I have written about Noland Veal in several of my blog posts, including those on the 1918 influenza pandemic, Profiles of Five Wilkinson County Black Freedom Fighters, and Noland Veal: 1st Class Boy. What I knew then about Noland came from census records, military service records, and accounts by descendants…
Frederick Alexander and Burrell Scott were enslaved on the same Mississippi plantation, ran away together seeking freedom, and died in service to the Union Army during the Civil War. Frederick Alexander was born around 1828 in Wilmington, North Carolina. Burrell Scott was born around 1839, likely in Mississippi. Both men…
The William Veal of So Red the Rose is a fictional person, but no doubt his character is appropriated from the real-life William Veal of Holly Grove Plantation in Wilkinson County, Mississippi. In the novel, he is imagined as a loyal family servant, a defender of the slave owners, and their view…
Noland Veal was born around 1847 on Holly Grove Plantation in Centreville, Wilkinson County, Mississippi. He was the fifth child born to William Veal and Mary Brent. He married Milly Wright around 1865. Milly was born in 1852 in Mississippi. Her parents were Edmund Wright, born around 1820 in Virginia, and Marie…
Madison Veal was born around 1842 (later recognized as October 11,1841) on Holly Grove Plantation in Wilkinson County, Mississippi. He was the fourth child born to William Veal and Mary Brent. He married Laura Cheatham on May 5, 1870, in Springfield, Sangamon County, Illinois. Laura was born around 1847 near…
Frederick Alexander was born around 1828 in Wilmington, North Carolina. He was enslaved by James A Stewart and lived on Holly Grove Plantation in Centreville, Wilkinson County, Mississippi. On May 15, 1854, he married Kitty Veal, the oldest child of William Veal and Mary Brent. They were married on Holly Grove…
