For my first blog post on The Courage of my Ancestors, I’m going to introduce you to my great grandmother, Unity and to Mally/Milla/Miley, whom I think is her mother and my great great grandmother. We will cover Unity’s life from eleven years old to her emancipation. I wrote about Unity’s son, my grandfather, George Washington (1827-about 1895) in a previous blog on the website Reclaiming our Ancestors owned by
Methods used to Research
In the afore mentioned article, I said that my research was helped by gathering information from older relatives. I’d like to emphasize that all information gathered from relatives and friends may not be correct. They may not intend to misinform you. They may have been told incorrectly, or their memory might be faulty.
For example, an older cousin who was a direct descendant of Rosa Lavallais Juneau Bonnette (1853-1920), a daughter of George Lavallais (1827-1895), told me that Rosa had been born in France. Well, I knew that wasn’t correct, because her father and mother had been born in Avoyelles. They’d married in Avoyelles Parish in 1852. She was born in 1853, according to her baptism record at St. Paul Catholic Church in Mansura. So she was born in Avoyelles Parish, not France. Therefore, all the information you receive from relatives may not be correct. That’s why it is important to verify by at least two documents, if possible. But, as I said before, it’s a good place to start.
If you don’t have anyone to ask questions, you can still research successfully. Many libraries have genealogy sections. Courthouses have land records, law suits and other files that may contain genealogical data. I’m aware of others who have researched successfully, with DNA testing through companies,
Information Resources
There are amazing databases such as Ancestry.com, Family Search and different genealogy groups on Facebook and other social media that share facts.
Records of all kinds may contain valuable information. A lot of the early records in Avoyelles Parish are written in French. Such was a land conveyance record documenting the selling of land from George Lavalais to Lastie Dauzat in 1857. Because it was in French, I’d had this document for about twelve years before noticing an important detail. I’d studied French in high school. My knowledge of it was from sketchy to non-existent.
Identified a Clue
At the top of the second page, my eyes fell upon a word that was familiar to me. My French kicked in and I starred at it. I probably would not have seen it, if it hadn’t been at the top of the page. Before Unity f.c.l., was the word mère, which I remembered meant mother?
Could this be George’s mother’s name? The letters f.c.l. is an abbreviation for “femme de couleur libre”, which means “free woman of color.” FWC was the English version. Since George was a Free Man of Color, of the two men, she’d probably be his mother.
Not knowing George’s mother’s name had been a major brick wall. Making this discovery, besides giving me the satisfaction of reaching a goal, also, gave me another tool to work with.
I realized that I’d had the answer in my possession for a long time. The name of George’s mother was found in the Conveyance Records. Not a birth certificate, baptism record or death certificate. If you have a document and it’s in another language, get it translated, if possible. There may be other tidbits of information and sometimes important information hidden in that document.
Verified with Two More Documents
With the discovery of Unity’s name, I still needed to verify with at least one more record that this was, indeed, George’s mother. I located the document, Minors of Unity F.C.L., Meeting of Family, also in the Conveyance Records at the Avoyelles Parish Clerk of Court‘s office. All the children named on the 1850 census were on this document, including George who had not been on the 1850 census. This gave me documented proof that these were his siblings and Unity was their mother. Both documents are shown below.
This document is in French. A translation will be provided in the next installment when Simon (1807-1867) is discussed. The 1850 Census, below, shows the family with Marie Thérèse and Mally Inroughty. Mally is Mally/Milla/Miley, the person I introduced at the beginning. Her name is shown different ways on different documents. It is noted on the census that she is blind and she and Marie Thérèse cannot read or write.
William InRufty, Slave Owner and Liberator
William InRufty was on the 1785 census of Avoyelles Post. He was 36 years old with one woman and one child. This may have been his wife, Catherine and his step-son, John Ryan. He had 16 arpents (acres) of planted land, one house, five cattle, three horses, thirty swine, and four thousand feet of planted tobacco. He was noted to be an “Americain,” which meant he came to Louisiana from a state in America, rather than from Pointe Coupee as a lot of the residents had. His name was unusual and was spelled a number of ways. Some of the different versions used were InRufty, Rufty, Rusty, InRufti, InRuftie, In Ruftu, Roffeté and Inroughty.
According to Mark Joseph Normand in The Normand Family of Louisiana, he sold “a 302-acre farm” to Jean-Pierre Normand and his wife in 1791. The same transaction is noted the Old Notarial Acts in Appendix “C” of The History of Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana by Corrine J. Saucier, M.A. Two land grants from the Spanish government were patented by InRufty in 1797. One was for 1200 acres and the other for 340 acres.
Below is a copy of a survey performed for those grants on October 17, 1811, on 1,015.90 acres. This document was shared in the Facebook group, Avoyelles Parish Genealogy Research, by Cathy Lemoine Sturgell, who owns My Louisiana Lineage website that has an abundance of helpful information and
William InRufty was a farmer and also a businessman. On March 25, 1811, he accorded mortgages to Daniel Clark on 400 acres for $406.37, Andrew Dupuis on 280 acres for $100 and Mark Eliché, the merchant Marksville was named after, on 200 acres.
Unity and Mally – The Early Years
Unity was born about 1798. William Marshall, the man who sold her, was from Caroline County, Virginia. That may be where she’s from also. On April 29, 1809, William InRufty bought Unity, aged about 11 years old from William Marshall for $420.00. That same day he bought five other slaves: Miley about 40, Cupid about 10, Ellender about 9, Mack about 6, and Caroline about 2 for $1150.00. Other spellings for Miley’s name were Milla, Melie, Mill
It appeared that InRufty had bought enough slaves to share with his stepson, John Ryan, because he sold Ellender to John Ryan that same day for $230. He sold Miley and Caroline to him a few months later on June 11, 1810. John Ryan sold Miley and Caroline back to William InRufty for $450 on March 5, 1811. On that document, it described Miley as such, “the Negro woman named Milla aged about forty-three years and her child Patsey Caroline aged about four years.” Therefore, on that document, it says that she is the mother of Caroline.
The Death of Catherine InRufty
Catherine InRufty died and an inventory was taken on June 4, 1817. One was recorded in French and one in English. The slaves were Unity, about 19, and Mcjerso about 14 (Not sure of name). I believe this is the same person as Mack in 1809. Also shown on the document below, Callow, about 17. On the French version, Cupet is listed, instead, which coincides with Cupid in 1809. Caroline, about eleven, is the last one shown. Melie, who was 50, was on the previous page of the English document, though spelled differently and listed on the French document as Melie.
On June 4, 1817, same day the inventory was done, William InRufty gave to John Ryan, a Negro boy Mcjerso (sic) about 14 years, a Negro girl named Caroline aged about 11 years, a tract of land 370 superficial arpents lying on the back side of the Ryan plantation, one equal half of the stock of horses and cattle, one equal half of the stock of hogs and $400 dollars in cash. This was to settle the estate of his mother, Catherine.
The 1820 census listed William InRufty, spelled InRoufty, living on the Islands South of Red River. One white person and three slaves were enumerated.
Unity had a child, my grandfather, George Washington, in 1827. She would have been about 29 years old. It appeared she had never been sold again, but had lived continuously with William and Catherine InRufty. Then with William InRufty when he was a widower. A lot of that time, Miley had also lived there.
The Last Will and Testament
That same year William InRufty composed his Last Will and Testament, which was done on October 5, 1827. It said:
“I desire that my faithful servant Unity who is a slave for life to me who I raised and who has served me faithfully and honestly, should be set free and to that
The 15-Year Lease
The first part of the lease restates in detail the things willed to Unity, including the emancipation of herself and her child, George Washington. Then it goes on to state the terms of the lease as shown in Image 9 and the succeeding paragraphs.
The last paragraph states:
“In consideration, whereof the said James. A. Watson, Nancy Edwards, joined and assisted by her husband, Uriah Edwards, William Edwards, Haden Edwards and Fielding Edwards assisted by their father, Uriah Edwards do, covenant, agree and bind themselves that they will administer to the wants of said William InRufty and support him in a comfortable and proper manner during the term of said lease, that they will aid and assist the old gentleman in sickness and in health to the utmost of their abilities. Signed or made their mark by James. A. Watson, Uriah Edwards, William Edwards, N. Edwards, Hayden Edwards, Fielding Edwards. Witnessed by William Harvey and George Gorton.”
Reflections
Like Blanche DuBois, in the movie “A Streetcar Named Desire,” it seemed that William InRufty was in a position where he “depended on the kindness of strangers.” There is a John Ryon, his step-son (I’m assuming that’s John Ryan spelled incorrectly) on the 1830 and 1840 censuses and a William Ryan shown right after Unity FWC on the 1830 census. Which probably was a relative of John Ryan, thus InRufty’s wife, Catherine. However, they are not present or mentioned during the writing of the will or lease. He may have been estranged from them.
A John or Jean Rusty is mentioned in the late 1700s and early 1800s in Avoyelles Parish in Notarial Acts section in History of Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana by Corrine Saucier, M.A. I don’t know if they were related and if they were, if he was still in the area. But, he was not mentioned either. William InRufty seemed to have no biological relatives in Avoyelles Parish.
On the 1820 census, he’s living with three slaves, which I believe are the three slaves named on the lease. During the ten years since his wife passed, Unity had been the constant person on the plantation. The other slaves had at one time or another been sold to John Ryan’s plantation, including Miley. Because he had bought Unity when she was eleven years old, the wording that was used in his Last Will and Testament, “a slave for life to me who I raised,” tends to give the impression he may have thought of her as family.
William InRufty died less than a year later.
Protracted Procedures to Emancipate Unity
Even though William InRufty had willed her freedom, there were a number of legal steps that had to be taken. The Police Jury had to give their permission for the process to proceed to emancipation. The Judge had to be petitioned also to execute that part of the will. The sheriff had to advertise in the paper to see if anyone objected to her being freed. Only after all of these steps were taken could Unity finally be emancipated.
This is taken from Notes on emancipations found in the Police Jury Minutes of Avoyelles Parish by Michelle Cadoree Bradley posted on the Avoyelles Parish Genealogy Research Facebook page.
September 1, 1828;
(95-101) Art. 2nd
It is further resolved that James A. Watson is granted the permission of proceeding to Emancipate the two Slaves as mention in his petition to with: Unity and her child George Washington, first having Complied with the Laws in such cases made and provided.
It was, also, required to petition the Parish Judge, Lewis James Barbin. Below is one of those petitions dated November 8, 1828. His petition implies that he had already petitioned “your Honor” and the Police Jury on a regular basis. How often? He doesn’t say, but the implication is that it was done more than once or twice. He had petitioned “as the law required, for an order emancipating the Negro woman, Unity and her male child, George Washington.” Since the Police Jury had “unanimously” agreed to grant “his petition”, he prayed that your honor would “make such further order as is required in the case, to enable him to effect the said emancipation according to Law. And as is duty bound.” The inference is that InRufty had passed a while before September 1, 1828.
If anyone in the parish objected to her being freed, even though her owner had willed her freedom, her petition would be denied.
Image 12, below, shows that a notice had been placed in the paper by Julien Deshautell, Sheriff of Avoyelles, for forty days, from November 29, 1828 to January 12, 1829. This was to give”every person who may have any legal opposition to said emancipation” an opportunity “to file said opposition in the office of the Parish Judge.”… “This notice having been advertised…is now returned.” No one had filed an objection.
The Emancipation Granted
Now, having satisfied all of the legal requirements, the next step would be emancipation. On March 28, 1829, she and my grandfather, George Washington Lavallais were officially emancipated. The first page of the document is shown in the first image. The last two paragraphs are shown below:
Now, therefore be it known that the said James Alexander Watson in pursuant of the last will of the said William Inrufty does thereby presents in his afore said capacity for ever manumit and emancipate from the Bonds of Slavery the said Negro woman, Unity and her said child named George Washington, giving and granting unto them full freedom and liberty to enjoy all the rights and immunity of free Persons of Color, in conformity to our laws – and does forever renounce and relinquish in their favor, all of the rights that the said William Inrufty had or might have had at any time on said Unity and George Washington as slaves.
In Testimony, whereof the said James Alexander Watson has hereunto subscribed his name in my office in presence of Eleazer Gilmore Paston and Narcisse Couvillion, witnesses, thereto required at Avoyelles, aforesaid this twenty-eight day of March One thousand eight hundred and twenty-nine. Signed Eleazer G. Paston, Narcisse Couvillion, James A. Watson and L. J. Barbin, Parish Judge
I can imagine how Unity must have felt upon receiving this document. She could not read those words for herself, but having someone tell her William InRufty’s wishes had finally been fulfilled, I’m sure, filled her with glee. She probably hugged it to her chest and put it in a place for safe-keeping.
The rest of Unity’s and Malley’s stories will be in an upcoming post. Then, Simon, Unity’s son George’s father, and Eulalie, his second mate, will follow. A look at an Augustine ancestor will, probably, follow that. Looking forward to having you on this journey.
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Your blog looks so great Susane! I’m so glad you see that you’ve got it up and running. I’ve always been so fascinated by your search for and discovery of Unity. Looking very forward to reading more soon! 🙂
Thank you Jessica. You were the trailblazer!! 🙂
Cousin, great work. I have a question. On many documents we see George Washington. When did he pick up the surname Lavallais? I look forward to your next blog.
Thank you Cousin Joan. Slaves did not have surnames. Even though George had two names, they were both given names, and not a surnames. When slaves became free in 1865, they picked surnames for themselves. In Avoyelles, it seems that a lot took the name of their father and some took the last name of their slave owner. Unity would have chosen his surname once he was freed. Simon was around, and although, he only had one name, himself, he evidently knew his father’s name and passed that info on to Unity and his children. So, he could have had a surname once he was freed.