Jordan Roninson/Rrobertson b.1848-1852 Alabama/Virginia

[chrisrob200]

Morning Everyone
I am trying to trace Jordan above. I have put this topic up before but still the mystery continues.
Jordan was born in either Alabama or Virginia we think. Records we have found suggest both. His year of birth is very uncertain.
We have been able to trace the family down from Jordan successfully but cannot get backwards from him. Hw was married in 1868 to July (Julia) Long aka Hudson in Alabama and unfortunately the marriage records gives no details of his parents.
In 1900 Jordan and family were living on a Farm in Uniontown, Alabama and he was working as a Paddler. In looking at the census and a couple of pages either side of his record, his occupation was unusual given that everyone else was either a Farmer or Farm Labourer.
By 1914 the family had moved away from Uniontown and records indicate Jordan was not with them (marriage certs etc say he was deceased) so he died most likely in Uniontown somewhere between 1900 & 1914.
His death has never been found which is what I am really looking for in the hope that it has some parental details on it.
I have attached the research on Jordan that I have and will greatly appreciate any guidance.
Have a Merry Xmas & Happy New Year and staf safe.
Regards
Chris

[chrisrob200]

Thank you for moving this to the correct board.

[Genealiza]

I looked through the US 1850 and 1860 censuses and the slave schedules but didn't find anything.   If he comes from a slave family, your best hope might be to find a will of the owner who mentions the emancipation or transfer of ownership to a family member.  I've run across several wills that do exactly that--mentioning only their first names.  I assume the last name would be the name of the owner.

[oldohiohome]

Alabama:
"Statewide registration of deaths began 1 January 1908, with full compliance by 1925. Pre-1908 county records may be accessible through county clerks."

from https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/How_to_Find_Alabama_Death_Records

------------------
you probably have him in
1870 Dayton, Marengo County, Alabama

Did you notice that the previous household was headed by Martha Long, 55, mulatto, born in Virginia. In 1900 Julia said she and her parents were born in Virginia. When she died, the record said her mother's name was Martha.

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHKV-RMD

------------------
you have: 31 December 1868 Marriage, Marengo County, Alabama
Did you notice that, on the next page, a Paul Long was married the week before at the same place and by the same person. What color was he and can you tie him to Julia and/or Martha?

-------------------
in 1880 Jordan said his parents had both been born in North Carolina. Can you find a couple who match that place of birth in Marengo County, Alabama? Or any other Robinson/Robertson/etc in Marengo County who say their parents were born in NC?

-------------------
You have Julia's death, correct?:

Julia Robinson [Deshores]
d 7 Jan 1930, Ensley, Al
birth Perry Counts of Uniontown, Alabama
age 60
parents: John Deshores, born Alabama, Martha Hudson, born Virginia
spouse: Jordan Robinson
buried Uniontown, AL

Are there cemetery records of Uniontown, AL? John is probably buried there if Julia was taken back there. Black churches and church records? funeral homes, etc? Contact them.
Are there Black genealogy societies that cover Uniontown?

--------------
If I remember right, freed slaves didn't always take the name of their previous owner's family, but often they did. They were free to choose any name.

----------
Look for Black Roots, by Tony Burroughs, if you don't already have it. Very good guide to Black genealogy.

-------------
I haven't spent a lot of time on this site, but this lady really seems to know what she is talking about. She might be of help. Just browsing her site might give you some ideas.
https://www.reclaimingkin.com/southern-plantations/

That link is to a post on one resource to try to find the plantation on which the freed slaves had worked/lived.

[oldohiohome]

Alabama:
"Statewide registration of deaths began 1 January 1908, with full compliance by 1925. Pre-1908 county records may be accessible through county clerks."

from https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/How_to_Find_Alabama_Death_Records

I should have explained. familysearch seems to have the state records, from 1908 onward, and he is not in there, unless he is badly indexed. So maybe he died before 1908.

[oldohiohome]

a couple other things I noticed.

in 1870: the first name on the page with Jordan Robertson is a Paul Shoers, age 23, born in Virginia -  is he related to John Deshores, Julia's father? and to Julia?

and less likely to be a relative:
In 1900: the first family on page is the James Hudson family. He is black, b Sept 1846, Alabama. Does he connect to Martha Hudson somehow? The birthplaces don't include Virginia.

[oldohiohome]

This site might get you started on the local history and local resources for Marengo County.  Some of the links are dead and I'm not sure the site is even still active, but it might give you some ideas of who to contact in the area. If you haven't already.

http://www.prairiebluff.com/blackbelt/marengo.html

[chrisrob200]

Thank you all very much for taking the time to look at this and respond.

Martha Long/Hidson Deshores is Julia's mother. She was born Hudson and had a relationship with an unknown fellow Long (never married) and this is where Julia comes from. Later she married Deshores.

As far as we can establish Paul Long is white and is no relation.

We are currently chasing down Robertson/Robinson/Roberson people born in North Carolina around the time Jordan was born. Nothing conclusive yet.

I forgot to ask what the numbers 7-2-a  )-3-3 might mean that are recorded over the occupation of Jordan in the 1900 census. Also what appears to be 7-1-Pf-7 are recorded above Jordan's christian name on the same census. I presume they are reference no. for something - any ideas please?

James Hudson recorded on the 1900 census is a relative of Martha - work in progress still.

I didn't see Paul Shoers on the 1870 census - will have a look at him.

Thank you again.

Chris

[oldohiohome]

I think the odd numbers in the name column and the occupation column are codes for the census office to record the information. For the 1910 you can see:

https://genealogy.stackexchange.com/questions/3257/understanding-last-three-columns-of-1910-us-census

so I assume they are the same idea.

I just noticed that although Jordan was a peddler in 1900, he and his wife are listed - in the last three columns - as renting a farm. They are #86 on the farm schedule for that year. I don't know where to find the farm schedules  or what they will tell you. I've seen a few elsewhere and I don't recall them having family information - mostly they are about # of livestock, crops etc.

-----------
-- Paul Long could be white and still be a relative - just a thought. He could be a son of Julia's father by a white woman.  Julia was "mulatto" and so was Martha. The marriage locations on that page were people's farms, it looks like, so they were married on the same man's farm.
 
-----------
Hudson and Deshores should be easier names to track than Robinson/Robertson. And "Hudson" might go back to Virginia. Hudsons in VA shouldn't be too hard to find, if you look for both white and black.

I hope you succeed - you are already ahead of my friend's family that I worked on - they weren't on the 1870 census, and finding something like an 1868 marriage record for them was just a dream.