Project History and Background
Thesis
Enslaved people have been left out of the conversation in relation to Tuscaloosa, Alabama’s history, making it an incomplete story. However, records do exist and can be synthesized in a manner to help descendants gather information about their ancestors.
Scope
According to the 1860 U.S. Census Slave Schedule, there were 10,145 enslaved people living in Tuscaloosa, Alabama (Blake, 2002). But their stories and experiences are too often left out. Within Tuscaloosa, there are a wide variety of topics that have yet to be explored in relation to its history of slavery. This includes the role of white women as enslavers, the landscape of freed and enslaved people, the system of slavery and how people were transported.
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Tuscaloosa has several historic homes, such as the Battle-Friedman House and the Jemison House, as well as others just outside the city and across county lines. The 1850 and 1860 Slave Schedule Census records paint somewhat of a picture with the range of ages and gender of enslaved people, as well as the enslavers—several of whom owned multiple plantations with hundreds of people. Many enslaved people were hired out by their enslavers, for example to work on the railroad or other labor and construction projects. The 1870 census, which was the first census taken after Emancipation, also paints a picture of Tuscaloosa’s African American community, as well as household situations, relationships, neighborhoods, education, and economic situations.
Relevancy
Many descendants are desperately trying to uncover their family trees to find names of ancestors and their stories. It can be a frustrating and difficult task because of many variables, such as burned courthouses or the non-preservation of records. But there are records that exist—they are not always easy to access because they have not been digitized, synthesized, or have been forgotten and overlooked. They also must be read beneath many other layers of context—for example, using records of the enslaver, or the difficulty of not having surnames and only gender and age. This project cannot completely fill the hole but will offer some insight to begin this process. Most importantly, this project will shed light into not only the history and landscape of enslaved people in Tuscaloosa but also on tracing the history of enslaved people for descendants who want to know their ancestors. In doing so, it is hoped that this can also be a path of healing, bridging the past to the present. This project uses genealogical skills, resources, historical collections, and materials relevant to the topic.
Photo Credit: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Farm Security Administration- Office of War Information Black-and-White Negatives.
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Title: Negro Cowhand with Cattle in the Black Prairie Region. Hale County, Alabama; 1941.
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Background information:
Hale County, Alabama, which is just south of Tuscaloosa County, was established in 1867. It is made up of parts of Tuscaloosa, Marengo, Perry, and Greene counties. It was once the location of many large plantations with enslaved people. Some of the enslavers also had "city houses" or townhomes in the city of Tuscaloosa. Between 1935 and 1944, several photographers came through Hale County, Alabama as part of Roosevelt's New Deal. Under the umbrella of the Farm Secuirty Administration's Federal Writer's Project, they took photos to document the Great Depression, offering historians an extensive pictorial view of life.
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This photo is one of many from the colllection at the Library of Congress.
Tuscaloosa, Alabama (Tuskaloosa)
Tuskaloosa
Founded in 1816
Alabama became a state in 1819
Explore these resources to learn more about Tuscaloosa's history:
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Video about Tuscaloosa from Discovering Alabama
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A timeline of some of Tuscaloosa's important history
Read about the Hallowed Grounds Project: Race, Slavery, and Memory at the University of Alabama OR Watch this video about it
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Learn about the Civil Rights Trail in Tuscaloosa
State Capitol
1826-1846
Tuscaloosa was home to Alabama's state capitol between 1826-1849.
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Image Credit: The Tuscaloosa Area Virtual Museum
Slavery in Tuscaloosa
RECORDS
An examination of different records, such as wills, tax records, probate, newspapers, census records, diaries, and other records are the primary sources that tell us about the history of slavery in Tuscaloosa. Like all places, there was a system. The local sheriff and jails were involved in holding enslaved people before auctions or when caught from running away. Banks and courts were involved because enslaved people were considered property and many were sold to pay debts. Based on court records and newspaper articles, public auctions were predominantly held on the first of the month or the fifteenth--although this may vary.
Most pre-Civil War newspapers contain ads placed about escaped enslaved people, with many containing helpful clues for researchers, such as physical descriptions, locations, or family relationships and enslavers. Several of the public buildings, the courthouse, and hotels were also sites in which the selling and purchasing of enslaved people took place. One location is today the downtown corner of University Boulevard and Greensboro Boulevard, where a large clock tower and lamp post stand. At one time, there was also a large cement block used as an auction block, but it has disappeared over the years--no one can explain what happened to it. At one time, Bernhard Friedman's "Atlanta Store" was located there, also. Newspaper ads also mention other locations, such as Barber's Corner (believed to be in Coker) and McGuire's Corner (present-day location unknown)-- both presumably named after a person known to live at that location or who claimed it. Records also show that Tuscsloosa had free people of color, as well.
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PLANTATIONS AND HOMES
There were many large plantation owners in Tuscaloosa County, and parts of this area now encompasses the location across the river known as Northport, as well as nearby Hale County. Additionally, many of the enslavers who owned those plantations decided to build "city houses" or town homes within the City of Tuscaloosa. Many of these still exist today and are located near or within the downtown area and are avaialble for visiting.
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Keep these questions in mind about the historic homes:
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The wealth of the historic homes was not possible without the enslaved people and their labor.
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Ask: How did the enslaved people view this home, where they slept and worked?
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How does the architecture of the home, especially before renovations, dictate the belief of the separation of space, or to provide service without being seen or heard and of private vs. public space?
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What were the relationships between the enslaved people and enslavers, within the wider community, and between other plantations and family members?
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LABOR
Other important records show that the hiring out of enslaved labor was common in Tuscaloosa. Examples include labor for the railroad and the construction of bridges and many of the local homes and businesses. Other examples include newspaper advertisements for the hiring of enslaved women to do laundry or "attend the duties of a small family", as pictured above from an 1835 Flag of the Union Tuscaloosa newspaper ad.
About the other photo above of the African American woman holding the white infant: Her name is unknown, but we do know that she was a caregiver for the white child pictured, who is known to be William Augustus Battle, Jr. (1852-1908). His grandfather was Alfred Battle and his father was William A. Battle, (Sr.). Alfred and his wife Millicent lived at the house on Greensboro Avenue that is known today as the Battle-Friedman House. In 1845, Alfred had a house built across the street as a wedding gift for his son and new daughter-in-law, Susannah Clay. It came to be known as the Battle-DeGraffenried House.
RELATIONSHIPS
The 1870 U.S. Federal Census was the first census record taken after Emancipation. It is a rich resource on many levels. For one, it offers names, ages, birth places, and hints at relationships (although these were not listed until 1880). Occupations are given, as well as education status and economics. There are several people who list their ages and birth places (or that of their parents) as "unknown" because records may not have been kept and they or someone else didn't keep up with it. Can you imagine not knowing when or where you were born?
It's evident from this census of the impact that slavery had on families because there are many households without fathers or with what appears to be multiple generations or families living together. The Duke University Archives contain an example of how desperate newly-freed African Americans were to find relatives who had been lost due to the separation from being sold apart. They hold a collection entitled "Slave Letters" and within it are the Jack Hannibal Papers from 1878. In it, Jack Hannibal of Tuscaloosa writes a letter to his former enslaver in North Carolina with a request for news of his relatives, whom he has not heard from since being sold away.
Downtown
Site of a former slave auction location
In the sketch, you can see a large building that was once home to "The Atlanta Store", owned by Bernhard Friedman in downtown Tuscaloosa and which burned in 1914. Just outside and on the corner was a large cement block used as a public auction site.
Today, a clock tower and lamp post are there, but the block has disappeared. The image on the left shows a Google Maps photo of the present appearance. The tall building on the right side of the flag pole in the photo is today a bank. This is at the corner of University Boulevard and Greensboro Avenue.
