Slavery Descendants to Have First Reunion: The Article in 12 Blogs

Article: Slavery Descendants To Have First Reunion

Part 1: Thoughts: Slavery Descendants to Have First Reunion

Part 2: Blakey - White Families: The Year 1843

The Arrival And Names Taken ~ Article Part 3

John and Isaac Blakey: Civil War ~ Part 4

Isaac Blakey Reunites With Family ~ Part 5

Empolyment , Homeland And Surnames ~ Part 6

Dick and Jane WHITE ~ Part 7

Blakey / Blakley Descendants ~ Article Part 8

Isaac and Rachel Blakey ~ Part 9

Isaac Blakey Jr. And Yankton, SD. Blakeys ~ Part 10

Oldest Blakey Who Lived? ~ Part 11

Article Reflections: Slavery Descendants To Have First Reunion: Part 12

Thanks for reading.
God bless you.
Susan

In The Census: Great Finds ~ #52Ancestors 52 Weeks

Week 5 ~ Prompt In The Census  ~

1880 Census Chariton County Missouri



  In June of 2007, I stumbled across this 1880 census, while I was searching for my Great Grandfather, Isaac Blakey. I typed in Isaac White and this page came up. I was amazed by what I saw. I shouted, "Thank You, Jesus!".

I thought that my 2nd Great Grandmother, Julia White would have passed. Low and behold, there she was listed on the 1880. She was a former slaved and lived at least 15 years after the Civil War ended.

What's so surprising, the children and grandchildren were listed with her. There were some children not listed. Julia the granddaughter had a twin brother. There was an Isaac Jr. Don't know who the Andrew listed as age 6. Wondering who were their parents?

There were other grandchildren of Julia without listing of their parents. Andrew was listed as black. Rebecca was mulatto and her parents were from Virginia.

Also, what's interesting, is the family unit before Julia's. Isaac White ( aged 80) and his family. I believe that Isaac and Julia were in laws. Julia had a son named Andrew. Wondering if this Isaac was Andrew's Grandfather.

There's so much to dig into in the censuses. Following the paper trail of our ancestors. It's a journey in itself. I'm thankful that I came across this census. 

The 1880 in Chariton County Missouri census

Name	Age
Julia White	60      Head, a widow, couldn't read nor write , Born in VA, Parents  VA
Isaac White	30      son, married, couldn't read nor write, born in MO, Parents VA
Rachel White	29      daughter in law, couldn't read nor write, Born in MS, Parents MS
John White	10      grandson, born in MS,  Father MO, Mother MS
Mary White	8      granddaughter, born in MS,  Father MO, Mother MS
Andrew White	6      grandson, born in MS,  Father MO, Mother MS
Julia White	4      granddaughter, born in MS,  Father MO, Mother MS
Henry White	2      grandson, born in MO, Father MO, Mother MS
Spencer White	28      son, single, couldn't read nor write, Parents VA
John White	26      son, single, couldn't read nor write, Parents VA
David White	22      son, single, couldn't read nor write, Parents VA
Josh White	20      son, singe, couldn't read nor write, Parents VA
Rebcca White	10      granddaughter, born in MO, Father VA, Mother VA
Martha White	18      daughter , she was a widow, couldn't read nor write.
Andrew White	2      grandson, born in MO, Parents from MO





1880 Census

There are still mysteries in this family history.

I hope to discover a little  more along the journey.
I believe that there's is more out there.

Thanks for reading.
God bless you.
S.A. Blakley

A Family Member: Private Isaac Blaker: Also Known As. Mr. Isaac Blakey

 February: In Memory of The Blakey Blakley WHITE Family Connections

I’m thankful for all my family members. I was thinking about which person I want to write about.  I choose my Great Grandfather, my father’s grandfather. I’ve written about him before.

I’m thankful for my Great Grandfather, Isaac Blakey. There’s so much I’ve discovered about him.  His life has been an inspiration to me as I’m searching for my family connections.

Isaac was born into American slavery sometime between 1845 to 1847.  He and his family were enslaved in Missouri. By the age of 12, Isaac was said to have ran away. About that time Isaac’s family was divided and sold. Isaac later joined the Civil War in 1863 – 1866.

As I’m searching for info on my Great Grandfather, I wonder how he did what he did? He was born a slave and later became a free man as a teenager. He fought during the Civil War and was injured while serving in April of 1864.

I believe Isaac was a smart man. Though, he couldn’t read nor write, he had some knowledge. He was applying for his Civil War pension in 1891. He had to prove who he was. He needed witness to verify who he was and about his health issues.

As I’ve read Isaac’s pension records, he had many people who vouched for him.  Isaac had a bayonet wound from the war. His left leg had been a running with sores since he was wounded.  By the 1890’s, Isaac was unable to do work. And at times he was confined to his bed.

I’ve read a news article about some of Blakey / White family history. After the Civil War, Isaac was able to located his family. He convinced them to move to Forest Green, Missouri. That was were the family was before the Civil War.

I believe that Isaac was a forgiving person. He asked two of his former slaveholders to speak on his behalf. They knew of Isaac as a slave. Yes, they wrote an affidavits stating who Isaac was. Isaac had a good reputation as a slave.

In 1900 Isaac received his pension. It was $6 a month. Also, he received back pay since 1891. At the time of his death, he was receiving $ 24  a month. Isaac passed on Dec 23, 1917.

So far on my search, Isaac is the only family member that has been listed as an Africa. He and his parents and some siblings were listed on a slave ad in 1858. So far, they are the only documented family member that were listed slaves.

Isaac’s Family.
Isaac was the only known member in his family that carried the Blakey surname. All the others including his parents, Andrew and Julia choose the White surname. Isaac was one of 12 children.

Isaac was the father of about 20 children. His first wife, Martha (Scott) Blakey gave birth to twins sons. She later passed with her son, Andrew. The other son was my Grandfather, John Blakey / Blakley.

Isaac’s second wife was Rachel, Jackson / Lephridge Blakey. She was the mother of Isaac’s 18 children. She raised my Grandfather, John. She passed in 1916.

I believe that I’ll have the opportunity to meet my ancestors who fell asleep in the LORD face to face, when the time comes. They paved the way for us. I’m thankful to be on their family lineage.

Thanks for reading.
Happy February!
God bless you.
S. A. Blakley

Which Ancestor To Invite To Dinner? ~ Week 4 #52ancestors Martha Scott Blakey

Which Ancestor To Invite To Dinner? ~ Week 4 #52ancestors Martha Scott Blakey.

 If I could invite an ancestor to diner, which one would I choose? I looked at my pedigree tree. I thought about it and went down my list.

I believe that my Great Grandmother, Martha called upon the LORD. And in due time, we all will be at the dinner table. What a family reunion that will be.
________________________
 I choose my Great Grandmother, Martha Scott Blakey. Why?  I know very little about her. And it would be nice if I had an opportunity to met with her.  She was the mother of my Grandfather, John BLAKEY / Blakley.

 I don't think, I would prepare a big meal for my Great Grandmother, Martha. The real reason for our get together would be to get to know one another. I think, I would learn about from her life.
 _______________________
Through family research...What I've learned about Martha, comes from her husband ( my Great Grandfather), Isaac Blakey's Civil War pension records. I continued to search for her on census records. I couldn't determine which was my Martha Scott.

It wasn't until a few years ago, I discovered when my Great Grandparents, Isaac and Martha were married. According to Isaac's records, they knew each other for about a year to three years before they married.  That day was on Feb 13, 1870 in Wilkerson County MS. The Mississippi index had Isaac's surname as BAKER.

On June 21, 1871, Martha gave birth to twins sons on Hew Davis Plantation, in Woodlong MS. One son, Andrew Blakey passed perhaps at birth. Their other son, John was my Grandfather. I can assume that Martha died after giving birth some time in June 1871 on the plantation. She would been about 23 or 24 years old. 

 As I think about my Great Grandmother, Martha, I wonder. Who were her parents? Who were her siblings? How did Martha met Isaac? Where is she buried?

 Perhaps, Great Grandma Martha was a slave on Hew Davis Plantation or worked there after slavery. Great Grandpa Isaac somehow came to where Great Grandma Martha was. He was a MS. Union Private during the Civil War from 1863 - 1866 stationed in Natchez.

 Even though, I don't know much about my Great Grandma Martha, she was apart of my family lineage. I'm honored to be one of her off springs.

 A few years ago, I came across a photo of Isaac and his wife. I have heard about this photo. The date on the back of the photo is 1866. I thought to myself, the year. The photo was of Isaac and his 2nd wife Rachel. That couldn't be. I wondered if the date on the photo was incorrect. If so, Martha is the woman in that photo.

I've seen a copy of the photo. It's a treasure. That's the youngest photo, I've seen of my Great Grandfather, Isaac. I'm glad that the photos were taken and keep by family members.

 Thanks for reading.
God bless you.
 S.A.Blakley

On The Journey: Discovering More Blakey Blakley WHITE Family Connections

 Welcome to Twenty Eighteen!
 Greetings to the New Year!

I pray that all will have a wonderful year.
I hope that you will discover more on your family connections.

I have found a lot of new clues in 2017. I've added more names to the family tree. Indeed our ancestors and relatives left paper trails.  Only if we are willing to follow those trails, we can learn more about them.

Here are the January In Remembrance: The Blakey Blakley WHITE Family Connections
I have updated this list from the year I posted in 2017.
I have arranged them in branches of Andrew WHITE and Julia (FINNEY) WHITE.

I'm thankful to all who are on the journey, discovering more on our family connections.
May we continues to search and share what we know with one another.
Amen!

Thanks for reading.
God bless you.
S.A. Blakley

Made Some Progress in 2017: Hoping to Make More Discovering in 2018

Happy Last Day of 2017!

I made some progress over this year. I came across more family connections on my mother's side and my father's side. Most of the connections were through the DNA matches.

I believe that there are more cousins out there. They are searching to find more on their family history What will do they know, if they keep searching the leads that they have, they might find more if they don't give up.

I've learned that when I kept searching, I came across more clues to follow up on. It takes time to search from information. We can guess at things. But, things have to match up in the long run.

I hope that you have discovered more on your family connections. I hope that you can add more to your family tree. I'm thankful for those who have added more to family connections.

I thank God for those who are reaching out. And those who are interested in finding more connections through the DNA route.  I'm thankful for family connections.

Thanks for reading.
God Bless you.
S.A. Blakley

Another Year Dawning: Family Connections Continues

 I wish you all the Best of 2018.

Just a reminder: If you haven't started searching for your family history, I hope you do. Start with what you know... Ask family members what they know. Family history is an adventure to journey through. It's takes a lifetime in the doing. And one person can't do it all.

I hope others will drive in and be apart of the team who records their history.  I'm in the process of reviewing some of what I've discovered over the years. I see this as a necessary thing to do every year. I found new info and have to make some corrections.

Indeed, it's an adventure to explore and discover our family connections. We all have a story to share. We should want to share what we know about our ancestors.  I hope people will share.

Thanks for reading.
God Bless you.
S. A. Blakley