| Cardwell probably had in
his possession the extremely valuable certificate of their freedom, which stated,
"...A true list and description of the Negroes and mulatto emancipated by the will
of John Randolph of
Roanoke, dec’d, recorded in the General Court of Virginia, made out from the general
book of registers of free Negroes and Mulatoes (sic)...approved by the said court the 4th
day of May 1846. The document listed all their given names (a few had surnames listed; most took them at a later date), and their complexion, height and age. According to Gilmore, "They examined them from head to toe and wrote down any marks you had on you...made you feel like you was cattle or pigs. Every slave had a number." Written on the 12 page list of former slaves, numbered 215 to 596, was No. 514 - Shadrach, who would take White as a surname (later known as Buddie Shang) and make Sidney his home, and No. 421 - Carter who would choose Lee as his surname, settle in New Bern, located outside Sidney on Hardin-Wapak Road at Schenk Road, and produce an offspring that would lead to the birth of James P. Humphrey, Sidney’s first black mayor. According to Humphrey, a Frank Brown settled in Sidney in the Fair Road area. Also listed was Rial, known later as Jimmie Jeems Rial (shown at right) an ancestor of Helen Gilmore. NOTE: A slave did not have a last name until free. When freed, he/she often took the name of his/her master, residence or of some famous person of that time. |
Jimmie Jeems Rial [Up] [New Search] 'Black History' segment written
in June, 1998 by |