Part 10 (Final). The Black Families of Edgefield – A 100-Year History The 100-year history of the Black Families of Edgefield is just one of the untold stories of Africans enslaved on early Mississippi plantations. The beginnings of the Edgefield community trace back to 1776 when Charles Percy first arrived…
Part 9. The Edgefield Community 1870 Census – Following Harriett (Dedicated to “Mama Mack” ~ Eva Partee McMillan May 7, 1921 – September 23, 2021) By 1870, the earliest Black Families had been in the Edgefield Community for almost one-hundred years. Although the owners of the plantation changed every 10…
Part 8. The Last Owner Nathaniel Ware sold the plantation and the enslaved families to John Connell, a plantation owner, and former Sheriff of Woodville. Connell, who married Eliza Chinn of Kentucky in 1826, died in 1831, and Eliza Chinn Connell and their two minor children inherited the estate. In…
Part 7. Sold Again Nathaniel Ware and his wife Sarah moved to the town of Washington, near Natchez in Adams County, Mississippi. They continued to own and profit from the Woodville Plantations just 30 miles south. Terry Alford’s book Prince Among Slaves: The True Story of An African Prince Sold…
Part 6. Natchez Black Families Arrive on Edgefield Throughout the early plantation period, the Black Families remained intact and stayed on and worked the Percy plantations even though the ownership of the Estates often changed. The plantations were stable and profitable to the slaveholders, and the families stayed together and…
Part 5. Division of the Black Families By 1808, the estate was settled and divided equally among Percy’s 4 surviving children he had with Susanna Collins Percy. Each received: Equal valued Tracts of the 7100 acres of land Equal shares of the enslaved Black Families One fourth of the stocks…
