Distribution of the Slaves of Thomas Haley, deceased, of Rankin County, Mississippi

My fourth great-grandfather, Thomas Haley, died 26 January 1851 in Rankin County, Mississippi. At the time of his death, his son Thomas J. Haley stated his father died without a will, and that he had over two thousand acres of land and twelve slaves.[1]

This post will discuss the distribution of the slaves, especially to Benjamin W. Jones and his wife, Amanda (Haley) Jones, my third great-grandfather. By publishing this information, descendants of these enslaved people might be able to make a connection and further their own research. These enslaved people were part of the Haley and Jones family and community, too.

Distribution

Those twelve slaves who were part of the estate were “a negro man Sam[,] a negro girl Sarah[,] a negro girl Charlotte[,] a negro boy Josephus[,] a negro girl Ally[,] a boy Sam[,] a boy Isaac[,] a boy Jordan[,] and one boy Moses and a girl Phillis and her child and a girl Celia.”[2]

In the December term 1851, Thomas J. Haley reported the heirs of the estate of Thomas Haley, deceased, were:

• Thomas J Haley
• William Haley
• Benjamin W. Jones and Amanda A Jones his wife [my ancestor]
• John H Haley
• Mary Ann Thomas
• Elizabeth Haley (the widow of dec’d).[3]

The share of each distribution was seventeen hundred & sixteen 66/100 dollars ($1716.66). The slaves were divided into five lots or shares. To make the shares even, it was decided that Mary Ann Thomas and John Haley pay each to William Haley the sum of $33.33, Benjamin and Amanda Jones to pay to Thomas J Haley the sum of $111.66 and Elizabeth Haley the sum of $$16.66.[4]

Exhibit A, to report:

• To Thomas J Haley, negro boy Barnet about 26 years old valued at $700 and girl Nance and two children valued at $700.
• To William Haley, a negro woman Maria about 25 years old valued at $800 and boy Charles 6 years old valued $400.
• To Benjamin W. Jones and Amanda A. Jones his wife, a negro girl Violet aged about nine years valued $400 and Clarinda age six years valued $300.
• To Mary A. Thomas a negro girl Maud about 40 years old valued $400 and Crotea about 5 years old valued at $300.
• To John H Haley, no advancement.[5]

Exhibit B, valuation of the twelve slaves:

• negro boy Sam                        $400
• girl Sarah                                  650
• girl Charlotte                            450
• boy Josephus                            450
• girl Olly                                     350
• boy Sam                                    300
• boy Isaac                                1000
• boy Jordan                               800
• boy Moses & Phillis & child  1700

Division of Slaves, Exhibit C

• Mrs. Elizabeth Haley to have lot no. 1, boy Moses & Phillis & child
• Share & lot no. 2 to Mrs. Mary Ann Thomas – negro man Sam & girl Sarah
• Share & lot no. 3 to Jno H Haley – boy Isaac & Sam & girl Charlotte
• Share & lot no. 4 to B. W. Jones & Amanda his wife – boy Jordan & girl Olly
• Share & lot no. 5 to William Haley – boy Josephus[6]

 So where did the slaves from exhibit A come from? These are different slaves than the ones, administrator, Thomas J. Haley, had stated when he said there were fourteen slaves (which he named and are same names as listed in exhibits B & C) and more than two thousand acres of land.

The 1850 slave schedule for Thomas Haley listed eighteen slaves, ranging in age of 60 to 1 years old.[7] In 1851, there seem to be a total of 24 slaves.

Benjamin W. Jones’ slaves

Benjamin and his wife, Amanda, received four slaves in 1851 from the estate of her father. They were:

• a negro girl Violet aged about nine years valued $400
• Clarinda age six years valued $300
• boy Jordan valued at $800
• girl Olly valued at $350[8]

So let’s figured out what happened to the slaves of Benjamin W. Jones and his wife, Amanda. Below is an accounting of the records that have been found so far concerning Benjamin and Amanda Jones:

In 1850, before acquiring the slaves from the Haley estate, Benjamin listed two slaves in the slave schedule:

• 1 black female, age 14
• 1 black female, age 11[9]

In 1851, he acquired the four slaves from Thomas Haley’s estate, making his possible total at six.

There is no record for tax year 1853.[10]

In 1855, he paid tax on five slaves in 1855.[11]

The 1857 tax roll taxed only real estate and did not list any slaves.[12]

In the 1860 slave schedule, Benjamin Jones had seven slaves listed. There were also two slave houses.

• Male Mulatto, age 28
• Female, black, age 25
• Female, black, age 20
• Female, black, age 14
• Male, black, age 5
• Female, black, age 3
• Male, black, age 1[13]

Now to compare this census tally with the known named slaves, one must assume that no sale or purchases happened, or there were no deaths or runaways between the two dates. The children under ten were probably born to one or two of the adult females. The two females at age 25 and 20 could be the same two from the 1850 census, or the 20 year old could be Violet. Carinda, who had been 6 in 1851 could be the female that was age 14. Was Jordan the male who was 28? What about the girl, Olly?

The story from the family, Benjamin Jones enlisted in the Confederate Army and was stricken with an illness and died. His widow left Tennessee with five daughters and one son for Central Texas.[14] This bit of information has been difficult to prove. Amanda and children appear in the 1868 tax list in Hays County, Texas.[15] None of the above named enslaved people seem to appear in the neighborhood of Amanda Jones in 1870. If the family along with their slaves had gone to Tennessee, then it is possible that they were freed there by either the Union Army or by the ending of the war and perhaps they were living in Tennessee in 1870.

I hope that publishing these names will help their descendants make a connection to their pre-1870 families.

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[1] Rankin Co, Mississippi, Probate Records, Petitions, v. B 1847-1855, p. 186-87, Thos Haley dec'd, Thomas J. Haley, petitioner; digital image, familysearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 24 Aug 2013); citing FHL microfilm 876965 item 4.

[2] Rankin Co, Mississippi, Probate Records, Petitions, vol B 1847-1855, p. 231-32, Thomas Haley, dec'd, Thomas J. Haley, administrator; digital image, familysearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 24 Aug 2013); FHL microfilm 876965 item 4.

[3] “The Report of Commissioners to divide Slaves,” Rankin Co, Mississippi, Probate Records, Inventories & Appraisement, 1847-1854, v. B, p. 289-90, Thomas Haley dec’d, Thomas J. Haley, admr; digital image, familysearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 24 Aug 2013); citing FHL microfilm 876962.

[4] ibid.

[5] “Exhibits A.B. & C.,” Rankin Co, Mississippi, Probate Records, Inventories & Appraisement, 1847-1854, v. B, p. 292, Thomas Haley dec’d, Thomas J. Haley, admr; digital image, familysearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 24 Aug 2013); citing FHL microfilm 876962.

[6] Ibid.

[7] 1850 US federal census, Rankin Co, Mississippi, slave schedule, p. 717 (penned), Thomas Haley, digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 Mar 2019), citing NARA M432.

[8] “Exhibits A.B. & C.,” Rankin Co, Mississippi, Probate Records, Inventories & Appraisement, 1847-1854, v. B, p. 292, Thomas Haley dec’d, Thomas J. Haley, admr.

[9] 1850 US federal census, Rankin Co, Mississippi, slave schedule, p. 717 (penned), Benjamin W. Jones, digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 Mar 2019), citing NARA M432.

[10] I browsed the FamilySearch catalog. There are no 1853 tax records in their collection.

[11] "Mississippi, county tax rolls, 1818-1902," digital images, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org), Rankin County, 1855, p. 14, B.W. Jones.

[12] "Mississippi, county tax rolls, 1818-1902," digital images, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org), Rankin County, 1857, p. 8, B.W. Jones.

[13] 1860 US federal census, Rankin Co, Mississippi, slave schedule, p. 51 (penned), Benjamin Jones, digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 Mar 2019), citing NARA M653.

[14] “Wagon Wheels keep on turnin’,” an article about O.D. Johnston of Gustine, Comanche Chief, 29 Nov 1979.

[15] "Texas County Tax Rolls, 1846-1910," familysearch.org (http://www.familysearch.org), Hays Co, 1868, Amanda Jones (image 14).

Copyright © 2019 by Lisa S. Gorrell, My Trails into the Past. All Rights Reserved.