Our African American HeritageWe commemorate the African Americans whose incalculable contributions have
had a profound impact on our community and yet have gone largely unrecognized by
history due to the loss of identity imposed by the institution of slavery and compounded
by the too-slow progression of societal redemption for the stain slavery has
left on our history. Many names are
still unknown to us, but the search continues by historians, genealogists, and devoted
family members who will not allow their identities to go unnamed.
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The very nature of slavery makes the task of recovering the names and stories of those who were enslaved difficult. The antebellum slave schedules list only the age, sex, and color of each enslaved person, with no listing of names or other particulars. The state legislature made it a criminal offense in the years preceding the Civil War to teach slaves to read and write (although, of course, many did learn), so there are almost no extant documents written by African Americans themselves.
Many of Oxford’s antebellum white residents, including Methodist clergy and Emory College’s officers and faculty, were slave owners. Of the Methodist clergy, we know that:
Known Emory College officers and faculty who enslaved people were:
The lists of African Americans residents of Oxford in these pages were assembled by Professor Mark Auslander and his students during the development of the exhibition, A Dream Deferred: African Americans at Emory and Oxford Colleges, 1836-1865 at the Hoke O’Kelly Library, January 2001 and is reproduced here by permission. It includes as much biographical information about the individuals as is known at this time.
Due to the fragmentary nature of the available sources, there are serious limitations as to the development a comprehensive database on free and enslaved persons of color in Oxford prior to emancipation. Therefore, reliance on other sources, such as diaries, letters, estate records and court documents, was necessary in order to reconstruct the identity and biographies of enslaved persons.
The study also relied on standing headstones in the historically African American sections of the Oxford Historical Cemetery, which, in some cases, list persons born before 1865. In some cases, these headstones commemorate persons who moved to Oxford after 1865, but all the names are included here in the hope that it will assist those interested in tracing their family history.
Many of the primary source documents used in this study are from the family archives of the Stone Family created by George Washington Whitfield Stone, Jr., the son of G. W. W. Stone Sr., (1818 – 1889) who was a professor of mathematics at Emory College and one of the founding fathers of Oxford, who enslaved at least 24 people. Like many of the slave owners in Oxford, he maintained a residence in town as well as a working plantation outside of town.
G. W. W. Stone, Jr., (1855 – 1939) who was blinded as a small child, dictated detailed first-hand accounts of events he witnessed and passed along transcribed oral histories that have been handed down through generations. Remarkably, he also kept in contact with many of the former slaves and their families after emancipation and recorded much of what he knew in letters and transcripts of discussions throughout the years. All these documents have been preserved, maintained and generously made available by the great-great grandson of G. W. W. Stone, Sr., Virgil Young Cook Eady, Jr. and his wife, Louise Norton Eady.
Note: Available documentary evidence is given within the main entry under each name. Speculation and/or possible supporting evidence about each person are given a “Note” after each entry.
Many of Oxford’s antebellum white residents, including Methodist clergy and Emory College’s officers and faculty, were slave owners. Of the Methodist clergy, we know that:
- Rev. Walter R. Branham enslaved thirteen people in 1860. Those who have been identified by name are: Aggie, Arthur, and George Washington.
- Rev. John W. Talley enslaved eight people in 1860, including William Talley.
- Rev. A. M. Cureton enslaved three people in 1860, however their names are not yet known.
- Bishop James Osgood Andrew, who was president of the board of trustees of Emory College enslaved: Addison, Edward, Elleck, George, Jacob, James, Jefferson, Kitty, Laura, Lillah, Thomas Mitchell, Nick, Orlando, Peter, and Susan.
Known Emory College officers and faculty who enslaved people were:
- Iverson Graves, Trustee of Emory College, enslaved Charley, Lawrence, Leniah, and Nick.
- Dr. Alexander Means, professor of natural sciences and the fourth president of Emory College, enslaved: Albert, Fanny, Harriet, Iveson, Henry Robinson, Cornelius Robinson, Ellen Robinson, Millie Robinson, Mildred Robinson Pelham, Thomas Robinson, Troup Robinson, Thaddius, and Anna Tinsely,
- Gustavus John Orr, professor of mathematics at Emory, enslaved: Charles, Hannah, George W., Henry, Lizzie, Octavia Hunter, Peter, Phil, and Walter.
- William J. Parks, Emory trustee, enslaved 33 people in 1860 and George Pierce, President of the college, enslaved 10 people in 1850, however their names have not yet been identified.
- George W. W. Stone, Sr., professor of mathematics at Emory, enslaved: Abner, Anna, Caesar, Clinton, Darcus, Duncan, Frank, Hunter, Isaac Stone, Jake, Lucinda, Mary, Louisa Means, Samuel Means, Nancy, Phillip, Ruth, Sallie, Silas, Sterling, Tempy, Tony, and Victoria [Carter].
- John R. Thomas, president of Emory College, enslaved 8 people in 1860, including two named Charity and Dave.
The lists of African Americans residents of Oxford in these pages were assembled by Professor Mark Auslander and his students during the development of the exhibition, A Dream Deferred: African Americans at Emory and Oxford Colleges, 1836-1865 at the Hoke O’Kelly Library, January 2001 and is reproduced here by permission. It includes as much biographical information about the individuals as is known at this time.
Due to the fragmentary nature of the available sources, there are serious limitations as to the development a comprehensive database on free and enslaved persons of color in Oxford prior to emancipation. Therefore, reliance on other sources, such as diaries, letters, estate records and court documents, was necessary in order to reconstruct the identity and biographies of enslaved persons.
The study also relied on standing headstones in the historically African American sections of the Oxford Historical Cemetery, which, in some cases, list persons born before 1865. In some cases, these headstones commemorate persons who moved to Oxford after 1865, but all the names are included here in the hope that it will assist those interested in tracing their family history.
Many of the primary source documents used in this study are from the family archives of the Stone Family created by George Washington Whitfield Stone, Jr., the son of G. W. W. Stone Sr., (1818 – 1889) who was a professor of mathematics at Emory College and one of the founding fathers of Oxford, who enslaved at least 24 people. Like many of the slave owners in Oxford, he maintained a residence in town as well as a working plantation outside of town.
G. W. W. Stone, Jr., (1855 – 1939) who was blinded as a small child, dictated detailed first-hand accounts of events he witnessed and passed along transcribed oral histories that have been handed down through generations. Remarkably, he also kept in contact with many of the former slaves and their families after emancipation and recorded much of what he knew in letters and transcripts of discussions throughout the years. All these documents have been preserved, maintained and generously made available by the great-great grandson of G. W. W. Stone, Sr., Virgil Young Cook Eady, Jr. and his wife, Louise Norton Eady.
Note: Available documentary evidence is given within the main entry under each name. Speculation and/or possible supporting evidence about each person are given a “Note” after each entry.