How did I miss this? I had the information the whole time.

I found my 4th great-grandfather, Alick Spratley, following back on one of my maternal grandmother’s maternal lines. I was so happy to go that far back that it didn’t click that I got his information from the 1850, 1860 and 1870 Censuses in Surry County, Virginia.

WHAT?!!?

Here’s the 1860 Census for reference.

He and his family were on the 1850 and 1860 Censuses. That means that he was free. I completely missed this but saw Alick’s name while looking up information on another free ancestor.

I found him on this List of Free Negro in the County of Surry the year 1835.

He’s listed here as Ellick Spratley, farmer and sawyer, living on the land of Josiah Holloman. I didn’t know that a sawyer was a trade. It’s a person who saws wood at a sawmill. (Someone else to keep up with later is that Josiah Holloman could be the same Josiah Holleman who was the original slaver owner of my 4th great-grandfather Isaac Holleman on my maternal grandmother’s paternal side.)

I’ve run across several of these lists while looking in the Virginia Untold collection at the Library of Virginia but because I did not see the name of the ancestor I was looking for, I didn’t examine it in detail. Yesterday, I finally paid attention. According to the Library of Virginia,

On 4 March 1833, an Act of General Assembly was passed “making appropriations for the removal of free persons of color” to the western coast of Africa and established a board of commissioners charged with carrying out the provisions of the act. Localities were required to report to the board regarding their ability to find free blacks who were willing to relocate to Liberia, though many were unable to find willing to or able to do so. For those localities that identified free blacks, the reports included names, ages, and sometimes height.

So not only was he free but he was also on the list of those willing to relocate to Liberia. Alick did not go to Liberia though.

In the 1850 Census, Alick appears with his first wife Lisha (King) with 7 children. Alick and Lisha were married August 4, 1830, in Surry County. In 1860, Alick appeared with a new wife (presumably) Malissa and 6 children.

Alick also shows up on the U.S., Selected Federal Census Non-Population Schedule in 1860.

In 1860, Alick owned a farm in Surry County that had 10 acres of improved land and 20 acres of unimproved land. The value of that land was $50. The value of his farming implements and machinery was $10. He had two sheep worth $4.

Since I found this I also looked on the 1830 and 1840 Censuses and found him there.

Every time I find answers to questions, those answers create more questions. Now, finding so many ancestors that were free before the Civil War, I’m wondering what life was like for them. I wonder how they navigated the institution of slavery especially since they could be sold into slavery for something like being delinquent in taxes. You also can see on the 1860 Census that neither he nor Malissa could read and write.

I also wonder how many of my grandmother’s ancestors (both maternal and paternal) knew each other.

I think I know how Alick was free. I will post after some investigation.

Sources:

• Year: 1830; Census Place: Surry, Virginia; Series: M19; Roll: 201; Page: 178; Family History Library Film: 0029680
• Year: 1840; Census Place: Surry, Virginia; Roll: 576; Page: 233; Family History Library Film: 0029691
• Year: 1850; Census Place: Southwark Parish, Surry, Virginia; Roll: 978; Page: 94b
• Year: 1860; Census Place: Surry, Virginia; Roll: M653_1379; Page: 909; Family History Library Film: 805379
• Census Year: 1860; Census Place: Sussex, Virginia; Archive Collection Number: T1132; Roll: 8; Page: 506; Line: 2; Schedule Type: Agriculture
• Year: 1870; Census Place: Blackwater, Surry, Virginia; Roll: M593_1680; Page: 91B
• Ancestry.com. Virginia, U.S., Select Marriages, 1785-1940 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2014.
• Surry 1834 Free Negroes and Mulattoes, 1834, Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative Digital Collection, Library of Virginia, Richmond, VA
• List of Free Negroes in the County of Surry for the Year 1835, 1835, Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative Digital Collection, Library of Virginia, Richmond, VA
• List of Free Negroes and Mulattoes in the County of Surry [in] the year 1836, 1836, Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative Digital Collection, Library of Virginia, Richmond, VA