Family Group 2 appears to be composed of a father, a mother and their five children who range in age from early teens to adults. The organization of the names in Family Group 2 (FG-02) suggests that London is the husband of Phyllis. London and Phyllis would be the parents of a younger London, Elias, Maryanne, Hester, and Daniel. All members of Family Group 2 were enslaved on Lowthers Lake Plantation near Mechanicsville, South Carolina, according to Witherspoon family estate documents 1. Background on the Lowthers Lake Plantation and the Witherspoon family can be found here.
About the Family
BEFORE 1860
Very little is known about the elder London in Family Group 2 as he is not mentioned in family letters or other historic documentation. His wife Phyllis was a member of the Mechanicsville Baptist Church and was baptized in April of 1841 according to church records. As a church of the Southern Baptist denomination, the Mechanicsville congregation practiced an adult believer’s baptism suggesting that Phyllis would have been an adolescent or adult at the time of her 1841 baptism 2. Based on the baptism date, Phyllis would have been at least 40 years old when she was recorded in the 1860 inventory of John D. Witherspoon’s estate. The presence of adult children in Family Group 2 and the low valuation ($200) given to Phyllis in the inventory also suggest that she was at least 40 years of age in 1860 1.
Also recorded in the church minutes is a “Lundon” owned by John D. Witherspoon who was baptized in March of 1858 2. This is likely the younger London who has come of age and joined his Mother as an enslaved congregant of the Mechanicsville Baptist Church. While the younger London is likely the individual being baptized, it is also possible that his father decided to join the church later in life.
1860 – 1869
After the death of John D. Witherspoon in 1860 and the murder of his wife Elizabeth 1861, the enslaved community was divided by court order. London, Phyllis and all their children, with the exception of Maryanne, were given to John D. Witherspoon’s daughter, Sarah Cantey Williams, as part of the estate division. Maryanne was left to John D. Witherspoon’s grandson John Witherspoon Evans as specifically mandated in John D. Witherspoon’s will and was to be separated from her family 3.
Surviving Freedmen’s Bureau labor contracts between Sarah Cantey Williams and her emancipated laborers show that most members of Family Group 2 remain on the Williams plantations after 1865. The 1865 labor contract shows that a grouping of: London, Elias, Daniel and a Hector [likely Hester] residing on the Barn Plantation located on Robbins Neck just south of Society Hill on the Darlington District side of the Great Pee Dee River 4. The only member of Family Group 2 who remains on the Barn Plantation and signs a new labor contract for 1866 is Elias. The 1866 document lists “Elias & Family” as part of the labor contract, which would refer to Elias, his wife, children and potentially elderly parents 5.
A London Witherspoon shows up in the 1869 South Carolina state census for Darlington District. The census records a very large family with a total 11 males and 11 females. The size of this family group is interesting and may suggest that a large portion of Family Group 2 were
recorded here. The census details five children between the ages of 6 and 16 years old and six males above the age 21. That leaves 11 more individuals in the household likely composed of adult females and young children below the age of 6. Whether this entry refers to the elder
London Witherspoon or the younger London is unclear. Because Elias and Daniel Thompson do not appear on the 1869 census, it seems likely that several of the Family Group 2 siblings may have been recorded together in 1869 under the name London Witherspoon 6.
1870s
After 1866 Elias next appears in the 1870 Federal Census as Elias Thompson living in Darlington District. This connection between Elias from FG2 and Elias Thompson in the census record is based on the family members present in his household.
- Elias is married to a woman named Ann and they have two children Thomas (age 4) and James (age 2). In addition to Elias and Ann’s children there are two other members of the household: a Daniel Thompson (age 19) and a Philis Thompson (age 50) who are likely Elias’s younger brother and his elderly mother.
- The presence of Elias, Daniel, and Philis together in one household, along with their appropriate ages, provides convincing evidence that Elias from Family Group 2 is indeed Elias Thompson.
- The absence of the elder London suggests that he may have passed away or possibly relocated before the 1870 census.
The location of Elias Thompson’s family in the Society Hill area (Hamilton Township) in 1870 suggests they are still located in the Robbin’s Neck area farming on one of the local plantations, possibly one owned by the Williams family. This location is confirmed by an 1876 voter list that places both Elias and Daniel Thompson on Robbin’s Neck 7..
Both Hester and younger London have not been positively identified in 1870 census records.
1880 AND BEYOND
The 1880 Federal Census records a grim fate for Elias and several of his children who are listed as deceased. Elias and two of his sons Eli (age 5) and Adam (age 3) die of consumption, a 19th century term which typically refers to tuberculosis. Another son Thomas (age 15) is also listed as being sick with consumption. Mortality schedules for the 1880 census do not list Thomas Thompson, suggesting that either he recovered or died after 1880. It is likely that Elias’s mother Phyllis has died before 1880 as her name is absent from this household.
Daniel Thompson is found on the 1880 census just two doors away from his brother Elias. Married to Cressy Thompson, Daniel and his wife now have two young boys Leonard (age 4) and Nelson (age 2). Agriculture Schedules for the 1880 census suggest Elias and Daniel were both still located in the vicinity of Robbin’s Neck. The brothers are both identified as cotton tenant farmers renting a plot of farmland, and paying the rent with a share of the harvest. The agricultural schedule records many details of Elias and Daniel’s farming such as the number of acres farmed, amount of livestock kept, and harvest data for that year. The death of Elias and the illness of his teenage son Thomas was likely a devastating blow to their household probably leaving behind debt in the form of agricultural liens taken out against the future harvest to help offset the cost of seeds, fertilizer, and household goods.
Records of Daniel Thompson’s family help offer additional proof that Daniel Thompson was indeed the same Daniel initially recorded on the 1860 Inventory. In 1880, Daniel’s oldest son is recorded as Leonard, this appears to be a mistake on the part of the census taker. All future census records for “Leonard” (1900 and 1910) and his death certificate (1926), list his name as Lunnon, a common synonym for London. It seems likely that Daniel named his firstborn son after his father and brother London.
LONDON WITHERSPOON
Daniel and Elias’s brother London is difficult to pinpoint before 1880. A Lonon Witherspoon does appear in the 1876 voter list for Darlington District. In the 1876 list, Lonon was residing on Wilds Place in Snetter Township, which was just north of Witherspoon Island in the Mechanicsville area 7. Just four years later, a Lunon Witherspoon and his family is recorded in the 1880 census living in Mechanicsville, this individual is clearly the younger London from Family Group 2. At age 44, Lunon Witherspoon is a good match to the younger London from FG2 who was baptized in 1858. In 1880, Lunon was married to a Betsy Witherspoon, and they had six children: George, Lunon, Esaw, Annie, Leah, and Thomas.
- Darlington District Sales and Appraisal Book 1860, Darlington County Historical Commission, Darlington, SC
- Minutes of Mechanicsville Baptist Church 1829–1867 (Darlington County, S.C.), South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
- Writ of Partition, Equity Case 484, Darlington County Historical Commission, Darlington, SC
- South Carolina, Freedmen’s Bureau Field Office Records, 1865-1872, Darlington (Acting Assistant Commissioner), Roll 73, Labor Contracts, 1865. National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC
- South Carolina, Freedmen’s Bureau Field Office Records, 1865-1872, Darlington (Acting Assistant Commissioner), Roll 74, Labor Contracts, 1866. National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC
- South Carolina State Population Census Schedules, 1869, Roll AD965, Darlington District. South Carolina Department of Archives and History, Columbia, SC.
- Initially created as a tool of oppression to restrict the freedmen vote, the 1876 Voter List for Darlington District is a vital genealogical tool that records both the names of adult male freedmen by township, but also gives the plantation or locale where the individuals resided. Darlington County List of Voters Ca. 1876, Reel L 16030. South Carolina Department of Archives and History, Columbia, SC