Downing Slaves and Former Slaves
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This originally appeared in my book The Downings of Choccolocco, Calhoun County, Alabama Vol. 1: the Descendants of James Downing. I am including it here in the hope that it might help someone discover their ancestors.
Since originally writing this, I have discovered that Lewis S Downing, the half-brother of Archibald Downing and Thomas Jefferson Downing, purchased a slave in 1854. A receipt, dated 16 March, still in the Downing family records that Lewis purchased an 18-year-old female slave by the name of Matilda from Daniel Hinds in Benton [Calhoun] County, Alabama. Lewis paid $900. This would have been after Lewis’s marriage to Martha Adeline Brothers. By 1860, Lewis no longer owned this slave. Furthermore, the purchase seems somewhat problematic, as both the 1850 and 1860 census records list Lewis’s worth so low that it begs the question where did he get the money to afford to buy a slave. Matilda is probably the 16-year-old listed among the slaves owned by "Daniel Hines" in the 1850 Slave Schedule.
At this time, and with such limited information, it is impossible to determine what became of Matilda.
Numbers in brackets are end notes. These end notes should not be ignored as they give additional information, sometimes extensively so, as well as source material. For all census records, I used www.FamilySearch.com except for the slave schedules and the 1866 Alabama State Census, in which cases, I used Ancestry.
If you use this information, please be sure to give me credit for my hard work and research.
_______
Slaves[1] and Former Slaves
1850 US Census – Slave Schedule, Benton [Calhoun] County, Alabama, 21 January 1850[2]
A Downing [3] 35 female
2 female
– Slave Schedule, Benton [Calhoun] County, Alabama, 28 January 1850
[T J Downing][4] 42 male [5] [?Joe]
23 female
22 male
20 female
19 female
12 male
2 [6] female
9/12 female [?Sarah]
1/12 male
1/12 female
From the inventory and appraisal of the Estate of Thomas Jefferson Downing
– dated 14 April 1860 and filed with the probate judge on 23 April 1860.[7] Ten slaves were included in the appraisal.[8]
Luke negro[?] boy 29 years old 1500.00[9]
Joe " 55 " 1000.00
[next page]
Sylva 30 years old and child $1500.00
2 years old
1 Boy Frank 6 years old 900.00
1 Girl Jane 9 " 900.00
1 woman Hester, 30 years old and child 1200.00
Joe, 1 year old
1 Girl Sarah 10 years old 1100.00
1 " Malinda 8 " 800.00
1860 US Census – Slave Schedule, Calhoun County, Alabama, 26 June 1860[10]
E B Downing[11] 8 male [?Jerry][12]
Mira Downing 50 male [? Joe]
2 30 female [?Sylva & Hester]
30 male [?Luke]
10 female [?Sarah]
9 female [?Jane]
7 female [?Malinda]
7 male [?Frank]
3 male [?Sylva’s child]
1 male [?Joe]
While searching through land records for Downings in Alabama via the Bureau of Land Management website, I happened across a Hester Downing, widow of Joseph Downing, purchasing 80 acres in St Clair County on 5 December 1884. The name immediately registered in my mind, and I remembered the slaves “Joe” and “Hester” from the appraisal of Thomas Jefferson Downing’s estate in 1860. I decided to try to see if I could uncover more information.
As usual, working at the problem from different angles, I was able to uncover some additional information on a few of these individuals.[13]
To begin with, in 1866, the state of Alabama conducted a census and, for the first time, listed by their names those individuals who had been slaves—listed in a separate schedule classified as the “Colored Population.” Not everyone was listed, just heads of households; however, it appears to me that, in reality, it was heads of families that were listed by name. As a result, there is an illusion of lots of households with one person in them and no one else. These are probably individuals working for another family.
The 1866 Alabama State Census for Calhoun County, “Colored Population,” lists three Downings, Joseph Downing, Caroline Downing, and Franklin Downing, as “heads of household.” The latter two are listed as living alone, which indicates they are probably working in another household. Joseph Downing, however, has eight other people living with him. Both Joseph and Franklin appear to be the same individuals as Joe [Sr] and Frank listed in the 1860 appraisal of Thomas Jefferson Downing’s estate.
Franklin Downing
1 male between 10 & 20 [Franklin Downing]
Assuming Frank’s age of 6 is correct in the appraisal, he would have been 12 in 1866, and this census record is consistent with the slave Frank and the free man Franklin Downing being the same person. On 26 February 1873 in Calhoun County, a Frank Downing married Clarissa Posey.[14] I have been unable to find further information on Frank Downing, but on 29 April 1882 in Calhoun County, a “Claressy” Downing married Thomas Martin,[15] suggesting that by that date, Frank Downing had died. A Clarissa and Thomas Martin are listed with their children in the 1900 US Census for Calhoun County as living in Anniston.
Continuing with the 1866 Alabama Census:
Joseph Downing
2 males under 10 [?Joe Downing Jr & ?Elijah Downing]
1 male between 10 & 20 [?Jerry Downing]
1 male between 50 & 60 [Joseph Downing]
3 females under 10 [?Mira Downing Byers, ?Laura Downing Jones, & unknown]
1 female between 10 & 20 [?Sarah Downing Reid]
1 female between 40 & 50 [?Hester Downing]
If the age of 55 for the slave Joe listed in the 1860 appraisal of Thomas Jefferson Downing’s estate is correct, then in 1866, he would have been 61 and does not match the gentleman here. But taking into consideration the problem of wildly variant ages in the records, plus the record for Joseph Downing below, I conclude that the slave Joe and the free man Joseph Downing are one and the same. The 1880 census record lists Joseph Downing’s age as 73, giving him a birth year of 1807. So in 1866, he would have been 59, which is very much within the age range above. The age range does not work for Hester, but given the information from the 1880 census record, I suspect the 40-50 year old woman listed here is Hester, now a free woman, but with the wrong age.
In addition, the 1866 census lists Caroline Downing two doors down from Joseph Downing:
Caroline Downing
1 female between 20 & 30 [Caroline Downing Mattison]
Caroline’s name doesn’t match anyone in the 1860 appraisal, nor does her age (so she could not be one of the women or girls listed there going by a middle name), but she could possibly be the girl listed in the 1850 slave schedule as a 2-year-old.
On 25 December 1866, Caroline Downing married Isam Mattison in Calhoun County.[16] I can find no further record of Isam Mattison, but the 1870 US Census for Calhoun County, Alabama, shows Caroline Mattison, age 24, and her one-year-old son, William, living in the household of Alexander Poke in Jacksonville.[17] What became of Caroline is uncertain, but the 1880 US Census shows “Willie Mattison”[18] living in Ashville and Old Town, St Clair County, in the household of Joseph Downing:[19]
Downing, Joseph 73 Farmer Tenn [Joseph Downing b c1807]
" Hester 47 wife Housekeeping Ala [Hester Downing b c1833]
" Mira 17 daughter work on farm Ala [Mira Downing b c1863]
" Laura 15 daughter " Ala [Laura Downing b c1865]
" Eliga[20] 13 son " Ala [Elijah Downing b c1867]
" Thomas 11 son " Ala [Thomas Downing b c1869]
Mattison, Willie 11 grandson " Ala [William Mattison b c1869]
[next house]
Downing, Jerry 28 " Ala [Jerry Downing b c1852]
" Amanda 22 wife " Ala [Amanda Downing b1858]
From this census, then, we know that Caroline Downing Mattison was Joseph Downing’s daughter. Assuming her age in the 1870 census is fairly accurate, she would have been born about 1846. But there’s no indication of her in the 1850 slave schedule—unless she is the 2-year-old—or the 1860 appraisal. She could have been born to a slave owned by someone other than Thomas Jefferson Downing and then chose to take her father’s chosen surname. What became of her is just as problematic. On 2 January 1876, a “Caroline Madison” married Henry Williams in Calhoun County.[21] I can find no further records of this couple. However, on 8 August 1882, a Caroline Williams died in Ashville, St Clair County, at the age of 42 (giving her an approximate birth year of 1840, which doesn’t fit). The record states she was a black woman, married, born in Alabama, but nothing further of her family.[22]
Jerry Downing, likewise, is problematic in that he doesn’t fit with any of the slaves in the appraisal. His presence alone next door to Joseph Downing indicates he is a probable son.[23] The index of Alabama marriage index lists a “Deny Downing” marrying “Amanda Alferd” on 20 June 1875 in St Clair County,[24] and I suspect this is Jerry, his name mangled in the transcription. Unfortunately, Amanda Downing died 14 November 1888 in St Clair County.[25] She is listed as a married black woman born in Alabama in 1853, but no further information is listed regarding her family.
Jerry remarried in 1899, to Harriet Anderson on 3 December in St Clair County.[26] He died in 1922 in St Clair County on 4 May. The record lists his age as 78, giving him an estimated birth year of 1844. His wife is listed as Harriet Anderson, while his parents are listed as “Jo” and Hester Downing.[27]
Here is a perfect example of wildly variant ages. If Jerry’s age at the time of his death is accurate and the age of his mother Hester Downing in the 1880 census is accurate, then she gave birth to him at the age of 11. While such things are theoretically possible, in reality they don’t happen. Clearly, one of the ages is wrong. If Jerry’s age of 28 listed in the 1880 census is the accurate one, he had a birth year of 1852, making his mother 19 when he was born and giving him an age of 70 at his death. While I have been unable to find Jerry Downing in the 1900 or 1920 census records, he does appear in the 1910 US Census for Jefferson County, where he is listed in the household of his daughter, Ella Jones, along with his second wife, Harriet.[28] His age is listed as 58, giving him a birth year of 1852! In short, the 78 in the Alabama death index appears to be a transcription error and probably should have been 70.
With a birth year of 1852, Jerry Downing is a match for the 8-year-old male slave owned by Elijah B Downing listed in the 1860 Slave Schedule.
This would indicate that Thomas Jefferson Downing gave the child to Elijah B Downing before 1860, thus explaining Jerry Downing’s absence from the estate appraisal. It also suggests an explanation for Caroline’s absence from the appraisal. Thomas Jefferson Downing’s daughter, Jencie Downing, married Philip H Brothers in 1853, and the possibility that Thomas gave Caroline—then perhaps as young as 7—to Jencie would be in keeping with his apparent action of giving Jerry to Elijah. Unfortunately, Jencie Downing and Philip H Brothers were somewhere in Louisiana (or perhaps even Texas) at the time of the 1860 Census, and I have been unable to find them—or any slaves they might have owned—in that census.
I was also able to trace some of the other children in the household of Joseph and Hester Downing in 1880.
“Myra” Downing married Sydney Byers in St Clair County on 20 October 1887.[29] The 1900 US Census for the county shows Sydney Byers a widower with four children, the youngest born in September 1897, thereby indicating Mira Downing Byers died between September 1897 and 9 June 1900. They are shown living next door to Mira’s brother “Lige.”[30]
Laura Downing married Wash Jones on 22 March 1882 in St Clair County.[31] The 1900 Census also shows her living with her family next door to her brother, “Lige” Downing. Her birth date is listed as April 1860, while the 1910 census lists a birth year of 1863. As there were two women named Laura Jones in St Clair County at this time, I had difficulties tracing her, but she may have been alive as late as 1940.
Elijah “Lige” Downing appears as the head of his household in the 1900 Census in St Clair County, and it lists his birth date as March 1865. He is a widower with children, and I cannot find a record of his marriage. However, in 1909, he married again, and for once, this marriage record included several images of the original documents. He was living in Whitney at the time, and he married “Mrs Martha Oneal” in Springville on 21 August. He was 46, she was 23, and it was the second marriage for both of them.[32] The age of 46 would give Lige Downing a birth year of 1863. A “Lige Downey” died in Birmingham on 11 April 1912; the record of his death lists his parents as Joe and Hester “Downey.”[33]
I have not been able to find any record of Joseph and Hester Downing’s son, Thomas Downing, but I uncovered two more (probable) children for the couple.
A Joseph Downing married Sallie White on 27 September 1881 in St Clair County. I cannot find them before or after that date, but this may be Hester’s 1-year-old son, Joe [Jr], from the 1860 appraisal.
The death record for a Sarah Reid lists her parents as Joe and Hester Downing. She died in Jacksonville, Calhoun County, Alabama, on 16 March 1942. It states she was 62. However, the death record for her son, Richard Reid, who died in 1928, states he was 61. I investigated further to see if I had the right individuals, and everything indicates I do. Given all I’ve learned, I suspect that age of 62 for Sarah Downing Reid should have been a 92 (in the very least).
The indexed death records for five of Sarah Downing Reid’s children are easily found.[34] Three of the five list the race of the deceased, and with varying spellings, all but one list their parents as Sarah Downing and B[owden] F Reid.[35] The couple appears in the 1880 US Census for Calhoun County, Alabama,[36] with their family living in Alexandria, and then again—still in Alexandria—in the census records from 1900 to 1930. Mr Reid died sometime between 1930 and 1940,[37] but Sarah Downing Reid appears in the 1940 Census in the household of her daughter, Dovie G Matthews.[38] In that last census, Sarah is listed as being 94 years old.
The 1900 US Census for Calhoun County,[39] however, contains the most vital information (for my purposes here) on the couple. It states that they had been married for 33 years, giving them a marriage date of approximately 1867. Unfortunately, I cannot find a marriage record for them. Sarah Downing Reid is shown to have 12 out of 15 children still living. Finally, it lists her birth date as January 1848.
Sarah Downing Reid’s age, along with her parentage, leads me to believe this is the same individual as the 10-year-old Sarah listed in the 1860 appraisal of Thomas Jefferson Downing’s estate.
While Luke, Sylva, her child, and Malinda from the 1860 appraisal of Thomas Jefferson Downing’s estate (and they may have been a family) have yet to be traced,[40] a fair reconstruction of Joseph and Hester’s family appears to be as follows:[41]
Joseph Downing* born c1807 died between 1880 & 1884
married: Hester Downing* born c1833 died 24 October 1889
children: Jerry Downing* (c1852-1922)
married: 1) Amanda Alfred (c1853/1858-1888)
2) Harriet Anderson
Had Issue
Caroline Downing Mattison* (c1840/1846-?1882)
Married: Isam Mattison
Children: William Mattison (b c1869)
Sarah Downing Reid* (c1848-1942)
Married: Bowden F Reid (c1850 d between 1930 & 1940)
Had Issue
Joseph Downing Jr* (b c1859)
Married: Sallie White
Mira Downing Byers* (c1863- c1897/1900)
Married: Sydney Byers (b 1853)[42]
Had Issue
Laura Downing Jones* (b c1860/65)
Married: Wash Jones (b 1853)
Had Issue
Elijah Downing[43] (c1865-1912)
Married: 1) Unknown
2) Mrs Martha O’Neal
Had Issue
Thomas Downing (b c1869)
In addition, I suspect Franklin “Frank” Downing may have been a son of Joseph and Hester Downing. However, there is no evidence for it.
There is also the matter of Jane, the 9-year-old girl in the appraisal of Thomas Jefferson Downing’s estate. At first glance, she would not seem to fit into the family of Joseph and Hester Downing and would appear to be connected—possibly—to Luke and Sylva (this is assuming they were a family). But the index of Alabama marriages includes a Jane “Denning” marrying W C Bryan on 10 December 1868 in Calhoun County.[44] Given that “Denning” is one way the name Downing is transcribed, the original record should be examined. If it does in fact say Jane “Downing,” she may well be the 9-year-old Jane from 1860. Unfortunately, I have been unable to determine if this couple is black or white.[45]
[1] Two of the Downing brothers, Archibald and Thomas Jefferson, owned slaves, with Thomas’s wife inheriting his slaves on his death in 1860. His son, Elijah B Downing, also owned a slave whom I believe was originally from Thomas Jefferson Downing’s household. After printing well-over a hundred pages of Thomas Jefferson Downing’s estate papers—a waste of time and money, as most were illegible, especially as Xerox scans—I discovered the appraisal of his estate included all his slave by name! One of the frustrating things about slave schedules [the census records of slaves in 1850 and 1860] is that there is room for names but only the slave owner’s name is recorded. Equally frustrating are the Mortality Schedules, which list the given names of slaves who have died over the course of the census year but fail to include the last name or the slave owner’s name.
Thomas Jefferson Downing is listed as owning two slaves in the 1840 US Census of Benton [Calhoun] County, Alabama [see page 141]. Neither Cornelius Autrey nor Absalom Autrey owned slaves in the 1820, 1830, or 1840 census records.
[2] 28th District. The month could be “Jun” rather than “Jan.” In this census, the numbers in the left column is a count, not the number of slaves of that age and sex. The second column of numbers are the individuals’ approximate ages, which should not be read as gospel but guestimates.
[3] Archibald Downing. This is the only census in which he is listed as owning slaves, and something seems anomalous about it. The 1860 Census shows him to be well-off with an apparently successful farm worked by himself, members of his family, and probably hired hands, but without any slaves. I wonder if these two slaves were inherited, possibly from his Cameron relations. The pair here is clearly a mother and child. Barring the miraculous discovery of a family diary or such, it is impossible to know who this woman was.
[4] Despite the illegibility of this entry, it is Thomas Jefferson Downing.
[5] It is tempting to interpret these older individuals as Joe, Hester, Luke, and Sylva with some of the younger individuals being the girls Jane or Sarah from the estate papers, but which one is which? And who might the others be?
[6] While the number appears to be a 9, it is a 2. Examination of numbers throughout the census confirms this.
[7] Recorded in book O, Pages 717 & 718, 13 July 1860. The judge’s name is A[lexander] Woods, and the names of the men who conducted the appraisal appear to be his neighbors John B Bledsoe, Jesse N Bryan, and L[arkin] Coker, with the possibility of a third, illegible name that might be Noah Good—or not. Thomas Jefferson Downing’s entire estate was valued $12,604.98, a very large sum for the period, but most of that was in the value of the slaves.
[8] On the surface, it appears impossible to determine the familial make up of these ten individuals beyond the mothers listed with their infants. And, given just this bit of information, without any further context, it is impossible. However, it is possible to follow these clues and learn more about these individuals. [See following pages.]
[9] I debated including the valuations as I find it so very disturbing but decided to tell the truth and not “tell it slant.” By way of monetary comparison, Lewis S Downing’s property’s value [only his “personal estate” is listed] in the 1860 US Census was $250, while his very rich father-in-law Patton Brother’s combined wealth [“personal estate” + “real estate”] was $25,000. It should be noted that mothers with small children are valued together, not separately.
[10] Ranges 5, 6, & 7. This census was taken two months after the appraisal of Thomas Jefferson Downing’s estate. There are 11 slaves listed here, in two households. I suspect the 8-year-old in Elijah B Downing’s household is a slave given to him by his father before Thomas Jefferson Downing died, and therefore, was not included in the appraisal of the estate.
[11] Elijah B Downing & his mother Charity Mira Autrey Downing, the eldest son and the widow of Thomas Jefferson Downing.
[12] This is a guestimate based on additional research. [See following pages.]
[13] In researching these individuals, I quickly discovered the ages were all over the place and often didn’t make sense. Furthermore, for some reason—political correctness?—many modern transcriptions of records do not include an individual’s race. This is not a problem when an image of the original record is available for examination, but in the case of Alabama death records and most marriage records, there is not an original for comparison. As a result, you do not know if a person is black or white or otherwise. The solution is to check for that individual in the census records around the same date as the life event. In this case, however, those censuses were 1870—which is famous for not having people in it, as well as being difficult to search—and 1880. The 1890 Census was lost in a fire, and by the time of the 1900 Census, many of the individuals in question would have been dead. Add to this the usual [and frustrating] transcription problems with the name Downing.
[14] “Alabama, Marriages, 1816-1957,” index, FamilySearch (www.FamilySearch.org).
[15] Ibid
[16] “Alabama, Marriages, 1816-1957,” index, FamilySearch (www.FamilySearch.org).
[17] Precinct 1, page 8, household 58.
[18] Mistranscribed as “Millie.”
[19] Beat 1 & 2, Page 10, households 194 & 195. It lists Joseph Downing as suffering from consumption.
[20] Mistranscribed as “Eliza.” Elijah Downing appears to have been counted twice in this census, as there is a 12-year-old Elijah Downing, black, living as a “servant” in the household of George W Hodges. His occupation is listed as “works in Brick Yard.”
[21] “Alabama, Marriages, 1816-1957,” index, FamilySearch (www.FamilySearch.org). However, as always, I cannot determine if this couple is black or white. Mattison, of course, is a variant spelling of Madison.
[22] “Alabama, Deaths and Burials, 1881-1952,” index, FamilySearch (www.FamilySearch.org).
[23] But as we’ve seen with Lewis S Downing and Archibald Downing in the 1860 Census, that isn’t necessarily the case.
[24] “Alabama, Marriages, 1816-1957,” index, FamilySearch (www.FamilySearch.org).
[25] “Alabama, Deaths and Burials, 1881-1952,” index, FamilySearch (www.FamilySearch.org).
[26] “Alabama, Marriages, 1816-1957,” index, FamilySearch (www.FamilySearch.org).
[27] “Alabama, Deaths, 1908-1974,” index, FamilySearch (www.FamilySearch.org)
[28] Also of note in this household is a “cousin-in-law” Albert Reid, who was the son of Sarah Downing and Bowden F Reid and appears in the 1900 census with his parents [see below].
[29] “Alabama, Marriages, 1816-1957,” index, FamilySearch (www.FamilySearch.org).
[30] Ashville, Precinct 1, households 126, 127, & 128. This may well be the land Hester Downing purchased in 1884.
[31] “Alabama, Marriages, 1816-1957,” index, FamilySearch (www.FamilySearch.org).
[32] “Alabama, County Marriages, 1809-1950,” index and images, FamilySearch (www.FamilySearch.org)
[33] “Alabama, Deaths, 1908-1974,” index, FamilySearch (www.FamilySearch.org)
[34] Richard Reid (c1867-1928), Stephenson Nathanial Reid (c1868-1957), Thomas Reid (1869-1939), William Reid (c1872-1953), and Hettie Reid, Mrs Leroy Cowden (died 1958). “Alabama, Deaths, 1908-1974,” index, FamilySearch (www.FamilySearch.org) and “Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1953,” index and images, FamilySearch (www.FamilySearch.org). I was able to compare the names of these children with those listed in the Reid household in the 1880 US Census for Calhoun County, Alabama. I cannot find Hettie in that census, although she may be the daughter Hester. She married in 1909, so the birth year of 1907 in the death index is clearly wrong.
[35] That one—for Richard Reid—lists his mother simply as “Sarah Reid.”
[36] Beat 2, household 526.
[37] I could not find a record of his death.
[38] Precinct 2, household 74. I suspect this is the same house where the Reids have lived all along, as they own the house, and while Dovie G Matthews was living elsewhere in 1935, Sarah Downing Reid was living in the same house in 1935. Son Joseph P Reid is next door.
[39] Precinct 2, household 154. Next door is their son Joseph P Reid with his young family.
[40] Only 15% of former slaves took their masters’ surname.
[41] Names with * after them are former slaves or probable slaves owned by Thomas Jefferson Downing, his wife Charity Mira, or their son, Elijah B Downing.
[42] Birth years for both Sydney Byers and Wash Jones are taken from the 1900 US Census.
[43] Despite the inconsistencies of the ages and the resulting birth dates, I suspect Elijah “Lige” Downing was the first free-born member of the family, based on his age of 12 or 13 in the 1880 Census.
[44] “Alabama, Marriages, 1816-1957,” index, FamilySearch (www.FamilySearch.org)
[45] There is also a Susan Downing who married CC Ellis on 18 December 1883 in Calhoun County, Alabama. Unfortunately, the record does not indicate whether she was black or white. [“Alabama, Marriages, 1816-1957,” index, FamilySearch (www.FamilySearch.org)]. [Update: I have since examined this record, and I believe this was a white couple, with the gentleman being GC Ellis, a prominent citzen of Calhoun County. Who Susan Downing was has yet to be determined but she does not appear to be a member of the Downing family of Calhoun County.]