Isaac Simpson, formerly enslaved in Liberty County, Georgia, had a reputation as an honest and industrious man. In 1878, the U.S. Southern Claims Commission special agent who investigated his claim against the government for property taken from him during the Civil War wrote, “The claimant bears a good reputation for industry and trustworthiness. Every one with whom I conversed spoke well of him.”
See the full transcript of this claim at: https://theyhadnames.net/2020/11/17/isaac-simpson-southern-claims-commission/
This did not help him significantly, however, when his case was adjudicated. He had claimed $171 for 3 cows, 4 hogs, 4 bushels of corn, 25 bushels of rice and 11 bushels of potatoes taken by U.S. soldiers of Sherman’s Army while they were foraging for the army in Liberty County in December 1864. The U.S. Southern Claims Commission was required to look for evidence of loyalty to the Union in claimants, which they accepted as more or less a given in the case of formerly enslaved claimants, and evidence that the claimant owned the property, which was problematic for former slaves. In Liberty County, it had been established that certain enslaved people were allowed to own small amounts of property by their owners, but the Commission always wanted to see testimony by whites, preferably the former owners, in support of these claims.
In Simpson’s case, his former owner, William S. Baker, had died in 1862, and thus was obviously not available to testify for good reason. However, the Special Commissioner who took Simpson’s testimony kept asking him and his witness, Henry Brown, another formerly enslaved man, whether there were any white people, particularly members of the slaveowner’s family, who could testify for him. Simpson and Brown kept saying that the only family members remaining of his slaveowner had been too young at the time of the War to be useful as witnesses.
Finally, a way around the dilemma was found. William S. Baker was the half-brother of L. John Mallard, and in 1878 Mallard’s son Lyman B. Mallard, who was only 22, was brought in to testify that Simpson had belonged to his father and that his father had allowed him to own property. Lyman Mallard, who was of course only about 9 when the Civil War ended, often testified in these Liberty County claims; it is not clear why, except perhaps to solve the problem of former slaveowners being unwilling or unable (through death or absence) to testify for the African American claimants. Regardless, now Simpson had a white witness, and his claim was approved.
He was only awarded $92 of his $171 claim, however, based on the Special Agent’s report. Agent R.B. Avery re-interviewed Simpson on June 8, 1878, at the Cross Roads Church. It was evident that there was suspicion that the property Simpson had claimed had actually belonged to his mother. Simpson denied this. He had said in his earlier testimony that he had gotten a cow from his father, and this time he said that he had gotten it “from the man I belonged to for some fattening hogs.” Simpson also noted that he had brothers and at least one sister.
Agent Avery also interviewed two other formerly enslaved men about Simpson. William A. Golding appears to have frequently given testimony about claimants that was held in a private file by the Agent, and he said, “He and Jacob Quarterman used to belong to the same man – W. S. Baker. Simpson was a young man during the war, and he could not claim much. He is an industrious fellow, and has bought himself a house since freedom. His master was kind to him, and allowed him to raise what he could. He did not own a horse. I don’t know about cows.” Crawford James told the agent that he knew Simpson and didn’t know of his owning any property.
The Agent was skeptical. He believed that the property Simpson claimed had actually belonged to his family and that Simpson had put it all in his own claim. He also doubted the amounts and quality of the items claimed, but he did note Simpson’s reputation for trustworthiness. In the end, the Commission decided to award Simpson part of his claim, noting that he was “industrious and thrifty and has accumulated property since the war,” but adding what to them was the most important part: “White men who testified say that he is truthful and of good character.”
Isaac Simpson had testified in 1877 that he was 39 years old, putting his birth year around 1838. He was found listed in the 1870, 1880, 1900, and 1900 U.S. federal censuses in Liberty County, with birth years ranging between 1838-1840.
In the 1870 census, which did not identify relationships, he was living in a household with Emma Simpson (28), Violet Simpson (11), Edward Simpson (10), and Rosa Jane Simpson (6). He was listed as a farmer and not as owning property.
In the 1880 census, which did identify relationships, Emmily (40) was listed as his wife, and the family had more children: Edward (16), Rosa J. (13), Lewis (10), Harriet (7), Purdee (3), and little Charley (8 months). Also living in the household were Scipio Mallard (23), identified as Isaac’s brother-in-law and Crawford Mallard, identified as his nephew. This gave the first clue that Emily Simpson’s maiden name was Mallard.
Twenty years later, in the 1900 census, the household had contracted, with only Isaac (54), Emily (52), Charley (21) and Daisy (18) remaining. The 1900 census also said that Isaac and Emily had been married for 38 years, and that Emily had had 12 children, with only 8 living. It also revealed that Isaac owned his farm and could read and write.
The 1910 census revealed the name of the community in which they lived: Thebes. Showing the vagaries of the census, Isaac and Emily were now – 10 years later – said to have been married for 40 years, and Emily to have had 10 children, with 8 living. In the household with them were Kennet W. (7), a grandson, and Lucy Bryan (13), a niece. Isaac was still listed as being able to read and write without ever having attended school, and as owning his own farm.
So where did Isaac Simpson get his land? Liberty County Superior Court deed records reveal at least part of the answer: In 1881, a white man named W. W. Winn, a former slaveowner and agent for the Reverend Thomas Sumner Winn, sold to Isaac Simpson for $150 “one half of that tract of land known as Estate Wilson’s tract in said County bounded north by lands formerly belonging to W.W. Winn, on the east by lands formerly belonging to Estate Washington Winn, on the South by lands formerly belonging to Estate J. Wilson Winn, on the West by old Stage Road leading from Savannah to Darien…said tract containing fifty acres more or less…” The deed was not recorded until 1889, when Seaborn Snelson probated it.
In 1885, Isaac Simpson used that land as collateral to obtain $25 in groceries from a local merchant named Robert Q. Cassels, who had a store near the McIntosh railroad stop in Liberty County. Simpson had to repay the $25 by October or risk losing “thirty four acres land lying in Liberty Co. Ga. on the Midway & Riceboro Road, being the tract of land I live on Deeded from Rev. Sumner Winn also a b[l]aze face bay mare also my rice corn & cotton.” He would also have to pay an additional 10% of the principal and interest if he defaulted.
In 1895, Isaac Simpson sued the Florida Central and Peninsula Railroad Company for $450 in damages in Liberty County County Court. John L. Harden, a former slaveowner who frequently represented African American defendants in the courts after the war, was his attorney. Simpson stated that he owned 10 acres of rice land in the Powell Swamp in Liberty County, bounded north by land that had been owned by W.W. Winn, east by land previously owned by Washington Winn and south by land previously belonging J. Wilson Winn, and west by the old Darien Stage Road. He said that he was entitled to the rice and profits from the land during the years 1893-1895. The railroad had injured him, he claimed, by closing up the two canals on either side of the Powell Swamp to build the railroad embankments, which acted as artificial dams blocking the outflow of water from the swamp, flooding the swamp and causing Simpson to lose all of his rice crops in those years, a value of $200 annually. Simpson stated that the land was of no value except for rice cultivation, with proper drainage, and the railroad’s action had resulted in loss of the crops. He (or his lawyers) also described the railroad as acting in bad faith, being “stubbornly litigious,” and causing Simpson unnecessary trouble and expense by not simply creating a drainage system and insisting on going to court.
The railroad’s response in court? Simply that the allegations were “not true.”
Who won? The railroad, of course. Liberty County County Judge C.W. Ashmore ruled that the railroad could recover from Simpson all costs associated with the case. As of 1896, Simpson planned to appeal, and had filed a “pauper affidavit.”
By 1896, it also appeared that part of Isaac and Emily Simpson’s family had moved to Nassau County, Florida. Edward Simpson, presumably their son, bought land in Liberty County on May 15, 1896, from Mary E. Jones, paying $38.25 for a tract of 11 ⅓ acres near the 31 mile post on the Savannah and Darien Wagon Road, bounded north by land belonging to Mary E. Jones, east by the said road, and south and west by land of J.L. Lambert and W.J. Jones, according to a survey made by J.D. Zorn, county surveyor, on May 12, 1896. The deed was witnessed by Isaac Simpson, and recorded on October 25, 1900.The deed record identified Edward W. Simpson as being of Nassau County, Florida. Census records after that showed Edward as living in Savannah, Georgia, and he died there in 1928, but the 1920 census did reveal that his four sons were born in Florida.
A 1900 U.S. census record showed that Isaac’s son Lewis had moved to Nassau County by then, though he was found living in Jacksonville, Florida, in the 1920 census.
In February 1913, Isaac Simpson gave eight acres of land to Henry Baker, saying he was his brother, and described the land as bounded on the north by land of Estate Jane Wilson, east by land of Estate J.G. Lambert, south and west by the land of Isaac Simpson.
In March 1913, he and C.H. Simpson [perhaps his son Charlie] sold a 10-year right to all the trees on his land to the Southern Timber Company for $90. The land was described as containing 42 acres, made up of two tracts of 17 and 25 acres each. It was said to be bounded on the north by Mallard Swamp, east by H. Parker, Golden, Lambert and Theo. Winn, south by Theo Winn, and west by the Darien and Savannah Road.
In September 1913, he sold to Lydia Walthour for $25 a 20-acre tract of land bounded north by the land of S.P. Gould, east by estate of J.L. Lambert, south by land of Henry Baker, and west by land of J. Simpson [as in text, may be typo for I. Simpson].
Simpson was not found in Liberty County in the 1920 census, when he would have been about 80 years old. No death records were found; however, it seems likely that he had passed by then.
Emily Simpson’s Maiden Name
Emily and Isaac Simpson had children in 1870 whose birth predated their emancipation so it seems unlikely that Emily had a formal, registered maiden name. However, when Isaac’s and Emily’s son Edward died in 1928, his death certificate listed his mother’s maiden name as Emily Mallard. The informant was his wife, Sarah J. Simpson. Death certificates were found for two of their other children, Violet Simpson Smith and Harriet “Hattie” Simpson Smith; both listed Emily’s maiden name as unknown.
Emily was found listed with the middle initial M in the 1910 census, and in the 1900 census Scipio Mallard, listed as Isaac Simpson’s brother-in-law, was living with them. Most interestingly, in the 1890 Liberty County tax digest, she was also listed as Emily M. Simpson, and she was paying tax on 25 acres of land worth $40. Isaac Simpson was listed in the same tax digest but only for paying the poll tax. It appears that for some reason the land was in her name at this time.
Slavery
Was Isaac Simpson’s slaveowner William S. Baker or John L. Mallard? The Southern Claims Commission testimony makes both claims. In the earliest testimony, both Isaac Simpson and his witness Henry Brown testified that the property was taken from William S. Baker’s plantation and that he was Simpson’s owner. However, when the Special Agent re-interviewed Simpson, he said that his owner was John L. Mallard and that he was living there at the time of the raid. He noted that Baker and Mallard were brothers. Lyman B. Mallard also testified that his father, who was John L. Mallard, had owned Simpson. Agent Avery said in his report that William A. Golding had said that Simpson and Jacob Quarterman “used to belong to the same man – W.S. Baker.”
How to resolve the contradictions? John Lazarus Mallard and William Samuel Baker were half-brothers. Rebecca Eliza Burnley married first Thomas Baker, then when he died, she married Thomas Mallard in 1811. When researching slavery, we always want to look for probate records for slaveowners who died before the end of the Civil War, as these may provide clues to where the enslaved person came from. In this case, we have:
Rebecca Burnley Baker Mallard (died May 1861) (click to see estate inventory)
Thomas Mallard (died July 1861)
Will (click to see will)
Inventory (click to see inventory)
William S. Baker (1862) (click to see inventory)
John L. Mallard lived until 1876, so no need to look for his probate records.
In these probate records, we will look for enslaved men named Isaac and Henry (named in a deed record as Isaac’s brother) and an enslaved woman named Emily (Isaac’s wife), as well as, possibly, Isaac’s daughter Violet and son Edward, both born before 1861.
Rebecca Baker Mallard’s March 1862 estate inventory and division had 19 enslaved people named, with nine heirs, and was dated after both she and Thomas Mallard had died. There were a Henry, valued at $750, and an Isaac, valued at $400, on the list. Henry was distributed to Mallard’s son Robert Quarterman Mallard, and Isaac to Mrs. Harriet N. Bacon. We cannot be sure this was the Henry and Isaac we are looking for, but it is interesting that they were listed next to each other.
Thomas Mallard made his will in 1856. He left specific named enslaved people to his children, not including any of the names we are looking for. He specified that the rest of his estate, including enslaved people not named, were to be divided among his wife Rebecca and his children with her. He named his stepson William S. Baker as an executor and a friend, but he was not an heir.
Thomas Mallard’s October 1861 estate inventory and division included 125 enslaved persons with a total value of $55,025. There is an Isaac in this list but he was listed as being 14 years old, which does not match Isaac Simpson’s 1840-ish birth year.
William S. Baker’s November 1862 estate inventory also did not include any of the names being researched, which is odd considering that Isaac’s brother Henry did take the surname Baker upon Emancipation.
The 1756-1867 records of the Midway Congregational Church, which had both white and black members, were checked. Thomas Mallard was a member, and there was an Isaac who belonged to him who was listed in 1841, but he was an adult at that time, so was not Isaac Simpson.
Thus, based on probate records, unfortunately it is not possible to be certain that Henry and Isaac were the ones mentioned in Rebecca Mallard’s estate inventory, since they were not distributed to John L. Mallard. However, given the deaths in quick succession of Rebecca and Thomas Mallard, and the upheaval of the Civil War, it is certainly possible that this is them, and that they wound up with John L. Mallard.
Why did Isaac take the surname Simpson after Emancipation, especially given that his brother Henry took the Baker surname? While the Southern Claims Commission record did not seem to hold any clues to the answer, an intriguing possibility was found during the research. Liberty County families – both black and white – ran deep into Georgia’s history, and it was not uncommon for newly freed people to adopt a surname of an early enslaver of their family. In this case, a 1772 will was discovered for William Simpson of St. Johns Parish, which became part of Liberty County after the Revolutionary War. Simpson left his estate to his wife Elizabeth Simpson, and in case she should die before him, to her son Thomas Burnley. It may be remembered that Thomas Mallard’s wife Rebecca’s maiden name was Burnley. Simpson’s will named nine enslaved people. This possible link between William Simpson and Rebecca Mallard is worth investigating further.
Citations:
1870 U.S. Census, Liberty County, Georgia, population schedule, Subdivision 181, p. 47, dwelling #450, family #450, enumerated on November 29, 1870, by W.S. Norman, Isaac Simpson household, digital image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 11/171/2020).
1880 U.S. Census, Liberty County, Georgia, population schedule, Disctrict 15, enumeration district 67, p. 83, dwelling #894, family #901, Isaac Simpson household; digital image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 11/17/2020).
1900 U.S. Census, Liberty County, Georgia, population schedule, Militia District 15, enumeration district 80, sheet #2, dwelling #24, family #28, digital image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 11/17/2020).
1910 U.S. Census, Liberty County, Georgia, population schedule, Militia District 15, Thebes, enumeration district 114, p. 4, house #73, dwelling #100, digital image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 11/17/2020).
Liberty County Superior Court, “Deeds & Mortgages v. X 1887-1890,” p. 505-6, W.W. Winn, agent for Rev. T.S. Winn, to Isaac Simpson; digital image, FamilySearch.org, “Deeds & Mortgages, v. X 1887-1890” within “Deeds and mortgages, 1777-1920; general index to deeds and mortgages, 1777-1958,” image #264-5, (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3QP-R915-K?i=263&cat=292358, accessed 11/16/2020)
Liberty County Superior Court, “Deeds & Mortgages v. U 1884-1885,” p. 493-4, Isaac Simpson to Robert Q. Cassels; digital image, FamilySearch.org, “Deeds & Mortgages, v. T-U 1882-1885” within “Deeds and mortgages, 1777-1920; general index to deeds and mortgages, 1777-1958,” image #529-30, (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3QP-R9CH-2?i=528&cat=292358, accessed 11/16/2020)
1895-6 Isaac Simpson court case: “Georgia Probate Records, 1742-1990,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9QM-JYGD?cc=1999178&wc=9SBN-827%3A267679901%2C267998301 : 20 May 2014), Liberty > Estates 1775-1892 Shumatt, William-Stevens, Joseph > image 101 of 1207.
Liberty County Superior Court, “Deeds & Mortgages v. AD 1898-1901,” p. 509, Mary E. Jones to Edward W. Simpson; digital image, FamilySearch.org, “Deeds & Mortgages, v. AC-AD 1896-1901” within “Deeds and mortgages, 1777-1920; general index to deeds and mortgages, 1777-1958,” image #608, (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3QP-5S7T-3?i=607&cat=292358, accessed 11/16/2020)
Liberty County Superior Court, “Deeds & Mortgages v. AM 1912-1913,” p. 396, Isaac Simpson to Southern Timber Company; digital image, FamilySearch.org, “Deeds & Mortgages, v. AM-AN 1912-1915” within “Deeds and mortgages, 1777-1920; general index to deeds and mortgages, 1777-1958,” image #243, (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3QP-RPTM?i=242&cat=292358, accessed 11/16/2020)
Liberty County Superior Court, “Deeds & Mortgages v. AN 1913-1915,” p. 10-11, Isaac Simpson to Lydia Walthour; digital image, FamilySearch.org, “Deeds & Mortgages, v. AM-AN 1912-1915” within “Deeds and mortgages, 1777-1920; general index to deeds and mortgages, 1777-1958,” image #378, (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3QP-RBWY?i=377&cat=292358, accessed 11/16/2020)
Liberty County Superior Court, “Deeds & Mortgages v. AN 1913-1915,” p. 10-11, Isaac Simpson to Lydia Walthour; digital image, FamilySearch.org, “Deeds & Mortgages, v. AM-AN 1912-1915” within “Deeds and mortgages, 1777-1920; general index to deeds and mortgages, 1777-1958,” image #378, (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3QP-RBWY?i=377&cat=292358, accessed 11/16/2020)
Rebecca Mallard’s 1862 estate inventory: “Georgia Probate Records, 1742-1990,” database with images, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-893T-XT6J?cc=1999178&wc=9SB7-6T5%3A267679901%2C268014801 : 20 May 2014), Liberty > Miscellaneous probate records 1850-1863 vol C and L > image 285 of 703.
Thomas Mallard’s 1856 will: “Georgia Probate Records, 1742-1990,” images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-993T-XT63?cc=1999178&wc=9SB7-6T5%3A267679901%2C268014801 : 20 May 2014), Liberty > Miscellaneous probate records 1850-1863 vol C and L > image 265 of 703.
Thomas Mallard’s 1861 estate inventory: “Georgia Probate Records, 1742-1990,” images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L93T-XYB3?cc=1999178&wc=9SB7-6T5%3A267679901%2C268014801 : 20 May 2014), Liberty > Miscellaneous probate records 1850-1863 vol C and L > image 266 of 703; county probate courthouses, Georgia. [See this link for a transcription and analysis: https://theyhadnames.net/2018/07/08/liberty-county-estate-inventory-division-thomas-mallard/]
William S. Baker’s 1862 estate inventory: “Georgia Probate Records, 1742-1990,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L93T-XY2Z?cc=1999178&wc=9SB7-6T5%3A267679901%2C268014801 : 20 May 2014), Liberty > Miscellaneous probate records 1850-1863 vol C and L > image 292 of 703.
William Simpson’s 1772 will: Source: “Wills, Colony of Georgia, RG 49-1-2, Georgia Archives”, Colonial Estate Records, held by Georgia Archives Virtual Vault; accessed online at: https://vault.georgiaarchives.org/digital/collection/cw/id/1294/rec/247.