…

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J. T. Henry seeking information about his uncle Andy Halebrooks

Southwestern Christian Advocate (New Orleans, LA)

October 28, 1886

MR. EDITOR--I wish to inquire
the whereabouts of my uncle, Andy Halebrooks. He used to belong to
a man by the name of Mayberry;
he had a brother named Anderson
who was my father; also two other
brothers, George and William, and
two sisters, Mary and Martha, be-
longing [belonging] to James Wardlaw, all
living in Walker county, Ga.,…

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Geo. Gardiner searching for his father Jacob Gardiner

The Appeal (Chicago, IL)

February 14, 1891

JACOB GARDINER––Geo. Gardiner desires in-
formation [information] in regard to his father Jacob Gardiner
who was a slave belonging to Thomas G. Gardiner,
Grimwell Co., Ky., was freed in 1846, went to
Hanover, Ind., near Madison, where he worked for
Dr. Hayes. He carried with him his wife and one
daughter named Martha Elizabeth Gardiner.…

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Mrs. Francis Chilcoat searching for her siblings Emiline Octavia, Rhoda, John, Henry, and James Leftwich

The Appeal (Chicago, IL)

September 3, 1892

I desire to find my sisters Emeline, Octavia and
Rhoda and my brothers John, Henry and James
Leftwich. We belonged to Maj. Tom Leftwich at
Liberty, Bedford Co., Va., before the war when I
last saw them. In about 1855 I was brought to
Mississippi by a speculator and sold to one Abe
Chilcoat with whom I lived until freedom. My
name was…

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Eliza Gedding (formerly Eliza Fry) searching for her daughter Sarah Francis Brown

Southwestern Christian Advocate (New Orleans, LA)

April 24, 1884

MR. EDITOR––Allow me to in-
quire [inquire] for a relative of mine, it is my
child; she was sold from me when
about 10 years old. We were form-
erly [formerly] servants of Elizabeth Hoflers.
Her name was Sarah Francis
Brown. My name at that time was
Eliza Fry. She was carried South
by a man named McGill, and was
sold to a man in…

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Jane searching for her sister Lydia Calcoat and several female relatives

Southwestern Christian Advocate (New Orleans, LA)

December 6, 1883

MR. EDITOR—My sister belonged
to Willis Calcoat; her name is
Lydia Calcoat; she was sent to
Cincinnati, Ohio, and set free there,
about 30 years ago. Our mother
was Sallie Smith; my oldest sisters
were Celia and Ann Smith; the
next oldest sister was Eveline; my
sister had a playmate named Clara
Ann. Lee Calcoat carried her to…

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Kitty Presnell (formerly Kitty Paxton) searching for her children Davie, Maria, and Cathrine (2nd of 2 ads placed)

Southwestern Christian Advocate (New Orleans, LA)

May 8, 1884

MR. EDITOR--Allow me to in-
quire [inquire] for my children whom I left
in Louisiana, at Flat Lake. We
lived with a man in the time of
slavery by the name of Jesse Pax-
ton [Paxton]. He sold me to Erwin Wil-
liams [Williams]. My three children were a
son, Davie, two daughters, Maria
and Cathrine. I was called Kitty
Paxton, but am now…

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Mrs. Malinda Powels searching for her mother, father, and three sisters

Southwestern Christian Advocate (New Orleans, LA)

June 5, 1884

MR. EDITOR― I wish to find the whereabouts of my mother and father and three sisters. Mother's name was Caroline Dupree, father Alfred; sisters Mary, Zelphia and Rachel. I left them in Alabama near the town of Campelton; we all belonged to Mr. John Dupree; after emancipation mother hired s to a Mr. Bob Echols. We (myself, and brother, Ben…

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Henry Green, Sr. searching for his son William Green

New National Era (Washington, DC)

September 29, 1870

Henry Green, Sr., of Charleston, S. C., re-
quests information concerning his son, William
Green. who left Beaufort, S. C. for New York,
in 1865. with a United States army officer.
When last heard from, in 1868, was in New
York city with Capt. Young, then chief of De-
tective Police. Any information may be for-
warded to the Cashier of…

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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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Victoria Wright searching for her relatives

Southwestern Christian Advocate (New Orleans, LA)

February 28, 1884

DEAR EDITOR-- I wish to hear of my friends. Father was Jackson Jennings, and he was set free before the war by his owners, and went to Alabama. Sister was a girl about ten years old, and left with her young master, Frank Sloat. When he died her father left her with her grandmother, Fanny Sloat. Her name is now Victoria Wright. Address her at…

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Willie Price searching for sons John and Dorse Price

The Freeman (Indianapolis, IN)

April 23, 1892

I would like to find my two sons, John and
Dorse Price They were raised in North Carolina,
Rockingham county. Their father's name was
Sims Price, when last heard from Dorse was in
Massachusetts. He left after he was free. Any
information of either will be thankfully
received by Willie Price, 59 South Sycamore
street, Springfield,…

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Unnamed man finds his sister, Louisa Smith, through ad

The Indianapolis Journal (Indianapolis, IN)

March 9, 1887

ROMANCES OF SLAVERY TIMES.
There are more romances of the cruel days of
slavery among the colored people, even a quar-
ter [quarter] of a century after the emancipation procla-
mation [proclamation], than white-skinned people are generally
aware. It is quite customary for inquiries to be
read from the pulpits of colored churches asking…

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Robert Cox reunited with his wife after 24 years

Richmond Daily Dispatch (Richmond, VA)

February 27, 1879

MANCHESTER AND VICINITY.
Midlothian.-The quiet village of Midlo-
thian [Midlothian] was the scene of an incident several
days ago the like of which rarely occurs.
In the spring of 1855, Robert Cox, a negro,
belonging then to a gentleman in this vi-
cinity [vicinity], was married to a woman of the same
neighborhood. Several months after…

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Harrison Bradley and his wife reunite after 21 years and remarry

The Cincinnati Enquirer (Cincinnati, OH)

August 17, 1880

AFTER MANY YEARS.

Reunion of a Colored Man and His Wife,

Who Were Separated During the Days
of Slavery.

SPECIAL DISPATCH TO THE ENQUIRER.

YELLOW SPRINGS, OHIO, August 16.—In the
year 1857, when the baneful curse of slavery
existed in the South, the marrying and intermarriyngof
colored people were not recognized
by the forms…

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Brothers Nathan Branch and Lee Branch reunited after 66 years

The Chicago Weekly Tribune (Chicago, IL)

July 14, 1899

FORMER SLAVE BROTHERS MEET

Nathan Branch of Evanston Finds by
Chance Lee, from Whom He Was
Parted 66 Years Ago.

After a separation of sixty-six years Nathan
Branch, the oldest colored man in
Evanston, will meet his brother Lee of
Macon, Ga. The last sight they had of each
other was in an auctioneer’s room on a
plantation in…

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"Uncle Levi" and "Aunt Aggie" reunited and remarried after 40 years

The Butler Weekly Times (Butler, MO)

January 30, 1884

A ROMANCE OF SLAVERY.

The Husband and Wife Torn Apart
Forty Years Ago Happily United.

Rome, Ga. Special to Courier-Journal.

That there are romances as touching
in negro life as were ever told is
proven by the story of a colored
couple named Uncle Levi and Aunt
Aggie, who lived in Cedartown Valley.
In 1840 Levi belonged to Mr.…

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Richard Jones and Jane Vaughn reunited and married in 1899

The Kansas City Gazette (Kansas City, KS)

January 16, 1899

A Romance of Slavery.

Saturday two ex-slaves, neither of
whom had ever been married before,
were granted a license to wed by probate
Judge Snyder. They were Richard
Jones, aged 55, and Jane Vaughn,
aged 40, both of this city. The two
negroes, when children, were owned
by the same master. When the war
was over and the slaves…

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John Thompson and Kitty Owens reunited and married after 25 years

The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)

January 17, 1894

EX-SLAVES MARRIED.

Two Old Darkies United After a
Separation of Twenty-Five
Years.

The Groom Had But Ninety Cents To
Pay Magistrate Camp For
His Services.

Two ex-slaves who had not seen each
other for twenty-five years, were married
yesterday by Magistrate B. F. Camp at
his office in Court place. The principals
were John…

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Green Morgan and Prudence Croan reunited and remarried after 30-year separation

The Examiner (San Francisco, CA)

February 6, 1889

OLD, BUT STILL LOVING.
Remated After a Separation of Thirty
Years.
CRUEL SLAVERY DAYS.
Uncle Green and Aunt Prudence Go Down to the
Grave Together After All.
[Special to the EXAMINER.]
VERSAILLES (Ky.), February 5. -- A marriage
ceremony in the colored Methodist Church
here to-day developed in an ante-bellum ro-
mance [romance] of…

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Wm. Garnet searching for his wife Jane and children Willis, Abraham, and Jeney

Louisville Daily Journal (Louisville, KY)

July 19, 1865

Information Wanted.

WM. GARNET (COLORED), NO. 112 BOLIVAR
street, east of Erie, Cleveland, Ohio, wishes information
of his wife, Jane, and his children, Willis,
Abraham, and Jeney, formerly owned by Daniel Garrett,
of Manchester, Ky. Wm. Garnet has been separated
from his wife and children for fourteen years, and
will pay liberally…

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Robert F. Sturdivant (formerly Robert Freer) searching for his aunt Henrietta Eaton

Southwestern Christian Advocate (New Orleans, LA)

April 8, 1880

MR. EDITOR-- I wish to inquire for my aunt. Her name was Henrietta Eaton when she came from Granville county, North Carolina, and her husband was David Eaton. He belonged to John Eaton in North Carolina, and her baby at that time was a boy named Granderson, but other children were born afterward, and she has not seen me since she left North…

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