Family Group 3

Lowthers Lake Plantation

Joe
Ann
Betsy-Ann
Family Group 3, 1860 John D. Witherspoon Estate Inventory
About the Family

In the 1860/1861 inventories, Family Group 3 (FG03) was composed of Joe, Ann, and Betsy-Ann. This group appears to consist of a young couple and their newborn daughter Betsy-Ann. As will be examined below, it appears that Joe is the son of elder London and Phyllis from Family Group 2. According to Witherspoon family estate documents, Joe and Ann were enslaved at Lowthers Lake Plantation near Mechanicsville, South Carolina.1 Background on the Lowthers Lake Plantation and the Witherspoon family can be found here.

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. Joe, Ann, and Betsy-Ann were sent to John D. Witherspoon’s daughter, Sarah Cantey Williams, as part of the estate division.2

Surviving Freedmen’s Bureau labor contracts between Sarah Cantey Williams and her emancipated laborers show that Joe remained on the Williams plantations after 1865. The 1865 labor contract shows the names Joe, Hector, London, Elias, and Daniel in this sequential order, living on the Barn Plantation located on Robbins Neck just southeast of Society Hill on the Darlington District side of the Great Pee Dee River. While three Joes are listed on this 1865 contract, the placement of this specific Joe in this order of names is very suggestive of a familial relationship with members of Family Group 2.3 Two freedmen named Joe remain on the Barn plantation in 1866 according to new contracts, but it is unclear if this includes Joe from FG03.4

Joe and Ann have not been located in the 1869 South Carolina State Census, but it is possible they were enumerated as part of the London Witherspoon household in Colfax Township which documents 22 family members (11 males and 11 females) all likely linked to Family Group 2.5

1870s
An image of people

In the 1870 Federal Census, Joe, Ann, and Betsy-Ann were concretely identified as living in Hamilton Township using the Thompson surname, which was also adopted by members of Family Group 2. Hamilton Township incorporates both the town of Society Hill and the Robbins Neck plantations southeast town. Joe and Ann appear in the census as Joseph, Ann, and Betsey Thompson. Joe is listed as a 30-year-old farm laborer, Ann is a cook aged 27, and Betsey is listed as 7 years old. These ages closely fit the suggested narrative that FG03 were composed of a young couple with an infant in 1861.

Beyond the shared Thompson surname, the 1870 census helps reinforce the connection between FG02 and FG03 by showing that Joe Thompson and family lived only three households away from his suspected brothers (Elias and Daniel Thompson) and his mother (Phyllis Thompson). This strongly suggests that the placement of Joe and Ann following Family Group 2 in the 1860/1861 inventories was not a random occurrence.

The 1876 Voter List for Darlington District shows a Joe Thompson in Hamilton Township, working and living in the Robbins Neck area. Both the census and voter list suggests that Joe along with Elias and Danial from Family Group 2 were likely tenant farmers living and working on plantations originally owned by the Williams family.6

1880

The 1880 federal census finds Joe and Ann Thompson still living in the Robbins Neck area. Betsey is no longer present, likely having been married, as she should would have been 19 or 20 years old based on her appearance on the 1861 inventory.

The household has added a new member Sally Brass, an elderly woman aged 75. Sally is listed as a dependent of Joe and Ann. Interestingly, both of Sally’s parents were listed as being born in Africa. Sally is likely another former enslaved laborer originally owned by John D. Witherspoon. A Sally from Family Group 20, who appears to have been married to man named Brass, is a highly probable candidate considering the surname selected by Sally. How did Sally Brass end up with Joe and Ann in 1880? While speculative, it likely suggests that Sally was Ann’s mother or close relative. Research indicates that Sally from FG20 had another children living in 1880 (Dolly Marshall) which may indicate that Ann was another one of Sally’s daughters. Dolly Marshall, and other members of FG20 live just three households away from Joe and Ann in the 1880 census.

Agriculture Schedules for the 1880 federal census suggest Joe was a cotton sharecropper in Robbins Neck where his family rented a plot of farmland and paid his rent with a share of the harvest. The agricultural schedule records many details of Joe’s farming such as the number of acres farmed, amount of livestock kept, and harvest data for that year.

No definitive listing for any Family Group 3 members have been found beyond the 1880 census.

1870 census with Joe Thompson and family
1870 census
1880 census with Joe Thompson and family
1880 census
References
  1. Darlington District Sales and Appraisal Book 1860, Darlington County Historical Commission, Darlington, SC
    Writ of Partition, Equity Case 484, Darlington County Historical Commission, Darlington, SC
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. South Carolina State Population Census Schedules, 1869, Roll AD965, Darlington District. South Carolina Department of Archives and History, Columbia, SC
  5. 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