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Burlington 37 Settlement, Lawrence County, Ohio

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Location: Burlington, Fayette Township, Lawrence, Ohio, United Statesmap
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Contents

Introduction

Last enslaver: James Twyman, see Slaves of James Twyman, Virginia
Settlement Location: Burlington, Lawrence County, Ohio
Date of Manumission: 1849

Upon his death in early 1849, Madison County, Virginia planter James Twyman manumitted 37 slaves and provided money and land to help them make a new life in Ohio.[1] These former slaves settled on the land bought from Isaac Frampton in October 1849 and made Burlington, Lawrence County, Ohio their home.[2] A few other records for the group have been found that help identify them: (1) a receipt of funds recorded in the deed books of Lawrence County, Ohio from when they received the money left to them in Twyman's will[3] and (2) newspaper notices about court cases brought by Nancy Smith and William Smith in 1870 to partition the land so each member of the group could individually own their own piece of land rather than it being held in common by the whole group.[4]

The group that settled in Burlington included:

It should be noted that there are 37 people named in Twyman's will and a slightly different 37 people listed on the deed in Lawrence County. There were five people named in the will who are not listed on the deed in Lawrence County, Ohio:

  • Jenny, Amanda, and Frances Ann, a grandmother, mother, and daughter who ended up in Fairfield County, Ohio
  • James - see profile for more information
  • Joe, described in Twyman's will as an invalid, who "declined his freedom" so that he could stay in Madison County, Virginia

There are also five people named in the deed in Lawrence County, Ohio, who were not named in Twyman's will, all of whom were children of people named in the will. They were all born around the time of Twyman's death or shortly after: Alexander, "Cilla", aka Eliza, Daniel, Edmund, and William.

There is a monument (shown below) for the Burlington 37 in the Burlington 37 cemetery, which uses the 37 names from the Twyman will.

Photograph of Burlington 37 monument

Oct 1849 Land Purchase in Lawrence County, Ohio

On 31 Oct 1849, a deed was signed in which Isaac and Jane Frampton of Wayne County, Virginia sold several tracts of land in Fayette County, Lawrence County, Ohio to the Burlington 37, described as "of the county of Madison and State of Virginia, emancipated slaves of James Ferguson [sic, Twyman] decd". The land was located in southern Fayette Township in section 2 of Township 1, Range 19 and in section 35 of Township 2, Range 17 and they paid $6000 for it.[2]

The names of the Burlington 37 are listed several times in the deed with slight spelling variations between the lists. Their names as recorded in the deed are:[2]

The following are brief descriptions of the parcels of land included in this deed. See the deed itself for full descriptions of the boundaries of each parcel.[2]

  • Most of the eastern part of the partial section 2 of Township 1, Range 19 which lies north of the Ohio River.
  • Most of the southeast quarter of the northwest quarter of section 35 of Township 2, Range 17.
  • Most of the southwest quarter of section 35 of Township 2, Range 17.
  • The west half of the southeast quarter of section 35 of Township 2, Range 17.
Maps showing location of the Burlington 37 land within Fayette Township in Lawrence County, Ohio.

1870 Lawsuits to Divide the Land

In September 1870, Nancy Smith and William Smith each filed a lawsuit to have the land of the Burlington 37 partitioned. Associated court records and deed records have not yet been identified, but legal notices published in the The Ironton Register have been transcribed by Sharon M. Kouns on a webpage about Burlington.[4] The list of defendants is slightly different for each suit, though there is some overlap, and each lawsuit covers different parcels of land. Each notice says that some of the individuals involved are "sometimes called [first name]" (i.e. "Maria Toms, sometimes called Maria"). Between the two lawsuits, the defendants include (1) each member of the 37 who was still living in 1870, (2) heirs of deceased members of the 37, and (3) the husbands of any married female defendants. The original deed only named the 37 by their first name, and the names these legal notices say they are "sometimes called" match the names from the deed. Both lawsuits used Enochs and Cherrington as attorneys.

Nancy Smith's Lawsuit

A notice about this lawsuit was published in The Ironton Register on 22 Sep 1870.[4]
Defendants from Lawrence County, Ohio:
Defendants from Huron County, Ohio:
  • Barbara Gaunt, called Barbara
  • Moses Gaunt, husband of Barbara Gaunt
Plaintiff:
Description of land Nancy petitions to be partitioned, all in Fayette Township, Lawrence County, Ohio:
  • "The northeast quarter of the northwest quarter of section No. 36, township No.2, range No. 17, containing forty three acres more or less"
  • "the west half of the southeast quarter of section No. 36, township No. 2, range No. 17, (except five acres more or less taken off the northwest corner of said half of said quarter section, conveyed by John Crawford to George Kouns,) containing eighty acres more or less"
  • Also requests that "the dower of said Maria Toms, widow of John Toms, deceased, in one undivided twenty-second part thereof, be assigned" and states that Nancy will file for partition of it in the next Court session

William Smith's Lawsuit

A notice about this lawsuit was published in The Ironton Register on 20 Sep 1870.[4]
Defendants from Lawrence County, Ohio:
Defendants from elsewhere:
  • Barbara Gaunt, called Barbara, of Huron County, Ohio
  • Moses Gaunt, husband of Barbara Gaunt, of Huron County, Ohio
  • Horace Twyman, called "Horace", of the State of Missouri
  • Julia James, formerly Julia Smith, called "Julia", widow of Garland James, of Kanawha County, West Virginia
Plaintiff:
Description of land William petitions to be partitioned, all in Fayette Township, Lawrence County, Ohio:
  • "The east part of fractional section No. 2, in range No. 19 and township No. 1, beginning at a stake on the Ohio, two hundred and forty three poles easterly by the said river from the southwest corner of said fractional section at the southeast corner of Burton's heirs' land, thence running north 69 degrees, east one hundred and thirty-three and two thirds poles to a stake, the s.w. corner of land owned by Yager, now owned by George Kouns, thence due north along said Kouns's line to the back line of said fractional section to a stake, thence west on said back line to such a point as will by running due south therefrom intersect the stake or place of beginning, thence from said point south to said first-mentioned stake the place of beginning; excepting and reserving out of the above granted premises the following parcels of land heretofore sold and conveyed to William Lynd to wit: 5 1/2 acres to Elijah Frampton, also 6 acres 2 rods and 1 pole to William C. Johnson - the above described tracts are taken from the southwest corner of said tract, containing one hundred and fifty four acres more or less."
  • "The southeast quarter of the northwest quarter of section 35, township 2, range 17, saving and excepting one acre out of the northwest corner sold to Arty Carter, and one acre sold to Abner Johnson of the west side of said tract; also one acre of the same side sold to Anna Robinson; containing forty-one acres more or less."
  • "Part of the southwest quarter of the northeast quarter of section 35, township 2, of range 17, being all that part of said quarter section which lies south of the top of the ridge about 35 rods, to a stake about one rod west of a black locust 12 inches in diameter; thence easterly along the top of said ridge, following the marked or blazed trees with the meanders of the top of said ridge till it strikes the east line of said quarter about ten rods north of the southeast corner thereof, to a hickory tree 8 inches in diameter; thence south to the said southeast corner of said quarter; thence west along the south line of said quarter to the place of beginning, containing by estimation twenty acres more or less." *"The west half of the southeast quarter of section 34, township 2, of range 17, containing eighty seven acres and fourteen-one-hundredths."
  • "The southeast half of the southwest quarter of section 35, township 2, range 17, containing eighty eight acres and seventy two-one-hundredths."
  • "The southwest quarter of the southwest quarter of section 35, township 2, range 17, containing forty three acres and twenty-two-one-hundredths.
  • "The east half of the northwest quarter of section 35, township 2, range 17, containing twenty three acres and eighty-six-one hundredths."
  • William also requested that "the dower of said Maria Toms, widow of John Toms, dec'd, in one undivided thirty-fifth part thereof be assigned" and states that William will file for partition of it in the next Court session.

Outcome

Records have not yet been identified for the outcome of these lawsuits. However, there is an 1887 atlas of Lawrence County, Ohio which shows land owners.[5] The land owners of the land believed to have been part of the Burlington 37's original land purchase include the following:
  • In section 2:
    • Edmund Toms
    • Prescilla Toms
    • Maria Toms
    • W.F. James
    • Edmund Toms
    • Julia Nancy & W.T. Smith
    • Charlotte Fry
    • E[?] W. Fry
    • T. W. Fry
    • I. Gordon
    • P.A. Bryant
    • Possibly but not likely: J.G. Wilson, John Dillon [it's not clear where the western border is from the description]
  • In section 35:
    • NW quarter: Sarah Brown, Elizth King
    • NE quarter: Stephen Dillon
    • SW quarter: Rebecca Kilgore, Stephen Dillon, Elizth King
    • SE quarter: Stephen Dillon, W.T. Smith

Some of Burlington 37 and their heirs may have sold their land after the partition, so these landowners may not all be part of that group - Stephen Dillon in particular is known to have purchased large amounts of the land after the partition. Some of the land descriptions are also difficult to decipher, so this list may not be exactly correct.

Sources

  1. ↑ Virginia, Madison County, Will Books, Volume 9, pages 13-26, James Twyman will with 3 codicils, will signed 1 Aug 1848, probated 22 Mar 1849; image copy, FamilySearch, film #7645474, images 234-241 of 500 (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99P6-5C97?i=233 : accessed 13 Apr 2023). See James Twyman Will Transcription, Madison County, Virginia.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Ohio, Lawrence County, Deed Books, Volume 12, pages 137-139, Isaac and Jane Frampton to emancipated slaves of James Ferguson [sic, Twyman], 31 Oct 1849; image copy, FamilySearch, film #8141981, images 410-411 of 637 (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSKH-77MY-K?i=409 : accessed 13 Apr 2023).
  3. ↑ Ohio, Lawrence County, Deed Books, Volume 12, pages 343-344, receipt of funds for the emancipated slaves of James Ferguson [sic, James Twyman]; image copy, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSKH-77MP-S : accessed 21 Apr 2023).
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Sharon M. Kouns, Transcriptions of Nancy Smith and William Smith's Sep 1870 legal notices on "Burlington" page, http://www.miles-shute-kouns-families.com/histories/Burlingtons%20History.htm : accessed 17 Apr 2023.
    Note: May be helpful to search for Twyman" on the page to find it. It's about halfway down the page.
  5. ↑ D. J. Lake & Co., 1887 atlas of Lawrence County, Ohio, page 41, Fayette Township; image copy, Historic Map Works, (https://www.historicmapworks.com/Map/US/1609636 : accessed 17 Apr 2023).
Articles naming some descendants of the group:
See also:


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Categories: Burlington 37 | Madison County, Virginia, Slaves | Burlington, Ohio | Ohio, African-American Settlements