William T. Johnson and family papers. Legal and financial documents. Folder 01-15, 1822-1829. - William T. Johnson and family papers. Legal and financial documents. Folder 01-15, 1822-1829.

Primary tabs

Islandora advanced search

Title
William T. Johnson and family papers. Legal and financial documents. Folder 01-15, 1822-1829.
Biographical Information
Gabriel Tichenor (1781-1855) was a white businessman, banker, planter, and slaveholder who lived in Adams County, Mississippi, Concordia Parish, Louisiana, and Cincinnati, Ohio. He was known to have close sexual and familial ties with women of color in the community. In 1810, Tichenor married Elizabeth Wallace in Adams County. Having come to the belief that slavery was a sin, he worked to emancipate his enslaved persons and moved to Cincinnati, Ohio with his family in the early 1820s. In 1822, Tichenor took action to free his slave Harriet Battles (described as a mulatress, about 30 years of age) and attempted to emancipate Harriet's seven year-old daughter, Ann Battles (who would later marry William Johnson, a free person of color). This action was recorded in Adams County nearly two years later, but the deed of emancipation could not apply to Ann Battles, as she was not yet 30 years of age. Unwilling to wait, Tichenor brought Harriet and Ann to Cincinnati, Ohio in 1826. There he petitioned, as a citizen of Natchez, with the help of Cincinnati lawyer Nathanial Wright for Ann's freedom, and re-petitioned for Harriet's freedom. Signed by the mayor of Cincinnati, the state authorities granted Harriet and Ann their freedom on April 27, 1826.</br></br>Once Harriet and Ann returned to Adams County in 1829 as free persons of color, Gabriel and Elizabeth Tichenor sold Harriet a lot of land on State Street in Natchez for the sum of two dollars. William Johnson would later build his family home on this lot.</br></br>Tichenor became a benefactor and trustee of the Lane Theological Seminary during his time in Ohio. He and his wife also became good friends with their neighbor Harriet Beecher Stowe and her family. Tichenor died in 1855 and is buried in Cincinnati.</br></br>Nathanial Wright (1789-1875) was a lawyer born in Hanover County, New Hampshire. He was a graduate of Dartmouth College and worked as a tutor before passing the bar and moving to Ohio to establish his Cincinnati law firm. Wright assisted Gabriel Tichenor in the case to emancipate Tichenor's slaves, Harriet and Ann Battles. Wright remained active in church and civic affairs during his lifetime and served as president of the Lane Theological Society. He died in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1875.</br></br>Harriet Battles (born approximately 1792) was a free person of color of Adams County, Mississippi and the mother of Ann Battles Johnson. She was at one time enslaved by Gabriel Tichenor, who emancipated her and her young daughter through a deed of manumission in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1826. Harriet was about 30 years of age when she was freed. Harriet and Ann returned to Adams County in 1829; there, Harriet purchased from Tichenor and his wife a lot of land on State Street in Natchez for the sum of two dollars.</br></br>Ann Battles Johnson (1815?-1866) was a free person of color and the daughter of Harriet Battles, a free woman of color and former enslaved woman. She may have been the daughter of Gabriel Tichenor, a white businessman, banker, planter, and slaveholder who lived in Adams County, Mississippi, Concordia County, Louisiana, and Cincinnati, Ohio. Ann was emancipated, along with her mother Harriet, through a deed of manumission in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1826. At the age of 20, she married William Johnson, a free person of color and barber of Natchez, Mississippi. Together, the couple had ten children: William (born 1836), Richard (born 1837), Byron (1839-1872), Anna (1841-1922), Katharine (1842-1901), Phillip (born 1844), Eugenia (born 1845), Alice (born approximately 1846), Josephine (born 1849), and Clarence (born 1851).</br></br>Following the murder of her husband William in 1851, Ann took over management of the Johnson family household. She died of illness about the age of 51 years in Natchez, Mississippi.
Date Created
1822 - 1829
Description
The folder contains legal documents created during the years 1822-1829, which relate to the emancipation of Harriet Battles and Ann Battles Johnson by Gabriel Tichenor.</br></br>The first document, dated May 16, 1822, is a notice and acknowledgment of Tichenor's intention to emancipate Harriet Battles. The document was drafted in the Parish of Concordia, Louisiana and signed by Gabriel Tichenor, Judge Edward Broughton, and Deputy Sheriff A. Stanbrough.</br></br>The second document is a deed of manumission, dated May 1826, for Harriet Battles and her young daughter Ann Battles. The document is drafted and signed in Ohio by Gabriel Tichenor, Tichenor's lawyer Nathanial Wright, Judge George P. Torrence of Hamilton County, Ohio, Isaac G. Burnet, mayor of Cincinnati, and the court clerk. In essence, this deed, re-emancipated Harriet and legally manumitted her daughter Ann through the Court of Ohio.</br></br>The third document of Gabriel Tichenor (now claiming citizenship in Natchez, Mississippi) notifies the State of Mississippi that he has given his Cincinnati lawyer, Nathanial Wright, full power of attorney and informs the court that Wright has emancipated Harriet and Ann Battles. Through this document, Nathanial Wright also offers testimony that Tichenor has manumitted both Harriet and Ann Battles, through his attorney. The mayor of Cincinnati, Issac Burnet, also offers testimony of Nathanial Wright's right to manumit Harriet and Ann Battles on Tichenor's behalf.</br></br>The fourth document, dated December 21, 1827, is a receipt for the sale of two enslaved persons--"a negro girl named Julia aged about 21 years, and a child Laura aged one year"--from James Ferguson to Jenny Bush, Harriet's mother. Julia and Laura were later purchased and emancipated by Harriet Battles in 1840 (folder 17 of the William T. Johnson and Family Papers contains the act of emancipation), and it is likely this receipt belonged to Harriet. The receipt is attached to newsprint from a page of classified advertisements in a New Orleans newspaper.</br></br>The fifth item of the folder, dated June 11, 1829, is a handwritten receipt for Harriet Battles for the purchase of flour and lard.
Type of Resource
text
Size
5 items.
Language
English
Source
Louisiana State University Libraries, Special Collections, Hill Memorial Library, Baton Rouge, La., http://www.lib.lsu.edu/special
Digital Collection
Revealing an Unknown Past: Free People of Color in Louisiana and the Lower Mississippi Valley
Repository Collection
William T. Johnson and family memorial papers, Mss. 529, 561, 597, 770, 926, 1093, LSU Libraries.
Shelf Location
Mss. 529, Box 1
Contact Information
To inquire about ordering copies of these images, email lsudiglib@lsu.edu See instructions for ordering reprints of this image here: http://www.lib.lsu.edu/special/services/duplication.html . Include the "Item URL" in your request.
Rights
Physical rights are retained by the LSU Special Collections. Copyright has expired and the item is therefore in the public domain. Permission to reproduce this image must be requested through the repository that holds the original.
Preferred Citation
William T. Johnson and Family Memorial Papers,Mss. 529, 561, 597, 770,926, 1093,Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections, LSULibraries, Baton Rouge.
Admin Login

 

Louisiana Digital Library

Contact the Louisiana Digital Library

Permissions/rights/reproduction and information requests:

The Louisiana Digital Library (LDL) is composed of collections from many different institutions. Permission to publish and acquire images or requests for more information about materials that you find in the LDL should be directed to the institution that contributed the item to the LDL. To find the contact who can help you, find the field called "Contact Information" next to the image of interest to you. The Louisiana Digital Library is a service provider only and has no authority to grant permission to publish or supply high-resolution images.

Technical assistant/site support

The Louisiana Digital Library platform has been developed by LSU Libraries on behalf of the Louisiana Digital Consortium. It runs on the Islandora open-source digital repository software.

LSU Libraries' Technology Initiatives: lsudiglib@lsu.edu.

Thanks for your interest in the Louisiana Digital Library.

About the Louisiana Digital Library (LDL)

The Louisiana Digital Library (LDL) is the front door to Louisiana's digital cultural heritage. Members include public libraries, academic libraries, museums, and archives from arcross the state.

Currently, there are 25 participating institutions in the LDL. Each institution contributes the digital items and the descriptive text for their collections.

  • Calcasieu Parish Public Library
  • Delgado Community College
  • East Baton Rouge Parish Library
  • Law Library of Louisiana
  • Louisiana State Archives
  • Louisiana State Museum
  • Louisiana State University
  • Louisiana State University at Alexandria
  • Louisiana State University at Shreveport
  • Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center New Orleans
  • Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Shreveport
  • Louisiana Tech University
  • Loyola University New Orleans
  • McNeese State University
  • Nicholls State University
  • Northwestern State University
  • Southern University
  • State Library Of Louisiana
  • The Historic New Orleans Collection
  • Tulane University
  • University of Louisiana at Lafayette
  • University of Louisiana at Monroe
  • University of New Orleans
  • Vermilionville Living History Museum & Folklife Park
  • Webster Parish Library

The LDL is built with Islandora, an open source digital library system based on FedoraDrupal, and Solr.

Information about the Louisiana Digital Consortium can be found here: http://louisianadigitalconsortium.org