Week 5: Clark County

I began my journey to Clark County this week with a lovely trip to Springfield. Clark County, Ohio became a county in 1818 and is named after American Revolution General George Rogers Clark. Clark County was originally just parts of Greene, Champaign, and Madison Counties before it was officially partitioned off as a separate county. When the National Road was completed, Springfield, the county's seat, found itself at the end of that road thus creating plentiful opportunities for the young county.
It was a hot and humid day, so I decided that it might be nice to visit the Clark County Recorder instead of strolling around the historic downtown. Both the Recorder and the Auditor are located in the same building on North Limestone Street next to the courthouse. The reference room was filled with deed and mortgage records, records of mechanics liens, partnerships, and mortgage releases. It was two stories!

Recorder and Auditor Offices.

First floor of the record room.

Second floor of the record room.

The employees at the Recorder's Office were incredibly helpful and showed me exactly where everything was that I wanted to look through.

I started looking through the deed indexes to see if I could find anything that was labeled "BoS" (bill of sale), "Emcptn" (emancipation), or "Fdom Pprs" (freedom papers). I found one entry for a bill of sale, but it was just that - a bill of sale between a father who is giving his land to his son. 

I also found a few names who were marked as free Blacks on the 1830 census, but those were all just land and lot deeds. I did take a picture of a peculiar name that made me smile, however.

Deed record for Cindarilla Hauke.

A deed record for a woman named Cindarilla Hauke stood out from the pages filled with mostly men's names. While I did not find any Manumission records this week, Cindarilla certainly made me glad that I was looking. 

I hope you enjoyed this week's post and stay tuned while I continue my search in Clark County.

Thanks, and be good!

Week 4: Champaign County

I continued my search in Champaign County this week with a visit to the Champaign County Historical Museum. The museum contains a lot of artifacts concerning the history of Champaign County and its people, but, unfortunately, they didn't have any court records in which I might peruse. Regardless, I enjoyed my visit and talking with the staff who keep the museum alive.

Champaign County Historical Museum

Since there were no court records at the historical museum, I called the Champaign County Clerk of Courts to see if I could gain access to their physical minute books instead of going to the library to scan through microfilm. The Clerk of Courts was not in so I left a voicemail and spoke with her the next day. She was very nice, but will be out of town next week, so she will get back in touch with me about meeting up to see their records.
Since I couldn't see the original records, I went back to the library to view the last remaining rolls of microfilm for probate court. I spent 6 hours scanning microfilm and thought I had run out of luck when I found an entry at the bottom of the second-to-last book. The entry was for a man named Francis Rinoe (possibly Rinse), who had appeared in court to enter his name and the names of his entire family!

Minute book record for Francis Rinoe and his family.

The entry reads:
"This day Francis Rinoe a Mulatto man applies for permission to enter of record the names of himself and family. To wit Francis Rinoe and Rachel his wife - David Rinoe - Phellis Rinoe [-] Susan Adams wife of Lewis Adams - Francis Rinoe Junior [-] Joseph [M...] Rinoe - Robert Rinoe - Anna Rinoe - Lewis Rinoe - Rosanna Rinoe - Abraham Rinoe - agreeably to the statute in such case made and [illegible]."
That's all I have for now for Champaign County until I hear back from the Clerk of Courts. I hope you all enjoyed and be sure to come back next week when I explore Clark County.
Thanks, and be good!

Week 3: Champaign County

Week three at Champaign County turned out great. My first stop was at the Champaign County Recorder to search their deed records for Manumission papers.

Champaign County office buildings.

Deed books at the Champaign County Recorder's Office.

Because Black people were considered 'goods', slave owners who came to the northern states to emancipate their enslaved people could pay for their freedom through the County Recorder's office. There were a lot of different ways the Recorder could notate this, and it was usually with a short abbreviation. However, I found an emancipation record in the deed book that clearly stated, "Emancipation from A. Vanmeter." Abraham Vanmeter had noted in his will that he wanted his slaves to be freed upon his death provided there was no crop out at the time. If there was a crop, however, Vanmeter stated, "[T]he said slaves shall be kept together and work as usual until the crop is secured." He also noted that they would receive one-third of the earnings from the crop for their trouble.

Emancipation entry in a Champaign County deed index.

I went through every deed index from between 1803-1863, but that was my only find at the Recorder's Office. Afterward I hit up the Champaign County Library's Local History Room.

Rows of Champaign County history books in the Local History Room.

The Local History Room at the Champaign County Library was great. There is no attendant, so if you need help you have to ask the information desk. It is a small room with lots of local history, microfilm, newspapers, magazine transcripts, and local church and cemetery records. It is a great, quiet place for doing research. While I was perusing the books looking for African American history, I came across a book called "Black Legacy" by Sheila J. Farmer Clay. Ms. Clay made references to Manumission papers found in Clerk of Court minute books. Guess where I headed next?

"Black Legacy" by Sheila J. Farmer Clay.

Champaign County Court House

If you guessed the Clerk of Courts Office, you guessed right! The ladies working in the Domestic Division on the third floor were very nice and let me come in the back to do some research in their index books. In a folder labeled "Index to Estates Prior to 1858" I found three mentions for freedom papers. The individuals for whom the freedom papers were given were William Russell, Eliza Rector, and Daniel Rector. I was incredibly excited to find a trace of these papers. I showed the entry to one of the workers but, unfortunately, she could not locate the actual records. It was quite a bummer not to be able to see the actual case file and papers, but at least there is evidence of these people obtaining their freedom!

Three entries for freedom papers in an estate index.

Sadly, there were no more entries in the estate index for freedom papers. I tried to get access to the physical minute books, but was told they were at an off-site area and that they were heavily damaged. I am going to put in a formal request to see them next week, but for the time being I went back to the Champaign County Library Local History Room.

Microfilm readers at the Champaign County Library.

Back at the Local History Room I discovered that Champaign County's Court of Common Pleas minute books had all been microfilmed. I decided to look through the books page by page, via film, since I was denied access to the original copies. I started with the earliest book, around 1809, and went through six volumes before I decided to head home for the day. I was pleased that I did because within those six volumes, I found five entries! I was elated!

Manumission record for "Barry, a [N]egroe man."

Manumission record for "Lewis, a man of color."

Manumission record for Richard and Gracy Stanup.

Needless to say, I am going to try again to get access to the original records. If not, I can still scan through microfilm until I document them all. I hope everyone enjoyed my findings this week and you all join me next week while I continue my search in Champaign County.
Thanks, and be good!

Week 2: Greene County, Wright State University's Special Collections and Archives

Week two's journey to WSU's Special Collections & Archives was a great trip. The archives is located in Wright State's Dunbar Library on the 4th floor, and houses the world famous Wright Brothers' collection. They have original pictures, film, and more from the Wright Brothers and their sister, Katherine (Wright) Haskell. They also have exhibits featuring medals that the Wright Brothers received from many places and for many things.

WSU's Special Collections & Archives reading room.

But I wasn't at Wright State to view the Wright Brothers' collection. I was on a mission, and the mission of the day was to look through microfilmed county records (and they have a lot), Justice of the Peace record books, Mayor's record books, and township record books.

Microfilm & microfilm reader.

The staff at the Special Collections and Archives were incredibly friendly. Some of the records I needed were stored off-site, but they were more than happy to retrieve it for me. Because there are only two county archive repositories in the Dayton area - Montgomery County and Greene County - WSU's archives hold many of the original record books and microfilm from the surrounding counties. While I was there I looked through record books and microfilm for my other three counties: Logan, Clark, and Champaign. While I was busy searching Justice of the Peace books for Manumission records, the head of special collections, Dawne Dewey, shared a Black registry from Miami County. While this is not one of my counties, it was a pleasure to see this book. It includes the names of the Randolph Freed Slaves and is quite an incredible and important piece of history.

Inside cover, Record of Black & Mulattoe Persons, Miami County.

Inside pages, Record of Black & Mulattoe Persons, Miami County.

I couldn't believe I was seeing, touching, reading, and smelling this incredible document. It really got my heart pumping and got me excited to find some records of my own. While I didn't find anything new at WSU, I was able to view their Emancipation Index. They have copies of some Emancipation records from the counties of Greene, Montgomery, Logan, and Miami. If you're interested, you can also view their Emancipation Index on their website at: https://www.libraries.wright.edu/special/emancipation/

That's all for this week; I hope you all join me next week when I travel to Champaign County to continue my search!

Thanks, and be good!