Andrew Girardeau’s claim for compensation for property taken by U.S. soldiers when they liberated Liberty County, Georgia’s enslaved population while foraging for Sherman’s Army in December 1864 was a puzzle. According to the claim, a formerly enslaved man named Ben Bacon, Girardeau’s stepson, filed the claim on behalf of Girardeau on October 1, 1877, and had his testimony taken on October 27th. Girardeau was apparently just barely alive at the time, as an addendum to the file stated that he had died on November 3, 1877, leaving a widow, Rachel, and two stepchildren, Ben and William Bacon.
See the full transcript of this claim here: https://theyhadnames.net/2020/11/15/andrew-girardeau-or-quarterman-southern-claims-commission/.
The Southern Claims Commission denied the claim, noting that no legal administration of Girardeau’s estate had been filed, and thus there was no way to know who the legal heirs were. Not only that, they said, the testimony had also not proven that he had owned the property claimed: 20 cows, a wagon, 15 hogs, 50 bushels rough rice, 18 head chickens, etc.
Ben Bacon testified in 1877 that he was 30 years old and had lived in Liberty County all his life. He called Andrew Girardeau his father, and said that he had lived with him and was with him all the time until his death. He said that Girardeau had raised him, and that Girardeau had acquired the property before the war by working for it on Valentine Grest’s plantation. Grest was not testifying for them, he said, because he was dead.
Titus Harris also testified on behalf of this claim, saying (in 1877) that he was 60 years old and had lived in Liberty County all his life and had known Girardeau from boyhood to his death. [NOTE: According to the dates in the claim, Girardeau had not actually died yet at the time of Harris’ testimony.] He said they had lived on the same place and he saw him every day.
Roger Maybank was the second witness for the claim. He said he was 31 years old, and had also lived in Liberty County all his life and had known Andrew Girardeau for his entire life, and lived on the same place.
In February 1878, the testimony of Dr. Edward J. Delegal, 63 years old, a white physician, was taken on this claim. He said he had known Andrew Girardeau for 40 years and had lived about 3 miles from him during the war and saw him frequently.
James C. Fleming’s testimony clarified that Andrew Girardeau had died on November 3, 1877, “leaving a widow and two children Ben Bacon and William Bacon both step sons (Ben Bacon instead of Henry Bacon as in previous deposition) Rachael Girardeau name of widow Ben Bacon aged 32 years William Bacon aged 34 years Ben Bacon is step son hence the difference in names.”
The reason why this claim was a puzzle? Initially, no record was found that Andrew Girardeau ever existed. There was no Andrew Girardeau in the 1870 Liberty County census (under any possible spelling), no probate records, no record of taking the voting oath in 1867. Yet the claim provided a specific death date that was after the 1870 census, and a number of witnesses, both white and black, who knew him. What could have happened?
One approach in these cases is to find the individual’s family in the 1870 census and look to see if there is anyone living nearby whose name might have been mangled by an indexer. Ben and William Bacon, Andrew’s stepsons, were found on page 50 of the 1870 Liberty County census listed next to each other, with witness Roger Maybank listed on the same page.
When the census page was further examined, an entry was discovered for Andrew Quarterman, age 75, a carpenter, in household with Rachel, age 29, and Scipio, age 40, as well as Georgia Bacon, age 19, and Adam Bacon, age 12. Andrew Girardeau’s wife had been named Rachel, but this Rachel was too young to be Ben and William Bacon’s mother. However, a hypothesis could be made that the census taker had misstated Rachel’s age and that she was the mother of Ben and William and of Georgia and Adam, and that this Andrew Quarterman was actually the Andrew Girardeau of the claim.
The next step was to go back and search the same probate and other records for the name Andrew Quarterman. Unfortunately, no records were found in that name either.
So what could be found for Rachel Girardeau/Quarterman? A search on Ancestry turned up nothing, but the name Girardeau is often misspelled by indexers. Using the same method as before, William and Ben Bacon were found in the 1880 Liberty County census (still living next to each other other), and then the pages before and after were searched. There she was: “Ratchel Gearadeau”, age 55, living by herself, listed as a widow. So it does appear that her age was misstated in the 1870 census and it is very likely that the Andrew Quarterman of the 1870 census is the Andrew Girardeau of this 1877 Southern Claims Commission petition.
What happened? Both Quarterman and Girardeau are well known old names in Liberty County. The 1870 census taker, W.S. Norman, was a former slaveowner and lifelong Liberty County resident; it is unlikely he mixed up the two names but perhaps he wrote down the wrong one. It was also not uncommon for formerly enslaved people in Liberty County to change surnames after Emancipation.
No pre-Emancipation records were found for Andrew. Valentine Grest, his slaveowner, owned the Isle of Wight in Liberty County, but did not die until 1872, so left no probate records naming enslaved people. (His will did name a Toby.) The available Church records were checked, and no record that an Andrew belonging to Valentine Grest belonged to the Midway Church was found.