WASHINGTON: A Family Surname

During my teenage years, I remember my Aunt Verlie proudly telling me that we were related to George Washington. Much, much later my education taught me he did not father any children so we couldn't be biologically related to ole George.

Decades later doing family history research, I found out that the Washington surname is considered one of the top names the formally enslaved chose as a surname after emancipation. Some articles even reported that WASHINGTON was the "Blackest name in America". According to the 2000 U.S. Census there were 163,036 people counted that year with the surname WASHINGTON and ninety percent of them identified as African American --  this was a higher percentage than any other surname.

It seems that my family chose the surname WASHINGTON after enslavement. which was the surname of Ned's wife, Darkas. Ned's mother Sylvia first used the surname Adair, and later Washington. In my blog post Connecting to An Enslaved Ancestor -- Sylvia Adair Washington I show the connection of my 3rd great-grandmother and her enslaver.

My Maternal WASHINGTON family line

My research was validated when I found the hand-written research notes of my Aunt Verlie about our Washington family line on 3-ring loose leaf paper. (1) On this sheet, she has circled "last name Adel was changed" (should be Adair). There is a spelling variation that I attribute to the time lapse in the telling or perhaps the teller never knew how to spell Adair. (2) In the margin Aunt Verlie indicated that her great-grandmother, Dorkie Washington and her great-grandfather, Ned Washington were slaves and that she checked. There is a spelling variation in the name Dorkie (it's Darkas on her death certificate) but her death date is the same as what I have found. Initially, Aunt Verlie wrote her great-grandparents as her maternal family -- which they were, so this leads me to believe that she was interviewing her mother, Lucy Washington Brown. Ned and Dorkie Washington would have been the paternal grandparents of Lucy Washington Brown but the maternal great-grandparents of my Aunt Verlie.

Notes from research on Washington family by Verlie Mae Brown Walton, date unknown         (expanded top portion from full page below)

Notes (full page) from research on Washington family by Verlie Mae Brown Walton, date unknown

When my aunt made transition in 2021, my brother, Ray and I cleaned out her house. We found a number of these hand-written pages on our family history. Unfortunately, my aunt was very secretive about her family history research, and I had asked her many, many times about it. Maybe now she is guiding me to build on what I have been able to find and document.

WASHINGTON surname articles

        Washington, Eric. "The Irony of the 'Blackest Name In America'". Historical Horizons, February 26, 2016. 

        Washington, Jesse. "Washington: the 'blackest name' in America". NBC News: The Associated Press, February 21, 2011. 

Copyright © 2023 by Sandra Williams Bush, Ancestor Callings: Georgia and Mississippi Roots. All Rights Reserved.

Juneteenth -- A National Holiday!

On June 17, 2021 President Biden signed a bill into law making June 19th -- Juneteenth -- a national holiday. The bill came to him after it was passed unanimously in the Senate and 415-14 in the House -- with the nay votes coming from 14 Republicans. 

June 19th is the date in 1865 that Union soldiers came to Galveston, Texas, letting enslaved people know that they had been freed in accordance with President Abraham Lincoln's 1863 Emancipation Proclamation. The emancipation of enslaved people was not immediately recognized in southern confederate states and Texas was the last to implement the Proclamation. 

Juneteenth has been celebrated in some southern African American communities, especially Texas since the late 1800s. I am from Buffalo, New York where Juneteenth has been celebrated every year since 1976 on a weekend of the "teenth" (a Saturday and Sunday with the dates from the 13th to the 19th). 

That Juneteenth is now a national holiday is especially meaningful to me because I now know the name of my 3rd great-grandmother -- Sylvia Adair Washington -- who I wrote about in a previous post. She was a part of an enslaved family unit that included Elijah, possibly my 3rd great grandfather and Elijah, my 2nd great grandfather -- all were born enslaved and lived to see freedom.

As I continue to search for my ancestors, I proudly call out their names. I know that I am their hopes, their dreams and the reason they kept moving forward. They are my DNA and I am their DNA. I stand on their shoulders. Ase!

Copyright © 2021 by Sandra Williams Bush, Ancestor Callings: Georgia and Mississippi Roots. All Rights Reserved.

Connecting to Enslaved Ancestor -- Sylvia Adair Washington

June 2020 was the summer of Covid-19, protests marches highlighting Black Lives Matter and the push for police reform.

June 2020 was also the summer I broke through I brick wall and found family connected to an enslaved ancestor.

    My grandmother, Lucy Washington Brown was the daughter of Peter Washington (1872-1953).  Peter was the son of Ned Washington (1822-1918). Ned was the son of Sylvia Adair Washington who was born around 1795-1800.

Going backwards in time, of course --  the 1880 U.S. census, has Sylvey Adair, age 80 living with her grandson, Oliver Washington. They are living together in Barkers, Floyd County, Georgia.  Oliver is single and a farmer. Sylvey is recorded as "widow".  Living next door is Ned Washington, his wife and sons: Silas, Newton, Elijah, Peter, and Ned. (Peter Washington is my great grandfather)

Year: 1880; Census Place: Barkers, Floyd, Georgia; Roll: 146; Page: 314A; Enumeration District: 071

Ten years earlier, the 1870 U.S. census was the first census to name formally enslaved Black Americans and list them together in family units. My 3rd great grandmother is recorded as Sieve Washington, age 75,  living with  her son Ned Washington, his wife and family (including Ned's son, Oliver) in Cedar Town, Polk County, Georgia. Ned Washington is my 2nd great grandfather.

Year: 1870; Census Place: Polk, Georgia; Roll: M593_170; Page: 336A; Image: 227515; Family History Library Film: 545669

Can't help but wonder why Mz Sylvia moved from her son's home and she's living in her grandson's home in 1880.  I image her as one of those down-home nurturing grandmothers -- "Mmmm, baby, I'm gonna come over and fix you sumthin to eat." And so one week led to another and there they were living together comfortably.  I also imagine that Oliver decided that it was time to "strike out on his own" but  still wanted to be close enough to help his father on the farm. Those Washingtons . . . I'm looking forward to finding out more of their stories.

Adair surame
Why was the surname of  Sieve / Sylvey different in the 1870 and 1880 census?  Was she looking to connect to family? What was her connection to the Adair surname?

DNA told me that I am genetically connected to the Adair line.  So I researched the Adair family and found that one line were enslavers who lived in Georgia.  The brother who seemed to most probably be connected to Sieve / Sylvey was Bozeman Adair.

Bozeman Adair was a Georgia farmer and among his enslaved was a woman named Sylvia. When he moved to Carroll County, Georgia; Bozeman and his wife Sarah joined New Hope Primitive Baptist Church of Christ, Villa Rica in January 1829. Years later included in the church membership record of 23 Apr 1836 is "SYLVIA, A WOMAN OF COLOUR, property of BOZEMAN ADAIR  RBE"

Bozeman Adair died at the age of 86 on April 7, 1857 in Paulding County, Georgia. Listed in the 1858 estate papers of Bozeeman Adair (Paulding County, Georgia) are Neal* "man",  Lige "old man", and Sylvia "old woman. *The Neal listed is Ned who Slyvia is living with in the 1870 census.


Bozeman Adair, enslaver
     According to the 1820 U.S. census, Bozeman Adair lived in Madison County, Georgia with his inferred family and five enslaved people:                                                                                                                                                                          Enslaved male, under 14: 1
Enslaved males, 14-25: 1 Enslaved female under 14: 1 Enslaved female, 14-25: 1 Enslaved female 26-44: 1
1820 U S Census; Census Place: Madison, Georgia; Page: 43; NARA Roll: M33_9; Image: 67



     By the 1830 U.S. census he had moved to Carroll County, Georgia along with is inferred family and three enslaved people:
Enslaved male 24-35: 1
Enslaved female, 24-35: 1
Enslaved female, 36-54: 1
1830; Census Place: Carroll, Georgia; Series: M19; Roll: 16; Page: 214; Family History Library Film: 0007036.



     In the 1840 U.S. census Bozeman was still in Carroll County and had four enslaved people:
Enslaved, males, 10-23: 1 Enslaved males, 36-54: 1 Enslaved females, 24-36: 1 Enslaved females, 55-99 1
Year: 1840; Census Place: District 642, Carroll, Georgia; Roll: 38; Family History Library Film: 0007042

.

     In the 1850 Slave Schedule Bozeman was living in Paulding County, Georgia and had four enslaved people:
Female, 68 Male, 54 Female, 47
                                           Male, 24
1850 U.S. Federal Census - Slave Schedules. Census Place: Militia District 951, Paulding, Georgia.



Of course all of this leads to many more questions: Are Bozeman and Sylvia related? Why did he sponsor her church membership? Was Sylvia able to marry? Who was the father of her child(ren)?  Did she have other children?

My primary question is:  Where was Sylvia Adair Washington, my third great grandmother, between the death of Bozeman Adair in 1857 and the 1870 census?




Copyright © 2020 by Sandra Williams Bush, Ancestor Callings: Georgia and Mississippi Roots. All Rights Reserved.