John E. Ellerbee’s wealth

September 23, 2019 / Susan M. Posten Ellerbee / Leave a comment

How is wealth measured? Today, we say a person is wealthy because of their high salary and/or the value of their business and other investments. Home and land ownership reflects a person’s financial status. Our ancestors measured wealth by the amount of land owned and the value of crops and livestock. Sadly, in the antebellum south, wealth was also measured by the number of slaves owned. How wealthy was John E. Ellerbee, my husband’s ancestor? This post, fourth in my series about John E. Ellerbee, addresses that question.

SOURCE: Blake Harris, powerpoint “The Pre-Civil War South”. *Slide Share (* https://www.slideshare.net/BlakeHarris2/the-pre-civil-war-south-ppt : accessed 21 September 2019).

John E. Ellerbee, born about 1808 in Burke county, Georgia, married at least two times and fathered at least 16 children. The family consistently moved southwest through Georgia to Florida from 1830 through 1880. I described their migration pattern in my last two posts.

A typewritten manuscript[1] was privately published before the printed Ellerbe family history. [2] In that manuscript, Morris “Buck” Ellerbee commented on John’s south-westerly moves:

South-western Georgia was the West of the day and that is where
new and cheap land was to be found. . . and it appears that John 
Ellerbee kept moving Westward as new lands became available. . . .
 [and] (1) the family is larger, and (2) the family fortune is larger. 
The 1860 census lists John Ellerbee’s property as follows: 
real estate valued at $3000; and personal property valued
at $4500. Three thousand dollars of “cheap land” could have 
been considerable acres. And since his personal property 
was surely made up largely of mules and slaves. . . there must 
have been quite a number of them. . . . John Ellerbee
was considered a wealthy man before the Civil War. [3]

In 1850, the “larger family” consisted of nine people (John, Martha, six children[4] and one slave[5]). His real estate was valued at $2500. Older children left home between 1850 and 1860 and new children were born. The 1860 population schedule[6] shows John and Martha with 10 children plus two slaves. [7] John’s real estate value increased to $4500 and personal property increased to $3000. John’s wealth certainly included more than “mules and slaves”.

How many acres of land did John own? Turn now to the Agricultural Schedules of the U.S. Census Bureau.

Agricultural schedules of 1850, 1860, and 1870 provide the following information for each farm: name of owner or manager, number of improved and unimproved acres, and the cash value of the farm, farming machinery, livestock, animals slaughtered during the past year, and “homemade manufactures.” The schedules also indicate the number of horses, mules, “milch cows,” working oxen, other cattle, sheep, and swine owned by the farmer. The amount of oats, rice, tobacco, cotton, wool, peas and beans, Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, barley, buckwheat, orchard products, wine, butter, cheese, hay, clover seed, other grass seeds, hops, hemp, flax, flaxseed, silk cocoons, maple sugar, cane sugar, molasses, and beeswax and honey produced during the preceding year is also noted. The 1880 schedules provide additional details, such as the amount of acreage used for each kind of crop, the number of poultry, and the number of eggs produced.

Exclusions–Not every farm was included in these schedules. In 1850, for example, small farms that produced less than $100 worth of products annually were not included. By 1870, farms of less than three acres or which produced less than $500 worth of products were not included.
SOURCE: https://www.archives.gov/research/census/nonpopulation/#ag

Following the Civil War and the family’s move to Florida, John’s wealth diminished. Real estate value fell to $240 and personal estate value fell to $300 in 1870. The family size remained at 12 (John, Martha and 10 children). [10] His small holdings would not be included in the 1870 Agricultural schedule.

Family tradition says that John owned a small orange grove in Hillsborough county, Florida, where the family lived in 1880. In 1883, John Ellerbee bought 150 acres “east of Tallahassee Meridian in Florida.” [11] John’s personal property, sold after his death, included 1 yoke of oxen (sold to J. A. D. Branch for $30.00 and one stock of hogs (sold to J.B. McPherson for $2.50). [12] Total for all items sold at auction was $51.80. John’s son, W. M. Ellerbee, bought John’s 160 acres for $445 in 1887. Total value of John’s estate= $496.80.

Summary:

How wealthy was John E. Ellerbee? In pre-Civil War Georgia, John doubled his land ownership within one decade. Overall monetary value of the land and livestock remained static ($4150 in 1850 and $3995 in 1860). Crop production almost doubled during the same period (665 bushels in 1850 to 1150 bushels in 1860). His 500 acres may seem paltry compared to thousands of acres on some plantations but the land provided enough to take care of his family with produce left to sell. The abrupt decline in their financial status must have been devastating. I haven’t found proof of the orange grove purchase. I believe that John kept trying to improve his lot.

For more information:

Agricultural Schedules. Kimberly Powell, “Agricultural schedules of the United States Census: Researching Farms and Farmers in the U.S. Census.” Blog post, updated 30 May 2019.

A detailed look at wealth and slave ownership from a political science perspective. Andrew B. Hall, Connor Huff, Shiro Kuriwaki. “Wealth, slave ownership, and fighting for the Confederacy: An empirical study of the American Civil War,” American Political Science Review, 2019, Vol. 113, e, 658-673. DOI: 10.1017/S0003055419000170
Interesting article about the value of slaves. Samuel H. Williamson and Louis P. Cain, “Measuring slavery in 2016 dollars,” MeasuringWorth, 2019 (https://www.measuringworth.com/slavery.php : accessed 22 September 2019).

REFLECTION:

This post concludes the 4-part series about John E. Ellerbee. When I started the first post, I didn’t realize that there was so much to his story. I confirmed sources cited by others and added details. I responded emotionally to several items, specifically the lumping together of “mules and slaves” as a measure of wealth and John’s acquisition of Indian cession land in Georgia. Although I can’t absolutely prove that John bought Indian land, he lived in the right place at the right time for that to occur.

What I learned: Details found in agricultural schedules.

What helped: Internet access to multiple records, books, manuscripts and articles. Books found in local library about Creek and Cherokee Indians in Georgia before their removal to Oklahoma. Creating research log for John E. Ellerbee.

What didn’t help: Having bronchitis for 2 weeks and not feeling like working on genealogy. Getting sidetracked as I search for John’s parents.

To-do: Compile the 4 blog posts into one article. Share with relatives. Consider submitting for publication to Historical or Genealogical society journal in Georgia. Resume work on scrapbook for another relative.

SOURCES:

[1] LRB typewritten manuscript; digitized by Internet Archive 2018. Ronald W. Ellerbe & Morris B. Ellerbee, LRB, Ellerby, Ellerbe, Ellerbee. (privately printed, 1963). Digital copy, The Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/lrbellerbyellerb00elle : accessed and printed, 27 August 2019). Sections ‘The Ellerbee’s of early Georgia’ and ‘John Ellerbee (1808-1885)’ probably written by Morris B. (Buck) Ellerbee, a descendant of John. Source citations minimal but records can be found.

[2] Ronald William Ellerbe, The Ellerbe Family History (Baltimore, MD: Gateway Press, Inc., 1986), p. 14-41.

[3] Ellerbe & Ellerbee, LRB, Ellerby, Ellerbe, Ellerbee, 31-32.

[4] 1850 U.S. Federal Census, Baker County, Georgia, population schedule, District 3, p. 49B (ink pen), dwelling 1111, family 141, John E. Ellerbee.

[5] 1850 U.S. Census, Baker county, Georgia, slave schedule, District 3, no page number, John Ellerbee, owner; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : printed & downloaded 3 May 2019); citing National Archives & Records Administration, microfilm publication M432.

[6] 1860 population census. 1860 U.S. Census, Calhoun county, Georgia, slave schedule, 3^rd District, p. 265 (stamp), John Elerbee, owner; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : printed & downloaded 3 May 2019); citing National Archives & Records Administration, microfilm publication M653

[7] 1860 U.S. Federal Census, Calhoun county, Georgia, slave schedule, 3rd district, p. 265 (stamp); p. 27 (ink pen), John E. Ellerbee; NARA microfilm publication M653.

[8] 1850 U.S. Census, Baker county, Georgia, agriculture schedule, 3^rd District, p. 39, John Ellerbee; Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed & printed, 7 September 2019); National Archives & Records Administration, Washington, D.C. microfilm publication T1137, roll 1.

[9] 1860 U.S. Census, Calhoun county, Georgia, agriculture schedule, 3^rd District, no page number, John Elerba [Ellerbee]; Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed & printed, 7 September 2019); National Archives & Records Administration, Washington, D.C. microfilm publication T1137, roll 4.

[10] 1870 U.S. Census, Jackson county, Florida, population schedule, Marianna, p. 54 (ink pen), dwelling 586, family 587, John Ellerbee age 63; digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed, downloaded, printed 3 May 2019); citing National Archives & Records Administration, Washington, D.C. microfilm publication M593_130.

[11] Certificate of the Register of Land to John Ellerbee; United States Bureau of Land Management “U.S. General Land Office Records, 1716 – 2015,” digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed, printed, downloaded 6 September 2019); citing Automated Records Project; Federal Land Patents, State Volumes, Springfield, Virginia: Bureau of Land Management, Eastern States, 2007.

[12] “Florida, County Judge’s Court (Hillsborough County),” digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed & printed 5 May 2019), entry for John Ellerbee; citing “Florida, Willas and Probate Records, 1810-1914” [database online], Florida County, District and Probate Courts; administrator: W.M. Ellerbee.

Moving south: Historical and financial clues to John Ellerbee’s migration

September 9, 2019 / Susan M. Posten Ellerbee / Leave a comment

My husband’s ancestor, John E. Ellerbee, married twice. The identity of his first wife remains elusive. Wife #1 gave birth to 4 children between 1830 and 1840. John’s marriage to Martha Love in September 1842 suggests that Wife #1 died about 1841 or 1842. John sired 12 children with Martha Love.

First, I reported on John E. Ellerbee and his two wives. Then, I described the family’s southwards migration pattern from eastern Georgia to western Florida. I posed a question: “Why did John move south?” Now, I continue the saga with clues found in historical and financial records.

John E. Ellerbee was born about 1808 in Burke county, Georgia. [1] Burke county resides on Georgia’s eastern border with South Carolina. From there, John moved west and south to Houston county, then south to Randolph, Baker and Calhoun counties. His southern migration continued to Florida, first to Jackson county in the Panhandle then to Hillsborough county on Florida’s west coast.

Why did John move south? After my last post, I found a privately published, typewritten manuscript[2] that appears to be the precursor to the printed Ellerbe family history. [3] Morris “Buck” Ellerbee commented on John’s south-westerly moves:

South-western Georgia was the West of the day
and that is where new and cheap land was to be found. . . 
and it appears that John Ellerbee kept moving Westward 
as new lands became available. . . . [and] 
(1) the family is larger, and (2) the family fortune is larger. 
The 1860 census lists John Ellerbee’s property as follows: 
real estate valued at $3000; and personal property valued 
at $4500. Three thousand dollars of “cheap land” could have 
been considerable acres. And since his personal property was
surely made up largely of mules and slaves. . . 
there must have been quite a number of them.  [4]

The “cheap land” in southwestern Georgia originally belonged to the Creek Indians. [5] Review the formation of relevant Georgia counties:

Houston county (John’s location in 1830 and 1840), formed 1821 from Indian land cession.
Randolph county (location of John and Martha’s marriage in 1842), created 1828 from Lee county. Lee county formed 1827 from Indian land cession.
Baker county (John’s location in 1850 and 1860) formed 1824 from Early county. Early county created 1818 from Creek Indian land cession.
Calhoun county (John’s location in 1860) formed 1854 from Early county.

This discovery adds a sad historical perspective to John’s story. Our ancestor benefitted from the removal of the Creek Indians from Georgia to Alabama (about 1826) and their eventual removal to Oklahoma Territory in 1836.[6] The Cherokee Indians, who lived in northwestern Georgia, experienced similar forced removals, known as the “Trail of Tears”. Our ancestor gained while others were forcibly moved from ancestral homelands.

The map illustrates Indian Land Cessions in Georgia and the dates of those cessions. The original map is titled ‘Indian Land Cessions in the United States.” Georgia Map 15, United States Digital Map Library. http://usgwarchives.net/maps/cessions/ilcmap15.htm . Map with dates downloaded from Don & Diane Wells, “The loss of the remaining Creek Indian Territory,” *Smoke Signals: News and views from Big Canoe and around North Georgia*, digital edition (https://www.bigcanoenews.com/news/news-col1/columns/6447-the-loss-of-the-remaining-creek-indian-territory

I do not dispute that both the family and the family fortunes increased.[7] Census records are clear on those issues. The number of children in the household increased from 4 in 1840[8] to 8 in 1850[9] and 12 in 1860[10]. John’s real estate was valued at $2500 in 1850[11] . Mr. Ellerbee reversed the numbers for the 1860 census: $4500 in real estate and $3000 in personal property.[12] Family tradition says that “John Ellerbee was considered a wealthy man before the Civil War.” [13]

One of John’s sons kept “a trunkful of worthless Confederate money” inherited from his father.[14] In my last post, I asserted that the family moved circa 1863-1866 from Calhoun county, Georgia in 1860 to Jackson county, Florida by 1870, based on reported birth and marriage dates for children. Buck Ellerbee suggested that “he [John] made the move during the Civil War when it was still possible for him to convert his holdings to cash- even though it was Confederate cash.”[15] This makes sense and likely answers when and why they moved to Florida.

John was a slave owner. Pre-Civil war census records show that he owned 1 or 2 slaves at any given time: 1840[16] – 2 slaves; 1850[17]: 1 slave; 1860[18]: 2 slaves. These numbers dispute Buck Ellerbee’s claim that “there must have been quite a number of them [mules and slaves].” What effect did emancipation of the slaves have on John and his family? Unknown but possibly minimal.

Personal note: The concept of equating mules with slaves is repulsive to me. We accept the fact that my husband’s ancestors owned slaves. However, that doesn’t negate my gut reaction.

How many acres of land did John own? In 1883, John Ellerbee bought 159 acres “east of Tallahassee Meridian in Florida.” [19] How much land did he buy and sell in Georgia? How much livestock did John own? How productive was the land? That, my friends, will be subject for next post after I locate and review the agriculture census records.

SUMMARY. Why did John choose to move south rather than west? I believe the question has been answered. During the decades before the Civil War, the lure of cheap land was likely a definite factor. The cost to the Indian tribes may not even have concerned John. The reason for moving to Florida is less clear. Did John foresee the defeat of the Confederacy? Did he attempt to minimize his losses by moving to Florida before the end of the Civil War? Buck Ellerbee’s belief—that John used Confederate money for his initial purchase of land in Florida- suggests that the answer to both questions is “Yes.”

For more information about Creek and Cherokee Indians in Georgia:

Brian Hicks. Toward the setting sun: John Ross, the Cherokees, and the Trail of Tears. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2011.

Claudi Saunt. “Creek Indians.” New Georgia Encyclopedia, (https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/creek-indians : accessed 30 August 2019); original 20 July 2018.

Don & Diane Wells, “The loss of the remaining Creek Indian Territory,” Smoke Signals: News and views from Big Canoe and around North Georgia, digital edition (https://www.bigcanoenews.com/news/news-col1/columns/6447-the-loss-of-the-remaining-creek-indian-territory; accessed 30 August 2019); originally published 30 November 2001; created online 14 October 2014.

REFLECTION:

I am constantly amazed about what is available on the internet. The typewritten LRB manuscript, dated 1963, is new to me. Digitized in 2018, it popped up on a Google search. Some information clearly made its way to Ronald William Ellerbe’s 1986 print book. The 1963 manuscript contains more details about John Ellerbee and his family. The “Ellerbee’s of early Georgia” section expanded my knowledge and led me to new insights. The Ellerbee family apparently owned land near the Pee Dee River in South Carolina. 😔– another lead to follow!

Each post starts short and focused but seems to expand as if it has a life of its own. My goal of about 1500 words is often tested (1462 words in this post). I foresee a journal article about John E. Ellerbee??

What I learned: Buck Ellerbee talked with elderly descendants of John Ellerbee, some of whom were John’s grandchildren. These persons are now deceased. Buck’s insights paralleled some of my own and provided some new ones.

What helped: Finding LRB manuscript. Thank you, Internet Archive!!

What didn’t help: Feeling overwhelmed. Clean-up of records for Ellerbee family tree has stalled. I have been sick with bronchitis for a week and didn’t get to state history center library.

TO-DO: Locate and read books/ articles about removal of Creek and Cherokee Indians from Georgia. Found one book at local library—still reading. Review source citations in LRB manuscript. Library at Oklahoma History Center has some potentially useful books and other sources. Explore BLM land records. Locate agriculture census schedules for John Ellerbee. Locate and read information about Pee Dee River settlers.

SOURCES:

[1] 1850 census. 1850 U.S. Federal Census, Baker County, Georgia, population schedule, District 3, p. 49 B (penned), dwelling 1111, family 141, John E. Ellerbee; digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed, printed, downloaded 3 January 2018); citing National Archives & Records Administration, Washington, D.C. Roll M432_61.

[2] LRB typewritten manuscript; digitized by Internet Archive 2018. Ronald W. Ellerbe & Morris B. Ellerbee, LRB, Ellerby, Ellerbe, Ellerbee. (privately printed, 1963). Digital copy, The Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/lrbellerbyellerb00elle : accessed and printed, 27 August 2019). Sections ‘The Ellerbee’s of early Georgia’ and ‘John Ellerbee (1808-1885) probably written by Morris B. (Buck) Ellerbee, a descendant of John. Source citations minimal but records can be found.

[3] Ronald William Ellerbe, The Ellerbe Family History (Baltimore, MD: Gateway Press, Inc., 1986), p. 14-41.

[4] LRB bio p. 31. Ellerbe & Ellerbee, LRB, Ellerby, Ellerbe, Ellerbee, 31.

[5] “Georgia county creation and parent counties,” Family Search Wiki (https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Georgia_County_Creation_Dates_and_Parent_Counties : accessed 25 August 2019).

[6]. Don and Diane Wells. “The loss of the remaining Creek Indian territory,” Smoke Signals: News and views from Big Canoe and around North Georgia, front page; digital edition (https://www.bigcanoenews.com/news/news-col1/columns/6447-the-loss-of-the-remaining-creek-indian-territory; accessed 30 August 2019). Originally published 30 November 2001; created online 14 October 2014.

[7] According to Buck Ellerbee, “Tradition also says that John Ellerbee was married three times, and fathered 24 children. . 17 living to maturity” (Ellerbe & Ellerbee, LRB, Ellerby, Ellerbe, Ellerbee, 31). “The spread in years between Edward [born 1831] and Elizabeth (born 1836] [per 1850 census]” is given as evidence. I may need to re-write earlier post!

[8] Abstracted by Lorraine H. Robinson, “1840 Federal Census Houston County, Georgia (file 2 of 5),” database, US Gen Web (http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/houston/census/1840/pg373.txt : downloaded & printed 29 August 2011), page 10 sheet no. 376, line 21, John Ellerbee; citing National Archives & Records Administration, Washington, D.C. microflim publication M704, reel 43.

[9] 1850 U.S. Federal Census, Baker County, Georgia, population schedule, District 3, p. 49B (ink pen), dwelling 1111, family 141, John E. Ellerbee.

[10] 1860 U.S. Census, Calhoun county, Georgia, population schedule, District 3, p. 42 (ink pen), dwelling 289, family 289, John E Ellerbee; digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed & downloaded 3 May 2019); citing National Archives & Records Administration, Washington, D.C. microfilm publication M654_113.

[11] 1850 U.S. Federal Census, Baker County, Georgia, population schedule, District 3, p. 49B (ink pen), dwelling 1111, family 141, John E. Ellerbee.

[12] 1860 U.S. Census, Calhoun county, Georgia, population schedule, District 3, p. 42 (ink pen), dwelling 289, family 289, John E Ellerbee.

[13] Ellerbe & Ellerbee, LRB, Ellerby, Ellerbe, Ellerbee, 31-32.

[14] Ellerbe & Ellerbee, LRB, Ellerby, Ellerbe, Ellerbee, 30. 32. Ellerbe, The Ellerbe Family History, 14-41.

[15] Ellerbe & Ellerbee, LRB, Ellerby, Ellerbe, Ellerbee, 32.

[16] Abstracted by Lorraine H. Robinson, “1840 Federal Census Houston County, Georgia (file 2 of 5),” database page 10 sheet no. 376, line 21, John Ellerbee.

[17] 1850 U.S. Census, Baker county, Georgia, slave schedule, District 3, no page number, John Ellerbee, owner; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : printed & downloaded 3 May 2019); citing National Archives & Records Administration, microfilm publication M432.

[18] 1860 U.S. Census, Calhoun county, Georgia, slave schedule, 3^rd District, p. 265 (stamp), John Elerbee, owner; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : printed & downloaded 3 May 2019); citing National Archives & Records Administration, microfilm publication M653.

[19] Certificate of the Register of Land to John Ellerbee; United States Bureau of Land Management “U.S. General Land Office Records, 1716 – 2015,” digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed, printed, downloaded 6 September 2019); citing Automated Records Project; Federal Land Patents, State Volumes, Springfield, Virginia: Bureau of Land Management, Eastern States, 2007.