Wordless Wednesday - Franklin & Armfield Slave Office

 One of the nation’s largest slave trading firms, Franklin & Armfield, operated from this townhouse on Duke Street from 1828-1836. Enslaved Africans awaiting shipment to slave markets in New Orleans and Natchez were imprisoned in walled pens behind the house. At night they slept in a two-story rear wing with grated doors and windows.

For enslaved Africans in Virginia, there were few fates worse than Duke Street. “Louisiana was considered by slaves a place of slaughter,” wrote emancipated slave Jacob Stroyer. With the same sentiment, Rev. Josiah Henson, thought to be the basis for Harriet Beecher Stowes’ fictional Uncle Tom, wrote in his autobiography that the fear of being sold south filled enslaved individuals of the upper South with “perpetual dread.”

Now known as Freedom House, the Franklin and Armfield Office was started by Isaac Franklin and John Armfield. The office was known to have been the largest slave trading firm in the antebellum south. At its height in the 1830s, the firm transported between 1,000 and 1,200 enslaved individuals from Alexandria to Charleston, Savannah, Mobile, Natchez and New Orleans each year.  In 1846 the Duke Street property was purchased by a Franklin & Armfield agent, George Kephart, and in 1858 to a third slave trading firm, Price, Birch, and Co. The Adamesque structure, built in 1812 for General Andrew Young, was used to jail Union army deserters and house freed “contraband” Blacks after Alexandria fell to Union troops in 1861. In 1863 the building provided the first meeting place for Shiloh Baptist Church, founded by former slaves housed there. The slave pens were demolished in the 1870s. The property was used by the Union to imprison Confederate soldiers and was then a hospital from 1878-1885.

In Search of Betsy (Ransom) Harris Part 2

My search for Betsy Ransom continues. After tracing a Betsy Harris from Brazil, Clay County, Indiana to Dover District, Goochland County, Virginia using federal census records (1870-1900), I decided my next step would be to examine vital records and the cohabitation register for Goochland County, VA.

The cohabitation registers, or as it is properly titled, Register of Colored Persons...cohabiting together as Husband and Wife on 27th February 1866, was the legal vehicle by which former slaves legitimized both their marriages and their children. For many former slaves this was often the first time that they appeared officially in public records with a surname.

Since the Commonwealth of Virginia had vital records for 1853-1896 and the Library of Virginia (LVA) possessed them on microfilm as well as cohabitation registers, I decided to spend a day there.

                











I decided to examine the cohabitation register first, since I made the assumption that Isham (Isom) and Elizabeth (Betsy) were the parents of the minors enumerated with them in the 1870 census. This would mean that they had a slave marriage which occurred sometime between 1852 and 1853 assuming that Matilda was their daughter. After examining the register, I discovered an Isam Harris and Elizabeth Ranson who registered their union in Goochland County, Virginia. Isam was listed as being 45 years old with the occupation of a boatman. Elizabeth was ten years his junior at age 35.

At this point in my discovery, I was overwhelmed. Now most of my family and friends know that I am not an emotional person but at this moment I started to cry as I ran my finger over the name Elizabeth Ranson. I sat there for about three minutes staring at the image. Could this be? Had I found my great great great grandfather sister?

I was now determined to locate the names of all of the children. The birth registry provided the date and place of birth; name of child; color; free or slave; sex; whether born dead or alive; name of father or owner; father's occupation; father's residence; mother's name; name of informant; and the relation of the informant to the person born.

In the 1900 census, Betsy was listed as having 18 children but only 8 were living. Since six of the minors listed with Isham and Elizabeth in 1870 were born during slavery (1853-1862), I started my search in 1853. I wrote down the information pertaining to every Elizabeth or Betsy who was listed as a mother until I was able to locate the names of the children listed in the 1870 household. In addition, to discovering the name of the children, I was also able to discover the name of the slave owner - Edwin J. Duval.

I continued to examine the birth register and located three more births that occured after slavery.



After completing my search of the birth registers, I decided to examine the death register. The death registers provides similar information as the birth registers in addition to the cause of death.



I was also able to locate another daughter named Matilda Harris in the marriage records. She married Scott Pleasant, son of Riley and Doreus Pleasant on 21 March 1875.

By examining the vital records and the cohabitation register, I was able to confirm the madien name of Betsy (Ranson) Harris and locate the names of all of her children. In addition, I was able to identify her slave owner. Not bad for a day of researching.

Although, I had a very rewarding day, I realized that my search was not complete. I still needed to figure out the connection between this Betsy Ransom and my great great great grandfather Joseph Ransom. I believe the answer(s) lies in figuring out how, where, and when Edwin J. Duval acquired her.

In Search of Betsy (Ransom) Harris Part 1

A few weeks ago, I wrote about my great great uncle Paul Ransom who wrote the “History of the Ransom Family.” The pamphlet was based on the stories he heard from his parents, paternal grandfather (Joseph Ransom, Sr.) and maternal grandmother’s (Jane King) experiences during slavery and post-emancipation. I have read the pamphlet numerous times since I first received it in the early 1990s. However, upon reading it again about a month ago this passage regarding my great great great grandfather’s sister being sold caught my attention “His sister Betsy was sold during slavery to a family in Clay County, Indiana. She was last heard of by the name Betsy Harris.” I began to wonder what happened to Aunt Betsy. Who was the Indiana Family who purchased her? Did she ever reconnect with her family?

To answer these questions, I began examining the U.S. Population Census for Clay County, Indiana in search of a Betsy Harris with a birthplace in Virginia. I examined the 1870 and 1880 censuses but I was unable to locate anyone named Betsy Harris. However, in 1900, I did locate a Betsey Harris enumerated with her son Edward Harris in Brazil, Clay County, Indiana. Betsey birth date was estimated to be about 1847 and her son was listed as 1873. Both were listed as being born in Virginia. Betsey was listed as having 18 children but only 8 were alive in 1900. This discovery was a possible lead, so I decided to try and locate this Betsey Harris and her son Edward in the 1880 census in Virginia. In the 1880 Census, I located sixteen Betsy Harris  and there was only one who was enumerated in a household with an Edward. Because the 1880—1930 censuses only shows relationship to the head of household, I am unable to determine if Betsy is the mother of Edward. They were located in Dover, Goochland County, Virginia. The household consisted of the following:

1. Isham Harris, age 50, born in Virginia, as were his parents
2. Betsy, wife, age 36, born in Virginia, as were her parents
3. Emily J, daughter, age 12, born in Virginia
4. Lea Anna, daughter, age 10, born in Virginia
5. Lucy Gay, daughter, age 9, born in Virginia
6. Edward, son, age 5, born in Virginia
7. Jearry, son, age 3, born in Virginia

In the 1870 Census, I located a family in Dover, Goochland County, Virginia who I believe is the same family due to the variations of the name Isom for Isham; the usage of Elizabeth instead of the nickname Betsy; and the listing of an Emily who is listed in both censuses.

1. Isom Harris, age 48, born in Virginia
2. Elizabeth, age 45, born in Virginia
3. Matilda, age 17, born in Virginia
4. Fannie, age15, born in Virginia
5. Isom, age 14, born in Virginia
6. Josephine, age 12, born in Virginia
7. Delia, age 10, born in Virginia
8. George W., age 8, born in Virginia
9. Emely J., age 2, born in Virginia
10. Lenah, age 4/12, born in Virginia

My gut instinct is telling me that this is the right Betsy that I initially found in Clay County, Indiana, however I would need to conduct additional research to determine if she is my great great great grandfather’s sister.

Paul Lewis Ransom: Bearer of Family Tradition

After noticing how individuals from the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements were ashamed and embarrassed of their ancestors’ enslaved heritage, Paul Lewis Ransom (1885-1980), the youngest son of enslaved parents Joseph and Betsy (McGill) Ransom, sat down and wrote the “History of the Ransom Family” in 1974. The History was based on the lives of his parents , paternal grandfather (Joseph Ransom, Sr.) and maternal grandmother (Jane King) during slavery and post-emancipation.

Uncle Paul felt that “it is very important and necessary for everyone regardless of whose family, to know something about his or her family background.” He also understood the impact of slavery on African American family history. “It is virtually impossible, especially for the Black race, in the United States to know what he should know because he was brought here as slaves, and throughout the slave period, the Blacks reproduced, and were sold to different slave owners, traded, etc., many never seen nor heard from their children, parents again after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, and they were freed.”

By taking the time to record the family history he would ensure future generations would know the history and legacy of the Ransom Family. In 1991, I received a copy of the Ransom Family, from Uncle Paul’s daughter Adelle Martin (1915-2004). At the time, she mentioned that she was working on documenting the history using census records only. In between attending college, working, and travelling through Southern Africa as a Peace Corps volunteer, I worked on substantiating the family history especially identifying the last slave owner(s). In addition, I would share my findings with Cousin Adelle. I remember sending her copies of the 1860 U.S. Federal Census - Slave Schedules for Freestone County, Texas which listed a J. H. Moody as a slave owner. She was so excited to see this information, since her father had told her that the family was once owned by the Moody. He stated that “the slave master who owned our father was named Moody and the master who owned his father was named Ransom so naturally the family could have easily gone in the name Moody and would have done so, if father had not been introduced to his father after slavery.”

Although the slave schedule did not confirm whether or not our ancestors were owned by J. H. Moody, it was enough information for Cousin Adelle to march over to the descendants of the Moody family in Ft. Worth, Texas, who doubted that their family ever owned slaves. She later told me that she received a very cold reception from the descendants but that she was determine to prove her father was correct.

It would be another five years before I would be able to substantiate that my family were owned by the Moody Family out of Chesterfield County, Virginia. They would eventually move to Fairfield, Freestone County, Texas. My ancestors would be a part of this migration west to the Lone Star State.

I am far from done on researching my Ransom heritage, however I feel very honor and thankful to have a relative who understood the important of family and history.