LaBrenda Garrett-Nelson - A Guide to Researching African American Ancestors in Laurens County, South Carolina and Selected Finding Aids

A Guide to Researching
African American Ancestors in
Laurens County, South Carolina
and Selected Finding Aids LaBrenda Garrett-Nelson Copyright 2016 by LaBrenda Garrett-Nelson. Library of Congress Control Number: 2016911054 ISBN: Hardcover 978-1-5245-2354-1 Softcover 978-1-5245-2353-4 eBook 978-1-5245-2352-7 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the copyright owner. References to specific companies or organizations are not intended as an endorsement by the author, or to imply that they endorse this book. LaBrenda Garrett-Nelson photographed the cover image, and either photographed or holds in her collection those inside the book. The photo of the author on the back cover is by RazaRy Photography.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the Holy Bible, King James Version (Authorized Version). First published in 1611. Quoted from the KJV Classic Reference Bible, Copyright 1983 by The Zondervan Corporation. Rev. date: 01/20/2018 Xlibris 1-888-795-4274 www.Xlibris.com 739080 Contents Reasonably exhaustive research is a pillar of the Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS), which is used to evaluate the accuracy of a family history. I have written this book to provide guidance and highlight selected sources relevant to meeting this requirement in the case of African American ancestors who lived in Laurens County, South Carolina (Laurens).

During the two decades leading up to World War II, many African Americans from Laurens joined the great migration of blacks out of the South. In my own extended family, cousins with roots in Laurens can be found all over the United States. It is my hope that this book will be helpful in jumpstarting the research of other Laurens families that have dispersed. This book focuses on Laurens, without rehashing all of the sources that are potentially relevant to African-ancestored families. Each chapter does, however, begin with information that is generally applicable to all SC counties and concludes with a list of other relevant resources. Throughout the book, I have included practical advice and research strategies based on my experience and formal studies.

LaBrenda Garrett-Nelson, JD, LLM, Certified Genealogist 28 April 2016 Washington, D.C. Laurens is located in the piedmont area of northwestern South Carolina, a part of the Carolina backcountry or Up Country that is notorious for its lack of records. The first step in every genealogical journey is to collect, analyze, and document as much of a familys oral history as possible. Start with a living descendant, and go back in timethis is the tried-and-proven method for enhancing the probability of correctly identifying someone as an ancestor. Ideally, our genealogical conclusions will be supported by one or more independent sources of evidence. For example, if the informant for a death certificate were also the person who wrote the obituary, the two records would not be independent.

To obtain results that are as error-free as possible, measure your work against the five interdependent components of the Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS): Reasonably exhaustive researchemphasizing original records Complete, accurate citations to the source of each information item Analysis and correlationof all sources Resolution of conflicts among evidence Coherently written conclusion based on the strongest available evidence All five should be met. This book provides guidance on the first leg of the GPS, the reasonably exhaustive research. This criterion requires the identification and review of potentially relevant sources that could answer a genealogical question. Glean information from each source found, and then consider what related records might exist. To identify and locate relevant records, we need to know how and when Laurens came into existence. For example, deeds that were executed before Laurens was created may well have been recorded in Charleston or elsewhere.

Information about significant historical events also helps us to evaluate the credibility of family lore or other evidence. In the early days of settlement, African Americans enslaved in Laurens were brought there by white families from Virginia, North Carolina, or elsewhere in South Carolina, Most Africans enslaved in mainland North America arrived prior to the War for Independence, nearly half coming between 1740 and 1780. The U.S. census of 1790 listed 1,120 slaves in Laurens living among a total population of 9,337 white and other free persons. Casper George (CG) Garretts family lore regarding his slave ancestors Virginian origins illustrates how knowledge of Laurens history can both inform an analysis of the credibility of information and suggest an avenue of research. A 1919 biographical sketch of CGa black lawyer and educator who was born in Laurens in 1865reported that his grandparents were Samuel and Nancy Garrett and that his grandfathers parents were Virginians.

The 1870 U.S. census was the first that included former slaves by name. Few black families from elsewhere sought residence in South Carolina. It is reasonable to proceed on the premise that if an African American family was in South Carolina in the 1940s or earlier; they were probably in South Carolina at the time of emancipation. Chapter 1 of this book provides guidance in tracing a familys history back to 1870, including vital records (such as birth and death certificates) that may be obtained from state or local repositories. Chapter 2 surveys sources for researching African Americans who were manumitted (or freed) before slavery was abolished under the U.S.

Constitution. If no evidence can be found that an African American subject in Laurens was free before the Civil War (such as a census record or deed of manumission), then the individual was likely enslaved. The following four chapters focus on records that pre-date the 1870 U.S. census, including records pertaining to ancestors who were held in slavery. A great deal can be known about African American ancestors who were held in bondage. Chapter 3 surveys selected records created by or in respect of slaveholders, which sources often contain important genealogical information about the enslaved.

Chapter 4 draws on resources of the South Carolina Department of Archives and History (SCDAH) in Columbia, SC, including: * abstracts of will transcripts that name or refer to slaves; * abstracts of S.C. legislative papers that refer to People of Color (slave and free); * Colored heads of household in Laurens included in the 1869 SC state census, and * Auditors Tax Duplicates of Laurens County for The Year Ending 1 September 1868. These records were viewed on microfilm at the SCDAH, the Family History Library (FHL) in Salt Lake City, Utah, and at the Daughters of the American Revolution Library in Washington, DC. Chapter 5 sets forth information to help identify potential slave owners: an alphabetized list of Laurens slave owners/managers in the 1860 slave schedule to the U.S. census, followed by same-surnamed African Americans enumerated in the 1870 U.S. U.S. census records were viewed at the National Archives building in Washington, DC, and also on the websites of Ancestry and FamilySearch. census records were viewed at the National Archives building in Washington, DC, and also on the websites of Ancestry and FamilySearch.

Chapter 6 contains excerpts from the records of the Field Office for the State of South Carolina, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands for Laurensville The Laurens Freedmens Bureau records were viewed at the National Archives building in Washington, DC. The seventh and last chapter includes inscriptions from graveyards of five African American Baptist churches in Laurens, compiled by the author in the course of researching family members and prefaced by a discussion of how this type of information can be used by family historians. In addition to sources cited in footnotes, other resources are listed at the end of each chapter, including this introduction. Also, guidance is provided regarding how to follow the paper trail by analyzing the content of illustrative documents for clues about where related records might be found. All websites cited in this book were reviewed on 17 April 2016. This book is an authored work that draws on original and derivative sources.