As it turns out, I've been extremely lucky with finding the origins of my Winborne ancestors. As I researched more and more on my various paternal lines, I began thinking more and more about my Winborne line. I hadn't really researched them to be honest. Sure I had a few names here and there, but nothing that made for a compelling story. From what I know about my Winborne line, the vast majority of them came from Hertford County, North Carolina. Most of them didn't start migrating until the early to mid 1900's as far as I could tell. Even my grandfather didn't necessarily make it that far. He was born in Hertford County and eventually settled in Suffolk, Virginia. I knew that my African American Winbornes were descendants of slaves. My grandfather once told my father that my 2nd great grandfather, Pompey Madison Winborne (circa 1840), was the slave of Major Samuel Darden Winborne (1821-1895). So I decided to further investigate this claim. To do so I decided to go back to the 1820 census, just 1 year before the birth of Samuel Winborne, and take a look at the household of his father, Elisha Winborne (1792 - 1829).
According to the Hertford County 1820 Census, Elisha Winborne owned 2 male slaves and a female slave. One male slave is under the age of 14 while was between the ages of 14 and 25. The other slave was a female between the ages of 26 and 44. The female slave may have been the mother of the other 2 males slaves. I would say that it is highly plausible given each individual's age range as documented in the 1820 Federal Census.
This female slave could very well be one of my direct ancestors. Again, the evidence is circumstantial at best, but it's a start. Calculating the math using the high end of the scale, the female slave could have been born in 1775 or 1776. The low end of the range would place her year of birth at 1793 or 1794, which would be highly unlikely since the eldest male slave was between 14 and 25 This range puts her just a couple of years shy of child bearing age, although she certainly could have had a child between the ages of 14 and 17. I speculate that the female slave would have been born before 1794 and I guesstimate that the year of her birth to be between 1775 and 1785. This range coupled with the age of my 2nd great grandfather would make this woman my 4th great grandmother. I'll need to connect the dots and by doing so I decided to turn to the brother of the wife of Elisha Winborne, Robert Warren.
Elisha died in 1829, not quite a year before the 1830 census. His wife's brother, Robert Warren (1792-1846) was the administrator of his estate according to Benjamin Brodie Winborne, Sr. (1854-1919) account in The Winborne Family. In the book, Benjamin mentions that his grand uncle Robert Warren was a wealthy bachelor, who took in his widowed sister and her children upon Elisha's death. The Winborne estate was sizeable and the farms were sold off, however the book does not mention the status of all the slaves. Since I do not have access to the will or an account of the estate (1830 is the earliest year in which the state of North Carolina has records of Accounts of Estate.) I have to rely on this book and deductive reasoning. Upon Elisha's death, I'll have to assume that at least a few of slaves were sold while a few remained with Martha and her family. Perhaps some were even in the care of Martha's brother Robert Warren. Page 35 does mention that 3 males slaves were sold.
Although the above excerpt leaves a lot of questions. I couldn't get over the name Caesar. It's a Roman name just like Pompey (pronounced just like the city of Pompeii according to my dad. I even have a grand uncle that was named after Pompey and he was called P.M.). It was pretty common for slave owners to use Roman names as a part of the naming convention for slaves. The Winbornes apparently did not shy away from this tradition and embraced it for a couple of generations. I often wonder if Jacob & Willis were the 2 young male slaves recorded in the 1820 census. B.B. Winborne mentions that these slaves were owned by his father, Samuel Darden Winborne. Again, eery, but circumstantial.
My 2nd great grandfather was born between 1837 and 1840, so he would not have been enumerated until 1840 provided that he was actually born prior to 1840. It's hard to really know the age of most of the enslaved because they often didn't know their exact age themselves. For genealogist and family historians it makes it a little difficult to pinpoint an exact age when the age range from census to census varies. Nonetheless, I believe my 2nd great grandfather Pompey was more than likely born closer to 1840 and census data seems to support this date.
It's been extremely difficult finding any information on Pompey's life before the Great Emancipation. I know nothing other what the census records tell me. So again, I turn to Robert Warren. After all he was the administrator for his brother-in-law's estate and had control over the family finances. Perhaps he purchased a few of his deceased brother in-law's slaves or simply claimed them as his own. A transcribed copy of his will was included in The Winborne Family:
The second paragraph mentions 3 slaves, Pompey, Chaney and Moses. Could this Pompey be my Pompey? At the time of Robert's death, Pompey would have been 5 or 6 years old. So I decided to search for these 3 named slaves in genealogy records. I was able to find a Moses Warren living in Maney's Neck in the 1870 and 1880 census. His year of birth was listed between 1828 and 1830 respectively. I next searched for a Chaney Warren. She is found living with Samuel Darden Winborne and family, including their spinster aunt Margaret Warren (sister to Robert Warren & Martha Warren Winborne) in 1880. Chaney is listed as a servant in the Winborne household. Her age is listed as 42 which would place the year of her birth between 1837 and 1838. I am quite satisfied that I have found both Moses and Chaney. Now on to Pompey. Keeping in lock step with using the last name Warren, I could not find a Pompey Warren listed in Hertford County, particularly the Maney's Neck area of the county. So the next logical explanation could be that the Pompey mentioned in the will may not have a clear recollection of his former master because of his age or perhaps Pompey Warren migrated to another part of the country. And then there's the possibility that he may have changed his name. The perils of slavery extend far beyond the institution itself, but its aftermath and how it affected familial ties among African Americans can still be felt today. Surname changes are very problematic to African American genealogist. With all of the information I have before me, a name change seems probable. And here's why. If the Pompey mentioned was young, he may not have known any other surname or that his former owner was Robert Warren. With that said, Pompey Winborne was born around 1840, just 5 to 6 years before Robert Warren's death, so it's possible that Pompey Madison Winborne is Pompey Warren. As family lore would have it, he was the slave of Samuel D. Winborne and Robert Warren's will substantiates this claim. After all Robert did leave 3 slaves as a part of his estate to his nephew Samuel D. Winborne. Again the evidence is circumstantial, but it's a very plausible explanation.
Although all of these things come together, I'm still not satisfied. Something about all of this has been nagging me. My 2nd great grandfather was listed as White in the 1870 census and Mulatto in other census records. Usually when I see mulatto listed it just tells me that my ancestor more than likely was at least my complexion or lighter. Even more perplexing is that Pompey's son, John was just a year old and he is in listed as Black in the 1870 census. So was my 2nd great grandfather light enough that the census taker thought he was White (or perhaps his wife was very light and the census taker assumed that she was White and so was Pompey)? Is it possible that my 2nd great grandfather could have been a "child of the plantation?" My next step is to consult my DNA results for clues.
Autosomal and Y-DNA testing has been instrumental in tearing down brick walls, particularly for African Americans. I've tested with AncestryDNA, 23andme and FTDNA to find answers where the paper trail runs cold. I've tested my father as well. As I analyze the results, one thing for sure is that I have a few matches that claim Winborne lineage. The same Winbornes that settled Nansemond County Virginia and migrated south to Northampton and Hertford counties in North Carolina. Now there is a possibility that I could be related to these individuals with Winborne lineage through other lines, so I decided to search for any Warren ties just to make sure I have everything covered. I have triple the Warren matches, however none of my matches have ties to the colonial Virginia Warrens of Southampton and Isle of Wight counties in Virginia. This is disappointing and perplexing news. So again, I have to ask why do I have matches associated with the same Winborne family? Then I remembered Elisha Winborne and the 3 slaves that were listed in the 1820 census. Surely I could go back further I thought. Perhaps Thomas Winborne (c. 1757-1809), father of Elijah Winborne may hold some clues. It would be difficult at best to figure any thing out since the ages of enslaved persons weren't recorded in the 1790 and 1800 Census. I did find that Thomas Winborne had 2 slaves during both census years. Not much to disseminate. Perhaps DNA will be the thing to prove or disprove that I have Winborne DNA. I am patiently waiting for my DNA matches to respond to my messages. I may never get a response, however in the case that I do not, my next step is to have my father's Y-DNA tested to find a direct link. There's always the possibility that perhaps Pompey's maternal line is Winborne (maternal grandfather) in which case I would have to rely on the generosity of my matches to cooperate in uploading their data to Gedmatch for for segment triangulation analysis because Y-DNA won't be much help if this is the case. For now I'll have to play the waiting game and hope my Winborne matches will be cooperative as well as knowledgeable. Until then, I'll be scouring the internet and driving to the state library and archives looking for additional information. Wish me luck!
Source: Winborne, Benjamin Brodie. The Winborne Family. Raleigh, North Carolina: Presses of Edward A. Broughton, 1905. Print.
According to the Hertford County 1820 Census, Elisha Winborne owned 2 male slaves and a female slave. One male slave is under the age of 14 while was between the ages of 14 and 25. The other slave was a female between the ages of 26 and 44. The female slave may have been the mother of the other 2 males slaves. I would say that it is highly plausible given each individual's age range as documented in the 1820 Federal Census.
 |
Source Citation
1820 U S Census; Census Place: Hertford, North Carolina; Page: 190; NARA Roll: M33_85; Image: 168
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Elisha died in 1829, not quite a year before the 1830 census. His wife's brother, Robert Warren (1792-1846) was the administrator of his estate according to Benjamin Brodie Winborne, Sr. (1854-1919) account in The Winborne Family. In the book, Benjamin mentions that his grand uncle Robert Warren was a wealthy bachelor, who took in his widowed sister and her children upon Elisha's death. The Winborne estate was sizeable and the farms were sold off, however the book does not mention the status of all the slaves. Since I do not have access to the will or an account of the estate (1830 is the earliest year in which the state of North Carolina has records of Accounts of Estate.) I have to rely on this book and deductive reasoning. Upon Elisha's death, I'll have to assume that at least a few of slaves were sold while a few remained with Martha and her family. Perhaps some were even in the care of Martha's brother Robert Warren. Page 35 does mention that 3 males slaves were sold.
 |
| Winborne, BB. The Winborne Family. p. 35. |
Although the above excerpt leaves a lot of questions. I couldn't get over the name Caesar. It's a Roman name just like Pompey (pronounced just like the city of Pompeii according to my dad. I even have a grand uncle that was named after Pompey and he was called P.M.). It was pretty common for slave owners to use Roman names as a part of the naming convention for slaves. The Winbornes apparently did not shy away from this tradition and embraced it for a couple of generations. I often wonder if Jacob & Willis were the 2 young male slaves recorded in the 1820 census. B.B. Winborne mentions that these slaves were owned by his father, Samuel Darden Winborne. Again, eery, but circumstantial.
My 2nd great grandfather was born between 1837 and 1840, so he would not have been enumerated until 1840 provided that he was actually born prior to 1840. It's hard to really know the age of most of the enslaved because they often didn't know their exact age themselves. For genealogist and family historians it makes it a little difficult to pinpoint an exact age when the age range from census to census varies. Nonetheless, I believe my 2nd great grandfather Pompey was more than likely born closer to 1840 and census data seems to support this date.
It's been extremely difficult finding any information on Pompey's life before the Great Emancipation. I know nothing other what the census records tell me. So again, I turn to Robert Warren. After all he was the administrator for his brother-in-law's estate and had control over the family finances. Perhaps he purchased a few of his deceased brother in-law's slaves or simply claimed them as his own. A transcribed copy of his will was included in The Winborne Family:
 |
| Winborne, B.B. The Winborne Family. p. 75. |
Although all of these things come together, I'm still not satisfied. Something about all of this has been nagging me. My 2nd great grandfather was listed as White in the 1870 census and Mulatto in other census records. Usually when I see mulatto listed it just tells me that my ancestor more than likely was at least my complexion or lighter. Even more perplexing is that Pompey's son, John was just a year old and he is in listed as Black in the 1870 census. So was my 2nd great grandfather light enough that the census taker thought he was White (or perhaps his wife was very light and the census taker assumed that she was White and so was Pompey)? Is it possible that my 2nd great grandfather could have been a "child of the plantation?" My next step is to consult my DNA results for clues.
Autosomal and Y-DNA testing has been instrumental in tearing down brick walls, particularly for African Americans. I've tested with AncestryDNA, 23andme and FTDNA to find answers where the paper trail runs cold. I've tested my father as well. As I analyze the results, one thing for sure is that I have a few matches that claim Winborne lineage. The same Winbornes that settled Nansemond County Virginia and migrated south to Northampton and Hertford counties in North Carolina. Now there is a possibility that I could be related to these individuals with Winborne lineage through other lines, so I decided to search for any Warren ties just to make sure I have everything covered. I have triple the Warren matches, however none of my matches have ties to the colonial Virginia Warrens of Southampton and Isle of Wight counties in Virginia. This is disappointing and perplexing news. So again, I have to ask why do I have matches associated with the same Winborne family? Then I remembered Elisha Winborne and the 3 slaves that were listed in the 1820 census. Surely I could go back further I thought. Perhaps Thomas Winborne (c. 1757-1809), father of Elijah Winborne may hold some clues. It would be difficult at best to figure any thing out since the ages of enslaved persons weren't recorded in the 1790 and 1800 Census. I did find that Thomas Winborne had 2 slaves during both census years. Not much to disseminate. Perhaps DNA will be the thing to prove or disprove that I have Winborne DNA. I am patiently waiting for my DNA matches to respond to my messages. I may never get a response, however in the case that I do not, my next step is to have my father's Y-DNA tested to find a direct link. There's always the possibility that perhaps Pompey's maternal line is Winborne (maternal grandfather) in which case I would have to rely on the generosity of my matches to cooperate in uploading their data to Gedmatch for for segment triangulation analysis because Y-DNA won't be much help if this is the case. For now I'll have to play the waiting game and hope my Winborne matches will be cooperative as well as knowledgeable. Until then, I'll be scouring the internet and driving to the state library and archives looking for additional information. Wish me luck!
Source: Winborne, Benjamin Brodie. The Winborne Family. Raleigh, North Carolina: Presses of Edward A. Broughton, 1905. Print.
What an intriguing journey your research has taken you on. Good luck with your DNA matches.
ReplyDeleteThanks Georgia!
DeleteI'm praying that a few of them will respond. I'll just keep pushing. My next step is to reach out to the Hertford County Historical society and maybe find some direct descendants of Samuel Winborne that are willing to help.
I am also searching for Winbornes, but along a different path. My gggrandfather was Winborn Evans. His father was Josiah Evans of Hertford Co. Josiah's wife died early. Her name is unknown. I am searching to see if she was a Winborne since that is the first instance of the name being used in our tree and is the name of the eldest son. Perhaps you will stumbling along something on your search that may be of help to me. Good luck on your journey!
ReplyDeleteDYW,
ReplyDeleteDo you have a well documented family tree. The only thing you can do is work backwards. Assuming that Winborn Evans was enslaved, do you see any Caucasian Evans' in the 1870 census. That may be a clue as to who may have been the slave holders of your ancestors. Also see if there are any marriages between Evans' & Winbornes.
Our tree is well documented up to Josiah Evans. Winborn Evans was Caucasian, not enslaved although Josiah Evans did have slaves at the time of Winborn's birth. I cannot find any records of marriages between Evans and Winbornes. Thank you for your response!
ReplyDeleteWere any of your Evans ancestors politicians or lawyers or prominent business owners? I wonder if there wasn't a familial connection, if there was a friendship hence the 1st name?
DeleteHave you done autosomal DNA testing?
None that I can find. Josiah's father (not proven) was Benjamin Evans, a prominent landowner. There were Winbornes living near him. I have done autosomal DNA testing, but nothing has shown up that matches the Evans line.
ReplyDeleteAre you still researching the Manny's Neck, NC Winborne's?
ReplyDeleteI am looking for any clues for Winborne Evans. He was my ggg grandfather. Looking in Wilson Co, Edgecombe Co and nearby places. He was born in the early 1800's.
ReplyDelete