What being "uppity" gets you

Recently, my local paper ran a letter dictated in 1865 by a former slave, Jourdan Anderson, to his former master, Colonel P.H. Anderson. The Colonel had asked Jourdan to return, "promising to do better for me than anybody else can", and offering Jourdan a "good chance", according to the letter. Jourdan's response was pure gold. Not only does he ask the Colonel for over eleven thousand dollars in back wages as a show of good faith before he'll even consider the offer, but he reminds the Colonel that he (P.H.) shot at him (Jourdan); and even gets veiled-ly threatening by bringing up some of the Colonel's questionable past actions (harbouring Rebs and murdering a Union soldier). Jourdan then goes on to say that his priority for his family is to get them educated, instill good morals in them, and keep them from harm.

It's an absolutely fabulous letter and, when I Googled it, certainly seems to be receiving a nice bit of buzz. But I wondered, what happened to Jourdan and his family? What happened to the Colonel and his family? Being an amateur genealogical researcher, I decided to try and find out.

Clues

• Jordan says, "It would do me good to go back to the dear old home again and see Miss Mary and Miss Martha and Allen, Esther, Green, and Lee." These are probably members of the Colonel's family/household. Miss Mary is probably his wife, and Miss Martha his daughter.
  
  
• Jordan refers to his wife as "Mandy".
  
  
• Jordan names his children "Milly, Jane and Grundy".
  
  
• Jordan refers to Milly and Jane as "grown up and both good-looking girls", and makes it clear that he fears they may be raped if the family was to return.
  
  
• Jordan implies that he also has daughters named Matilda and Catherine, who were old enough to be raped when the family was still enslaved.
  
  
• Jordan makes reference to a "George Carter", some kind of acquaintance of the Colonels, describing him as "taking the pistol from you when you were shooting at me."
  
  
• The letter is sent from Dayton, Ohio, dated August 7, 1865.
  
  
• The letter is sent to Colonel P.H. Anderson in Big Spring, Tennessee.

Finds

Jourdan's family is very easy to find in the 1870 census. They're living in Dayton Ward 8, Montgomery County, Ohio.

• Anderson, Jordan, 43, male, black, hostler, b Tennessee, illiterate, US citizen
• Anderson, Amanda, 39, female, black, keeping house, b Tennessee, cannot write
• Anderson, Jane, 19, female, black, attending school, b Tennessee, attended school in the last year
• Anderson, Felix, 12, male, black, attending school, b Tennessee, attended school in the last year
• Anderson, William, 5, male, black, attending school, b Ohio, attended school in the last year
• Anderson, Andrew, 1, male, black, b Ohio
• McGregor, Percella, 69, female, black, lives with daughter at home, b Tennessee, illiterate

Interesting! "Amanda" is clearly Jourdan's wife Mandy. There's daughter Jane; Felix is likely the "Grundy" from Jourdan's letter; and two more children have been born since the letter was written: William and Andrew. And here's a gem: Percella McGregor, who is living with her daughter at home and must therefore be Mandy's mother. Milly is nowhere to be found, most likely because she's married and listed with her own household. Also no sign of Matilda or Catherine, who are probably also married, or dead, or were lost track of during the family's period of slavery.

In 1880, they're still in Dayton, Montgomery County, Ohio:

• Anderson, Jordan, black, male, 50, married, coachman, illiterate, b Tennessee, parents b Tennessee
• Anderson, Amanda, black, female, 49, wife, married, keeping house, cannot write, b Tennessee, parents b Tennessee
• Anderson, William F, black, male, 16, son, single, at school, attended school in last year, b Ohio, parents b Tennessee
• Anderson, Andrew, black, male, 11, son, single, at school, attended school in last year, b Ohio, parents b Tennessee
• Anderson, Valentine, black, male, 9, son, single, b Ohio, parents b Tennessee
• Anderson, Lottie, black, female, 6, daughter, b Ohio, parents b Tennessee
• Anderson, Ava O, black, female, 3, daughter, b Ohio, parents b Tennessee

Jane and Felix seem to have moved out at this point, but we still have William and Andrew, plus three new children: Valentine, Lottie and Ava O. No Percella McGregor - likely she's died by this point.

As genealogy buffs will know, the 1890 US census was mostly destroyed, so no use trying to find the family in there, which brings us to the 1900 census. They're living in Dayton Ward 7, Montgomery County, Ohio:

• Anderson, Jordan, head, black, male, b Dec 1825, 74, married 52 years, b Tennessee, parents b Tennessee, retired butler, unemployed all year, illiterate, can speak English, owns home free and clear, house
• Anderson, Amanda, wife, black, female, b Oct 1829, 70, married 52 years, 11 children, 6 living, b Tennessee, parents b Tennessee, can read, cannot write, can speak English
• Anderson, Valentine, son, black, male, b Nov 1870, 29, married 5 years, b Ohio, parents b Tennessee, physician, not employed in past year, literate, can speak English
• Anderson, Lottie, daughter, black, female, b Jun 1873, 26, single, b Ohio, parents b Tennessee, literate, can speak English
• Anderson, Eva, daughter, black, female, b Jul 1876, 23, single, b Ohio, parents b Tennessee, literate, can speak English
• Anderson, Abigail, daughter-in-law, black, female, b Apr 1873, 27, married 5 years, no children, b Ohio, parents b North Carolina, literate, can speak English

Based on this, I think we can surmise that Jordan was a house slave, probably Colonel Anderson's butler, which would certainly explain why the Colonel got so angry when Jordan wanted to leave that he tried to shoot him. I think my favourite part about the 1900 record is where it lists Jordan as owning his own house completely free of any mortgage. My second favourite part is that his son Valentine has become a doctor. We can also see that Valentine has married a woman named Abigail. We can also see that Mandy had 11 children, six of whom are still living - presumably Eva, Lottie, Valentine, Andrew, William and Jane?

In 1910, the family is, predictably, still living in Dayton Ward 7, Montgomery County, Ohio:

• Anderson, Amanda, head, female, black, 80, widowed, married 65 years, 11 children, 6 living, b Tennessee, parents b Tennessee, can speak English, no occupation, literate, owns home free and clear, house
• Anderson, Valentine, son, male, black, 39, married 14 years, b Ohio, parents b Tennessee, can speak English, messenger for carworks, worker, not out of work this year, literate
• Anderson, Eva O, daughter, female, black, 34, single, b Ohio, parents b Tennessee, speaks English, no occupation
• Anderson, Abigail, daughter-in-law, female, black, 36, married 14 years, no children, b Ohio, parents b North Carolina, speaks English, no occupation, literate
• Stewart, Charlotte, daughter, female, black, 37, married 8 years, no children, b Ohio, father b Virginia, mother b Tennessee, speaks English, no occupation, literate
• Stewart, Samuel C, son-in-law, male, black, 37, married 8 years, b Ohio, father b Virginia, mother b Tennessee, speaks English, janitor for church, worker, not employed in last year, literate

So we see that Jourdan must have died between 1900 and 1910, having lived to a nice old age somewhere between 75-85ish. He left his family with their own home, mortgage-free, and made sure his children were educated. It's a wonderful legacy. It is worrying to see that Valentine is no longer listed as a physician, which is a bit mysterious; and that he and Abigail have been married 14 years with no children. His sister Charlotte (Lottie) has married between 1900 and 1910 to Samuel C. Stewart. They also have no children, although they've been married eight years.

The family really likes Dayton, because in 1920, they're in Ward 8, Montgomery County, Ohio, all right next to each other:

• Stewart, Samuel, head, owns home free and clear, male, black, 48, married, literate, b Ohio, parents b Virginia, speaks English, janitor in church, worker
• Stewart, Scharlet, wife, female, black, 46, married, literate, b Ohio, parents b Tennessee, can speak English, no occupation
• Anderson, Valentine, head, owns home free and clear, male, black, 49, married, literate, b ohio, parents b Virginia, speaks English, doctor, general practice
• Anderson, Abigal, wife, female, black, 49, married, literate, b Ohio, parents b North Carolina, speaks English, no occupation
• Johnson, Charles H, head, rents, male, black, 44, married, literate, b Pennsylvania, parents b Pennsylvania, speaks English, janitor for church, worker
• Johnson, Eva O, wife, female, black, 43, married, literate, b Ohio, parents b Tennessee, speaks English, no occupation
• Johnson, Catherine, daughter, female, black, 12, single, attended school during the year, literate, b Pennsylvania, father b Pennsylvania, mother b Ohio, speaks English, no occupation
• Johnson, William, son, male, black, 10, single, attended school during the year, literate, b Ohio, father b Pennsylvania, father b Pennsylvania, mother b Ohio, speaks English, no occupation

Amanda has died by this point, having lived to a lovely old age of about 80-90. Her three youngest children are still quite close. Valentine is once again a doctor; Lottie is still married to Samuel; and now we can see that Eva was married, to a Charles H Johnson, and they have two children.

The family is still close in 1930, in District 81, Dayton, Montgomery County, Ohio:

• Stewart, Samuel, head, male, negro, 55, first married age 27, not attending school, literate, b Ohio, parents b USA, speaks English, custodian church, veteran of SP
• Stewart, Charlotte, wife of head, own, value $2K, female, negro, 55, first married age 27, not attending school, literate, b Ohio, parents b Tenn, no trade
• Johnson, Charles, head, male, negro, 52, first married age 20, not attending school, literate, b Penn, father b Penn, mother b Virginia, caretaker church
• Johnson, Eva, wife, own, value $2K, female, negro, 52, first married age 37, not attending school, literate, b Ohio, parents b Tenn, no trade
• Huggins, Katherine, daughter, female, negro, 23, married, first married age 19, not attending school, literate, b Penn, parents b Penn, no trade
• Huggins, Ruth, granddaughter, female, negro, 3, single, not attending school, b Ohio, father b USA, mother b Penn, no trade
• Huggins, Harold, grandson, male, negro, 4, single, not attending school, b Ohio, father b USA, mother b Penn, no trade
• Johnson, William, son, male, negro, 21, single, not attending school, literate, b Penn, parents b Penn, caretaker church

No Valentine or Abigail here, but Charles and Eva Johnson's daughter Katherine has clearly married and had some children of her own.

So that's the census record for the Jourdan Anderson family. It indicates that they were quite successful, and never ended up taking Colonel Anderson's offer to return to the South in his employ.

Hunting for further details, I found Eva O Anderson's birth record:

Eva Anderson
colored
b Dayton, Montgomery, Ohio
b 19 Jul 1876
father Jourdan Anderson
mother Amanda Gereger

"Gereger" is probably some horrific mis-transcription of the surname "McGregor".

But there was another birth record:

Salma Anderson
colored
b Dayton, Montgomery, Ohio
b Oct 1874
father Jordan Anderson
mother Amanda Anderson

She probably died in infancy or childhood, as she never appears on the census record, and since we know that five of Amanda's children predeceased her.

There's an obituary notice for Jourdan in Dayton:

Jordan Anderson
published 19 Apr 1905
Dayton, Montgomery, Ohio, USA
d abt 1905
age 79, 60 Burns Ave., death notice
Dayton Daily Journal
v42, iss228 pg11, col7

There's death information for Valentine:

Valenti W Anderson
d 10 May 1920, Montgomery, Ohio

(from Directory of Deceased American Physicians)
Valentine Winters Anderson
b 1870 OH
d 10 May 1920 Dayton, OH
practice type: Allopath
Practice specialties: Dayton, OH, Sep 14 1911
Licenses: OH, MI, 1904
Practice dates: Dayton, OH, Sep 14, 1911
Medical school: Louisville National Medical College, Louisville, 1900, (G), MI-08 Michigan College of Medicine and Surgery, Detroit, 1904, (G)
JAMA Citation: 74:1533
Cause of Death: cerebral hemorrhage

From findagrave.com, we find out when Felix died:

Felix Anderson
b Mar 14 1859 Tennessee, USA
d Jul 1 1916 Monroe County, Ohio, USA
Woodlawn, Dayton, Montgomery County, Ohio

So it appears that the eleven children of Jourdan and Mandy were Matilda, Catherine, Milly, Jane, Felix (Grundy), William F, Andrew, Valentine Winters, Charlotte (Lottie), Salma, and Eva O.

South of the border

But what about Colonel P.H. Anderson? Was his life after the Civil War as successful as Jourdan's? Well, we have his family listed before the war, in the 1860 census, in Wilson, Tennessee (Tuckers Cross Roads Post Office), where there is indeed a Big Spring:

• P H Anderson, 37, male, farmer, land worth 66K, estate worth 92,327, b Tennessee
• Mary Ann Anderson, 33, female (Miss Mary)
• Patrick H Anderson Jr, 13, male, attended school
• Martha H Anderson, 11, female, attended school (Miss Martha)
• Paulain Anderson, 9, male, attended school
• Tinus Anderson, 6, male, attended school
• Edgar Poe Anderson, 3, male
• Mary M Anderson, 1, female

And there are "Miss Mary" and "Miss Martha".

We also have his slave schedule from 1860:

• 50, male, black
• 34, male, black
• 35, male, black
• 28, male, black
• 26, male, black
• 23, male, black
• 22, male, black
• 18, male, black
• 16, male, black
• 16, male, black
• 12, male, black
• 10, male, mulatto
• 10, male, black
• 6, male, black
• 6, male, black
• 6, male, black
• 3, male, mulatto
• 3, male, mulatto
• 1, male, mulatto
• 50, female, mulatto
• 50, female, black
• 25, female, black
• 22, female, black
• 18, female, mulatto
• 15, female, black
• 18, female, black
• 12, female, black
• 12, female, black
• 10, female, black
• 8, female, mulatto
• 3, female, black
• 14, female, black

No names, there, of course. Why would you bother recording the names of your livestock, after all. (Read extreme sarcasm and disgust there.)

But by 1870, P.H. Anderson Sr. is no longer in the picture. Here's the family in Lebanon, Wilson County, Tennessee:

• Anderson, Mary, 42, female, white, keeping house, 5000/200, b Tennessee
• Anderson, Lovie, 21, female, white, at home, b Tennessee
• Anderson, Laily, 10, female, white, at home, b Tennessee
• Anderson, Sally, 8, female, white, at home, b Tenn
• Anderson, Paul, 19, male, white, farmer, b Tenn
• Anderson, Tinies, 16, male, white, at home, b Tenn
• Anderson, Edgar, 12, male, white, at home, b Tenn
• Anderson, Don, 9, male, white, at home, b Tenn
• Anderson, Berry, 5, male, white, at home, b Tenn

Likely he's died - probably between 1865 when Berry was born and 1870 when the census was taken.

Some more digging gives us some verrrry interesting information - his marriage to Mary Ann. Notice her last name:

Patrick H Anderson obtained a license to marry Mary A McGrigor
Aug/Sep 1844 in Rutherford, Tennessee

So I would guess that Mary Ann brought Mandy with her to the marriage, and that's how Mandy and Jourdan met. I'm guessing Mandy was also a house slave, likely Mary Ann's personal maid.

There's a whole whack of Anderson and McGregor records from a family bible, too:

• Patrick Henry Anderson, born June 24, 1823 (obviously our Colonel)
• Jesse Hord Anderson, born Jan 27, 1826
• Paulding Francis Anderson, born Sept 27 1828
• Rufus Dixon Anderson, born Jul 31 1831
• Martha Anderson, born Apr 22 1834
• Joseph Anderson, born Jul 2 1836
• James Monroe Anderson, b May 1818, 1838
• Eudora Anderson, b Jan 8 1841
• DeWitt Anderson, born May 2, 1843
• Anthony Wayne Anderson, b Oct 14 1845
• Sally Erskine Anderson, b Nov 20 1847
• Churchwell A Robinson b Jul 14 1853
• John McGregor b May 6 1858
• Patsie Hord McGregor b Mar 4 1860
• Andrew McGregor b Nov 8 1861
• Paul Britton McGregor b Jan 23 1866
• Leonora McGregor b Friday morning Feb 16 1868
• Temple Harris McGregor b Thurs am May 12 1870
• Eudorah Anderson McGregor b Tues night Oct 22 1872
• Frankie Graeme McGregor b Monday 9 o'clock Mar 1 1875
• Sally Ashe McGregor, b Apr 23 1877
• Frank Anderson McGregor b Oct 9 1879
• The twins M and D McGregor, Nov 28 1881
• Paulding Anderson and his wife Martha T Anderson were married May 24 1820
• P F Anderson and his wife Mary McGregor married Aug 1841 (should be 1844, but maybe there was a transcription error)
• Patrick Henry Anderson died Sep 28 1867 (aha!)

So Jourdan goes on from slavery to work hard, educate his children, pay off his mortgage, live to old age, and, one hopes, get a huge amount of satisfaction out of life. Colonel Anderson, on the other hand, dies two years after receiving Jourdan's in-your-face letter.

Ahhh. Sometimes fate works properly, doesn't it?