RIVERS FAMILY
(This History Was Written In 1992)
(Words in Blue added in 6/28/2005 indicates a change in the original draft of 1992. Sentences were re-worded for additional clarification only.)
Searching
for one’s African American ancestors during slavery can be a very disappointing
task. Records, which specifically identified slaves, such as birth records
listing a full name, date of birth and parents, simply were not kept. Also,
prior to 1870 Blacks were not listed in the U.S. Census. Although the search is
difficult, it is not necessarily impossible.
Rarely in my research did
I find records listing slaves with a complete name (first and last). In most
cases they were listed by a first name and their age, and were identified as
Black or Mulatto.
In one’s family history
it may indicate that an ancestor was born on a particular plantation. However, a
search of that plantation’s log books and bills of sale (if available) may prove
negative. Even if you are fortunate enough to find a slave with the same name as
your ancestor, you can only speculate that it is indeed the right person.
FAMILY HISTORY:
Any family
history project should start with an interview of family members who have
information to share. From my interviews with family members I was able to
obtain many stories about the Rivers Family. It was my job then to confirm some
of these stories through research and to clarify and expand on others.
I learned that Spencer
and Sarah Rivers were my Great Grandparents and that both had been born into
slavery. Spencer told his family that he was born in Sussex County, Virginia.
Unfortunately, the family doesn’t know (or remember) anything about his
childhood. My mother told us that he had fought with the Union Army during the
Civil War and that both he and our Great Grandmother, Sarah, had received a
government pension based on Spencer’s military service. She also told us that
both were buried in the National Cemetery at Mound City, Illinois.
(See Historical Document From The National Cemetery)
NATIONAL ARCHIVES:
From previous genealogy research, I knew that the National
Archives in Washington DC should have Spencer’s military records and records of
them receiving a pension, if indeed it was true. However, I could not go to them
with only hearsay; so, I contacted the National Cemetery in Mound City, Illinois
and confirmed that Spencer and Sarah were indeed buried there. Spencer had died
on 2/19/1911 and Sarah died on 12/19/1930.
(See
Historical Documents)
The National Archives in
Washington, DC answered my request promptly. It took only a couple of weeks to
receive all of the information they had on Spencer’s military records.
Obviously, I was quite pleased. The military records provided me with various
information about Spencer’s Civil War military career, and the pension records
for both Spencer and Sarah provided me with an abundance of information about
their lives following the war.
(See Historical
Documents)
SUSSEX COUNTY, VA:
Since the Archives confirmed that Spencer was born in
Sussex County, Virginia, I decided to begin the Rivers Family research there.
The 1840 and 1850 Census
records listed a slave owner in Sussex County with the surname of RIVERS. Since
many slaves before and especially following Emancipation took the name of their
slave masters, I assumed this could have been how Spencer acquired the name.
I wrote a letter to the
County Clerk of Sussex County, Virginia with a broad request to check his
records, tax lists, and wills to see if a slave with the name of Spencer
appeared in such records for a slave owner with the name of RIVERS. I told him
briefly what I was trying to achieve in my research, and that my Great
Grandfather, a Civil War Veteran, had been a slave in his county. Shortly
thereafter I received a letter from Gary M. Williams, the County Clerk of Sussex
County, Virginia. He was quite excited about my letter. Since he was currently
writing a book about the county, he was pleased to hear about a slave from his
county who had fought with the Union Forces in the Civil War. Following his
initial letter, I received several more indicating his efforts in trying to
acquire confirmation of Spencer’s life as a slave in Sussex County. He made what
appeared to be a thorough search of all records available to him, but was
unsuccessful in his efforts.
One of Mr. William’s
letters is printed at the end of this chapter. Although not conclusive, his
letters were quite interesting. (See Historical
Documents)
It is possible Spencer
had a different name as a slave. He could have picked both a first and last name
before entering the war, as many ex-slaves did upon receiving their freedom.
This could explain why Mr. Williams was unsuccessful in his research.
SPENCER AND THE CIVIL WAR:
The National Archives’ records indicated Spencer
enlisted into the military at the age of 25, on 9/26/1864, in Company “C” of the
9th Regiment of the U.S. Colored Troops. Records do not indicate where he
entered the military but do indicate he mustered out of service, or rather was
discharged on 9/29/1865 at Brownsville, Texas. The military records further
indicate his height as 5’5”.
A very interesting book
was written about the 9th Regiment, U.S. Colored Troops. It was published in
1866, right after the war and lists all of the Companies under the 9th Regiment,
Companies A-H. Under each company, each person who enlisted into the company
from the date it was mustered into the service on 11/11/1863 until the end of
the war is alphabetically listed. Under Company “C” I found SPENCER RIVERS
listed. The book also gave Spencer’s place of enlistment. According to the book
Spencer enlisted at Ellicott’s Mills, Maryland. The name of the city was changed
to Ellicott City, as it is now named.
This book about the
Colored Troops is unique in that the author states “It is not supposed that this
work will elicit any interest from the public at large, as it is strictly a
local work, only intended for the members of this particular Regiment.” He was
certainly wrong in that respect. (See Spencer
River's & the 9th Reg. History)
BALLARD COUNTY, KY:
Following Spencer’s discharge from the military service in Texas,
he made his way to Kentucky. The question is why Kentucky? Why not back to
Virginia where he once lived, and possibly left family - brothers and sisters?
We can only speculate, and will never know for sure.
The archive records
indicate Spencer met my Great Grandmother, Sarah, in Kentucky. They were married
by a “white minister...near Hinkleville, KY” on 12/25/1866.
The 1900 Census indicates
that Spencer and Sarah’s first child Julius (in some records spelled Junius) was
born in Kentucky on 12/4/1867. Their next child, James Henry, was born on
3/25/1869 in Missouri. Also, according to the 1900 Census, their last child was
born in Missouri on 2/15/1890.
One of the affidavits
filed with Spencer’s application for a pension indicated that he and his family
had lived in Mississippi County, Missouri in a town called Texas Bend. Another
notarized affidavit signed by Spencer Rivers (with an X), indicates he filed his
original pension claim on June 27, 1890 while he resided in Cairo, Illinois.
(See Historical Documents)
I feel it would be fair
now to conclude that the Rivers Family left Kentucky to reside across the river
in Missouri in about 1868, and remained there for approximately 22 years. Then
they left Missouri in the Spring of 1890 to live in Cairo, IL, where they were
living when the 1900 Census was taken.
SPENCER AND SARAH’S CHILDREN:
Included in the records received from the
National Archives was a very interesting letter to Spencer from the Department
of the Interior (the Federal Agency that was providing Spencer with his veterans
pension) dated 12/8/1897. The letter was requesting information about Spencer’s
family. Ironically, the letter states, “The information is requested for future
use, and it may be of great value to your family”. Was the letter referring to
us, that we may someday need the information? Well, I doubt it, but it does
sound intriguing.
The letter requested
names and dates of birth of Spencer’s children living as of 12/8/1897. Spencer’s
response to the letter was dated 1/29/1898 and he listed the names and birth
dates below.
(See Historical Documents)
Julius Rivers
12/04/1867
James Henry Rivers 03/25/1869
Ida June Rivers 12/22/1871
George Willis Rivers 03/14/1898*
Mary Magline Rivers 05/03/1887
Nora Rivers
02/15/1880*
Clara Fisher Rivers 09/07/1893
Although
their son Johnny was alive at the time, he was not listed. Perhaps he was not
living in the immediate area or perhaps Spencer simply forgot to list him.
In Spencer’s response to
the Government, two birth dates are listed incorrectly. His letter is dated
January 1898, yet George Willis is listed with a birth date of 3/14/1898 as
indicated by the asterisk. Obviously, this was a mistake. The 1880 Census shows
that George was 3 months old when the Census was taken; therefore, his birth
date of 3/14/1880 is correct. I later acquired the death certificate of George
which shows a date of birth of 3/14/1881. This would also be in error since he
is listed in the 1880 Census. Another interesting fact about George’s death is
that he died on his birthday, 3/14/1928.
Spencer’s letter also
listed Nora’s birth date incorrectly. The 1900 Census indicates he was born on
2/15/1890, and not 2/151880 as Spencer indicated. The family feels that the 1890
date is correct because Nora (AKA Edward) and cousin Nellie were close in age,
and she was born about 1890.
Another mistake was made
in the name Nora. Family members tell me the name was actually Noah, and not
Nora.
Spencer and Sarah had two
more children who apparently died before 1898,- Joseph, born in 1874 and Lucy,
born in 1878. One of my sisters remembers vividly that our mother told us that
Lucy was cousin Nellie’s mother and that Lucy had died during or shortly after
Nellie's birth. Perhaps this explains why Sarah and Spencer raised Nellie.
SARAH (TURNER) RIVERS:
From earlier conversations with family members about the Rivers Family I learned
that my Great Grandmother Sarah was born into slavery on the plantation of a
wealthy land owner in Kentucky. I needed to find not only where this plantation
was located in Kentucky, but also the name of this wealthy land owner.
One of the affidavits
that I received from the National Archives which was completed by Sarah Rivers
indicated that she was born on 3/4/1846 in Ballard County, Kentucky. The
affidavit also indicated that her maiden name was Sally Turner (Sally was often
a nickname used for the name Sarah.)
(See
Historical Document)
Now that I knew Sarah’s
maiden name, I assumed Turner was the name of the wealthy Kentuckian. So I
needed to research the 1850 and 1860 Census to locate him. Along with the U.S.
Census, I also reviewed the “Slave Schedules”. These schedules listed all owners
of slaves. Unfortunately, the schedules did not lists the names of the slaves;
the schedules provided only their sex, color (Black or Mulatto), and age,
I found an Oscar Turner
on the 1850 Slave Schedule in Ballard County, Kentucky with 28 slaves. On the
1860 Slave Schedule the same Oscar Turner had 47 slaves. There was no one else
named Turner listed with slaves. My thoughts were, is this the Turner I’m
looking for. It looked good, but I needed more confirming evidence.
I found Oscar Turner in
each available Census up to, but not including the 1900 Census. I thought
perhaps he had died after 1890. Then I contacted the Ballard County Court House,
seeking a death certificate or perhaps his will. After several weeks I did
receive a copy of Oscar Turner’s will and it was well worth the wait.
Oscar Turner's will read like
an autobiography of his life. He was indeed a wealthy man. He owned well over
2,000 acres in Kentucky and in Illinois. And as an added surprise, Oscar
indicated in the will that he had been elected to the U.S. House of
Representatives for 3 terms, representing the Northwest part of the state.
Except for a few acres given to
friends, Oscar Turner willed most of his property to his daughter, Lilly. The
remainder of the land was willed to his wife Eugenia and his sons Oscar Jr. and
Henry
On page 2 of Oscar’s will he
gave “the place known as Hall place & one hundred acres in the deadening to my
old servants Mahala, Sally, and, Billy”. When I read this, I thought could this
Sallie be my Great Grandmother Sarah. My mother called her Grandma Sally and she
told us that Oscar Turner also called her Sally. Well I certainly needed more
information to be sure and I knew that I must contact the Ballard County Clerk
again.
I sent a
copy of page 2 that described the property willed to Oscar Turner’s servants. It
took several months, but I did receive a "deed of sale" from the Ballard County
Clerk. In 1907 Sarah Rivers sold her share in the property willed to her
by Oscar Turner. The importance of the "deed of sale" is that it provided
us with conclusive evidence that Sarah Rivers, a.k.a. Sallie Turner, my Great
Grandmother, had been a slave on the plantation owned by Oscar Turner and
was indeed the "Sallie" willed a share of 100 acres of land by Oscar Turner.
(See Deed of Sale In Historical Documents)
SARAH'S DEATH CERTIFICATE:
Now that I had conclusive evidence that Sarah/Sallie had been a slave on the
Oscar Turner Plantation, I still had one more area of Sarah/Sallie
(Turner) Rivers’ history to clarify and confirm. I had learned from my siblings
and cousins that Oscar Turner was Sarah’s father. Anyone who has read a book on
the subject of slavery knows that such things did happen often and should not be
surprised. But how do you confirm this family story?
Shortly before I received the
deed of sale for the 100 acres indicating that Sarah Rivers was indeed the same
person as the Sallie mentioned in Oscar Turner’s will, I received a certified
copy of Sarah Rivers’ death certificate. The death listed Oscar Turner as
Sarah’s father and Jane Turner as her mother. The informant listed on the death
certificate (the person who provided the information to complete it), was
Sarah’s daughter, Mary, who is also my Grandmother.
The death certificate of Sarah
Rivers proved to us that my Grandmother, Mary Spurlock, believed Oscar Turner
had had been Sarah Rivers’ father. I would assume that she was apprised of this
information by Sarah Rivers herself.
(See Sarah's
Death Cert. In Historical Documents)
However, without a written
confirmation by Oscar Turner himself, we can only assume that he was Sarah’s
father. But, to add support to this assumption, you have to consider our word of
mouth family history that Oscar Turner assisted Sarah and Spencer financially
for well over 25 years. And then, 30 years after Sarah was married, he was fit
to leave her and her children a share of 100 acres of land. Now, was this a show
of kindness on the part of an old man toward his former slaves, or simply a way
to provide his slave child with a part of his wealth. Obviously, we will never
know the whole truth of this matter; so, it will be left to each of us to draw
our own conclusion based on the information we have.
JANE TURNER
(Sarah's Mother):
Although my mother told us many poignant stories that
were told to her by her Grandmother Sarah regarding her life during slavery, we
knew very little about Sarah’s mother, Jane. In fact, we didn’t even know that
her name was Jane until I received Sarah’s death certificate.
As the story goes, during
the summer of 1845 when Oscar Turner was home from law school, he impregnated
his young slave, Jane; she was a young teenager. On March 4, 1846 Jane gave
birth to Sarah. Apparently Jane tried on several occasions to kill the baby; and
when Oscar Turner became of aware of it, he took Sarah to live in the main
plantation house to be cared for by his personal servants. Supposedly, Sarah
lived in that house (as a servant of course) until she married Spencer.
Sarah was only 9 years
old when Oscar married in 1855. From his marriage Oscar had 3 children -
Lillian, Oscar Jr., and Henry. Sarah supposedly assisted in caring for the
children, and they had a loving relationship; as much as Blacks and Whites could
have in those days. We were told that one of Sarah’s brothers and her sister
visited her after 1900 when Sarah lived in Future City.
Unfortunately, we do not
have any other information about Jane Turner. I could not locate any public
records that would indicate what happened to Oscar Turner’s slaves after the
Emancipation, nor did I find any records for the sale of slaves. I would like to
think that she had as much happiness as one could under slavery conditions.
From the stories we were
told about our Great Grandmother, her memories of her father were ones of
fondness. Supposedly, Oscar Turner treated his slaves very well. From my
research of him he appears to have been a decent man, but a formidable
character. I’ve been told that our Great Grandmother Sarah certainly was a
formidable person.
THE DEED OF SALE
(Sarah's Children):
Not only did the deed of sale give proof that Sarah
(Turner) Rivers was the same Sallie Turner in Oscar Turner’s will, it gave two
more interesting facts. It shows who signed the deed and where they were living
at the time. When you refer to the deed of sale (See
Historical Documents), you will note that only four of the eight children
signed it - Henry, John, George, and Mary. At that time, 1907, Clara would have
been only 14 and Noah 17 which would explain why they did not sign it. I was not
successful in obtaining death records for Julius, Ida, and Clara. Perhaps they
had already died by the time. Noah died much later in life in Pennsylvania.
The deed indicated Henry and
his wife Sallie were residing in Beech Ridge, Illinois: John Rivers and his wife
Annie residing in Cairo, IL; George Rivers and his wife Mollie residing in
Charleston, Missouri; and Mary Spurlock residing with her husband Henry Spurlock
in Cairo, Illinois.
MARY (RIVERS) SPURLOCK:
Mary Rivers met Lee (a.k.a. Leo and Grand Gallelar) Carman about 1902. From this
relationship they had one child, my mother, Berthen Ellen.
A few years later, exact
date unknown, my Grandmother, Mary Rivers, married Henry Spurlock. My mother,
Berthen Ellen, did not take the name of Carman, but rather took the surname of
her step-father, Henry Spurlock, to become Berthen Ellen Spurlock.
Mary and Henry Spurlock
had two children: Nathaniel and Sarah. Nathaniel died at the age of 5. Sarah
died at the age of 39 in 1946.
Mary Spurlock, my
grandmother, died at the age of 44 on Sept. 5, 1931 in Cairo, IL and was buried
on Sept. 10, 1931 at the Lincoln Cemetery in Mounds, Illinois.
(See Mounds, IL Cemeteries In Historical Documents)
(Click To See)