Glendower Plantation in Jefferson County, Florida

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: Jefferson County, Florida, United States
Surnames/tags: Slavery Plantations Black_Heritage

Index of Plantations

Florida Plantations

Slaves of John Finlayson, Florida

Contents 1 History of Glendower Plantation 2 Slaves 2.1 1840 Census 2.2 Slave Schedules for 1850 and 1860 2.3 Slaves Named In Probate Records in 1865 3 Sources

History of Glendower Plantation

In 1839 John Finlayson (1810-1865) purchased from the estate of George Johnson 440 acres in Jefferson Co, FL. for the sum of $5280^[1], and began Glendower Plantation in Jefferson County, Florida.^[2][3] He purchased another 2000 acres of land just North of William Bailey's plantation near Monticello, along with slaves and equipment. He increased his holdings over the years, and by 1860, Glendower consisted of 3200 acres and more than 170 slaves. The plantation grew cotton, corn, peas and beans, and sweet potatoes. John Finlayson was on the side of the Confederacy during the Civil War. He died shortly after the war, leaving Glendower to his eldest son, John. The plantation was assessed at worth $328,000 at probate. It continued to be passed down through family over the years.^[4]

The plantation became Glendower Farms in later years. "The Glendower Farms swine operation is part of one of Florida’s oldest family farms. It was established in 1839 and is now in its eighth generation. Though pigs have frequently played a significant role in the production heritage of the diversified family farm, the growing of Iberian pigs is a new enterprise introduced in 2015 by Hines Boyd."^[5]

Slaves

1840 Census

The 1840 census shows John Finlayson in Jefferson Co, Florida Territory.^[6]

• 2 white males ages 30-40
• 2 male slaves under age 10
• 10 male slaves ages 10-24
• 4 male slaves ages 24-36
• 7 female slaves under age 10
• 9 female slaves ages 10-24
• 3 female slaves ages 24-36
• 37 total persons in household
• 35 persons working in agriculture

Slave Schedules for 1850 and 1860

In 1850, John had 62 slaves in one entry of the US Census Slave Schedule.^[7] In a second entry, he had 36 slaves.^[8]

In the 1860 Slave Schedule he had 167 slaves.^[9]

The slaves were unnamed. To view click on the links.

Slaves Named In Probate Records in 1865

In his will dated 23 Feb 1865, John bequeathed a large number of slaves to his wife, A. Florida Finlayson, his executrix, and also to his executors, Smith Simkins and W J Hines, in trust for his children: Virginia C. (Finlayson) Turnbull (1843-1913), Florida Mary Finlayson (abt.1850-abt.1872), Augusta C. Finlayson (abt.1852-), John Finlayson Jr. (1854-1905), and Daniel Alysbury Finlayson (abt.1858-).^[10]

Some of the slave names were illegible, and some of the named slaves in the chart below did not appear in the will as best could be determined.

The enslaved of John Finlayson are listed in his probate paperwork in 1865.^[11]

Number	Slave Name	Age	Value	Bequeathed to:	Notes
1	Nancy	50	300
2	Mandy (Manda)	20	700	A. Florida
3	Dock	4	400	A. Florida	Mandy 's child
4	Julia	7	400	A. Florida
5	Charles B Smith	49	1500	A. Florida
6	Ann	37	700	A. Florida
7	Mariah (Little Mariah?)	13	700	A. Florida	Ann's child
8	Newton	9	600	A. Florida
9	Edward	6	500	A. Florida
10	Noble	4	400	A. Florida
11	Long John	36	1000	A. Florida
12	Judy	24	800
13	Harris	2.5 mo	100
14	Margaret	40	700	A. Florida
15	Clem	14	1000	A. Florida
16	Harrison	10	700	A. Florida
17	Randolph	7	500	A. Florida
18	Martha	4	400	A. Florida
19	Ellen	1/2 yr	200
20	Lottia (Lotty)	55	100	A. Florida
21	Frank	22	1000	A. Florida
22	George	20	1000	A. Florida
23	Zack	28	1200	A. Florida
24	Hannah	38	800	A. Florida
25	Small James (?) (Jim)	12	800	A. Florida
26	Alford	8	600	A. Florida
27	Jacob	50	700	A. Florida
28	P. Dave (David?)	32	1000	Virginia
29	Sarah Ann	20	900	Virginia
30	Easter	10	650	Virginia
31	Joe	4	400
32	Florida	1	200
33	Big John	40	800	Virginia
34	Susan	38	700	Virginia
35	Raiford (Ralph)	24	800
36	Betsy	20	900	Virginia
37	Bella	16	1000	Virginia
38	Hester Ann	8	600	Virginia
39	Washington	6	500	Virginia
40	Dock	2	400	Virginia	Susan's child
41	Solomon	6	200
42	V. Dave	28	1100
43	Beck	38	500	Virginia
44	Sanford	14	800	Virginia
45	Choice	9	700	Virginia
46	Armistead	5	500	Virginia
47	L Gain (?)	30	800
48	Rosa (Little Rose)	10	700	Virginia
49	Wesley	6	600	Virginia
50	Susannah	5	400	Virginia
51	Paul	3	300	Virginia
52	Kellie	40	100	Virginia
53	Edmond	18	300	Virginia
54	Les	42	800	Virginia
55	Martin	47	600	Augusta Carolina
56	Tallie	47	300
57	Junius	24	900
58	Angeline	22	700	Augusta Carolina
59	Joe	20	1000
60	Morris	14	800	Augusta Carolina
61	Isaac	3	200
62	Cloe	1	200
63	Louisa	40	700	Augusta Carolina
64	William	18	1000
65	Ritta	18	800
66	William B	20	1000
67	Frank G (Gotie)	22	800	Augusta Carolina
68	Napoleon	38	1000	Florida
69	Lucy	37	800	Florida
70	Jennette	16	950	Florida
71	Mike	12	700	Florida
72	Betsy Ann	10	600	Florida
73	Arthur	30	1000	Florida
74	Adeline	28	800	Florida
75	Lawrence	7	500	Florida
76	James	3	200	Florida
77	Sofa	4 mo	100
78	Spencer	55	400	Florida
79	Bina	55	100	Florida
80	Eliza	20	1000	Florida
81	Curthbrist (?)	3 mo	100		cannot make out name
82	Mariah (Big Mariah)	34	850	Florida
83	George Ann	18	1000	Florida
84	Little Edmond	14	900	Florida
85	William Harry	12	800	Florida
86	J Allman	10	600	Florida
87	Mary	2	200	Florida	Mariah (Big Mariah)'s child
88	Old Peggy	50	100	Florida
89	Amos	10	700	Florida
90	Long Harry	27	1000
91	Big Judy	25	700	Florida
92	Margaret	50	100
93	Eloy	32	800	Florida
94	Phoeby	25	600
95	Sam (Little Sam)	7	500	Florida
96	Big Tom	32	1000	Florida
97	Willis	32	1000	Florida
98	Sam Jason (Jason)	42	1500	John
99	Long Anny (Little Ann ?)	26	900	John
100	Creasy	16	900	John
101	Laburn	40	800	John
102	? Pig (Quincy ?)	50	100	John	Cannot make out name
103	Robert	28	800	John
104	Doney (Diney)	24	1200	John
105	Ellick	11	800	John
106	Leon	9	700	John
107	Madison	32	1000	John
108	L. Jane (Little Jane)	30	900	John
109	M. Ann (Milly Ann)	4	600	John
110	Gloster	4 mo	200
111	Henry	55	50	John
112	Elizabeth	13	700	John
113	Prince	60	100	John
114	Charlotte	50	100	John
115	Mary (Big Mary)	22	1000	John
116	Renall	20	1000
117	John B.	18	1200
118	Andrew	17	800	John
119	Philip	2	300	John
120	Laburn	2 mo	100
121	Rahamer (Bahama)	16	1200	John
122	Fanny	37	700	John
123	Frank	14	700	John
124	Ellen	35	800	Daniel
125	Hester Ann	14	900	Daniel
126	James	10	700
127	David	8	500	Daniel
128	Sam	6	600	Daniel
129	Mariah	5	300
130	Anna	2	200	Daniel
131	Matilda	35	600	Daniel
132	Moses	12	700	Daniel
133	Sarah (Little Sarah)	8	500	Daniel
134	Major	5	400	Daniel
135	Mary	2	200	Daniel
136	B. Peter (Big Peter)	50	800	Daniel
137	Aggy	47	200	Daniel
138	L. Tom (Little Tom)	24	900	Daniel
139	L. Peter (Little Peter)	20	1100	Daniel
140	Rachael	19	800	Daniel
141	Henderson	17	1000	Daniel
142	Leonora	15	900	Daniel
143	Shadrack	6	400	Daniel
144	Jerry (Jimmy?)	4	300	Daniel
145	James		200	Daniel
146	B Henry (Big Henry)	37	1000	Daniel
147	Frances	14	900	Daniel
148	Richmond	8	600	Daniel
149	Alsorah (?) (Alosia?)	6	400	Daniel
150	James Carpenter	32	1800	Daniel
151	Big James	32	800	Daniel
152	Pierce	10	450	Daniel
153	Gilbert	8	500	Daniel
154	Isaac (Big Isaac)	32	1000	Daniel
155	Nelly	28	900	Daniel
156	Daffin (Daffney)	7	400	Daniel
157	Dick	5	300	Daniel
158	Emma	4 mo	100
159	B. Williams	2	200
160	Naro (Nairo)	24	1000	Augusta Carolina
161	Tempsy (Tempa)	30	700	Augusta Carolina
162	Patin (Peyton)	6	400	Augusta Carolina
163	B. George	24	1100	Virginia
164	Sarah Emily	25	800	Virginia
165	Martha	4	400	Virginia
166	Stephen	40	1200	Augusta Carolina
167	Emily	37	800	Augusta Carolina
168	Isaiah	16	900	Augusta Carolina
169	Elbert	10	700	Augusta Carolina
170	Cornelia	5	450	Augusta Carolina
171	Caroline	1	150
172	Jesse	34	900	Augusta Carolina
173	Rosa	30	800
174	Dick	12	700	Augusta Carolina
175	Ormand	10	500	Augusta Carolina
177	Nat	23	1000	Augusta Carolina
178	B. Eliza	25	800	Augusta Carolina
179	Clarisa	8	500	Augusta Carolina
180	David	6	100
181	Loucresia	3	150
182	Lewdy	30	900
183	B. Ann	28	900
184	Nathan	37	800	John
185	B Sarah (Big Sarah)	37	500	John
186	Joshua	21	1000	John
187	Sarah Jane	12	600	John
188	Christopher	14	400	John

Sources

1. ↑ Deed: "Deed records, 1827-1900; general index to deeds, 1820-1934"
   Catalog: Deed records, 1827-1900; general index to deeds, 1820-1934 Deed records, v. C 1838-1840
   Film number: 008582803 > image 328 of 362
   FamilySearch Image: 3Q9M-C37K-L3Q9-7 (accessed 14 May 2022)
   • Deed Bk C p.593
2. ↑ Slavery and Plantation Growth in Antebellum Florida 1821-1860 by Julia Floyd Smith, LibraryPress@UF, Gainesville, Florida 2017 https://ufdcimages.uflib.ufl.edu/AA/00/06/19/96/00001/9781947372627_Smith.pdf
   • p.144-146
3. ↑ http://www.dejaelaine.com/miscplantations1.html
   • Glendower
4. ↑ http://www.dejaelaine.com/miscplantations1.html#John%20Finlayson
5. ↑ [Glendower Farms]
6. ↑ United States Census, 1840: "United States Census, 1840"
   Image path: United States Census, 1840 > Florida Territory > Jefferson > Not Stated > image 23 of 31; Citing NARA microfilm publication M704, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
   FamilySearch Image: 33SQ-GYY1-9BWC (accessed 14 May 2022)
   • 1840 census Jefferson Co, FL
7. ↑ 1850 Census: "1850 U.S. Federal Census - Slave Schedules"
   The National Archive in Washington DC; Washington, DC; NARA Microform Publication: M432; Title: Seventh Census Of The United States, 1850; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census; Record Group Number: 29
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 8055 #91411174 (accessed 5 November 2022)
   John Finlayson in Jefferson, Florida, USA.
8. ↑ 1850 Census: "1850 U.S. Federal Census - Slave Schedules"
   The National Archive in Washington DC; Washington, DC; NARA Microform Publication: M432; Title: Seventh Census Of The United States, 1850; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census; Record Group Number: 29
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 8055 #91411306 (accessed 5 November 2022)
   John Finlayson in Jefferson, Florida, USA.
9. ↑ 1860 Census: "1860 U.S. Federal Census - Slave Schedules"
   The National Archives in Washington DC; Washington DC, USA; Eighth Census of the United States 1860; Series Number: M653; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census; Record Group Number: 29
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 7668 #94078494 (accessed 5 November 2022)
   John Finlayson in Jefferson, Florida, USA.
10. ↑ Florida Probate Records, 1784-1990: "Florida Probate Records, 1784-1990"
    Catalog: Wills, letters testamentary and letters of administration, 1838-1924 Vol. B 1845-1875
    Image path: Florida Probate Records, 1784-1990 > Jefferson > Wills, letters of administration and testamentary 1845-1875 vol B > image 99 of 157
    FamilySearch Image: 3QS7-89Q5-29TQ (accessed 13 May 2022)
    • 1865 Will Bk B p.155-158
11. ↑ Florida Probate Records, 1784-1990: "Florida Probate Records, 1784-1990"
    Catalog: Wills, letters testamentary and letters of administration, 1838-1924 Vol. A 1838-1876
    Image path: Florida Probate Records, 1784-1990 > Jefferson > Wills, letters of administration and testamentary 1838-1876 vol A > image 89 of 194
    FamilySearch Image: 3QS7-99Q5-NSB5 (accessed 13 May 2022)
    • 1865 Jefferson Co, FL, probate paperwork of John Finlayson