(C) Verite News New Orleans
This story was originally published by Verite News New Orleans and is unaltered.
 . . . . . . . . . .



Lit Louisiana: How Black homesteaders put down roots in the South [1]

['Fatima Shaik', 'More Fatima Shaik', 'Verite News']

Date: 2024-02-20  

Bernice Alexander Bennett’s “Black Homesteaders of the South” opens up a new area of historical research for family genealogists and historians. Her research found many Black people who took advantage of the Homestead Act of 1862 to gain land and put down roots in Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida and Mississippi.

Bennett is native of New Orleans and the author of two previous books, “Our Ancestors, Our Stories” and “Tracing Their Steps: A Memoir.” One of Bennett’s subjects, noted by the National Park Service, was Peter Clark, who:

“…traveled to the land office in New Orleans on October 15, 1887 to apply for 159.33 acres of land under the Homestead Act of 1862 in the little town of Maurepas in Livingston Parish. Most of his land was piney woods. For several years Peter Clark cleared five of the 159.33 acres of land to build a house, outhouse and grow an assortment of crops to sustain and support his family. He had a network of family and friends who lived near him throughout the seven years he was required to live on the land to help him. The Southland newspaper published a notice for six consecutive weeks beginning October 17, 1894 to ensure that the entire community knew that Peter was in the final process of officially acquiring the land under the Homestead Act of 1862. On October 15, 1895, Peter submitted proof to the land office in New Orleans that he had complied with the homesteader’s rules for settlers.”

Among the other Louisiana homesteaders were Charles Baptiste, Phoebe Ann Bartlett Franklin, Frank Thompson, Thomas Monroe Pittman, Wade Pittman, George Paysinger, Moses Singleton, Charles Henry Veal, Andrew Richardson and Sarah Jane (Foster) Richardson, George Williams and Chester Williams, Henry and Julia Gordon, Moses Dyson, Moses Brumfield, Labron Brock, Josiah Cyprian, John Turner, and Leander Youngblood.

Bennett’s book is groundbreaking by her compilation of so many Black homesteaders and her follow up with their current descendants who discuss whether they still live on their ancestral property. You can see Bennett’s interviews on the Louisiana Creole Research Association Youtube and the National Museum of African American History and Culture sites.

Embers

If you are interested in finding other Louisiana people who owned property in the state and, particularly in New Orleans, read “New Orleans Architecture: The Creole Faubourgs.” Published in 1975, the book has a useful index of properties owned by free people of color. In some cases, the history of a property will be given so that you can find it in the New Orleans notarial archives. The archives are a rich and underused place for family and land research. Check out the wonderful blog of documents and their explanations, commissioned by Clerk of Court Chelsey Richard Napoleon, for more information.

Related Stories

Republish This Story Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://veritenews.org/2024/02/20/lit-louisiana-how-black-homesteaders-put-down-roots-in-the-south/

Published and (C) by Verite News New Orleans
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 US.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/veritenews/