Description:

Slavery

List of Slaves Hired Out in Panhandle of Florida on Eve of Civil War

[SLAVERY], Henry O. Bassett, Document Signed, list of John G. Russ’s slaves hired out for the benefit of his minor children, January 1, 1861. Also signed by probate judge Robert S. Dickson. 1 p., 7.75" x 11"  Expected folds; some spotting.

 

Complete Transcript

Account of negro hire belonging to C. R. Russ minor hire [heir] of John G. Ross decd for the year 1861

A R Godwin                Hired Mandy & 2 children     for       $ 92.00

J G W Russ Jnr             "       Judy                              "            49.00

F. Grimsley                   "        Aaron                          "           62.00

                                                                                                205.00

 

Account of hire of Negroes belonging to Jno G. Ross minor hire [heir] of John G. Ross decd for the year 1861

A R Godwin                Hired Joney                            for       $ 76.00

J. W. Russ Jr                 "        Lidia & 5 children       "           10.00

                                                                                                  86.00

 

Account of negro hire of Oscar Russ minor hire [heir] John G. Ross decd for the year 1861

A. R. Godwin              Hired Silvy & 1 child             for       $ 76.00

   "         "                      "      Boy Sam                        "          164.00

                                                                                                 240.00

 

Account of negro hire of Henderson Russ minor hire [heir] of John G. Ross decd for the year 1861

A R Godwin                Hired Sarah                           for       $100.00

Jos M. White               "       Dafney                           "            120.00

John D. Myrick           "      Walker                                         160.00

                                                                                                 380       

                                                                                                909

I certify the above account of hiring of negroes to be correct

Jany 1st 1861                                                   H O Bassett [Acct?]

 

[Docketing on verso:] Return of hire of Negroes of Minor heir of John G. Russ decd Jay 1st 1861

Filed May 31 And Correctly Recorded in Book E folio 324 Oct 26 1861

                                                                        R S Dickson / Judge of Probate

file 41

 

Historical Background

When a father died and any or all of his children were not yet adults, the probate court appointed a guardian to manage the property of the minor heirs. In antebellum America, this property included enslaved African Americans. This document details the hiring out of eighteen slaves for the year 1861 for the benefit of John G. Russ’s four youngest children in Jackson County, Florida.

 

In the 1860 census, Rebecca C. Russ (1815-1884) is listed as the head of a household in Jackson County, Florida. She owns $6,000 in real property and $28,700 in personal property (likely all slaves). In her household are her son Joseph W. Russ, age 23, also a farmer, with $2,700 in personal property; daughter Elizabeth Russ, age 21; and her four youngest children—Charlotte R. Russ, age 17, John G. Russ, age 15, Oscar Russ, age 12, and Henry D. Russ, age 10. A physician named Theophilus West, age 24, also lived in the household. In June 1861, Rebecca Russ married widower Fair Banks Callaway (1812-1893) in Jackson County, Florida.

 

The 1860 slave schedules showed Rebecca C. Russ as owning 15 slaves; Joseph W. Russ as owning 18, Charlotte Russ as owning 5, John Russ as owning 6, Oscar Russ as owning 3, and Henderson Russ as owning 4. From these schedules, we can begin to identify approximate ages for the enslaved African Americans on this list. For example, Oscar Russ owned 31-year-old Silvy and her 6-year-old daughter, as well as the “Boy Sam,” who was 33 years old. John Russ is listed as owning six slaves in 1860. Joney is likely a 51-year-old man, while Lidia is aged 31 with two daughters, ages 4 and 8, and two sons, ages 6 and 14. The fifth child was perhaps a newborn or was listed under a different owner in 1860. Charlotte Russ’s slaves included 51-year-old Aaron, 17-year-old Judy, and 37-year-old Mandy with her two children, a 13-year-old son and a 6-year-old daughter.

 

Alexander R. Godwin (1832-1889), who rented eight of the slaves, was a neighboring planter who owned 18 slaves of his own in 1860.

 

 

John G. Russ (1807-1852) was born in North Carolina. In 1850, he lived in Jackson County, Florida, and owned $6,000 in real property. At that time, he and his wife Rebecca had nine children ranging in age from 16 years to 8 months.

 

Henry O. Bassett (1825-1865) married Sarah Wilson on March 15, 1860, in Gadsden County, Florida. He served as Jackson County sheriff. He joined the Confederate Army from Marianna in Jackson County, Florida, and was commissioned as captain of Company E of the 6th Florida Infantry in March 1862. In September 1864, Bassett was home on leave, when Union cavalry made a raid from Union-occupied Pensacola against the Confederate supply and recruiting depot of Marianna. Bassett was among the eleven Confederates killed in the battle.

 

Robert S. Dickson (1814-1862) was born in North Carolina. In 1859, he purchased the Marianna Patriot newspaper and edited it until shortly after the Civil War began. He also served as judge of probate for Jackson County, Florida, from 1855 to 1861. In March 1862, Dickson joined the 6th Florida Infantry as a 2nd lieutenant. He was stationed at the Apalachicola Arsenal, 25 miles east of Marianna, but died of disease in June 1862.

 

 



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