Dwelling Place

by Erskine Clarke

  STEVENS, HARRY. See Harry Stevens.

  STEVENS, TONEY. See Toney Stevens.

  SYLVIA (1785–1866+), the cook and primary manager of the household at the Retreat plantation from 1806 to 1856. She came to the Jones family in 1806, when her mistress Sarah Anderson married Joseph Jones (1779–1846). She was a person of remarkable strength, personal integrity, and organizational ability. When the Reverend John Jones (1815–1893) received his share of his mother’s estate in 1842, Sylvia became his slave although she continued to stay and work at the Retreat. Both Mary Jones and John Jones regarded her as their “Momma,” as she had been their primary nurse when they were young. They held her in great affection and sought to meet her expressed needs and wishes. She was the only slave to whom Mary Jones ever sent her love. Both John and Mary Jones referred to her in her old age as “My old Momma.” While she fit many of the stereotypes of a “Mammy,” she asserted her independence and primary commitments to her own family after the Civil War. She should not be confused with Sylvia who was a part of the Andrew Maybank estate that came to Charles Colcock Jones (1804–1863) and Mary Jones.

  SYPHAX (1813–1870+), son of Hamlet and Elvira and husband of Elsey. He and Elsey married in 1832 and had eight children. See genealogical charts “Jupiter and Silvey” and “Robin and Lizzy West.” Syphax was trained to be a carpenter under the tutelage of Sandy Jones and Sandy Maybank. He was part of the joint property of Charles Col-cock Jones (1804–1863) and his sister Susan Mary Jones Maxwell Cumming until a division of their property in 1839. Syphax was then moved to White Oak, while Elsey stayed nearby at Carlawter. He did carpentry work on a number of surrounding plantations, often for hire. When Mary Sharpe Jones married Robert Quarterman Mallard in 1857, Elsey and six children and one grandchild became the property of the Mallardsand moved to Walthourville. When Elsey was moved to Indianola in 1863, Syphax stayed at White Oak although Susan Cumming allowed him to make the trip to Burke County to visit his wife and children. After the Civil War, he and Elsey lived at Arcadia, where they rented and then bought land. Several of their children and grandchildren lived nearby. They adopted Maxwell for their family name.

  TENAH (1841–1884), the daughter of Charles and Lucy, granddaughter of Andrew and Mary Ann and of Rosetta and Sam, and wife of Niger (1839–1891+). See genealogical charts “Andrew and Mary Ann Lawson,” “Rosetta and Sam Roberts” and “Flora.” She grew up at Carlawter and Maybank. When Mary Sharpe Jones married Robert Quarterman Mallard, she became with her parents the property of Mary Sharpe Mallard. She married Niger, the fisherman at Maybank, in 1861. Her mistress gave her a Swiss muslin dress for the wedding and had a special cake baked. The wedding was held in the chapel at Montevideo at the same time that Tenah’s uncle Sam was marrying Niger’s sister Judy. When the Mallards moved to Atlanta in 1863, Tenah and Niger were taken with them. They returned to Liberty County as Union troops began their attack on the city. After the war, Tenah and Niger remained at Carlawter, where they were paid a wage for specified work and had land to farm on their own. They adopted first Bacon and then Fraser as their family name.

  TITUS (1826–1865+), son of Prime and Fanny. He is often called Big Titus and should not be confused with Titus (1839–1870+), who was often called Little Titus. He was, with his parents and siblings, part of the Andrew Maybank estate that went to Charles Col-cock Jones (1804–1863) and Mary Jones. The family adopted the name Stevens after the Civil War. See genealogical chart “Prime and Fanny Stevens.” In 1852 Big Titus was moved with his parents and siblings from Maybank to Arcadia. He may have been the husband of Jane. He was included in the first listing of slaves to be sold by Charles and Mary Jones in 1856, but his name was later removed from the list. When most of the Jones slaves were removed to Indianola in Burke County, Big Titus remained at Arcadia with Robin. After the Civil War he was among those who, under the leadership of Stepney, rented and farmed land that was a part of Arcadia.

  TITUS (1839–1870+), son of Patience and Porter. He was often called Little Titus and should not be confused with Titus (1826–1865+), who was Big Titus. See genealogical charts “Robin and Lizzy West” and “Lizzy and Robinson.” When he was twelve, he was moved to Arcadia, where his uncle Stepney was the driver and grandfather Robin was living. The next year he asked for permission to marry Rachael, who lived at Lambert and was a slave of Susan Mary Jones Maxwell Cumming. Charles Colcock Jones (1804–1863) wrote from Philadelphia refusing to allow the thirteen-year-old to marry the fourteen-year-old Rachael, but they nevertheless married later in the year. Titus was made the personal servant of Dr. Joseph Jones (1833–1896) in 1856, a position that apparently pleased him and his mother, who immediately began teaching him to cook and wash. He moved to the Savannah home of his new master and during the next few years followed him to Athens and Augusta, returning to Liberty County regularly. In 1858 he made a profession of faith at the same time as his master and joined the First Presbyterian Church, Athens. He was often with his master Dr. Joseph Jones as Jones investigated the hospitals and prisons of the Confederacy. After the Civil War, Titus and Rachael lived at Arcadia plantation and rented and purchased land with other members of his extended family. They adopted Way as their family name.

  TONEY STEVENS(1787–1866), a son of Jack Salturs, who had been one of the slave preachers appointed by Midway Congregational Church in the early part of the nineteenth century to minister among the slaves of Liberty County. The father had been bought by the congregation so that he might work full-time in his ministry. Toney Stevens joined the Midway congregation in 1807, the same year he married. He was owned by Miss Mary Mell, who rented him to the Midway congregation in the late 1830s as the congregation’s black preacher to slaves. He worked closely with Charles Colcock Jones (1804–1863) during the time of Jones’s missionary labors. The congregation provided a horse for him to make his regular rounds to the surrounding plantations, although he later owned his own horse and wagon. When the watchmen at Midway Congregational Church and at the North Newport Baptist Church were organized in the 1840s into a kind of church court, meeting regularly to hear reports about the spiritual life of the congregations and adjudicating disputes and cases of discipline, Toney Stevens was the most influential member. From the late 1830s until the beginning of the Civil War, he conductedm any of the marriages in the Gullah community of Liberty County. By 1864 he was in declining health and unable to perform many ministerial functions. When Federal troops began pillaging in Liberty County, he was confined to his bed. They took all that he owned, even his blankets, and, in spite of his protests, they confiscated his horse and wagon. He should not be confused with Tony.

  TONY (1775?–1865), the husband of Willoughby. He came to the Jones family in 1806, when his mistress Sarah Anderson married Joseph Jones (1779–1846). When Sarah Anderson’s estate was divided in 1830, he became the slave of Mary Jones. After Willoughby died in 1840, he married a woman from a neighboring plantation. In his old age he became the gardener at Montevideo and a conveyor of information about earlier generations of whites and blacks. His name was sometimes spelled “Toney.” He should not be confused with Toney Stevens.

  YOUNG CASH. See Cash Jones (1837–1869+).

  WILLOUGHBY (1779–1840), the sister of Lizzy and wife of Tony. She was the slave of Susannah Girardeau and became a slave of the Jones family when her mistress married John Jones (1772–1805). Charles Colcock Jones (1804–1863) inherited her from his mother. Willoughby and Tony had three children, including Tom who married Betty, the daughter of Flora. See genealogical chart “Flora.” She should not be confused with Maum Willoughby, who was the cook at the Mallard Place.

  EUROPEAN AMERICANS

  ADGER, JAMES (1777–1858), wealthy Charleston merchant, banker, and cotton broker. His daughter Margaret Milligan Adger was the wife of Thomas Smyth. His son John Bailey Adger was a missionary to Armenia, pastor of the Anson Street Presbyterian Church for slaves in Charleston, and successor to Charles Colcock Jones (1804–1863) as profess
or of ecclesiastical history at Columbia Theological Seminary.

  ANDERSON, EVELYN ELOUISA JONES (1822–1849), daughter of Joseph Jones (1779–1846) and Elizabeth Screven Lee Hart Jones and half-sister of Mary Jones and John Jones (1815–1893). She accompanied the family of Charles Colcock Jones (1804–1863) on a trip to the North in 1839 in an attempt to improve her health. In 1843 she married Joseph Andrew Anderson. Her health continued to decline after her marriage, and she visited various hot springs and baths in the hope of some improvement, but to no avail. After her death in 1849, her daughters Elizabeth (Bessie) Mary Emma Anderson (1844–1879), and Evelyn (Eva) Josephine Anderson (1848–1930) spent much time at Montevideo and Maybank. Joseph Andrew Anderson suffered for years from alcohol and possibly opium abuse.

  ANDERSON, JOSEPH ANDREW (1820–1866). See Anderson, Evelyn Elouisa Jones.

  AXSON, ISAAC STOCKTON KEITH(1813–1891), Presbyterian minister and pastor of Midway Congregational Church (1836–1853), and Independent Presbyterian Church, Savannah (1857–1891). His wife, Rebecca Longstreet Randolph, was the sister of Mrs. Nathaniel Varnedoe of Liberty Hall plantation. Axson was a strong supporter of Charles Colcock Jones (1804–1863)’s missionary labors and a close personal friend, although Jones frequently criticized him and other pastors for not paying enough attention to the slave members of their congregations. In 1885, in the manse of the Independent Presbyterian Church, Axson officiated at the marriage of his granddaughter Ellen Louise Axson to Woodrow Wilson, future president of the United States.

  BERRIEN, CHARLES. See Jones, Charles Berrien.

  BUTTOLPH, DAVID LYMAN (1822–1905), a native of Norwich, New York, and a Presbyterian minister. He graduated from Williams College and from Columbia Theological Seminary and served as assistant to Thomas Smyth at the Second Presbyterian Church, Charleston, before becoming in 1854 past or of Midway Congregational Church. Hemarried Laura Elizabeth Maxwell in 1856. Her slaves and plantations, it was said, made her “one of the fattest lambs of his flock.” They made Social Bluff plantation their home and had five children, four of whom lived to maturity. After the Civil War, he struggled to continue his ministry at Midway, but the changing social and economic conditions of the region made it impossible for the dwindling congregation to support him. He accepted a call to the First Presbyterian Church, Marietta, Georgia, in 1867, and with his departure from Liberty County the white Midway congregation soon came to an end.

  BUTTOLPH, LAURA. See Maxwell, Laura Elizabeth.

  CHARLES. See Jones, Charles Colcock (1804–1863).

  CHARLES EDWARD. See Maxwell, Charles Edward.

  CHARLIE. See Jones, Charles Colcock (1831–1893).

  CLAY, ELIZA CAROLINE (1809–1895), daughter of the Honorable Joseph Clay and sister of Thomas Savage Clay. After the death of her brother Thomas in 1849, she became deeply involved in the management of Richmond-on-Ogeechee plantation in Bryan County, Georgia, issuing orders to her overseers about slave life and the cultivation of rice. She and her brother’s family generally spent the summer and fall in New England, returning to their beautiful plantation home for the winter and spring. In Georgia she was part of a cluster of wealthy slave owners who belonged to the Bryan Neck Presbyterian Church. She was a close friend to Mary Jones and Charles Colcock Jones (1804–1863) and frequently corresponded with them.

  CLAY, THOMAS SAVAGE (1801–1849) wealthy planter and social reformer and brother of Eliza Caroline Clay. His father, Joseph Clay, a federal district judge, had abandoned his legal career and had become the pastor of the First Baptist Church, Boston. Thomas Savage Clay consequently grew up in New England before moving back to Georgia to supervise extensive planting interests in Bryan County. Tall and handsome, he was regarded as refined and engaging. He married in 1836 Matilda Willis McAllister of Strathy Hall plantation in Bryan County. Clay’s plantation, Richmond-on-Ogeechee, was noted for its beautiful setting and was the arena for an extensive experiment in the paternalistic management and religious instruction of slaves. Clay was closely associated with Charles Colcock Jones (1804–1863) in attempts to reform slavery and to encourage the religious instruction of slaves. He was an elder in the Bryan Neck Presbyterian Church.

  CUMMING, SUSAN MARY JONES MAXWELL (1803–1890), daughter of John Jones (1772–1805) and Susannah Hyrne Girardeau Jones and sister of Charles Colcock Jones (1804–1863), who often called her Sister Susan. She married James Audley Maxwell (1796–1828) in 1823. They had two children who lived to maturity: Laura Elizabeth Maxwell and Charles Edward Maxwell. In 1838 Susan married Joseph Cumming (1790–1846). Through a gift of her uncle Joseph Jones (1779–1846), she became the owner of White Oak plantation. Her children received from their grandfather Audley Maxwell Social Bluff plantation and adequate funds to purchase Lambert plantation. An attractive woman, she had many friends and the deep affection of her family. In Savannah, where she often lived, she moved in the highest social circles. In contrast to Mary Jones, who was always ready to make decisive judgments about many matters, she had little business sense, especially in regard to the management of a plantation. She and her children spent many years as guests in the home of her uncle Joseph Jones, her sister Elizabeth Jones Maxwell, and her brother Charles Colcock Jones. When Laura Maxwell married David Buttolph, Susan Cumming made her home with them at Social Bluff. After the Civil War, she moved with her daughter’s family to Marietta, Georgia, where she died in 1890.

  DAVID. See Buttolph, David Lyman.

  DUNWODY. See Jones, James Dunwody.

  DUNWODY, JOHN (1786–1858), planter and capitalist and early supporter of the religious instruction of slaves. He was the uncle of Jane Dunwody Jones, wife of John Jones (1815– 1893). He moved his family to Roswell, Georgia, in 1837 and participated in its development as a manufacturing center. He sold Arcadia plantation to Charles Colcock Jones (1804–1863) in 1846. Jones was, with his family, a frequent visitor to Dunwody’s home in Roswell, called at first Dunwody Hall, then Phoenix Hall, and later renamed Mimosa Hall. John Dunwody was a founding elder in the Roswell Presbyterian Church.

  HARRIS, EMMA ADELAIDE JONES (1827–1913), daughter of Joseph Jones (1779–1846) and Elizabeth Screven Lee Hart Jones, and half-sister of Mary Jones. She eloped with Stephen Nathan Harris (1823–1854) in June 1846. For this act of disobedience, her father disinherited her. Mary Jones and Charles Colcock Jones (1804–1863) considered her irresponsible and self-centered. She felt bitterly alienated from them and from her brother Henry Hart Jones. In an extended family dispute, she was allied with her mother and with Marion Anderson Jones, the unstable widow of Charles Berrien Jones. In 1858 she married Columbus Starnes Harris, the younger brother of her first husband.

  HART, HENRY. See Jones, Henry Hart.

  HOWE, GEORGE (1802–1883), Presbyterian minister and professor of oriental literature and Biblical criticism at Columbia Theological Seminary from 1831 to 1883. While Howe was not the first professor at Columbia, he was through his long tenure and distinguished scholarship the true founder of the seminary. He and Charles Colcock Jones (1804–1863) were close colleagues in the Presbyterian ministry. He married in 1836 Sarah Ann Walthour of Liberty County, the widow of Dr. Robert C. McConnell. Originally from Massachusetts, Howe became through his marriage a large slave owner. In 1860 he had two plantations in Liberty County.

  JIMMA. See Jones, James Newton.

  JOE. See Jones, Joseph (1833–1896).

  JONES, CHARLES BERRIEN (1820–1857), son of Joseph Jones (1779–1846) and Elizabeth Screven Lee Hart Jones, half-brother of Mary Jones and John Jones (1815–1893), and husband of Marion Susan Anderson (1823–1888). Known for his pompous ways, he lacked the drive and business acumen of his brother Henry Hart Jones and the winsome spirit of his brother James Newton Jones. He was particularly close to his mother and took her part in family disputes. His wife was the sister of Joseph Andrew Anderson and shared with her brother a certain instability of character.

  JONES, CHARLES COLCOCK (1804–1863), Presbyterian minister, evangelist to
the Gullah people of Liberty County, Georgia, professor at Columbia Theological Seminary, and social reformer. He was the son of John Jones (1772–1805)and Susannah Hyrne Girardeau Jones. His uncle Joseph Jones (1779–1846), his aunt Eliza Greene Low Robarts, and his older half-sister Elizabeth Jones Maxwell raised him after the death of his mother. Educated in the North, he came to regard slavery as a great evil that threatened the future of the country. After struggling with his sense of vocation in the face of such an evil, he decided to return to Georgia to work as a missionary among the slaves of his home county. He soon became a leading advocate for the reform of slavery in an attempt to make the system of slavery more humane. He married his first cousin Mary Jones in 1830. They had three children who lived to maturity: Charles Colcock Jones (1831–1893), Joseph Jones (1833–1896), and Mary Sharpe Jones. Through gifts from two uncles and from his marriage to Mary Jones, he became a wealthy slave owner and eventually the master of three plantations—Montevideo, Maybank, and Arcadia. Throughout this narrative, he is referred to as Charles in distinction from his son, who is called Charlie. He should not be confused with his slave Charles, the son of Andrew and Mary Ann Lawson and husband of Lucy.

  JONES, CHARLES COLCOCK (1831–1893), lawyer, archaeologist, and historian. The eldest son of Charles Colcock Jones (1804–1863)and Mary Jones, he was educated at the plantation school at Maybank and Montevideo, at South Carolina College, Princeton, and Harvard. He married Ruth Berrien Whitehead (1837–1861) in 1858. They had one child, Mary Ruth Jones, who lived to maturity. In 1863 he married Eva Berrien Eve (1841–1890). He was mayor of Savannah at the beginning of the Civil War. He served as a lieutenant colonel of artillery in the Confederate Army. After the Civil War he practiced law in New York City for a number of years before settling in Augusta, Georgia. He wrote extensively on the history of his native state and pioneered in the archaeological examination of Native American history. While he was a faithful supporter of the Presbyterian Church, he never had a personal religious experience or made the public confession of faith that was necessary for church membership—a source of concern and sorrow for his parents. Throughout this narrative, he is referred to as Charlie in distinction from his father, who is called Charles.