Burlington 37, Ohio, African American Settlement

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: Burlington, Fayette Township, Lawrence, Ohio, United States

This page is under construction by the USBH project in April 2023. Please do not edit at this time.

Contents 1 Introduction 2 Oct 1849 Land Purchase in Lawrence County, Ohio 3 1870 Lawsuits to Divide the Land 3.1 Nancy Smith's Lawsuit 3.2 William Smith's Lawsuit 3.3 Outcome 4 Items to discuss 5 Sources

Introduction

[still needs work] 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]

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]

• Simeon
• Violet
• Abraham
• Ambrose
• Walker
• Charlotte
• Barbara
• Horace
• Susan
• Short John
• Maria
• Jane
• Beck
• Henry
• Elizabeth
• Mary Ann
• Ellen
• Lucy ann
• Prisilla
• Elanor
• Edmund
• Daniel
• Cilla (daughter of said Jane)
• Alexander (son of said Beck)
• Nancy
• Julia
• William (son of said Nancy)
• Charles
• William
• Lewis
• Washington
• Laurence
• Albert
• yellow John
• Bob
• Noah
• Winna

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 of the southeast quarter of section 35 of Township 2, Range 17.

1870 Lawsuits to Divide the Land

In September 1870, Nancy Smith and William Smith filed 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.^[3] 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"). More research is needed, but these individuals seem to be the original 37 involved in the purchase of the land. The original deed only named them by their first name, and the names these legal notices say they are "sometimes called" seem to 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.^[3]

Defendants from Lawrence County, Ohio:

• Maria Toms, called "Maria", widow of John Toms
• Charles Thomas, called "Charles"
• Thomas W. Fry, called "Walker"
• Mildred Dikes
• Caroline Dikes
• Maria Buvender
• Squire Buvender (husband of Maria Buvender)
• Albert James, called "Albert"
• Lawrence James, called "Lawrence"
• Charlotte Fry, called "Charlotte"
• Lucy Toms
• Sarah Brown, formerly Sarah Toms
• Richard Brown, husband of Sarah Brown
• Daniel Toms, called "Daniel"
• Edmund Toms, called "Edmund"
• Priscilla Toms, called "Persilla"
• Henry Toms, called "Henry"
• Ellen Shelton, formerly Ellen Toms, called "Ellen"
• Edmund Shelton, husband of Ellen Shelton
• Elizabeth King, formerly Elizabeth Toms, called "Elizabeth"
• Daniel King, husband of Elizabeth King
• Jane Jackson, formerly Jane Toms, called "Jane"
• William Jackson, husband of Jane Jackson
• Rebecca Killgore, formerly Rebecca Toms, called "Beck"
• John Killgore, husband of Rebecca Killgore

Defendants from Huron County, Ohio:

• Barbara Gaunt, called Barbara
• Moses Gaunt, husband of Barbara Gaunt

Plaintiff:

• Nancy Smith, called "Nancy"

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.^[3]

Defendants from Lawrence County, Ohio:

• Maria Toms, called "Maria"
• Charles Thomas, called "Charles"
• Thomas W. Fry, called "Walker"
• Mildred Dikes
• Caroline Dikes
• Maria Buvender
• Squire Buvender, husband of Maria Buvender
• Lucy Toms
• Alexander Killgore, called "Alexander"
• Eliza Jackson, called "Cilla"
• Susan Wilson called "Susan"
• Charlotte Fry, called "Charlotte"
• Albert James, called "Albert"
• Lawrence James, called "Lawrence"
• Rebecca Killgore, formerly Rebecca Toms, called "Beck"
• John Killgore, husband of Rebecca Killgore
• Jane Jackson, formerly Jane Toms, called "Jane"
• William Jackson, husband of Jane Jackson
• Elizabeth King, formerly Elizabeth Toms, called "Elizabeth"
• Daniel King, husband of Elizabeth King
• Ellen Shelton, formerly Ellen Toms, called "Ellen"
• Edmund Shelton, husband of Ellen Shelton
• Edmund Toms, called "Edmund"
• Priscilla Toms, called "Persilla"
• Daniel Toms, called "Daniel"
• Nancy Smith, called "Nancy"
• Sarah Brown, formerly Sarah Toms
• Richard Brown, husband of Sarah Brown

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:

• William Smith, called "William"

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 25, 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.^[4] 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. Some of the land descriptions are also difficult to decipher, so this list may not be exactly correct.

Items to discuss

• Possible categories for this page:
  • Madison County, Virginia, Slaves (if we include this, would we also need slave owners?)
  • Burlington, Ohio
  • Burlington 37 [This category exists, but do we actually want to have categories for these groups, or is it enough to have the people listed on this page? If we do want it, does it need a standardized naming structure?]
  • Ohio, African-American Settlements - maybe, depends on how we decide to structure this category

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).
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. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} 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.
4. ↑ 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).

See also [needs evaluation, from page before 2023 revamp]:

• Category: Burlington, Ohio
• "Families of freed slaves to meet in Burlington"
• "Black History Month: Freed Madison slaves leave lasting legacy"
• Space:Burlington 37