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Monday, June 18, 2012

What would you be worth to John McDowell's hiers?

As a researcher, you hope and pray that your ancestor's slaveowner died before the end of the Civil War.  Imagine that it's September 1861 all over again, the worse time of your life: "Massa" is died.

Will you be rented out?  Or, will his executors have you sent to the Oktibbeha County Courthouse where the auctions are held to pay off his debts?  Will you and your loved ones remain as one?  Or, will you be split up amongst his hiers and their families?   Today, three suspicious men have come by the plantation. 
 
What follows is a transcription of the actual slave inventory and appraisement of John McDowell's estate.  To give you a buyer's perspective and for the purpose of this exercise, I have eliminated their names and reframed it with a focus on property value.  In 1861, his slave inventory, valued at $7874.97, represented a fourth of his estate.  Based on your own age, exactly what would you be worth to his hiers?

NB: Harriet McDowell, the "Sand Creek" Boyd family matriarch, is found at the bottom of this post as the 66 year old "girl" who is described as superannuated (i.e., no longer of monetary value).  On the 1870 U.S. Census for Oktibbeha County, she was also described as blind.     

Sex                          Age                 (1861 Dollars)                x20 =            (2012 Dollars)     Remarks
girl                       2                  $  233.33                                 ($  4,666.60)
girl                       2                  $  200.00                                 ($  4,000.00)
girl                       3                  $  300.00                                 ($  6,000.00)
girl                       4                  $  316.66                                 ($  6,333.20)
girl                       4                  $  300.00                                 ($  6,000.00)
girl                       5                  $  350.00                                 ($  7,000.00)
girl                       6                  $  416.66                                 ($  8,333.20)
girl                       7                  $  483.33                                 ($  9,666.60)
girl                       8                  $  600.00                                 ($12,000.00)
girl                       8                  $  566.66                                 ($11,333.20)
boy                    10                  $  700.00                                 ($14,000.00)
boy                    14                  $  400.00                                 ($  8,000.00)   double jointed
girl                     17                  $  700.00                                 ($14,000.00)   burnt hand
girl                     19                  $  900.00                                 ($18,000.00)
boy                    21                  $1000.00                                 ($20,000.00)
girl                     23                  $  666.66                                 ($13,333.20)   unsound
girl                     24                  $  400.00                                 ($  8,000.00)   unsound
boy                    24                  $1000.00                                 ($20,000.00)
girl                     26                  $  966.66                                 ($19,333.20)   & infant
girl                     27                  $  966.66                                 ($19,333.20)   & infant
boy                    28                  $  800.00                                 ($16,000.00)   bro ankle
boy                    29                  $1000.00                                 ($20,000.00)
boy                    29                  $1000.00                                 ($20,000.00)
girl                     30                  $  908.33                                 ($18,166.60)   & infant
boy                    31                  $1000.00                                 ($20,000.00)
boy                    32                  $1000.00                                 ($20,000.00)
boy                    32                  $  966.66                                 ($19,333.20)
girl                     33                  $  966.66                                 ($19,333.20)   & infant
boy                    35                  $  966.66                                 ($19,333.20)
boy                    41                  $1000.00                                 ($20,000.00)
girl                     50                  $  486.66                                 ($  9,733.20)
girl                     53                  $  133.33                                 ($  2,666.60)
girl                     63                  $  100.00                                 ($  2,000.00)
girl                     66                  $  000.00                                                   superannuated 

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Online Learning

Can't afford the costs associated with attending a regional or national genealogical conference? No worries! The internet has become the great equalizer of the digital divide. For the budget-conscious researcher, here are my favorite resources to aid you in learning how to research your family tree without leaving the comfort of your home.

Be sure to read Tom MacEntee "How To Attend A Genealogy Webinar" first!!!

Geneawebinars (scroll to the bottom for the webinar calendar)

Familysearch Learning Center

Ancestry Learning Center

Legacy Family Tree

Georgia Genealogical Society

Michael John Neill

Family Tree University

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

2012 Boyd Family Biennial Reunion

"It's so nice to see all the folks you love together...Family Reunion...I wish grandma could see the whole family. I sure miss her face and her warm and tender embrace and if grandpa was here, I know that he would be smiling from ear to ear..." Family Reunion, OJays (1975)

August 22nd – 24th 2008, after years of promising to get together, the three branches of the “Sand Creek” Boyd Family Family reunited in Starkville, Mississippi. Some of us hadn’t seen each other in days or months while others hadn’t seen each other in years or decades and some of us had never met before. We had a ball despite a rainy weekend brought on by Hurricane Gustav. With a vow to continue this tradition, it was decided that the next one would be hosted by the Michigan and Minnesota branches of the Boyd Family.

July 23rd – 25th, 2010, we had a wonderful time in Bloomington and Eaton, Minnesota. With a theme of “Bridging Our Past with Our Future”, we paid tribute to family members no longer with us, were treated to a recital by two of our younger cousins and, learned more about our long-forgotten ancestors and our family history.

July 27th – 29th, 2012, this year’s biennial gathering we will be hosted by the Illinois branches of the Boyd Family. This year’s theme is "Learning and Honoring Our Legacy" and we have planned several fun-filled activities to accommodate your stay in and around "Mississippi of the North".

We hope that you will join us for this very special get-together!

Monday, February 13, 2012

Saint Louis Genealogy Conference: February 18th, 2012

If you're in the Saint Louis area, consider attending the StL-African American History & Genealogy Society's 3rd Annual Conference at Harris-Stowe State University on Compton Avenue.

Angela Walton-Raji, well-known speaker and author of Black Indian Genealogy Research, will be the keynote speaker and will be joined by several others, including the Afro-American Genealogical and Historical Society of Chicago's (AAGHSC) past-president, Angela F. McGhee, and AAGHSC's Alabama Study Group chair, Janis Minor Forté.

Full details can be found here.