The first article that I have read about my Blakey WHITE family history was entitled “Slavery Descendants to Have First Reunion”. It appeared in the Sioux City Journal in Iowa on Saturday, August 28, 1971. I was fascinated by what I read. And through the years, I started to re read the article. And then finally, I started to verify what was written in it.
As I've been discovering more about my ancestors, I came across some conflicting information in the article. According to the article, the family arrived in New Orleans in the year 1843. I followed up on other clues. I don’t know if the records of the bill of sale for these slaves still exist. But, we can figure out what year Isaac and John could have been born.
Let’s do the math.
1843 – 12 = 1831 the year about when Isaac was born
1843 – 10 = 1833 the year about when John as born
The article stated that the year was 1843. This year doesn't match up with the John BLAKEY's birth year nor Isaac BLAKEY’s birth year through other records. I still believe that there may have been another generation with a mother and her 5 children. The children's names in this article were Isaac Blakey John Blakey , Spencer White , Richard White and Martha "Mattie" White. Their names are the same names that are on my family tree.
According to this article, Isaac was the oldest and he served in the Civil War. I have found records to verify this. Isaac's surname in the War was BLAKER. Isaac was born in Missouri about 1845 – 1847. John was born about 1858 or 1859. I have obtained a copy of Isaac 's and John's death certificates. I also have a copy of Spencer White and Richard White death certificates as well.
Who was the enslaver with the BLAKEY surname?
According to Private Isaac Blakey's aka Blaker’s pension record, his enslaver was Frances Blakey. I later discovered that Frances' husband was John BLAKEY and Frances’ maiden name was WHITE. The Blakeys moved to Missouri about 1835 from Virginia. They lived in Forest Green, Missouri. Chariton and Howard County Missouri Areas. There is evidenced that the Blakey WHITE Family were enslaved. Here's the 1858 Ad W.C. Harvey was Frances (WHITE) BLAKEY's son in law.
Glasgow Weekly Times :
Glasgow, Missouri 25 Feb 1858, Thu • Page 2
As I kept searching, I began to make new discoveries. that gave me more leads.
Those leads led to some more questions. I was surprised by all that I stumbled across.
Oh, I wouldn’t have though of this.
Through time, the question to the mystery began to unfold. I have DNA matches with descendants of Isaac Blakey Sr. and Isaac’s brothers, Richard White. There are more DNA matches with this lineage. However, we don’t know where we connect. (There were other siblings to this enslaved family. )
According to Ed White, the informant on Isaac Blakey’s death certificated , Isaac was an African born in 1845 in Missouri. Isaac's father was Andrew White.
According to Ernest White, the informant on John WHITE's death certificate, John was born about 1858 in Missouri. John's parents were Andrew White and Julia White. (I found no other record with John with the Blakey surname.)
According to Mrs., Fannie White, the informant on Spencer White's death certificate, his parents’ names were Andrew White and Julia Finney. They were born in Virginia. Spencer was a sibling to Isaac, John, Mattie and Richard.
According to Mrs. Belle White, the informant on Richard White's death certificated, his parents were unknown. Richard was born in 1866. I haven't located Mattie White's death corticated. She does have descendants.
If you want to read my Blog Series in 12 parts about the article” Slavery Descendants to Have First Reunion, click Blog Series link above. I wasn’t out to disprove what was in the article. My aim was to verify what oral history stated.
I still wonder about the mother and 5 children came to New Orleans on a ship. I did find a record of a Julia White listed on record in 1843 on a ship called Orleans from Petersburg to New Orleans. She was 23 years old, born about 1823. This made me wonder.
This was July 4, 2021
August In Remembrance
Blakey Blakley WHITE Family Connections
Thanks for reading.
Conflict ~ In Information #52Ancestors ~ Week 26
God bless you.
S.A. Blakley
Week 26: Conflict via Generations Café on facebook
Conflict seems to be part of the human experience. How did it affect your ancestors? It could be through war, legal conflicts, or bad relationships. You could also think about having to resolve conflicting evidence in your research. Feel free to share your posts and stories in the comments below
