They have names—Violet, Jane, and Mandy

One of the more horrific discoveries I’ve made in my research was the death of three children of a slave owned by my 3rd great grandfather, James Meriweather Lankford. James lived in Woodville, Greene County, Georgia in 1860. He was a thriving local businessman—merchant, livery stable owner, and ran a daily hack. He was also a farmer. But he didn’t get there alone. Unfortunately, to manage his businesses and farm, he owned three adult slaves—a 65-year-old black male, a 50-year-old black male, and a 26-year-old black female. You can see them enumerated in the 1860 slave schedule below.

1860 slave schedule

The 65-year-old male has a tick mark in column 6—fugitive from the state. According to the instructions for the 8th U.S. census, this mark designated “the fugitives who, having escaped within the year, have not been returned to their owners.” You might have noticed the words “Not Freed” and “Murder” in the line for the female slave. I immediately knew why the census enumerator had written the word murder in that column having obtained a copy of the 1996 book How Curious a Land, Conflict and Change in Greene County, Georgia, 1850 – 1885 by Jonathan Bryant. According to Bryant’s book, James did well for himself trading livestock. He owned three adult slaves, one of them being the 26-year-old female in the slave schedule. Her name was Becky, and she was the mother of three young children not listed in the slave schedule. In March 1860, Becky was accused by my 3rd great-grandmother, Caroline (Hobbs) Lankford, of “stealing dough from the kitchen” and was threatened “with severe punishment.” The threat upset Becky enough that she threw her children down the Lankford well and then climbed in herself. One of James and Caroline’s daughters found Becky in the well the next morning and called for her father. James climbed in and rescued Becky, only to find her children already dead beneath her. The coroner ruled their deaths as murder and Becky was taken to the jail in Greensboro to await trial. While waiting, Becky “allegedly confessed” to throwing the children in the well, then jumping in herself to make sure they drowned to seek revenge for the threats made by Caroline. Becky later gave another version of her story, saying she was depressed and tried to commit suicide, taking her children with her. On the other hand, James was known to drink and had recently been caught in lies about an incident on his property. Perhaps he was lying about what happened to Becky and her children. A young female slave, along with three young slaves who would perhaps grow up to bear children of their own who would become slaves were worth a lot of money to James—money he would lose if Becky was found guilty. So, when the trial was held, Becky was only charged with killing one of the children, the oldest one named Violet. There was no mention of Violet being Becky’s child, nor of the other two children. When all was said and done, Becky was found not guilty. Still owned by James, this meant she had to go back to the Lankford home into a possibly hostile environment. I can’t imagine how she must have felt. You can read the full details of Becky and her children’s story in an excerpt from Bryant’s book found at this link (pages 35 – 38). The public learned of Becky’s story in an article in the Daily Chronicle & Sentinel published in Augusta, Georgia on March 31, 1860:

DESPERATE MURDERS—THREE SLAVES DROWNED IN A WELL—One of the greatest outrages on humanity we have ever chronicled, took place at Penfield Greene, county, on Tuesday night, the 27th inst., by a negro woman belonging to Mr. James M. Lankford, who is in our town, and brought the news. On Wednesday morning following, Mr. Lankford’s daughter went to the well to draw some water, when she observed that the bucket was down in the well, and after examining, found that his slave a negro woman, had thrown three of her children in the well, and had by some means gotten down on them that she might be certain of consummating their death, assisting her own safety by holding on to the rope and bucket. The three children were all drowned. We understand that Mr. Lankford intends to give the murderess up to the proper authorities—Washington Independent.

             Daily Chronicle & Sentinel article, Augusta, Georgia, March 31, 1860 

Another story was published by the Southern Watchman of Athens, Georgia on April 5, 1860:

Three Children Drowned. We learn from the Washington “Independent” that a negro woman belonging to Mr. James M. Lankford, of Penfield, threw her three children into his well on Tuesday night of last week, and to make sure of their destruction she descended herself by means of the rope. She was drawn out next morning, and turned over to the authorities.

Southern Watchman, Athens, Georgia, April 5, 1860 

Bryant’s book named Violet but not the other two children. In late February, I discovered their names on a June 1860 mortality schedule—5-year-old Jane and 3-year-old Mandy. I was actually looking at the mortality schedule for someone else but then scrolled down the form to see if I recognized any other names. Lo and behold there was J. M. Lankford which caught my attention. The mortality schedule for the “year ending 1st June, 1860 in the County of Greene, State of Georgia” listed three children on lines 28–30. Line 28 was Violet, age 7, line 29 Jane, age 5, and line 30 Mandy, age 3, all black females born in Georgia, all drowned in a well and died suddenly in April. The remarks section noted:

… Three negro children, aged, respectively, 7-5-3-, drowned by being thrown in their owners well, by an unnatural mother, who jumped in after them, but was rescued alive, and is now in the county jail, awaiting her trial and conviction.

Cropped version of the 1860 mortality schedule

I don’t know what was meant by “unnatural mother.” Could that mean unmarried or something else? I googled it but it seems to be open for interpretation. 

Other than Bryant’s book listing Violet’s name, I find no other record online with the names of these three children. But they were living, breathing human beings who never got a chance. So, 162 years later, I remember Violet, Jane, and Mandy.

References

• Bryant, Jonathan M., Slaves Sho’ Did Fare Common, How Curious a Land, Conflict and Change in Greene County, Georgia, 1850 – 1885, 1996.
• Desperate Murders—Three Slaves Drowned in a Well, Daily Chronicle & Sentinel, Augusta, Georgia, March 31, 1860.
• Eighth Census, U.S.: Instructions, p. 18; https://www.census.gov/history/pdf/1860instructions.pdf.
• Three Children Drowned, Southern Watchman, Athens, Georgia, April 5, 1860.
• U.S. Federal Census Mortality Schedules, 1850–1885 (period ending June 1860).
• U.S. Federal Census, Slave Schedules for J. M. Lankford, Greene County, Georgia, 1860.
• U.S. Federal Census, Woodville, Greene County, Georgia, 1860.