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Category: Family History

Memorial Day Tribute to Frederick Alexander and Burrell Scott  

Posted on May 26, 2025July 25, 2026 | by Alvin Blakes | 14 Comments

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…

A New Narrative For William Veal

Posted on November 27, 2024July 25, 2026 | by Alvin Blakes | 13 Comments

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 – 1st Class Boy

Posted on October 25, 2024July 31, 2026 | by Alvin Blakes | 13 Comments

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…

Corporal Madison Veal: A Juneteenth Interloper

Posted on September 20, 2024July 25, 2026 | by Alvin Blakes | 14 Comments

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 – A Beloved Son-In-Law

Posted on August 11, 2024July 25, 2026 | by Alvin Blakes | 12 Comments

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…

The Real William Veal

Posted on July 16, 2024July 25, 2026 | by Alvin Blakes | 29 Comments

William Veal was born in 1802 in Tennessee, and died 15 January 1891, in Centreville, Mississippi, a small town near Woodville, the town center of Wilkinson County. He was married to Mary Brent, who was born around 1819 in Louisiana and died 15 January 1898 in Centreville. Together they had…

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