I’m currently going through Morgan County, Tennessee, county court minute books page by page, looking for mentions of my various ancestors (& their families) who lived there in the 19th century. In that process, I’m finding occasional entries for free people of color and enslaved people living in the county. Because it can be so difficult for their descendants to trace them, I’m going to share the entries here as blog posts in the hope that researchers will find this and that it’ll be helpful to them all in some way. Here’s the first one:
Robert Bush this day presented an instrument in the form of a petition in the words and figures following (to wit), State of Tennessee Morgan County To the worshipful couty [sic] of Morgan County now sitting your petitioner a citizen of Morgan County humbly represents to your worshipful body that he is the proper owner of Rebecca a slave for life about the age of thirty two years and that she is his wife and the eversence [sic] the time of their marriage she has demeaned herself chastely and prudently as a wife and a slave and that he knowing that life is short and death sure and your petitioner having passed the meridian of life is desirous that she shall not descend or become the property of any other person he therefore petitions your worships to examine the premises and take such action as will liberate and make her free as your petitioner in duty bound will ever pray this 1st day of April 1850. [signed] Robert Bush. Upon the back of which is the following endorsement is made Granted by the Court. John Williams, Chairman
Source: Morgan County, Tennessee, County Court Minutes, 1848-1861, Robert Bush entry, April term 1850, pp 88-89, FHL #978835, item 1, image 51.