Thursday, December 08, 2005

Did You Know? Connections Between Land & Kin


Martin

A.J. Martin, of Orrville, once owned a plantation and kept 79 slaves on it. J.D. Campbell was the overseer of the plantation. In 1860, A.J. Martin’s real property was valued at $44,400 and his personal property was valued at $95,200.

The land my Martin relatives is said to have farmed is outside of Selma, near Walter Craig’s gun shop. Some of the land is still farmed, most of it is a housing development.

I learned from an older cousin that, when kept as slaves, the Martins were farmed out to work as laborers at Keenan’s Mill. Their work involved grinding corn to make meal out of. Keenan’s Mill is in Dallas County, Alabama.

With the help of an older cousin, I was able to trace the beginning of the Martin family to 1880 with our grandparents Jane (“Judge”) and Jordan (b.1833-35) . They lived in Woodlawn and in Summerfield. Jordan was a farmer.

The Robins family next door to the Martins, also were farmers, in Summerfield. Simon Robins married Sarah Jane Martin (b. 1871), and had one child, a daughter named Mary.

My great-grandmother, Mary (nicknames were “Mel” and “Molly”) worked on several farms. She worked the Crawford Place on Rangeline Road in Valley Creek as a cook. When she married Percy Morton, she lived on the Stringer Place on Marion Junction Road in Union.

Mary’s oldest child is my grandfather “Bud”. The same older cousin shared with me that he often rode his bicycle to the country to visit Mary, and thus grew close to her son. When Bud was an infant, Mary fashioned a sling on her hip, and carried Bud in it, so her arms were free while she was working in the fields.

As an adult, Bud married and lived on a farm outside of Brent. The farm is no longer standing but once was near some railroad tracks. Hogs were kept on this farm. Bud was also known for being very good in handling and training dogs.

Green(e)

The Greens are cousins to the Martins (any help on making the connection to the Greens and Martins or making a family tree would be much appreciated!). The Greens also married into the King family, the Ford family and the Phillips family. One of my older Martin aunts, Julia (b.1881), married William Phillips (b. 1861). Mary Martin, first cousin to the Greens, married Pettus Ford.

Many of my Green relatives lived in Summerfield or Valley Creek. Others worked the Morgan Place.

Ford

My Ford relatives originated in Perryville, Alabama then migrated to Dallas county and elsewhere. There are three main families of Fords living near Perryville.

I have traced the beginning of the Ford family to Caroline Ford (b. 1825) who had 15-18 children born in slavery. I believe this branch of Fords is my kin, because of information given from an older relative. I would appreciate help with any information about these Fords, as I know very little.

I am related to a Paul Ford who married a Laura Radford and lived in Perryville. When Laura died, Paul married a woman named Lucretia. There were 11 children born between both of these marriages.

A son of Paul Ford, Columbus, continued to live and farm in Perryville.

I have heard that some of the Fords moved to Pleasant Hill (Dallas County).

Still Curious? Check Out These Links:

About Sharecropping

http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/a_f/brown/sharecropping.htm

Black Families of Alabama's Black Belt

http://www.prairiebluff.com/blackbelt/

Alabama State Black Archives & Research Center, Campus of A&M University

About.com: http://www.aamu.edu/archivemuseumcenter/







2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I was born in Perryville, Alabama in 1933. I am fimiliar with the comtemporary Ford Family around the Perryville during before 1940. The Ford family intermarried with the Oakes Family. Do you have any information on Hattie Ford's Family. Hattie married Columbus Oakes prior to 1900.

Tom Miree
tmiree@att.net

Anonymous said...

Hi Tom,

Thanks for stopping by :) I will go through my notes and see if I can find anything on Hattie Ford. Hope you are enjoying your Mother's Day with your family!

Blessings, Lynn