Women often get lost in genealogy, especially when they get married. I don’t think oftentimes, people even realize they are ignoring the women in their ancestry. I have been determined to find my female ancestors and their family lines.

Amanda Darden married Moses Allmond on October 10, 1878, in Nansemond County, Virginia. According to the Nansemond Register of Marriages, Amanda’s parents are listed as Allen Darden and “Georgianna, his wife”.

On the 1870 Census, nine-year-old Amanda Darden was found in the household of George F. Hall, a white farmer. She was noticeably in this household without her parents. The household included his family of 12 members and 10 Black people with various last names (Seeds, Gwaltney, Daughtrey, Darden and White). There is also a Mariah Darden (8) in the household.

I also found Amanda’s birth record, initially through the Virginia Slave Birth Index. According to the Isle of Wight County Register of Births, Amanda was born June 1, 1860, to an enslaved mother named Georgianna. George F. Hall was listed as the owner.

So I looked for Georgianna in the 1870 Census and found her in the household of China Seeds as Georgiana Hall (30). The Seeds family had 3 members, while Georgianna seems to be there with two children, Wilson (5) and Delia (1).

I believe this is her mother because Wilson appears on the 1880 Census in the household of Moses Allmond and Amanda Darden as brother-in-law to Moses. Here, he’s listed as Wilson Darden instead of Wilson Hall.

I have not yet found Amanda’s father Allen Darden. Additionally, I have not yet found Wilson after 1870 and Delia after 1880. And then there was Mariah Darden from the same household as Amanda. I haven’t looked into her at all.

Add this to my ever-growing list of unanswered questions.

Sources:

• Library of Virginia; Richmond, VA; Virginia Marriages, 1853-1935
• Year: 1870; Census Place: Newport, Isle of Wight, Virginia; Roll: M593_1657; Page: 276A
• Virginia, Slave Birth Index, 1853-1866. Database. FamilySearch. https://FamilySearch.org : 17 June 2025. Virgina State Library and Archives, Richmond.
• Library of Virginia; Richmond, Va, Usa; Virginia, Birth Registers, 1853-1911
• Year: 1870; Census Place: Newport, Isle of Wight, Virginia; Roll: M593_1657; Page: 276A
• Year: 1880; Census Place: Newport, Isle of Wight, Virginia; Roll: 1373; Page: 301b; Enumeration District: 032