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Lot 191
Nine Slaves Owned by Eight-Year-Old Heir in Hinds County, Mississippi, Who Grew Up to Fight in the Civil War
Description:

Nine Slaves Owned by Eight-Year-Old Heir in Hinds County, Mississippi, Who Grew Up to Fight in the Civil War

Guardian Thomas O. Davis reported this inventory of the real and personal estate of Ignatius Yates that he held in trust for Yates's heir and his young brother-in-law Jerome B. Yates, for whom Davis served as guardian.

[SLAVERY.] Thomas O. Davis, Autograph Document Signed, Inventory of Real and Personal Estate of Jerome B. Yates, heir of Ignatius Yates, May 14, 1849, Hinds County, Mississippi. 1 p., 8" x 12.5". Expected folds; general toning; very good.

Complete Transcript
An inventory of the real and Personal Estate of Jerome B. Yates, an infant diviser of Ignatius Yates, decd, now in the hands and possession of the undersigned, guardian of said infant.
                Real Estate
A certain tract of Land, situate, lying and being in the County of Hinds, on five mile creek, Containing by actual survey about one hundred and 57.130 acres. Bounded on the north by the lands of C. K. Farr, on the South by the Lands of Joseph Morrison and Obedience Yates, on the East By the Land of N. B. Yates, and on the west by the Land of E. H. Davis: being said infants allotted share of a tract of Land devised jointly to him and others by said decedent.
                Personal Estate
A negro man slave named      Sam,          Black,     aged     33 years
          do          do     "             George,       "               do      20     "
          do         do      "             Nelson,       "                do       21     "
          do    woman   "             Ann,            "                do       35     "
          do      Girl       "             Lucy,           "                do       12     "
         do         "         "             Minerva,     "                 do        5     "
        do          "         "             Mary,          "                 do        4     "
        do         "         "             Rachael,     "                 do        1     "
       do       Boy       "             Tom,           "                 do        14   "
2 Plough Mewls, one Yoke Oxen 5 Head of Cattle, Seven Head of Sheep, 12 Head Hogs
                                                                    Thos. O. Davis Guardian
Sworn to and Subscribed before me May 14th 1849
                                                                    W H Hampton Clk


Historical Background
As a young man, Jerome Yates joined the Confederate army and fought in Virginia, but he worried about his family left at home.

In a fascinating letter from Fredericksburg, May 19, 1863, fewer than two weeks after the Confederate victory at Chancellorsville, he wrote to his sister Marie, "The papers are giving gloomy accounts of the Yankees' conduct of the evenings in Hinds and in Jackson. I suppose they burned and destroyed the railroad." He then turns to his slave property: "I would like to hear from my little squad of darkies to see if any of them compose part of the three thousand that left Hinds County with the enemy. The Richmond papers report that many are from Hinds County. Write me if they took much from Ma or you…. If they did take anything, and I have a chance to, I will pay them with interest, that is if we ever go to Maryland or Pennsylvania, which I believe we will do this summer."

In his long effort to force the surrender of the Confederate citadel of Vicksburg, Mississippi, and open control of the Mississippi River to Union forces, General Ulysses S. Grant moved many of his forces down the western bank of the Mississippi and crossed back to the eastern side. After doing so, Grant decided to attack the forces of General Joseph E. Johnson in Jackson, Mississippi. The state capital and county seat of Hinds County, Jackson was an important supply hub and political symbol. Grant sent two corps under the command of William T. Sherman and James B. McPherson to capture Johnston's forces at Jackson. Believing the city to be indefensible, Johnston began withdrawing his men and made only a token resistance before Grant's forces took the city on May 14. Grant then turned toward Vicksburg, placing it under siege on May 18 and capturing it on July 4.

In the East, Yates got his wish when the Army of Northern Virginia moved into Pennsylvania in late June, leading to the climactic Battle of Gettysburg on July 1-3, 1863.

Yates continued his letter with a reference to one of the slaves on this inventory, who would have been twenty-eight years old in 1863, "Tell my Darkies I want them to all behave themselves honorably in the hour of need. Tell Tom, if he has not already left, I want to find him at home when I get there. I believe he will stay if every one of the others go. Tell them all ‘Howdy' while giving them all my best. Tell them I would like to see how they act on such an occasion as when the Yankees made their appearance. I think we all have some that will not go with them…."

Three months later, Yates wrote to his mother and sister, who were then "inside enemy lines" in Mississippi, with several interesting observations. "Never give up in a just cause…. We will still battle for the right to have what we think we have a right to. I hope the enemy may leave what is left. With that I think you all can live very comfortably. You can not live in the lap of luxury as you have been living, comparatively speaking. Learn to do it on a little, it will be a good lesson. You may profit by it in years to come…." He also expressed an unusual hope: "The people up here say they had much rather be inside the Yankee's lines…than have armies coming and going…twice a year. I am in hopes the enemy will hold that country as they have done all the others."

He goes on to mention two more slaves from this inventory. "Tell Lucy I am proud of her to prove herself so loyal to Ma in the hour of trial. Tell Sam Wilse is all right, and I do not believe he would go with the Yankees if he has a chance, which he has had several times. He had only to stop and wait for them to come up and go with them…. I expect you all have to treat the Negroes [differently] on account of the enemy's being so near. I would not do it. I would whip them when they needed it, though I do not know if talking would not do as much good. I took Wilse out the other day to chastise him and got to talking to him and made him cry. I think it done him more good than all the whipping I ever gave him."

Jerome B. Yates (1840-1877) was born in Mississippi to Ignatius Yates (1795-1842) and Obedience Arthur Yates (1807-1881). In April 1861, he enlisted as a private in Captain J. C. Davis's company of the 16th Mississippi Infantry and mustered in to Company C of the regiment at Corinth, Mississippi. He reenlisted in 1862 for two years or the war. In April 1863, he was promoted to sergeant. In August 1864, at the Battle of the Weldon Railroad, Yates was wounded in the arm, captured, and sent to a Union prison at Point Lookout, Maryland. He was paroled and exchanged a month later and returned to his regiment. He was among the four officers and 68 men from the regiment who surrendered at Appomattox Court House in April 1865. He had at least one child, Ignatius C. Yates (1871-1899), named for his grandfather. In October 1877, while on his way home from Edwards, Mississippi, Yates was murdered by having his throat slit. His cousin Horace Yates was arrested for the murder but soon escaped, and the Mississippi Governor offered a $500 reward for his apprehension.

Thomas O. Davis (1815-bef. 1880) was born in South Carolina. In 1847, he married Eliza Arthur Yates (1831-1854), an older sister of Jerome B. Yates, and they had four children before her death. In 1860, Davis married Eliza C. Broome (1834-1863), and they had one child. In 1864, he married Mary Davis (1833-1890), and they had three children. In 1870, he was a farmer in Hinds County, Mississippi.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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