Had originally planned to go back to MDAH today but decided to take a break. I slipped and fell when coming out of the building and skint my knee. I'm glad It was only a minor injury. I'm still getting over shoulder issues.
Thursday, July 21, 2016
Wednesday, July 20, 2016
Boddie Family Papers
Wednesday July 20, 2016 - I went back to MDAH to continue my research. I made copies of several letters from the Boddie Family papers that mention a John Boddie. The main document that I was interested in was the family genealogy. It lists several generations of the Boddie Family and most of them were slave owners. Many had large plantations in states across the U.S.
After printing the copies I began searching for John Boddie's will on microfilm. The documents on the reel were in very poor condition some illegible. The wills during that time were handwritten in books. It is unlikely that any of the original documents are available. I was able to find his name in the index but the page number was unreadable. So I had no choice but to go through each document on the spool and pray that I would find it and the one I needed would be readable.
I took a lunch break with my sister who works downtown and came back and continued looking. I got near the end of the reel and backtracked trying to find dates that were near his death. My perserverance paid off. Around 2:30 I found the document. Thank God!!! I was so relieved. I thought it would take me days to find it. I was concerned that a portion of the page was very dark and the writing was faint. I spoke with one of my former students who works at MDAH William Thompson (married to Laronda Fisher CS major from Tougaloo). He suggested we use the scanner equipment to get a better image. We had to wait for another patron to finish before we could use the machine. It made a big difference. I printed several copies and different sections of the document individually.
My big find was a reference to some of his slaves. He leaves instructions to give certain ones money for the rest of their lives. This is exactly what I was hoping for. The next step is to find out more about the other slaves and the property. Tomorrow I will be looking at the tax rolls and deed books.
After printing the copies I began searching for John Boddie's will on microfilm. The documents on the reel were in very poor condition some illegible. The wills during that time were handwritten in books. It is unlikely that any of the original documents are available. I was able to find his name in the index but the page number was unreadable. So I had no choice but to go through each document on the spool and pray that I would find it and the one I needed would be readable.
I took a lunch break with my sister who works downtown and came back and continued looking. I got near the end of the reel and backtracked trying to find dates that were near his death. My perserverance paid off. Around 2:30 I found the document. Thank God!!! I was so relieved. I thought it would take me days to find it. I was concerned that a portion of the page was very dark and the writing was faint. I spoke with one of my former students who works at MDAH William Thompson (married to Laronda Fisher CS major from Tougaloo). He suggested we use the scanner equipment to get a better image. We had to wait for another patron to finish before we could use the machine. It made a big difference. I printed several copies and different sections of the document individually.
My big find was a reference to some of his slaves. He leaves instructions to give certain ones money for the rest of their lives. This is exactly what I was hoping for. The next step is to find out more about the other slaves and the property. Tomorrow I will be looking at the tax rolls and deed books.
Back to MDAH
I'm going back to MDAH today. I want to get copies of the Boddie family tree and those letters that mention a John Boddie. The letters may be useful one day. I do have a plan for the family tree. I will have Billy Hall my student researcher create it on the viseyes software. I will also have Jessica or Jonathan do a GIS map of the plantations they owned where they were born, lived and died. I also need to expand my research to include the Rosehill plantation in North Carolina. I believe his father was the owner of this plantation. I may be able to find some connections to the Tougaloo property.
This plantation does not appear to be as prominent or successful as the other family plantations due to the fact that it was not named or at least we have not found any evidence that it was named. Also John Williams Boddie as history tells us was never married and had no children that we know of.
Tuesday, July 19, 2016
Researching the Bodie Plantation
I finally got the chance to follow through on the leads sent to me by Joe Wise. I had been reviewing some material online last week. Got there around 10:30 and began looking at the slave schedules from 1850 on the FamilySearch website. It seems to be affiliated with the Church of Christ Latter Day Saints. Since this info is online I decided to focus sheet lunch to documents at MDAH. I took a break at 11:30 and went to lunch atthe Mississippi Museum of Art with my sister Pamela Taylor. After lunch I requested the Boddie family papers. I found a couple of references to a John Boddie in some letters. I also found the family tree that shows several generations of the Boddie family. Most of them owning slaves. I saw Dr. William Woods while at MDAH. We spoke briefly about the research.
Tuesday, July 12, 2016
MDAH Research
July 12, 2016 - Today I am using the MDAH website to research contracts from the Freedman's Bureau. The site gives you the location of the microfilm in the reading room. I will also be searching the Madison county wills, deed books and Boddie Family papers. Happy hunting!!
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