Friend of Friends Friday: Daniel, Runaway Slave of Robert Lankford

Nashville Republican, 4 July 1835, page 3

20 Dollars Reward.

RANAWAY from the subscriber, on the morning of the 26th inst. a negro boy : named DANIEL about 16 or 17 years old, very black skin, and dirty or slovenly in his appearance : he is well made, of common size, and tolerably smart. Said boy ranaway about 2 years ago, and was taken up and confined in Bellefonte jail, and had assumed another name. He will all probability change his name again and endeavor to make for some free State, or for some other distant point. If apprehended in this county and delivered to me, I will give five dollars reward, or ten dollars if taken out of the State and secured in jail, so that I get him. Any person taking up or hearing of said boy, will please address me, at Huntsville, Ala: and they shall be fully satisfied for any trouble or expense they may be at, besides the reward above offered.
                                                  ROBERT LANKFORD.
  Madison County, Ala; July 4th––3t. prs fee $3

Friend of Friends Friday: Runaway Slaves of Caleb Eubank

Nashville Whig and Tennessee Advertiser, 14 August 1819, page 1 

75 Dollars Reward.

RANAWAY from the subscriber, in Limestone County, Alabama Territory, July 16, 1819, three Negro Men, to wit :

SAM,

about 31 years of age, yellow, about 5 feet 8 or 9 inches high, his fore finger crooked, had on when he went away, a black furhat, a black broad-cloth coat, white pantaloons and red striped vest.

DENNIS,

yellow, about 5 feet 4 or 5 inches high, had on a large white hat, blue stockingnet pantaloons, linnen shirt, his age 25 years

JAMES,

about 26 years old, 4 feet 4 or 5 inches high, black, slender made ; had on a black leather hat, nankeen coat, the rest of his cloths not recollected. Any person taking up said negroes and confining them in jail, so that the owner can get them, shall receive the above reward and all reasonable expenses paid, or either of them in proportion. Any person seeing such negroes advertised in any newspaper, and will inform me at Huntsville, Madison County, Alabama Territory, or Columbia County, C. H. Georgia ; at both would be best, shall receive twenty-five dollars extra.
                                                                            Caleb Eubank.
   July 27––––51––––3m*

Tuesday's Tip: They May Have Moved

Many families were enumerated in the same location in two or more consecutive U.S. federal censuses. However, they may not have lived in that location for the entire time between census enumerations. People sometimes moved away, and then moved back. Even if you check city directories, if you skip some years, you could miss a move.

At the time of the 1910 U.S. census enumeration, my 2nd-great-grandfather's brother Clarence Bateman Gatlin and his family lived at 4801 Alabama Avenue, Nashville, Tennessee.

1910 United States census, Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee, Ward 25, population schedule, enumeration district 82, sheet no. 7A. Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.

By November 1910, the family had moved to New Decatur, Morgan County, Alabama. Clarence's son Clarence J. Gatlin died there on 14 November 1910.

Clarence J. Gatlin death record. Center for Health Statistics, Alabama Department of Public Health, Montgomery, Alabama. 

The 1911 Nashville City Directory mentions Clarence's move.

Nashville City Directory 1911. New York: Marshall-Bruce-Polk, 1911. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

By 1912, Clarence and his family had returned to Nashville. They lived at the same address as they had before the move, 4801 Alabama Avenue. Perhaps they rented the house while they were away, or perhaps Clarence's father William Dow Gatlin, who lived with the family in 1910, had remained there. (He died in Nashville on 4 March 1911.)

Nashville City Directory 1912. New York: Marshall-Bruce-Polk, 1912. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. 

My great-grandfather John Boe and his family went back and forth between St. Louis, Missouri and Williston, Williams County, North Dakota. On 28 April 1908, my grandfather John Boe was born in St. Louis. The 1908 St. Louis City Directory lists the Boe family.

Gould's St. Louis City Directory 1908, page 220. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

The next child, Florence Kathleen Boe, was born on 22 November 1909 in Williston. The Boe family was in St. Louis at the time of the 1910 U.S. census enumeration.

1910 United States census, St. Louis, Missouri, Ward 22, population schedule, enumeration district 340, sheet no. 2A.

John Boe was also listed in the 1910 St. Louis city directory.

Gould's St. Louis Directory for 1910, page 304. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. 

John was listed in the Williston City Directory in 1911.

Williston City Directory, 1911-1912. Williston, ND: North Dakota Directory Co., page 31. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

In 1913, he was listed in the St. Louis directory.

Gould's St. Louis Directory for 1910, page 356. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
 
On 9 February 1914, John's daughter Theodora Catherine was born in Williston. The Boe family had returned to St. Louis by 29 July 1916, when John's daughter Geraldine Edith was born. This was the last of the moves back and forth.

Friend of Friends Friday: Randal, Slave of Henry Chambers

Nashville Whig, 17 October 1825, page 4

From the Nashville Whig (Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee):

COMMITTED to the Jail of Davidson county, state of Tennessee, on the 24th September 1825, a black NEGRO MAN, about 5 feet 6 inches high, has lost some of his upper and under teeth, who says his name is RANDAL, and that he belongs to Henry Chambers, in Limestone County, in the Big Prairie, Alabama. The owner is requested to come and bring proof with him, prove his property, pay charges and take him away.
   O3                                                       EDWARD DANIEL, Jailer.

Those Places Thursday: New Decatur, Alabama

The 1911 Nashville City Directory indicated that my great-great-grandfather's brother Clarence Gatlin had moved to New Decatur, Alabama.

Nashville City Directory 1911. New York: Marshall-Bruce-Polk, 1911. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

Clarence's daughter Annie was listed as having moved to Birmingham. The directory also stated that my great-grandfather Henry Gatlin had moved to Birmingham, but he had actually moved to Chicago. (Perhaps someone provided incorrect information to reduce the chance that his bigamy would be discovered.)

New Decatur was a city in Morgan County, Alabama, located southeast of Decatur. It was founded in 1887 and incorporated in 1889. It was nicknamed "the Chicago of the South." In 1916, the name of the city was changed to Albany. In 1927, Albany became a neighborhood of Decatur after the two cities merged. In 1983, the neighborhood was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Clarence Gatlin and his family were in New Decatur by 14 November 1910, when Clarence's son Clarence J. Gatlin died there. He was buried in Nashville, Tennessee. By 1912, the family had returned to Nashville.

I wonder why the family moved to New Decatur, and why they returned to Nashville in less than two years.

Postcard of the Benevolent Society Hospital, Albany, Alabama. 1920. Image available from Moody's Collectible Vintage Postcards.

Postcard of the High School, Albany, Alabama. Image available from the Postcards Project.

References
Albany, Decatur
Albany Historic Neighborhood, Decatur, Alabama
Decatur, Alabama
National Register of Historical Places - ALABAMA (AL), Morgan County

Wednesday's Child: Clarence J. Gatlin

Clarence J. Gatlin death record. Center for Health Statistics, Alabama Department of Public Health, Montgomery, Alabama.

Clarence J. Gatlin was born on 15 May 1906 in Nashville, Tennessee. He was the son of Clarence Bateman Gatlin (my great-great-grandfather John William Morton Gatlin's brother) and Ella Lee. The family was still in Nashville in April 1910, when they were enumerated in the 1910 United States census. The 1911 Nashville city directory states that Clarence Gatlin had moved to New Decatur, Alabama. The family was in New Decatur by 14 November 1910, when Clarence J. died of heart trouble. He was buried in Nashville, Tennessee. The family was once again living in Nashville by 1912.

Tombstone Tuesday: Albert Powell Whitman

Albert Powell Whitman was born in Guntersville, Marshall County, Alabama, probably on 4 March 1871. Although his tombstone and death certificate give his birth date as 4 March 1870, he is not listed in the 1870 United States census with his parents James Phillip Whitman and Mary Gilbreath. He married Louise Amanda Tarkington, the sister of my great-great-grandfather, on 3 March 1897 in Davidson County, Tennessee. They had four children: Amanda Mary (born 5 February 1898), Finner Dupree (born 13 December 1903), Joseph Tarkington (born 31 March 1905), and Walter William (born 23 March 1908). Louise died on 13 February 1915. On 7 September 1916, Albert married Lillian Gertrude Pamplin in Williamson County, Tennessee. They had a daughter, Evelyn Lorraine (born 11 November 1917), and a stillborn son (born/died 8 October 1918). Lillian died on 10 October 1918. Albert worked as a postman for the city of Nashville. He died in Nashville on 3 February 1954 (the date on the tombstone is incorrect). On 5 February 1954, he was buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Nashville, section 13 lot 75.