Roots Disentangled

The below obituary appeared in The Ottawa Herald, Ottawa Kansas, May 9, 1917, page 1. Emily is the third great grandmother of my child. MRS. EMILY WAKEFIELD DEAD  Colored Woman Was Born in Kentucky in Ante-bellum Days.   Mrs. Emily Wakefield, 72 years old, colored, died yesterday afternoon at her home, 128 Sycamore street. Paralysis caused her death. Mrs. Wakefield was the widow of the late Jasper Wakefield who fought in the Civil War. They were married fifty-six years ago. Mrs. Wakefield was born in slavery in Louisville, Ky., in 1845. Her husband died February 16, 1909. The Wakefields came here thirty-five years ago.  Five sons, William, Chat and Chris Wakefield of Ottawa, Joe Wakefield of Kansas City and Fred Wakefield, address unknown, and one daughter, Mrs. Laura McNear of Ottawa survive. There are three brothers, George, William and Stephen Smith in Louisville, Ky.  The  funeral will be field at the Third Baptist church, Second and Poplar streets at 3:30 o'clock Friday afte

Joseph was born into slavery in 1837, most likely in the household of Creed Haskins (1773-1851), son of Robert Haskins (1732-1804) James was born into slavery in 1839, also most likely in the household of Creed Haskins. Whether or not they were genetically brothers is pretty irrelevant, as if they grew up as slaves in the same household, they probably considered themselves brothers. Silvy (1795-after 1870) - Could have been born into slavery in either Creed Haskins or Robert Haskins households. (Or elsewhere) Whether or not she was genetically related to Joseph or James, she was likely a maternal figure for both of them. In 1851, when Creed Haskins died, Joseph (age 14) became the property of Creed's daughter, Judith Wakefield. It is possible at that time James (age 12) became the property of Creed's son, Robert (1813-1872) - or a different Haskins family. Silvy (age 56) also likely became the property of another Haskins. Silvy and James may have remained in the same

Here is the 1870 census for my child's 3rd great grandfather, Joseph Wakefield. Since I have uncovered that his prior slave-owner Judith Wakefield inherited him from her father, Creed Haskins, this helps in identifying this as indeed the same Joseph Wakefield. Joseph Wakefield, age 32, Black Mariah Wakefield, age 22, Mulatto Kit Wakefield, age 8, Mulatto Silvy Haskins, age 75, Black James Haskins, age 30, Black Ruth Haskins, age 22, Black Eliza Haskins, age 8/12, Black They don't appear to identify relationships in the 1870 census. One might guess that Joseph and Mariah are the parents of Kit, and that James and Ruth are the parents of Eliza. The only thing we can say for certain about Silvy is that she is 43 years older than Joseph, and 45 years older than James. It is likely she was another slave in the Haskins households. Whether she is related to Joseph or James is indeterminable. She could be a mother, grandmother, any other female relative, or complet

The document to the right appeared in the Civil War Record file, along with the Claim for Compensation mentioned in the previous post. The Adjutant General of Kentucky certified the information about Joseph Wakefield's service. Headquarters Kentucky Volunteers, Adjutant General's Office Frankfort, Dec 24th, 1866 I hereby certify that it appears from the U.S. Muster Rolls on file in the office that Joe Wakefield was enrolled on the 21st day of April, 1865 at Lebanon Ky by Capt. J.M. Fidler and mustered into the U.S. service on the 22d day of April, 1865 at Lebanon Ky by Capt J M Fidler to serve three years. Said Joe Wakefield is described as follows: Age 26 years, eyes black, hair black, complexion black, height 6 feet - inches. It further appears from the Rolls that Joe Wakefield owed service to Juda Wakefield, was credited (?) to Green County, Ky, and was assigned to Co. 'F', 125th Regiment U.S. C. Inf. In Testimony Whereof, I have hereonto set my hand, and af

I found the Civil War Service Record for my child's third great grandfather, Joseph Wakefield, on Fold3. An escaped slave who served in the US Colored Troops, his owner filed a Claim for Compensation for her lost services. She indicated that she inherited her slave from her father, and provides a name. I am hopeful I can find a copy of her father's estate. There is a chance one or both of Joseph's parents might also have been mentioned. CLAIM OF Judith Wakefield FOR THE COMPENSATION OF SLAVE NAMED Joseph Wakefield I, Judith Wakefield, a loyal citizen, and a resident of The County of Green, State of Kentucky, hereby claim compensation under the provisions of Section 24, act approved February 21, 1864, and section 2, act approved July 28, 1866, for my slave Joseph Wakefield, enlisted 22nd of April 1865 at Lebanon, Ky, by Capt J. M. Fidler, in the 125th regiment U.S. Colored Troops, Co. F, certificate of which enlistment, and a descriptive list, as required, acco

One expects the census entries for a household to follow a particular pattern: Head of Household Spouse Children in descending age Others When the entries don't follow this order, it can raise questions. Below is a detail from the 1880 census for the family of Joseph and Emily PJ Wakefield, Greensburg, Green, Kentucky Wakefield, Joseph | Black | Male | 43 | Head of Household | Married | Farmer Wakefield, Emily PJ | Mulatto | Female | 26 | Wife | Married | Keeping Home Wakefield, Aldora | Mulatto | Female | 1 | Daughter | Single Wakefield, Christopher | Mulatto | Male | 18 | Servant | Married | Farm Laborer Wakefield, Mary J | Mulatto | Female | 12 | Step Daughter | Single | At Home Wakefield, John W | Mulatto | Male | 6 | Son | Single Wakefield, Martha | Mulatto | Female | ? | ? | Married | At Home Ancestry.com's "tree hints" suggest that Aldora is the only child of Joseph and Emily in this census. Once it reaches a servant, it assumes the