The Bulletin

of the

Northumberland County

Historical Society

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Vol. XLV ~ 2008

The Kelley Brothers and theAmerican Colonization Society:

From Northumberland County to Liberiaby Craig M. Kilby.

The Monday morning of February 18, 1856,started off like any other Court Day at Lancast-er Court House. People were busily buying andselling wares, exchanging gossip, and lookingforward to conducting their business before thecourt.

But this was not going to be an ordinaryday at the courthouse. It was not going to bea normal day anywhere in the Northern Neck,and it would be a decidedly abnormal day inNorthumberland County. At Lynham's andRichland Plantations at Bluff Point Neck, itcertainly would be a day none of its inhabitantswould ever lorget. Their lives, and the lives oftheir posterity, would be dramatically and irre-vocably altered.

On this Monday morning, Col. AddisonHall, Baptist minister, and Thomas W. Mere-dith, partner in the mercantile firm of Meredith& Cundiff in Kilmarnock, came to court to pres-ent the last will and testament of their friendand neighbor, the eccentric wealthy bachelormerchant of Kilmarnock, Mr. James Kelley. Itmust have been difficult for them to keep secretthe contents of the bombshell they were aboutto burst in the courthouse. For reasons we shallsee, this was probably one fuse that AddisonHall relished lighting.

The will of any wealthy bachelor wasbound to be a greatly anticipated topic of gos-sip for months to come. Who would get what?Who would get nothing? Why? More than a fewrelations were probably sitting in the front rowof the courtroom eager to learn the answers tothose very questions.

Besides his fabulous stock of store goods inKilmarnock, and his house full of fine furnitureand family heirlooms, James Kelley was also aprominent Northumberland County planter innearby Bluff Point Neck. There he owned justover one thousand acres comprised of threeplantations called Lynums; Richland; and Mid-dle Quarter, Lee's and Jones's, which were ac-quired between 1825 and 1839.1

Living on these plantations were forty-four slaves who were most assuredly not in thecourtroom this Monday morning. To their uttersurprise, they would soon learn, they had justbeen set free and were on their way to Africa.And very soon at that.

Slaves and Free Blacks inNorthumberland County

The total 1850 population of Northumber-land County was 7,336 persons. Of these, 42percent were white, 7 percent were free blacks,

*The author is a native of Missouri where he earned a BS degree in public administration from the University ofMissouri-Columbia and served three terms in the General Assembly. He moved to the Northern Neck in 2005,where he is actively engaged in genealogical and historical research. This article is dedicated to the late W. PrestonHaynie, who encouraged it. The author also acknowledges Marie Tyler-McGraw and Deborah Lee for sharing theirin-depth knowledge of the history of the American Colonization Society, and Joan Horsley for her very helpfuleditorial suggestions. The author takes sole responsibility for any errors of commission or omission in this article.All websites cited in this article were active as of September 30, 2008.

1. Northumberland County Record Book 24, 92-93 (Lynums, purchased from Mary Ball of Lancaster Countyin 1825);Northumberland County Record Book 28, 559-561 (Richland, called Fleet's Bay T~act in the deed,bought from Edward and Eliza Henry of Fauquier County in 1835); and Northumberland County RecordBook 30, 21-25 (called Middle Quarter, Lee's and Jones's in the will of James Kelley, conveyed by Col. RobertWormeley Carter of Richmond County in 1840). Lynum's is now spelled Lynhams. See also Mrs. W. G. Bates,"Lynhams," The Bulletin of the Northumberland County Historical Society 16 (1979): 67-78.

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and 51 percent were slaves.2 The percentagesfor Lancaster County, though smaller in popu-lation, were 38 percent white, 6 percent freeblack, and 56 percent slave.3

Given these demographics, and others likethem throughout Virginia, it goes without say-ing that the issue of slavery, manumission, andfree blacks living in the Commonwealth hadhad a very long and vexing history.

Slaves had been manumitted in Northum-berland County before, and would be later.4 Cer-tainly the elder members of the audience at theLancaster courthouse this Monday would havebeen aware of the most famous manumission ofall-that of Robert Carter III of Nomini Hall inWestmoreland County. Carter's shocking "Deedof Gift" of 1791, filed with the District Courtthat met at the Northumberland Court House,freed more than 450 slaves throughout his far-flung Virginia real estate empire.5 The late W.Preston Haynie provided numerous anecdotalaccounts of Northumberland County manumis-sions in the 1996 issue of The Bulletin.6

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Emancipation and Slave Codes in VirginiaIn 1782, the Vir.ginia legislature enacted a

law enabling the emancipation of slaves by willor by deed. Several restrictions applied to boththe emancipator and the rights of freed blacks.7In 1785, Virginia became the first state to ban

the importation of slaves from Mrica and theWest Indies, either directly or through anothorstate. Any slave brought into Virginia contrnryto this act was to be freed after twelve monthsof cumulative residency. Any person moving toVirginia with slaves had to take an oath that hewas not attempting to evade this act and hadnot brought any slaves with him with the inten-tion of selling them.8

This law was amended again in 1793. Thepreamble to the 1793 Act reads, ''Whereas greatinconveniences have arisen in many, if not allthe towns within this commonwealth, from thepractice of hiring negroes and mulattos, whopretend to be free, but are in fact, slaves: Forremedy thereof." This Act required all freeblacks to register with the clerk of each local ju-risdiction every three years and to carry a per-mit with them at all times. A provision of thisAct banned any free black or mulatto from com-ing to Virginia at all, unless in the employ of awhite person.9

In 1806, an even stricter law was passed.Section 1 repealed the provision in the 1785Act granting freedom to slaves brought intothe Commonwealth and residing there for morethan one year. Instead of being freed, suchslaves became the property of the county's Over-seers of the Poor and held in trust for the benefitof the poor of that county until the owner went

2. Bayne Palmer O'Brien, Northumberland County, Virginia 1850 Census (Richmond: privately printed, 1972),Appendix. . .

3. Bayne Palmer O'Brien, 1850 Census of Lancaster County (Lancaster, Va.: Mary Ball Washington Museum andLibrary, 1968), 79.

4. The 1847 will of Methodist Minister Benedict Burgess gave his twenty-three slaves to his wife in a life estate,and upon her death they were to be sent to Liberia, although the records do not show that this trip ever tookplace (Northumberland County Will Book A, 11-13; Northumberland County Estate Book B, inventory, saleand account, 170-198). The 1853 will of Robert S. Noel, whose daughter Fanny had married a son of theReverend Burgess, also liberated two of his slave families comprising nine persons "for the mutual peace of mysurviving family." He had twelve other slaves whom he did not liberate (Will Book A, 49; NorthumberlandCounty Estate Book C, inventory, 362). Only one of the families made the trip to Liberia, in 1857.

5. District Court Orders and Deeds 1789-1825, Part 1, 232-236.6. W. Preston Haynie, "African-Americans: Obstacles To Freedom," The Bulletin of the Northumberland County

Historical Society 33 (1996): 59-72.7. "An act to authorize the manumission of slaves," in William Waller Hening, The Statutes at Large, vol. 11,

(1823; reprint, Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 1969), 39-40.8. "An act concerning slaves," Hening, Statutes, vol. 12, 182-183.9. "AnACT for regulating the police of towns in this commonwealth, and to refrain the practice of negroes going

at large," in Samuel Shepherd, The Statutes at Large of Virginia, vol. 1 (1835; reprint, New York: AMS Press,1970), 238-239.

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to trial. If the owner failed to appear or lost hiscase at trial, the slave was to be sold at auctionand sent out of the Commonwealth, and the pro-ceeds were to be used by the Overseers of thePoor.10

The most important provision of the 1806Act was contained in Section 10. Though rarelyenforced and left to local jurisdiction, it legis-lated that any slave emancipated in Virginiawas to leave the Commonwealth within twelvemonths or forfeit his freedom and be sold by theOverseers of the Poor. 11

In other words, freed slaves were only freeto leave.

As these Acts show, the presence of freeblacks posed a problem in Virginia, for manyreasons. For example, they had easy access tothe slave population and could easily dispenseinformation. They could act as bootleggers bytrading alcohol and other commodities in returnfor goods stolen from the master. They compet-ed for labor with slaves who could be hired out.Free blacks could also act as agents of rebellion,always a fear in the South. Perhaps most impor-tant, their mere presence served as a reminderto enslaved blacks of their condition.

Above all, despite moral objections to slav-ery, most whites-in the North and the South-simply could not conceive of a society in whichblacks and whites lived side by side as equals.This was the conundrum of post-RevolutionaryAmerica. One proposed solution to that prob-lem was to send the blacks to Africa.12

The American Colonization Society and theColony of Liberia13

In order to ameliorate these and the broad-er problems of race in general, real or imagined,the American Colonization Society (ACS) wasfounded in Washington, D.C., in 1816. Its full

name was the "American Society for the Colo-nization of Free People of Color." Through itsagents and with help from the U.S. government,the ACS created the colony of Liberia on thewest coast of Africa. Liberia became an inde-pendent republic in.1847.

The American Colonization Society wasnational in scope"Its founders came from manybackgrounds, geographic areas of the country,and often quite conflicting ideologies. To the ex-tent that it had any defined core philosophy, itsleaders tended to be Whig in their politics, phil-anthropic in their motives, missionary in theirreligion, and nationalist in their patriotism.Its raison d'etre was to promote the voluntaryreturn of free blacks and, later, emancipatedslaves to Africa.

Two of the dominant personalities behindthe Society's organization were Francis ScottKey and Charles Fenton Mercer. Key was anEpiscopalian and a prominent attorney fromBaltimore who is best remembered as the au-thor of the "Star Spangled Banner." Mercer wasa protege of Henry Clay, served in the VirginiaHouse of Delegates from 1810 to 1817, and waselected to Congress in 1816 where he servedfrom 1817 until 1839.

Virginia and Virginians played a leadingrole in both the American Colonization Societyand the early development of Liberia.

The Society's first president was BushrodWashington, a nephew of George Washingtonand a longtime associate justice of the U.S. Su-preme Court. Other prominent Virginians whowere charter members included James Monroe,James Madison, and John Marshall. Free blacksfrom Virginia such as Lott Cary and JosephJenkins Roberts were early church and politicalleaders in the Liberian colony, the former as itsfirst black acting governor and the latter as the

10. "An ACT to amend the several laws concerning slaves," Shepherd, Statutes at Large, vol. 3, chap. 63, 251-253.11. Ibid. .12. Early discussion of this topic included the idea of sending them to a nebulously described "far western area" in

the United States. This idea did not prevail for the same reason: It was inconceivable to most people thatAmerica could include blacks as free and equal citizens.

13. Unless otherwise noted, the bulk of this brief history of the American Colonization Society (ACS)draws onMarie Tyler-McGraw, An African Republic, Black and White Virginians in the Making of Liberia (Chapel Hill:University of North Carolina Press, 2007); and David Bearinger "Virginia and Liberia,"VHF Views(Charlottesville: Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, Winter 2007): 1-3.

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first president of the new republic in 1847.14The philanthropic and missionary ideal-

ism of the ACS enlisted the energetic support ofmany religious leaders.

The Society's first executive director wasthe Episcopal priest William Meade (1789-1861). His father, Richard Kidder Meade, hadbeen an aide-de-camp to George Washington.Meade was a close friend of Francis Scott Key.In 1823, William Meade was a founder of theVirginia Theological Seminary, and, in 1839, ofthe Seminary's high school in Alexandria. In1841, he became bishop of the Diocese of Virgin-ia, in which position he served as president ofthe Board of Trustees of the Seminary until hisdeath in 1862.16 As we shall see, Bishop Meademay well have had considerable influence onJames Kelley's thinking on the subject of eman-cipation.

The ACS auxiliary in Richmond attractedmany men of able leadership. According to Ty-ler-McGraw:

The ACS was fortunate to have as manag-ing officers in the Richmond Auxiliary menwhose attentions to the tedious strategiesof the account ledger had advanced theirown fortunes and might advance the ACS.Without their patient attention to detailand ability to save pennies, the enterprisewould never have survived its first decade.

Famous names might lend cachet,ministers hired as traveling agents mightexhort, politicians might debate, but it wasmen such as William Crane, BenjaminBrand, and David Burr who carried out theagenda. 16

To this list of able ,men with good business

acumen can be added the name ofthat same Col.Addison Hall (1797-1870), who, as an executor,presented James Kelley's will to the LancasterCourt in 1856. Hall was born in Northumber.land County, but moved to Kilmarnock as ayoung boy (his father became a merchant there).He had served briefly as the Virginia Society'sgeneral agent in Richmond in 1835 while wait-ing for a pulpit vacancy to open up at a BaptistChurch on the Northern Neck. By this stagein his career, he had already been an attorneyand served ten years as a delegate representingLancaster County in the General Assembly.17

The American Colonization Society wasconsidered by many to be naive at best and rac-ist at worst. Its detractors were a coalition ofstrange bedfellows. Abolitionists deplored it asa thinly veiled attempt to gloss over the evilsof slavery. Many Southerners considered it tobe an Abolitionist effort to emancipate all slaveseverywhere and, if nothing else, an organiza-tion whose aims were nothing but incendiaryfuel for slave insurrections and directly aimedat destroying the established Southern order.Like any group attempting to claim the middleground, the ACS was attacked from both sides.

It is therefore surprising that the ACS hadany success at all.

It was chronically short of funds. It neverheld much appeal to free blacks, especially inthe North, who viewed it as a way simply to getrid ofthem. It had somewhat more appeal to thefree blacks in Virginia, who though free in namehad few of the liberties of trade and movementavailable to them in the North, or the potentialfor economic and political opportunity offeredto them in Liberia. Those who did go to Libe-ria scoffed at their Northern brethren and con-sidered them delusional in their self-conceived

14. Lott Cary had purchased his own freedom with money earned from working in a Richmond tobacco factory,and he lived in Richmond as a free man until emigrating to Liberia. Joseph Jenkins Roberts was born free.

15. Phone interviews on September 8 and 25, 2008, with Julia Randle, chief archivist, Protestant EpiscopalTheological Seminary, Alexandria, Virginia. Also see John Johns, A Memoir of the Life of the Right Rev.William Meade, D. D., Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Virginia (Baltimore: Innes& Co., 1867).

16. Tyler-McGraw, An African Republic, 41.17. Isabel Gough, "Col. Addison Hall-Lawyer-Minister-Statesman, His Lineage, His Biography and His

Dedication to God," The Bulletin of the Northumberland County Historical Society 6 (1969): 62; andmanuscript titled "ColonelAddison Hall-A Man of Great Works With Very Little Instruction," Addison HallFamily File, Mary Ball Washington Museum and Library (MBW),Lancaster, Virginia.

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status as equals in a white America. Yet, theidea of voluntarily moving to a foreign land ondistant shores was bound to have only limitedappeal.

In 1833, the Virginia General Assembly ap-propriated $18,000 annually for five years to theAmerican Colonization Society for the removalof free blacks to Liberia. This Act required thateach county select "such free persons of colour. . . if such free persons of colour can be found. . . willing to emigrate." The Act provided thatsums would be appropriated to each county onthe basis of its proportion of the total revenuesthat were paid by all counties to the Common-wealth. 18

At the expiration of this Act in 1838, a Nor-thumberland County legislative petition to theHouse of Burgesses asked for the continuationof funding to the Virginia Colonization Societyfor this purpose.

Mter reaffirming the county's long-heldcommitment to the colonization plan "notwith-standing the recent reckless and ruinous courseof the Northern Abolitionists" and "detesting aswe most heartily do the principles and practicesof the Abolitionists of the North," the petitiondescribed the free blacks of NorthumberlandCounty as "the most degraded as well as themost wretched class of our population." It sum-marized the lamentable funding situation inthese words:

It is known to the Legislature, that nothingshort of colonizing them in Mrica, could bedone to ameliorate effectually their condi-tion. . . . in consequence of the numerousrestrictions and limitations accompanying

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[the 1833 Act,] it has been almost entire-ly unavailable. Not a single individual inthis County-though there are here many,whom the Act regards, and though theCommissioners under the Act were mostvigilant in the discharge of their duty-hasrealized its benefit. To us it has been a per-fect nullity.19

In 1850, the Virginia legislature appropri-ated for the American Colonization Society thesum of $30,000 annually for five years for theremoval of free blacks from the Commonwealthto Liberia. This law, however, came with somany strings attached as to render it that same"perfect nullity" as in 1838.20

In all, only 11,909 Americans of African de-scent are known to have emigrated to Liberiabetween 1820 and 1866. Of those, nearly one-third were from Virginia. Many of them hadlittle choice in the matter and had been eman-cipated on this express condition. The periodsof greatest migration were in the 1820s andearly 1830s, followed by a revival in 1850 withthe passage of the Fugitive Slave Act. This actresulted in the very real threat of kidnappingof free blacks in the upper South to be sold asslaves in the Deep South, and gave free blacksin Virginia a very good reason to leave for dis-tant shores.

The ACS ceased functioning as an agent ofemigration shortly after the Civil War. The lastcontingent from Virginia left Lynchburg a fewmonths after the conclusion of hostilities. Aftermany years of peripheral involvement in Libe-rian affairs, the ACS was formally dissolved in1912.21 .

18. "An ACT making appropriations for the removal of free persons of colour,"Acts Passed at a General Assemblyof the Commonwealth of Virginia Begun and Held at the Capitol, in the City of Richmond (Richmond: ThomasRitchie, Printer to the Commonwealth, 1833), chap. 12, 14-15.

19. Legislative Petitions, Northumberland County 1777-1859, Box 185, Folder 73; also microfilm reel 141,Libraryof Virginia, Richmond.

20. "An ACT making appropriations for the removal of free persons of color, and for other purposes," Acts of theGeneral Assembly of Virginia Passed at the Extra and Regular Sessions In 1849 & 1850 (Richmond: WilliamF. Ritchie, Public Printer, 1850), chap. 6, 7-8. The law limited state expenditures to $25 per free black overthe age often years and $15 per person under the age often years. To meet these expenses, an annual tax of$1 was imposed on free black males between the ages of 21 and 55.

21. "American Colonization Society," in The New Encyclopedia Britannica, 15th ed., Micropedia, vol. 1, (Chicago:The University of Chicago, Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 1988), 327.

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James and William Kelley: Vestrymen,Planters, Merchants, and Tavern Keepers

It is not difficult to imagine how JamesKelley and his brother, William Kelley, anoth-er bachelor, could be influenced to emancipatetheir slaves and send them to Liberia by repre-sentatives of such different religious communi-ties as William Meade and Addison Hall. Merall, both Meade and Hall had much in commonwhen it came to the American Colonization So-ciety.

The Kelley brothers were staunch Episco-palians. Both of them served on the vestry ofChrist Church Parish, and James Kelley wasalso a churchwarden. 22 When the roof of thechurch needed to be replaced in 1838, they gave$1,200 of the $1,500 that was required, and per-sonally supervised the work.23

There can be no doubt that James and Wil-liam Kelley were personally acquainted withBishop William Meade. As vice bishop of theProtestant Episcopal Church in Virginia in1838, Meade had spent several days at ChristChurch in Lancaster County. Meade wrote a-bout his arrival there on June 23:

This day was appointed by the Conventionto be observed as a [statewide] day of hu-miliation, fasting and prayer, on accountof the languor of the Church, and the sinsand troubles of the nation. No temple ofreligion, and no spot in the diocese, couldhave been selected more in accordance

with the solemn duty of that day. ,,-. .

Of the Kelley brothers, Meade wrota In1857 that they were "descendants of old Epi..copalians of the Northern Neck," praised thoirgenerosity in repairing the roof of Christ Churoh,and lauded their respective wills, which left gen.erous amounts to the theological seminary andhigh school in Alexandria and to the foreign andhome missions.25

As for Addison Hall, James and WilliamKelley had probably known him from childhood.In late 1799, when Hall was less than threeyears old, his father moved from Northumber-land to Kilmarnock, where he opened a storein 1803.26 The earliest reference to the Kelleysin Kilmarnock is in 1812, when Charles Kelley(brother of William and James) was granted atavern license.27 The Kelley deeds for their townlots in Kilmarnock show they lived adjacent toJohn Hall in 1824 and, later, to his son Addi-son.28 John Hall was a fellow merchant, and Ad-dison Hall had clerked in his father's store until1821.29

Even though Addison Hall was a Baptistminister by the time of James Kelly's death, hewas certainly the Kelleys' very close friend, asevidenced by James Kelley's will, which namedHall as one of his executors. Addison Hall wasco-pastor (with Dr. William H. Kirk) of bothCoan and Morattico Baptist Churches in Nor-thumberland County from 1836 to 1853.30Atthe time of James Kelley's death, Hall was the

22. Margaret H. Tupper, transcriber, Vestry Book 1832-1869, Christ Church Parish, Lancaster, Virginia(Irvington, Va.: Foundation for Historic Christ Church, 1993), 1-20.

23. Delma Conway Bates, 'The Kelleys of Christ Church" (Manuscript, Foundation for Historic Christ Church,Archives Collection, 1967), 1.

24. Bishop William Meade, Old Churches, Ministers and Families of Virginia (philadelphia: J. B. LippincottCompany, 1857), vol. 2, 117.

25. Meade, Old Churches, Ministers and Families of Virginia, vol. 2, 118.26. Lancaster County Deed Book 23,245. See also James F. Lewis, "Additional Notes on the Ancestry of Addison

Hall," The Bulletin of the Northumberland County Historical Society 6 (1969): 65.27. Christine Adams Jones, "Ordinaries or Taverns & Houses of Entertainment 1799-1848" (Manuscript, MEW,

n.d.), 7, citing Lancaster County Order Book 24,87.28. Lancaster County Deed Book 33, 135, 139; and Lancaster County Deed Book 41, 348. See also Lancaster

County Deed Book 34, 385.29. Gough, "Col.Addison Hall," 61-62.30. Stop and Look: The History of Coan Baptist Church 1804-1979 (Tappahannock, Va.: Barbour Printing.

Services, Inc., 1979), 53,65.

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pastor at Morattico Baptist Church near Kil.marnock, Lebanon Baptist Church in Alfonso,and master commissioner for Lancaster County.In these and other positions he was held in highregard and wielded enormous influence in thetwo counties both in and out of government.

William and James Kelley were amongthe ten children of James Kelley Sr. and JudithCampbell, whose marriage bond in LancasterCounty was dated January 16,1778.31 The fa-ther died in Lancaster County in 1795, and themother in 1809.32

Of their ten children, only six-all boys-survived to adulthood. All six served in the Warof 1812.83 Four of them were merchants, butfour ofthem had died by 1834.34

Only one of the six sons, John (occupationunknown), married and had children. He diedin Northumberland County in 1821, leaving awidow, Alice, who was the daughter of Cyrusand Alice (Ball) Pinkard of that county, and twochildren, James W. Kelley and Judith Ann, whobecame the wife of Dr. Porteus Towles of Lan-caster County.36

Cyrus Pinkard was a tutor to both youngAddison Hall and William H. Kirk, the even-tual co-pastors at Coan and Morattico BaptistChurches.36

William Kelley was the eldest of the two

surviving brothers. He was born March 22,1781, and was the first to die, in Baltimore onMay 18, 1848, where he had gone for medicaltreatment for a "prolonged sickness." That in-formation comes from his memorial tablet erect-ed by his brother at Christ Church in LancasterCounty. James Kelley was born in 1784 anddied February 1, 1856.37The closeness of thesetwo brothers is reflected not only in their manyjoint real estate and mercantile ventures, butespecially in the words of James Kelley himself,etched on the large marble tablet to his broth-er's memory:

An only surviving brother, James Kel-ley who lived with him for many years infraternal intercourse & harmony and whocherishes for him the kindest recollections,Erects this stone as a last tribute of respectand affection to his memory.38

The Five Wills of William and James Kelley39In one sense, it is amazing that the forty-

four slaves of William and James Kelley evermade it to Liberia at all. William Kelley lefttwo wills, of which only the second one men-tioned emancipating his slaves. His two willswere only discovered when James Kelley died.James Kelley died leaving three wills-identical

31. Lancaster Marriages 1715-1852, 48. The name is spelled Judith Cammell in the transcript of the bond.32. Memorial tablet, Kelley plot, Christ Church Lancaster; Lancaster County Estates 1796-1806, 49 (inventory

of James Kelley, 1795); and Lancaster County Estates 1806-20, 65a-67a (inventory and account of sales ofJames Kelley, 1809).

33. Christine Adams Jones, "War of 1812 Veterans of Lancaster County, Virginia," typed from handwritten notesby Margaret Forrester (ms., 2007), n.p.; Myron E. Lyman, Sr., "The War of 1812in the Southern NorthernNeck of Virginia," (ms., 2004),16; Myron E. Lyman, Sr., "Index of the Location of War of 1812 Veteran Gravesin Virginia," (ms., 2007), 27. All three manuscripts are housed at MBW.

34. For more information, see Memorial Tablets in the Kelley Plot at Christ Church, Lancaster; Richmond CountyDeed Book 20, 558, and Richmond County Deed Book 24, 386; Richmond County Land Tax Books 1820-35;Lancaster County Deed Book 26, 572; Lancaster County Will Book 28, 321; Lancaster County Estate Book 35,154-157,166-168; Lancaster County Estate Book 36,125-133,227-238, and Towles et al vs. Executors ofCharles Kelley, Lancaster County Chancery Records, Library of Virginia, file #1841-04.

35. Memorial tablet in the Kelley Plot; and Stratton Nottingham, The Marriage Bonds of NorthumberlandCounty, Virginia From 1783 to 1850 (Onancock, Va.: privately printed, 1929),63,83.

36. Gough, "Co!.Addison Hall," 6; Stop and Look, 64.37. Tombstone erected by James Kelley's executors, Kelley plot, Christ Church.38. Tombstone of William Kelley, Kelley plot, Christ Church.39. Lancaster County Will Book 29, 152-164.

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in substance and all of the same date-but hedid not mark which was intended as his "last"will and testament.

None of the five wills were witnessed. Wil-liam Kelley wrote in his first will, "There is nonecessity for witnesses to this my will as mywrite [sic] is well knowne," and in his secondwill, "I deem it unnecessary for a witness as myhand write is well known." James Kelley waseven more terse and methodical. He wrote atthe bottom of each page of his three wills, "myhand writing can be easily proven."

That two educated men whose executorwas an attorney would deliberately choose notto have their wills witnessed suggests that theywanted to keep the terms of the wills a secretbetween themselves. This was probably forgood reason. According to Tyler-McGraw:

In letters to the ACS, Virginia coloniza-tionists noted that they had to keep theiremancipatory plans undiscovered by hos-tile neighbors, who believed that talk ofcolonization stirred their slaves to rebel-lion. Early in the American colonizationmovement, an Amelia County slave ownerwrote, "What are likely to be the horribleconsequences upon our slaves by the publicdiscussion of such topics, in sermons andother public harangues?"40

It comes as no surprise that both wills weresubmitted to chancery court in Lancaster Coun-ty in August of 1856, seven months after JamesKelley's will was brought into court for probate.In this suit, titled James Kelley's Executors vs.James W Kelley et al, the executors state that"James Kelley and his brother William Kelley. . . lived together for many years and were part-ners in the mercantile business, in farming anda part of the time in the tavern business."41

The suit was brought by the executors toobtain court direction in carrying out the termsof the several wills. Seven years had elapsedsince the death of William, and the brothers' af-fairs were so intertwined that it was impossibleto sort out who owned what or when, except

that seven of the forty-four slaves woru ownodjointly, and the remaining slaves wero ownadby James Kelley individually. Even the jointlyowned land (which was most of it) raised quo..tions as to who were the proper owners undorthe terms of the various wills.

As interesting as the myriad legal issuesmay be that comprise the 173 pages in this suit,all of them were moot as far as the emancipa-tion of the slaves was concerned. By the timethe chancery suit was filed, the freed slaves hadalready arrived in Liberia.

The Two Wills of William KelleyWe are fortunate that William Kelley left

two different wills. The first will was dated May4, 1846. It mentions no slaves, except to the ex-tent that he left all of his property, both real andpersonal, to his brother, James. It is the secondwill, dated November 25,1847, that states in itssecond clause:

I emancipate all my slaves after the deathof my Brother James Kelley and give tothem the use of one Thousand five hundreddollars for their own use and benefit, andit is my wish and desire that my Executorhereafter named shall purchase for thema plantation in some state in the unitedstates that admits free people of color toreside on as my Brother James Kelley maywish and direct in his will and Testament.

William Kelley had no legal right to eman-cipate any of his seven slaves, as he only helda one-half interest in them. Therefore, the twobrothers must have had an understanding onthe slaves' fate, and that agreement seems tohave been reached between the dates of Wil-liam's two wills, May 4, 1846, and November25, 1847.

The Three Wills of James KelleyAll three of James Kelley's nearly identical

wills were dated November 4, 1854. They donot vary in substance, but merely in grammar,choice of words, and punctuation. Not knowing

40. Tyler-McGraw, An African Republic, 66.41. Lancaster County Chancery Records, Library of Virginia, file #1857-011.

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which of the three was intended to be the finalversion, the executors, Addison Hall and Thorn.as W. Meredith, filed all three wills on that mo.mentous Monday of February 18, 1866.

The first clause of his will is devoted to theemancipation of his slaves, and is given here inits entirety, keeping much of the original spell.ing:42

In conformity with my dec'd brother's Wil-liam Kelley's Will I do hereby emancipateall my slaves and give and bequeath tothem the sum of Thirteen Thousand FiveHundred Dollars for their own use and ben-efit in addition to the sum of one ThousandFive hundred Dollars given & bequeathedby my dec'd brother William Kelley in hiswill, to his emancipated slaves, making thesum total given and bequeathed to themin both of our wills Fifteen Thousand Dol-lars.

And it is my wish and desire thateach and all of our emancipated slavesshall move off together in company unlessit should be considered that my servantsMary and Suckey should be thought to betoo old to travel and they should wish toremain on my Farm, they can do so, andbe supported out of my Estate and ownedby my nephew James W. Kelley, as I wishparticular care taken of them.

And further it is my wish and desirethat my Executors hereafter named shallpurchase a plantation in some state inthe United States that admits liberatedslaves to move to and reside in, in peaceand harmony-but if otherwise, upon de-liberate consideration of my Executors itshould prove best meet and proper in theirestimation that these emancipated slavesshould be moved to Libery [sic] in Affrica[sic]. It is my wish and desire that my Ex-ecutors hereafter named shall send themto the American Colony43in Affrica (beingauthorized by my dec'd brother WilliamKelley in his will to do so as I may direct

in my will) and farther I wish my Execu-tors to furnish them with agricultural im-plyments to till the land when they arriveto their distant homes, or any other articlethey may want if necessary to promotetheir comfort and pay for Them out of themoney given & bequeathed to them andthe residue to be paid to them at the timeof their embarkation.

I hope and trust that my Executorswill attend and give these free people ofcolour justice done by and carried on boardsome vessel bound to that distant port, asit is my wish and desire that every effortshould be made to promote their comfortand happiness in this World.

The thirteenth clause of the will, quotedbelow, follows the disposition of Kelley's real es-tate. This section may have been meant to ap-ply only to provisions made for his land, thoughthis is unclear. Regardless, it may explain whyno one contested the terms of the will when am-ple financial reasons and numerous legal tech-nicalities were available upon which to do so:

Nevertheless In case any of my legal heirsor any person or persons whatsoever forthem should take any exceptions or makeany effort in any way whatsoever to upsetor invalidate this my last Will and Testa-ment or that of my dec'd brother WilliamKelley's will, or in any way to upset or in-validate his will in any way whatsoever,in that event I give and bequeath all myLanded Estate to my friend Dr. William H.Kirk's two oldest sons (names not recollect-ed) to have and to hold the same forever,the said land, as a token of my respect forthe many friendly and kind favors doneand manifested by his Father Maj. WilliamKirk dec'd towards myself and my dec'dfriends and relations.

(At this time, Dr. William H. Kirk, men-tioned earlier, was the pastor of Coan Baptist

42. The author is ofthe opinion that James Kelley wrote the three wills with two as drafts. In this quote, theauthor has used an amalgamation of the three, which vary only slightly in spelling and syntax.

43. The term "colony"was already an anachronism. Liberia became an independent republic in 1847.

42

-Slaves listed in the Inventory of James Kelley's personal estate, February 1856

Church in Northumberland County, where hehad become the full-time minister in 1854 afterpreviously serving along with Addison Hall.)

Although the will mentions the possibilityof removing the slaves to another state "thatadmits free slaves," this option was apparentlynot viable or given little or no consideration ei-ther by Kelley or his executors. In any event,the slaves themselves had no role in making thedecision. That was made by the executors, Ad-dison Hall and Thomas W. Meredith, with Hallprobably playing the leading role.44

James Kelley's EstateThe estate of James Kelley was invento-

ried and appraised on February 20-21, 1856, byWilliam Henderson, James Hurst, Thomas H.Hunton, and James Anderson. The locationsof the inventoried properties were given as Kil-marnock, Lynham's, and Richland. Both Rich-land and Lynham's were taxed as one parcelon the 1855 Northumberland County land taxlist, simply described as "on Indian Creek" andtwenty-four miles southeast of the courthousein Heathsville. Improvements were valued at

44. Little is known of Thomas W. Meredith, except "that he was a partner in two mercantile firms in Kilmarnock,Meredith & Beane and Meredith & Cundiff, and died in 1859. See Lancaster County Deed Book 42, 340.

43

Inventory of James Kelley-Slaves

Men Value in $ Boys Value in $

Henry (Wm & Jas Kelley's) 800 Spencer 700Thomas 800 Soloman 500Bass (Wm & Jas Kelley's) 900 Steptoe 500William 900 Elias 450Robert 850 Jesse 350Richard (Wm & Jas Kelley's) 350 Lewis 350Armstead " 250 Sprigg 200Charles " 300 Simion 250Harry " 300 Hiram 150Jerry (Wm & Jas Kelley's) 25 James 150Opie 800 John 700Sam 700 Cyrus 125

George 100

Women Value in $ Girls Value in $

Hannah 700 Lizzie 500Charlotte 700 Susan 500Paulina 650 Margaret 500Rachel 700 Winney 500Bettie 300 Rebecca 500Polly 600 Sally 400Esther 400 Leonora 250Nancy 400 Milla 100Susan 25 MarthaMary 100

I

I'

$1,152. The third tract, called Middle Quarter,Lee's and Jones's, in the will, was without build-ingS.45

The listing of the forty.four slaves appearsin the inventory immediately after the personalproperty listed for Richland. That is to say, allthe slaves were listed as a separate item, regard-less of where they were actually living.46 Theywere organized in groups of men, boys, women,and girls as shown in the box on page 43.

James Kelley's will only mentions two of hisslaves by name: Mary and Suckey, who may ''bethought to be too old to travel." Inventories ofthis period usually listed old or enfeebled slavesat a minimal value or as "a charge," meaning ofno financial value and an expense to the estatefor their maintenance. In this case, we find twofemales named Susan ("Suckey" being a nick-name for Susan) worth just $25, and Mary, val-ued at only $100. As will be shown later, bothwomen did make the journey to Liberia.

The case of Kelley's Executors vs. Kelleystates that seven of the slaves were owned joint-ly by William and James Kelley. On this list,all seven are identified, and all were men. Twoof them, Armstead and Jerry, did not make thetrip to Liberia.

As is typical for inventories of slaves, nofamily groupings or surnames are provided. Al-though slaves did have family names, they arerarely found in county records. On the surpris-ingly rare occasions when two slaves in the sameestate had the same given name, they tendedto be differentiated by some description such as"Old Tom" and ''Young Tom," or by occupationsuch as ''Mary the cook" and "John the miller"

or by surnames such as "John Lee" and "JohnJones."47

The 1850 census was the first to segregatewhites and free blacks from slaves on two dif-ferent schedules. The creation of the new 1850population schedules engendered lively debatein the U.S. Congress. Southern legislators vig-orously opposed listing slaves by family or evenby name. They argued that slave owners couldnot possibly know the names of all their slavesor their family groupings, and to attempt to doso would be a burden of time and energy for thecensus taker. This objection rings hollow in theface of the wills and inventories of estates incourthouses throughout the South, and of manyof the slave owners' plantation account books.48

Considering the increasing tension be-tween North and South over the issue of slav-ery, such objections appear to reflect a refusalto put a human face on human bondage. In theend, the 1850 Slave Schedule lists slaves onlyby owner, sex, age, and race (black or mulatto),but not by name. James Kelley's slaves appearin the slave schedule for Lancaster County be-cause that is where he had his residence.49

The estate accounts for James Kelley cov-er the period from February 28, 1856, to Octo-ber 20, 1857. They reveal that the overseer ofLynum's was James H. Coleman and that theoverseer of Richland was William Clarke. Bothwere paid a percentage of the crops produced in1855.50

To Liberia!It is remarkable that the preparations for

the trip of forty-four people to a foreign coun-

45. Northumberland County Land Tax Book 1855, 19. In the will of James Kelley, the Kilmarnock propertieswere left to the children of his niece, Judith A. Towles. The lands in Northumberland County of Lynham'sand Richland were left to his nephew James W. Kelley in a life estate, and at his death to his eldest son,James Fourth Kelley. Middle Quarter, Lee's and Jones's was also left to James W. Kelley in a life estate, andat this death to John W. Kelley, "second surviving son of James W. Kelley."

46. Lancaster County Estate Book 40, 233. .

47. Abstracts by the author of the records of 465 estates have been compiled for Lancaster County for the period1835-65; these are expected to appear on the MBW website in 2009.

48. David E. Paterson, "The 1850 and 1860 Census, Schedule 2, Slave Inhabitants," Chapter 2-B, "ToName or Notto Name," Afrigeneas Library, www.afrigeneas.comllibrary/slave_schedule2.html#2b_naming. .

49. 1850 Census, Virginia, Lancaster County: Special Census, Slave Schedules; image 29 at www.ancestry.com.50. Estate Book 40 (this record book is actually titled, in the Lancaster County courthouse, Estates from 1854),

292-301.

44

try were undertaken and completed with suchspeed and efficiency.

The sudden turn of events was probably notgreeted with overwhelming joy in the slave com-munities in Kilmarnock and NorthumberlandCounty. Most of the slaves probably had neverheard of Liberia, and the thought of crossing avast ocean probably was frightening for most.Whatever they knew about that unpleasantexperience had been handed down from slaveancestors. Moreover, most of these slaves prob-ably had friends or family members outside oftheir home plantations whom they would haveto leave behind.

But to Liberia they did go. The final ac-count for James Kelley's estate includes thispayment of $13,500:

June 11, 1856. for outfit etc. of eman-cipated slaves passage to Liberia, theirboard etc. for six months after their arriv-al in there and cash paid over to them ontheir embarkation this day on board ship"Elvira Owen" making the full amount oftheir Legacy under decedent's will as perreceipts of said emigrants. 51

The entire endeavor was not a modestproposition. The total valuation ofthe forty-fourslaves amounted to $19,425, or 62 percent ofthe$31,126 total value of James Kelley's personalproperty. Combined with the $13,500 expendedfor outfitting and passage to Liberia, the totalamount expended by the estate for the emanci-pation was $32,925.

Although any attempt to measure the in-trinsic value of human lives is purely quixotic,in 1856 there was a set monetary value on slavesin the marketplace. The purchasing power of$32,925 in 1856 U.S. dollars would probablyamount to between $630,000 and $830,000 in2007 U.S. dollars. 52 Considering its social, po-litical, and financial ramifications, one can well

imagine that such a scheme would hnvu Imhmdbeen kept under very tight wraps by thu Kc~l1uybrothers.

The Elvira Owen and Its Expedition to LiberiaThe American Colonization Society in

Washington, D.C., published a monthly journlllaptly named The African Repository.53 Fromthese journals, we learn a great deal about thoship Elvira Owen and its passengers.

The June 1856 issue led off with a storytitled "Expedition for Liberia."

Here we learn that the Elvira Owen was "afine ship of about 873 tons" and had been char-tered by the ACS to "take out a party of emi-grants." It sailed from Boston on May 27 andhad on board "two houses, each 96 feet by 36feet, and containing 21 rooms." From Bostonthe ship was proceeding to Hampton Roads,where it would pick up "some two hundred per-sons from Missouri, Kentucky, Virginia, Mary-land and North Carolina." From there it wouldproceed to Savannah to take on "about onehundred and fifty more." We also learn that "alarger proportion than usual of these emigrantshave been freed for the purpose of emigration,and provided with more or less money towardsdefraying their expenses."54

The Reverend John Seys, a missionaryof the Methodist Church who had spent manyyears in Liberia, was to accompany the emi-grants and see to their settlement once arrived.After that, he was to make exploration of the"upland country of the interior" in order to makepreparations for a future settlement there in theautumn. 55 This article concludes with an appealfor funds. Its patriotic piety reflects the Chris-tian beliefs of its members when it says:

[Our friends] cannot fail to perceive thegreatness and moral grandeur of the enter-prise, and to feel its claims upon the chris-tian sympathy and liberal support of ana-

51. Ibid., 294.52. "Measuring Worth," at www.measuringworth.comlppowerus/result.php. based on Lawrence H. Officer and

Samuel H. Williamson, "Measures of Worth, 2007," MeasuringWorth.com 2007.53. An original set of these journals is housed in the Special Collections of the Library of Virginia, Richmond.54. The African Repository 32, no. 6 (June 1856): 161-162.55. Ibid.

45

II

SHIP EL VIM OWEN, OFF TYBEE BAR, SAVANNAH RIVERJune 21,1856

Rev. and Dear Sir: We are just about discharging our pilot, and will soontake our final departure from the American coast on our voyage to Liberia. It willbe pleasing to you and to the friends of colonization generally, to know that thusfar we have been most highly favored.

On the 11thinstant [i.e., June 11, 1856, the same day James Kelley's Estatepaid $13,500 to send the former slaves to Liberia] our party of emigrants fromKentucky and Maryland.. consisting of 83, were conveyed from Baltimore in thesteamer Louisana, and joined the ship in Hampton Roads on the 12th,where 96from Virginia and other places had already been put on board.

On Friday the 13thwe sailed for this place [Tybee Island] and after a verypleasant and short passage of five days, anchored abreast of the Tybee lighthouseon Wednesday at 12 % P.M.

During the passage opportunity was afforded for making those arrange-ments, and organizing such a system of discipline and order, as I trust will great-ly conduce to the comfort and improvement of the entire company.

The 179 emigrants were divided into fifteen messes, and over each mess onesuperintendent, appointed, and to each mess the quantum of provisions appor-tioned by Mr. McLain, the Financial Secretary, duly and faithfully served.

We have abundance of everything necessary to the comfort of the people,and their accommodations are ample and commodious. I cannot refrain from say-ing that the Society are greatly indebted to Mr. McLain for his selection of so finea ship. During my many passages to and from Liberia, I do not know that I everwas a passenger on board as fine a vessel as the Elvira Owen. Her commandertoo is an intelligent, refined gentleman, and from my few days acquaintance withCapt. Alexander and his noble ship, I anticipate, with the Divine blessing, a shortand most pleasant passage to Africa.

The school books, bibles and testaments which I obtained at Boston, weresoon distributed, and one large school established, consisting of bible, reading,and even alphabet classes; and the thirst for instruction manifested, the aptitudein learning, and perseverance, even on the part of the old persons, amply repayfor the effort put forth.

In fact, the deck of our fine vessel presents every day at certain hours onelarge school, every one intent either in acquiring or imparting knowledge. Mr.and Mrs. Powers, from Litchfield, Conn., who go out as emigrants, are most inde-fatigable in the assistance which they render me, and their capabilities for teach-ing promise much for their future usefulness in Africa.

Besides family prayer in the cabin at seven bells every morning, I have ser-vice every evening from 8 to 9, with the emigrants in the steerage. We have agoodly number of professed christians on board, and the hour is spent in singingand prayer, with exhortation. Several unite with me in thus taking public part

46

and provoking others to love and good works.My first attempt to preach on board was on Sunday at 3 P. M., and at the

close of the service, when I urged upon all who were living without God and with-out hope in the world, the necessity of serving him, and doing it now, six personsin tears of godly sorrow, desired the prayers of God's people.

That night in prayer meeting three professed to be blest, and the serious-ness among the people seems increasing.-To God be all the praise.

We have received at Savannah 142 more, making in all 321 emigrants.There has been some sickness on board, some old chronic cases, and some of in-termittent fever, but I have the pleasure to report all better.

I beg to assure the Committee, through you, my dear sir, that nothing shallbe wanting on my part, so far as life and health will permit, in taking the utmostcare of this very large and interesting emigration during the voyage, providingfor their settlement on their arrival, and carrying out all the purposes connectedwith my agency.

I am, very respectfully yours, etc.John Seysl

1. The African Repository 32, no. 6 (June 1856): 194-195. The original of this letter from the Reverend JohnSeys on board the Elvira Owen, June 21,1856, and the later article and letter reproduced in this article wereoriginally written in paragraphs that were very long and difficult to read. They have been broken up intoshorter paragraphs here to enhance readability.

47

tion so eminently favored and enriched asthis by that Providence, which brightensor darkens human affairs, which is but theagency of Him who can prosper or destroyus. May the people of these United Statesforget not the Rock of their salvation, northat to nations as to individuals, benefi-cenceis the duty, securityand glory.56

The next issue of The African Repositorygave many more details of the Elvira Owen'sjourney. 57 Its lead story was titled "Departureof the Elvira Owen; Three Hundred and Twenty-One Emigrants For Liberia." Quoting from theJune 21, 1856, issue of the Savannah Republi-can, the journal reports that the Elvira Owen,under Captain Alexander, arrived at Tybee Is-land near Savannah on June 19 after sailingfrom Baltimore to Hampton Roads. It was metthere by a schooner bearing 142 passengers,and the Elvira Owen set sail for Liberia on theafternoon of June 21. On board was a medicallibrary "of great value, left to the people of Libe-ria by the will of the late Dr. Rufus Kittridge"of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The ship ''hasthe best accommodations, and ample stores andprovisions carefully selected."

In the Savannah Republican article, Wil-liam Duncan of Savannah gave a detailed list ofemigrants from ten states, their home counties,and their emancipators. Also on board weretwo Liberian citizens who were returning homefrom business.

Included in his account were "43 from Vir-ginia, liberated by will of two brothers, Messrs.James and William Kelley, and by will, throughtheir executors, Messrs. Hall and Meredith,of Rappahannack, Virginia, furnished with$15,000 for their emigration and settlement."Also on the list were forty slaves from GwinnetCounty, Georgia, emancipated by G. M. Waters.Among that group was a young mulatto namedJefferson Waters, of whom we will soon readmore. 58

Duncan's report states that $15,000 toward

the slaves' passage and maintenance was paidaccording to the wills of William and James Kel-ley. But as shown above, the estate of JamesKelley estate expended only the $13,500 be-queathed in his will. Indeed, the chancery suit,Kelley's Executors vs. Kelley, mentions that theestate of William Kelley did not have enoughfunds to pay for any of his bequests.

The next item in this Savannah Republi-can article is the touching firsthand account ofthe ensuing trip in a letter from the ReverendJohn Seys to the Reverend R. R. Gurley at theACS headquarters. It is quoted in its entiretyon page 46, as this author could not conceive ofa single sentence that should go unrecorded.

Ship's Passenger List of the Elvira OwenThe August 1856 issue of The African Re-

pository gives the complete list of passengersaboard the Elvira Owen. This article states thatthe ship sailed from Norfolk on May 13, 1856,and sailed from Savannah on May 20, 1856. Weknow from the preceding articles and letters,however, that these dates are not correct, andthat the ship sailed from Tybee Island, Georgia,for Liberia on June 21, 1856. Nevertheless, itis from this manifest that we are able to placethe former slaves of James Kelley into familygroups, with surnames and ages, as shown onpage 49.59

It is rare indeed when two lists such as theKelley estate inventory and the ship's manifestcompare so favorably, but there are still threediscrepancies:

. Two men named Charles on the mani-fest, but only one in the inventory;. Armstead, man, $250 in the inventory,not on the manifest; and

.Jerry, man, $25, in the inventory, but noton manifest.

With respect to Armstead and Jerry, it ispossible that both were old and simply eitherrefused or were told they did not have to go to

56. Ibid.57. Ibid., 32, no. 7 (July 1856): 193-195.58. Ibid., 193-194.59. The African Repository 33, no. 8 (August 1856), 250. Not all of the groupings of the same surname were

marked as "One Family."

48

I

Comparison of the Elvira Owen's Manifest (as printed in The African Repository)with the James Kelley Inventory

From the InventoryNo. Name and residence Age Born free Remarks (Value)

or slave

94 Charles Carter 60 slave 300 (man)95 Nancy Carter 40 slave 400 (woman)96 Winny Carter 14 slave 500 (girl)97 Charlotte Carter 18 slave 700 (woman)98 Elias Carter 8 slave 450 (boy)99 Cyrus Carter 2 slave 125 (boy)

100 Richard Armstrong 55 slave 350 (man)101 Polly Armstrong 35 slave 600 (woman)102 Spencer Armstrong 15 slave 700 (boy)103 Steptoe Armstrong 12 slave 500 (boy)104 Jesse Armstrong 10 slave 350 (boy)105 Sprigg Armstrong 8 slave 200 (boy)106 James Armstrong 5 slave 150 (boy)

107 Charles Jones 35 slave 300 (man)108 Betty Jones 40 slave 300 (woman)109 Margaret Jones 15 slave One 500 (girl)110 Samuel Jones 14 slave Family 700 (man)111 John Jones 12 slave 700 (boy)112 Simeon Jones 10 slave 250 (Simion, boy)113 Martha Jones 5 slave 100 (girl)

114 Harry Cook 45 slave 300 (man)115 Sukey Cook 65 slave 25 (Susan, woman)

116 Esther Lee 38 slave 400 (woman)117 Hannah Lee 18 slave 700 (woman)118 Paulina Lee 16 slave 650 (woman)119 Rebecca Lee 14 slave One 500 (girl)120 Opie Lee 13 slave Family 800 (man)121 Solomon Lee 12 slave 500 (boy)122 Lewis Lee 19 slave 350 (boy)123 Leonora Lee 9 slave 250 (girl)124 Milley Lee 3 slave 100 (Milla, girl)

125 Robert Williams 40 slave 850 (man)126 Rachel Williams 20 slave 700 (woman)127 George Williams 2 slave 100 (boy)

128 Susan Velvet 18 slave 500 (girl)129 Sally Velvet 16 slave 400 (girl)130 Eliza Velvet 12 slave 500 (Lizzie, girl)131 Hiram Velvet 8 slave 150 (boy)

132 Thomas Lee 30 slave 800 (man)133 Henry Wright 30 slave 800 (man)134 Bass Latimer 20 slave 900 (man)135 William Wright 28 slave 900 (man)136 Mary Campbell 45 slave 100 (woman)

49

Quite an excitement prevailed in our city on Friday last at the appearance hereof Jefferson, one of the liberated slaves of the late G. M. Waters, of Gwinnet county,in this State. It is known to most of our readers in this vicinity that "Jeff," with someforty other slaves, in accordance with the will of his late owner, was sent to Liberia inthe ship Elvira Owen, Capt. Alexander commanding. . . "Jeff," with his fellow passen-gers . . . arrived safely at Liberia, but after a stay there of about seven months, duringwhich, he states, that, of his own immediate family, mother sisters and brothers, six ofseven of them died; and [many others died as well] we may say perished from the wantof wholesome food, and from disease common upon the African coast. . . .

[In Liberia, Jeff stowed away on a ship bound for Baltimore, took another ship toCharleston, and from there by rail to Atlanta via Augusta.] Once arrived [in Atlanta] atthe Misters Wallace he stated. . . that all he wanted or desired was to reach the planta-tion of young Master Mr. T. J . Waters, of Gwinnett, so as to be permitted for the balanceof his life either to handle the plough, or to take up the shovel and the hoe. . . .

This is, truly, a rare incident. "Jeff' is not one of your stupid fellows, but an intel-ligent mulatto. His age is about 26, and we would take his opinion of the condition ofthe liberated slaves in Liberia as soon as that of any white philanthropist who has notactually visited Liberia. . . Jeff says, with but very few exceptions, their condition ismiserable indeed, and that ninety-nine out of every hundred of them would, like himself,gladly return to servitude upon the plantation. As for the natives of Liberia, he pro-nounced them lazy, filthy, and on their diet, worse than beasts -worms and snakes andtoads, and creeping things, being luxuries. Corn bread and bacon were things only re-membered; upon fruits and roots all had to subsist. . . We asked him if he could get workthere; his reply was, "no; [unless] he would work for nothing." In fact, said he, there is nowork to do there, and that is what makes everything so bad. Of the snob aristocracy, thebig niggers of Liberia, Jeff has a most contemptible opinion. They will [accept], he says,Northern niggers, but upon one w,hohas been a slave, they look with contempt. He couldlick a plantation of them any day, provided the law was clear.

-Extracts from "An Arrival from Liberia," Atlanta Examiner, May 4, 1857

Liberia. From the inventory, Jerry was clearlyold, and Armstead, "man," was valued at only$250. One man named Charles on the manifestmay have been a free black. It is also of inter-est that Richard Pinn, age 21, a free black mu-latto from Lancaster County,5Owas listed on themanifest immediately following the Kelley con-tingent.) Further research is needed in order toexplain the discrepancies noted above.

SurnamesIt is widely believed that freed slaves took

their surnames from their masters. Thoughmany times this was true, it is by no means anestablished "rule" or fact. The passenger list forthe Kelley slaves proves this-not one of themused the name Kelley. By contrast, it shouldbe noted that most of the other slaves on thisparticular ship did, according to the manifest,

60. O'Brien, 1850 Lancaster Census, 64. Richard Pinn, mulatto, age fifteen, was reported living in the household(#352) of Washington Thomas (mulatto), a farmer. (Finn family file at MBW.)

50

use the surnames of their former masters. Aswill be shown below, at least one former slavewho went to Liberia, Randal Bunch, changedhis name to Randal Kilby once he had arrived.The origins of African American surnames is atopic shrouded in mystery, and is deserving ofmore scholarly research than this article canhope to present.

Life in LiberiaSeys's description of the Elvira Owen de-

picts a modern, well-equipped ship. Neverthe-less, the transatlantic crossing was certainly nopleasure cruise. Such a trip often resulted in atleast a few deaths. And if the voyage to Liberiawas precarious, life in Liberia was anything butparadise. At this point, the fate of the Kelleyslaves who survived the passage to Liberia isnot known. This should be a subject of futureresearch.

In the meantime, we do know what be-. came of at least one passenger on board the

Elvira Owen. This young man, Jefferson Wa-ters, was one of 41 slaves who had been freed byG. M. Waters of Gwinnet County, Georgia (seeabove).61 Jeff Waters' story is related in the ar-ticle on page 50 titled "An Arrival from Liberia"in the Atlanta Examiner dated May 4, 1857.62

Jeffwas not alone in his disgust with the Li-berian experience. According to Tyler-McGraw:

Some of those who found Liberia'sshortages, squabbles, wars, and deaths toomuch to bear were able to leave the colo-ny. The Atlantic traffic went both ways,and it was not uncommon for dissatisfiedemigrants to return to the United Statesor travel on to Sierra Leone. . . This wasa pattern that would be repeated with al-most every shipload of emigrants. In eachyear, there were some who relocated withinAfrica or returned to the United States tocomplain bitterly of Liberia or its inhabit-ants. 63

In his first letter back to Virginiu, Sft~P,son Ceasar wrote: "The natives are numorousin this place and they do most of the work forthe people in this place [Monrovia]. They wiltSteal every Chance they have. They are mORLall Croomen." Gilbert Hunt complained that thoKru men who rowed out to the ships in canoeshad cheated him of his tobacco, his chief tradingcommodity. In fact, the Kru were experiencedmariners and traders whose knowledge of geog-raphy and trade values gave them an edge overthe American emigrants in any transaction.64

But not everyone was discontent, despitethe chronic shortage of basic supplies. The letteron page 52 is typical of the pleas for money andmaterials that comprised the bulk of the lettersfrom Liberia. It was from Randal Kilby, akaRandal Bunch, a freed slave from NansemondCounty, Virginia, who settled near Buchanan inGrand Bassa County, and it was addressed toJames Hunter Godwin and John R. Kilby of Suf-folk, Virginia. John R. Kilby was an attorney,Whig politician, and ACS member. His familyhad once owned Randal.

We learn in later letters from Randal Kilbythat he was farming ten acres ofland and grow-ing corn, potatoes, cassado, arraroot, cotton, andcoffee. He sends his regards to various people inVirginia, including one to "my daughter Lefvin-ia & her mother"; one postscript adds, "My sonsays master please send me a knife." The lettersask for basic supplies such as axs, hoes, cloth,flour, saws, knives, and shoes. We note with in-terest that Randal Bunch Kilby had two wivesboth living at the same time-one free and inLiberia, the other apparently still enslaved.65

Home At LastThough the fate of the forty-four former

slaves from Lynham's and Richland plantationsin Northumberland County is yet to be discov-ered, presumably at least some of them survivedand left descendants in Liberia. According toan anecdote related to the author by a docent

61. The African Repository 33, no. 8, 252-253.62. "AHouse Divided," (Carlisle, Pa.: Dickinson College), http://housedivided.dickinson.edulmainlindex

.php?q=printJ1910.63. Tyler-McGraw, An African Republic, 140.64. Ibid., 140-141.65. Kilby Family Papers.

51

Letter from Liberia:Randal Kilby to James H. Godwin and John R. Kilby,

Suffolk County, Virginia, 1856

Sirs, you will be informed by the few lines that We have arrived safe in Africa after atedious passage of more than two months[.] [W]e suffered a good deal from sea sickness whilston board & lost one, Abraham, before we got to land[.] [W]e found a different Country here tothat from which we came & we was so unfortunate as to lose all our things by the Vessal beingwrecked after she got to Monrovia[.] [I]t was a great loss to us all for what things we had was tohave been of great to service to us in a new country like Africa[.]

We have drawn our lots & some of us have get and got our houses up[.] I have my houseup & got my Deed in my house[.] I am well pleased with the Country some of my people does-bot like is somewhat dissatisfied but perhaps it is mostly owing to [the] loss we sustained by theBrig Harp.

I have got some caffy out with other things which I look for to be profitable to me by payingstrict attention to it.

Gentlemen my candid opinion is if a man is Industrious and pays attention to his businesshe can get a long well in africa but I believe many suffer from Indolence & are discontented[.][T]he people here are like in other places good and bad kind and unkind but I find the best wayto be used well is to do well ourselves[.] I [have] no difficulty[.]

Chaney [his wife] and the children [Solomon, George and Moses] is well & wishes to beremembered to you most kindly[.] [p]lease inform our Mistress Mrs. Bunch that we are well[and we] remembers our most special Respects to her and the friends[.] [M]y respects to Mr.Julius Godwin and Henson Crump[.]

One favor I must ask of them that is, to favor me with about three hound pupys [puppies]two of them sluts if possible for that kind of dogs is need here[.]

)

I must not forget Doctor Philips [and] please tell him I am well and getting along quite wellas I could expect under the circumstances. I am hard put to for tools to work with and I must askyou to send me a small cross cut saw for this is Shingle Country but for want of the right sort oftools we are hard put to do work as we would like[.]

And best respects to all the Colored friends[.] Do me the favor to write to me & let me know[how] you all are.

Yours with greatest respectRandal Kilby

P.S. If you please tell Mrs. Crump to direct them pupys [puppies] to Mr. [Shett?] Benson,Buchanan G. B. [Grand Bassa] County and I will get them. R. Kl

1. Kilby Family Papers, Library of Virginia, Archives Collection, Box 1, Folder 7, "Correspondence 1801-1858."Randal Kilby was named Randal Bunch when he departed for Liberia aboard the ship Sophia Walkeron May 1, 1854. He had been emancipated by Joseph Bunch of Nansemond County, Virginia. On boardthe Sophia Walker were also Chaney Bunch and her three sons ages five to twelve. See Marie Tyler-McGrawand Deborah Lee, Emigrants to Liberia (Charlottesville: Virginia Center for Digital History, University ofVirginia), www.vcdh.virginia.edulliberialindex.php?page=Home for a searchable database of Virginiaemigrants to Liberia and their Virginia emancipators.

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with the Foundation for Historic Christ Church,sometime in the 1990s a man from Liberia, saidto be a bishop, appeared at Christ Church forthe specific purpose of finding James Kelley'sgrave. Once arrived and in front of his benefac-tor's tombstone, he sighed and said reverently,"At last, I've come home."

Appendix: Liberia Today66The population of Liberia today is roughly

3.5 million, of whom only 5 percent are "Ameri-co-Liberians" (descendants of American blacks).Liberia proclaimed its independence in 1847when the American Colonization Society in-timated the colony should cease depending onthe ACS for financial support. Recognition frommost of the great powers came soon thereafter.The United States, however, did not officiallyrecognize the new republic until 1862, duringthe Civil War.

Its first constitution limited citizenship toAmerico- Liberians and any blacks who wouldcome later from America. Whites could not be-come citizens. The indigenous peoples were notgranted citizenship until 1904.

Liberia had been anticipating an influx ofat least 100,000 immigrants from the UnitedStates after the Civil War. In attempting tomake his Emancipation Proclamation accept-able, President Lincoln offered financial com-pensation to slave owners "not in rebellion" anddabbled with the idea of American financial as-sistance to those freedmen willing to go to Af-rica. That idea was soon abandoned after pro-tests by African American leaders, who were notthe least bit interested in going to Liberia.

Liberia struggled through many decadesof near ruinous economic conditions, and was

in deep debt to foreign nations, especially OrontBritain. This situation was finally reBolvud in1926, when the Liberian government conCQ..sioned one million acres to the Firestone Tiroand Rubber Company. At the same time, Libo.ria received a line of credit worth $5 million fromThe Finance Corporation of America, which en.abled it to payoff its foreign debts with amplesurplus funds in reserve.

Liberia played an important role in theAllied effort during World War II. Apart fromCeylon (now Sri Lanka), it was the allies' onlysource of natural latex rubber. A 1942 defenseagreement with the United States resulted in aprogram of road building, construction of Rob-ertsfield airport (for many years the longestrunway in Africa), and completion of a deep wa-ter harbor at Monrovia.

The country was a one-party state underthe True Whig Party until 1980, when SamuelK. Doe, an indigenous member of the Krahntribe, seized power in a coup d'etat. DespiteDoe's questionable human rights and demo-cratic credentials, he enjoyed considerable U.S.financial support and was a staunch U.S. ally.

Doe's rule was overthrown in another bloodycoup by Charles Taylor in 1987. The nationwas plunged into a civil war until 1996, whenan uneasy peace was achieved. In a fraudulentelection, Taylor was elected president in 1997.The country continued in a violent and destruc-tive decline until finally, in 2003 and under im-mense international pressure, Taylor resignedand went into voluntary exile in Nigeria.

In 2005, Liberia held its first free, open,and fair election, and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf be-came Africa's first democratically elected femalepresident.

66. This Appendix is based on U.S. Department of State, Bureau of African Affairs, "Liberia: Background Note,"September 2008, www.state.gov/r/paleilbgn/6618.htm; and "Liberia," in The New Encyclopedia Britannica,Macropedia, vol. 29 (Chicago: University of Chicago, Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc. 1988), 886-887.

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