James L. McDavid Sr. was born on October 10, 1795, in Laurens, South Carolina to William McDavid and Nancy Dorroh McDavid. Nancy Clayton became his wife in 1820. Together, Nancy and James brought forth 11 children, realized remarkable wealth, and enslaved over 70 human beings.
This body of research documents the identities, realities, and the humanity of the men, women, and children documented as the property of the McDavids, and provides genealogical evidence for descendants researching them today.
This is Part Two of Three
- Part one chronicles the discovery of my 3rd Great Grandmother, Cornelia McDavid Taylor, and 4th Great Grandmother, Maria McDavid through genetic genealogy.
- Part two (this article) identifies the names and approximate birthdates of 70+ people documented as enslaved by the McDavids of Hazel Green, Madison, Alabama (1840s – 1850s), including my 5th Great Grandmother, Nancy McDavid, and her children and grandchildren born under the ownership of McDavid heirs.
- Part three extracts data from wills and probate records to reveal the biological family groups of enslaved McDavids, and explores familial impacts as they were shared, inherited, bought, and sold by McDavid heirs through 1862.
Geographical Areas of Interest
- Madison County, Alabama
- Noxubee County, Mississippi
- Pickens County, Alabama
This Genealogical Research Is a Gift from My 3rd Great Grandmother Cornelia
Among those bound to and considered the property of the McDavids were at least 3 generations of my grandmothers, grandfathers (possibly), aunts, uncles, and cousins as highlighted above. My 3rd Great Grandmother, Cornelia McDavid Taylor is recorded by her nickname, Nebo, at the age of 3.
Cornelia’s genetic legacy is a gift that just keeps giving.
DNA matches to Cornelia’s grandchildren first led to the discovery of my paternal grandfather. And now Cornelia’s DNA has opened my genealogical research to reveal 70+ people enslaved by the McDavids of Hazel Green, Madison, Alabama, and Noxubee County, Mississippi.
As I discovered details about these Souls, most of whom are unknown by current-day descendants, I had to officially acknowledge their human experiences and the facticity of their vital, Earthly existences.
Their Stories Are My Story
Thousands of us would not exist without the resolve, fortitude, and the love of these previously nameless, beautiful human beings.
While this genealogical research is inspired by a sincere reverence of North American history and the discovery of those who’ve contributed to my biological existence, there’s a broader purpose of guiding others on how to locate, assimilate, and document facts about enslaved Americans.
If your genealogical paper trail ends with an African-American grandparent documented as McDavid, Davis, David, or McDevitt …
Many family trees tied to my McDavid DNA matches end with the 1870 census (the first U.S. Census after Emancipation). I hope this body of research serves as a bridge that goes straight through ideas about 1870 African American research brick walls and introduces many others to dear ancestors who were previously considered hard, or impossible, to document.
African American genealogical brick walls do exist, of course – but not in this case.
The Scope of the Research Published Here
The people documented here were found while researching my Grandmothers: Nancy McDavid, Maria McDavid, and Cornelia McDavid Taylor. Research of the 200+ people documented in this article is focused on their interactions with and connections to my ancestors, however, there’s much more to discover about these families in the resources provided throughout this article.
Please consider this article as a resource to support further study.
Check the list below for ancestral names and approximate birthdates of your research subjects and/or relatives, then use the key sources for continued genealogical study to follow through with your own independent research of the original sources.
If you need research guidance, have genealogical information to share, or would like to collaborate through genealogical and DNA research, please let me know.
The Earth Inhabited by the McDavids
The McDavid Cemetery[5] in Hazel Green, Alabama is situated on the northeast corner of what used to be the property of James and Nancy McDavid — and where they and those they enslaved lived
.
James and Nancy McDavid’s Gravesite
According to the book, McDavid-Dorroh families by Rose McDavid [6], the McDavid Cemetery is the burial ground of James McDavid Sr. (d. 1842), Nancy Clayton McDavid (d. 1852), James L. McDavid Jr. (d. 1855), William Dayton McDavid (d. 1845), Brancie Ann McDavid (d. 1849), and Richmond McDavid (d. at 10 years of age).
Evidential Paper Trails That Reveal Details About Enslaved McDavids (1842 – 1862)
To settle James and Nancy’s estate and equitably divide assets among living heirs, details about the enslaved (including genealogies, births, and deaths) were recorded in accounting papers from about 1845 – 1854.
The following files represent just a few of hundreds of pages of the estate’s probate records.
Sources
The list of names and approximate birthdates of people enslaved by the McDavid family (below) was created from data I extracted and compiled from wills and probate records of:
- James L. McDavid Sr. and Nancy (Clayton) McDavid (will and probate records from 1842 – 1856 in Madison County, Alabama) [1],
- James L. McDavid Jr. (probate records from 1855 – 1856 in Madison County, Alabama) [2], and
- Gabriel Shelton Davie – husband of James and Nancy’s daughter Brancy McDavid (probate records from 1862 in Noxubee, Mississippi) [3]
The Death of James L. McDavid Sr.
The “Indulgent Master”
“As a husband and father he was kind and affectionate, and as a master indulgent. To the widow, the orphan and needy, he was at all times willing to contribute to their comfort and to alleviate their distress.”
James L. McDavid Sr’s. death notice (1842) as published in The Democrat newspaper. [4]
If your sense of humanity and morality permit, I invite you to take a moment to let the gross contradictions of using “kind”, “affectionate”, and “indulgent” to describe an enslaver of humans set in.
The Slave Owner
Every master had his or her own ways of regarding family. Each family had its own unique culture. Family dynamics influenced ways of mastering, treating, speaking to, thinking of, providing for, and disciplining. As my research of this line of McDavids continues to evolve I hope to find evidence of the familial culture that governed the lives of those they enslaved. I wonder:
- What was a typical day in the lives of McDavid slaves?
- How were the rebellious and runaways handled?
- What were the slave quarters like?
- How were the children regarded and spoken to? The men? The women?
- What roles did the enslaved McDavid women play in raising the enslaving McDavid’s children?
- How often were they given shoes, clothes, and other essential items?
- What were their specific daily tasks and responsibilities as McDavid slaves?
- How did the slave-owning McDavids experience, react, and respond to one another?
- Who was Nancy Clayton McDavid and James McDavid in the eyes of those they owned, controlled, and directed? What did the experience of being owned by them feel like, day-to-day?
- The documentation below illustrates the substantial wealth they generated for the McDavids. What actual price did each enslaved Soul pay to contribute to the wealth of the McDavids and countless heirs well into the 20th Century?
- Were the enslaved allowed to learn, read, and write? Most likely not – which accounts for the reasons I research and document their lives today.
If by chance you know of a McDavid family diary, bible, journal, or oral history that may illuminate the real and actual life experiences of the people documented in this article, please share.
The Will of James L. McDavid Sr. (1842)
When James died on September 24, 1842, in Hazel Green, Madison, Alabama, his will set into motion a series of events that would divide the African-American family units, yet keep them bound to McDavid family farms and plantations in Alabama (in and around Lowndes and Hazel Green Counties) and Mississippi (mostly Noxubee County).
This will, recorded on October 18, 1842, recounts James’ directives for his estate as conveyed to family members 8 to 10 days before his demise on September 24, 1842. The executors of the estate are:
- Nancy (Clayton) McDavid
- Gabriel Shelton Davie – husband of James’ daughter, Brancie Ann McDavid
- Joseph Taylor – husband of James’ sister, Margaret McDavid
Key Directives in the Will Regarding the Enslaved
- James desired his “property be kept together for the benefit of his family”. Property in this context is inclusive of the humans they enslaved.
- The will states “he desired that his wife, Nancy, should have his negro slave, a man, named Nat, during his natural life, and above her distribution portion of his estate. “
- James desired “that his children, as they become of age and married, should each receive a portion of his estate equal to what his daughter, Brancy Ann (Davie), had received after her marriage.” This references the gifting of enslaved people.
- The will states James had not given a boy named William to Gabriel S. Davie but would be willing to let Davie keep William and have Martin returned to his wife Nancy.
The Heirs and Slaves Documented on the Madison County, Alabama Estate Case File for James L. McDavid Sr. (1842)
The date written on the case file is the year of James McDavid Sr.’s death: 1842. The names and ages recorded for those enslaved reflect this document was written around the time of Nancy (Clayton) McDavid’s death (September 23, 1852, in Hazel Green, Madison, Alabama).
This is not a full accounting of every human enslaved by the McDavids. A few of the women were pregnant at the time of this inventory, and a few more would become pregnant before the division of the estate was settled. Their names, birthdates, and parentage are captured in the documentation of inheritances, trades, deaths, births, and the hiring out of enslaved people through 1862 as minor McDavid heirs came of age, and slave-owning McDavids died.
The names and approximate birthdates of additional enslaved men, women, and children discovered in probate records of James’ estate are listed below.
People Listed as Property
in McDavid, Connor, and Davie Estate Records
(Alabama and Mississippi)
1842 – 1862
- Abigale (aka Abby) b. abt. 1840
- Alabama b. abt. 1843
- Albert b. abt. 1818
- Alenzo b. abt. 1851
- Alfred b. unk
- Allen b. abt. 1838
- Amy b. unk
- Andrew b. abt. 1843
- Anna b. unk
- Becky b. abt. 1793
- Bida (aka Biddy) b. unk
- Bill b. unk
- Brice b. abt. 1788
- Catherine b. unk
- Cela b. unk
- Charity b. unk
- Charles b. abt. 1815
- Clay b. abt. 1842
- Cornelia (aka Nebo) b. 1851
- Creesy (aka Cresa) b. abt. 1828
- Crockett b. abt. 1846
- Daniel b. abt. 1808
- Dickson b. abt. 1853
- Easter (aka Ester) b. abt. 1828
- Elijah b. abt. 1830
- Elijah (aka Lija and Little Elijah) b. abt. 1840
- Eliza b. abt. 1840
- Evaline b. abt. 1843
- Felix b. abt. 1848
- Gabe b. abt. 1849
- Gale b. unk.
- George b. abt. 1838
- Gilbert b. abt. 1843
- Green b. abt. 1839
- Hampton b. abt. 1788
- Hannah b. abt. 1818
- Harriet b. abt. 1848
- Henry b. abt. 1785
- Irabel b. abt. 1852
- James b. abt. 1853
- Jane b. unk
- Jim b. abt. 1840
- John b. abt. 1850
- Jonathan (aka John) b. abt. 1836
- Josephine b. abt. 1863
- Julius b. unk
- Kit b. abt. 1836
- Laura b. abt. 1853
- Lewis b. abt. 1823
- Lydia (aka Lida) b. abt. 1838
- Marcella b. abt. 1848
- Margaret b. abt. 1835
- Maria (aka Mariah) b. abt. 1831
- Martin b. unk
- Mary b. abt. 1830
- Minerva b. unk
- Myra b. abt. 1803
- Nancy b. abt. 1858
- Nancy (aka Nancy or Nanna) b. abt. 1795
- Nathan (aka Nat) b. abt. 1803
- Rachel b. unk
- Sam b. abt. 1845
- Silla (aka Sylla) b. unk.
- Siney (aka Sinai) b. abt. 1851
- Susan b. abt. 1834
- Susan Ann (possibly Anna) b. abt. 1849
- Ted b. abt. 1825
- Tillman b. abt. 1853
- Tom b. abt. 1847
- Victoria b. abt. 1850
- Viney (aka Vina and Lavina) b. abt. 1805
- Walker b. abt. 1826
- William b. unk
Further Research of African American McDavid Genealogies Rooted in Mississippi and Alabama
If you’re using your DNA to document your McDavid, McDevitt, David, Conner, Davie, or Davis ancestry, a broader examination of evidence that reveals the biological connections, family units, and traces the ownership of enslaved McDavids is documented in Part 3 of this series: The Genealogies of People Enslaved by the Estate of James McDavid Sr.
If we’re a DNA match (hello Cousin!) I’ve probably already thoroughly researched and documented the branch of your family tree that leads to our common grandparents. I’d be happy to share what I’ve discovered about our ancestral lines and to learn more about your direct line of ancestors – just let me know.
They Have a Name
The Soul-Centered purpose of this research is Wisdom
As we share familial knowledge with one another we document parts of our biological legacy, and in this case, our ancestors’ tremendous contributions to the formation of the United States of America. As we know the realities of the past, we more clearly understand present realities and are empowered to embrace the vast potentiality of our futures.
This body of genealogical research serves a personally important and ongoing objective: To document evidence of the humanity, identities, relationships, and life experiences of enslaved North Americans. They are the reasons that fuel the inspiration that’s fostered my dedication to the practice of genetic genealogy.
As I share their stories, the silenced ones enlighten us all.
They were here. They matter. They have a name.
Citations
- “Alabama, Wills and Probate Records, 1753-1999 [database on-line]”, “Loose Records, McDavid, James-McDavid, James L”, “Original Data: Alabama County, District and Probate Courts.”, ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/: accessed March 10, 2020), Administration of James L. McDavid Sr.’s Estate
- “Alabama, Wills and Probate Records, 1753-1999 [database on-line]”, “Loose Records, McDavid, James-McDavid, James L”, “Original Data: Alabama County, District and Probate Courts.”, ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/: accessed March 10, 2020), Administration of James L. McDavid Jr.’s Estate – page 1089 of 1101
- “Mississippi, Wills and Probate Records, 1780-1982 [database on-line].”, “Original Data: Noxubee County (Mississippi). Clerk of the Chancery Court; Probate Place: Noxubee, Mississippi”, ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/: accessed March 10, 2020), Gabriel S Davie.
- “The Democrat, Huntsville, Alabama, Sat, Oct 08, 1842, Page 3”, newspapers.com, (https://www.newspapers.com/: accessed April 6, 2020). Annotations, by Kimberly Virdure, are related to personal research focuses.
- “McDavid Cemetery”, google.com (https://goo.gl/maps/KvV1eDQJFqCnoDdy6 /:accessed May 14, 2020).
- “McDavid-Dorroh families”, Munger, Rose McDavid. 1967. McDavid-Dorroh families. [Birmingham, Ala.]: [R.M. Munger].
How to Cite this Article
Kimberly Virdure, “Enslaved People Documented in the Estate Records of James L. McDavid Sr.”, kimberlyvirdure.com, https://www.kimberlyvirdure.com/enslaved-people-documented-in-the-estate-records-of-james-l-mcdavid-sr/ : March 2020
