My Face is Black Is True
Recently, Ancestry somewhat quietly rolled out the Ex-Slave Pension database which contains Correspondence and Case Files from the National Archives. I was excited because I had always wanted to take a look at these records but hadn’t gotten around to it yet over the years. I first heard about these records when Mary Frances Berry wrote a book about them in 2006, called “My Face is Black Is True: Callie House and the Struggle for Ex-Slave Reparations.”
In short, it is about the movement to secure pensions from the U.S. government to former slaves. The idea for the movement was inspired by the military pensions that were provided to Civil War soldiers; some thought that the government should play a role in also helping ex-slaves, many of whom were infirm and destitute. Several groups were formed that functioned somewhat like other beneficent groups of the era, with their primary purpose being to lobby and influence the government to provide pensions. The National Archives published an excellent article on these records in their Prologue magazine.
This is one of those things that I couldn’t believe wasn’t covered or taught in schools, but I have since abandoned that silly notion anyway. We simply have to educate ourselves and hopefully others. The Ancestry site provides a brief historical background, but I encourage those interested to read Ms. Berry’s book on the subject. This is a fascinating piece of history and I wanted to just share some of the interesting documents I found.
For a small number of very lucky people, you might uncover the name of that elusive slaveowner. This page is from a register of one of the groups–these people are mostly from Boone Cty, Missouri:
Register of slaves
The government received thousands of letters about the pensions. This is a letter from William Brent of Henderson, KY and names his slaveowner as well:
The government eventually used an enormous amount of time and energy to go after, arrest and crack down on these ex-slave pension groups, who they largely believed to be fraudulent and criminal. Here are three examples:
Letter 1
Letter 2
To a suspected agent
Isaiah Dickerson was one of the prominent officers who was targeted and eventually tried. If you were one of this descendants, wouldn’t this deposition be wonderful?
The document below was submitted from one of the ex-pension groups listing birthdates of former slaves:
Take a look at these incredible records. If anyone finds a direct connection, please share it here to inspire others!
This is an amazing piece of research. Thanks so much for bringing it to light for the rest of us.
These records are new to me. Thanks for sharing them!
This is excellent information…I am headed over to the slave pension records to get a better look…Who know’s I might find some ancestors!
I’m so glad you all found something new & interesting–its one of the best parts of genealogy. I spent hours poking around these records. Let me know what you find!
[...] Robyn at Reclaiming Kin has an informative post about Ex-Slave Pension Records, a source with incredible potential for documenting the lives of former slaves. Robyn has taken the [...]
As always, thank you for your wonderful work and for your sharing many of the fruits of your research efforts.
Thank you for providing additional research avenues. I have always enjoined your insight and direction. You keep my to do list full!
Fascinating post! Great information! Thanks for sharing.
I had not heard of these records. Thank you for bringing them to our attention.