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…
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…
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…
