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Sunday, March 31, 2013

The Hunt for Anderson Marrow's Father

Early this month, I started digging into the slave and mixed-race origins of the Anderson Marrow family line and ended up knee-deep in confusion. As with most slave histories, the main obstacle is poor record-keeping.

 In our case, the relationship between our relatives who were former slave owners and slaves endured after Emancipation. So we have the advantage of recent first-hand oral history.

 We know that Drury Smith Marrow regularly visited Rebecca (Grandma Beck) and acknowledged their kinship well into the 20th century. He was Thomas Field Marrow’s son. Thomas is among those suspected to be Rebecca’s grandfather. Then again, maybe not.

Our Marrow ancestors  

The earliest known record of our Marrows goes back to a fellow named Daniel Marrow, born about 1722, who died 1749 in Goochland Virginia.[i] His wife, Arabella Smith was born in 1728 in Henrico County, Virginia.

 Their only son, Daniel Marrow, Jr. – born 1744 in Lunenburg County, VA and died 1817 in Granville, North Carolina –- had eight children. Five of them were boys. One of them may have been Anderson Marrow’s father. [ii] But, which one? 

Doing the math  

Now it’s a matter of elimination.

 Anderson Marrow, Rebecca’s father, was born in Granville in 1823. Daniel Marrow Jr. died six years earlier so obviously he’s out of the running. Who among his sons was old enough or lived long enough to have fathered Anderson?

Daniel Marrow, III (Birthday unknown, died 1812). Actually, I’m not sure he’s a third, but it’s a way to distinguish him from his father and grandfather, both named Daniel. Rootsweb reports his marriage to Fannie H. Smith in 1808. He died 11 years before Anderson was born.[iii] Next?

William Marrow (Birthday unknown, died in 1816). So, it’s not him. He died seven years before Anderson.[iv] Next? 

 Drury Smith Marrow (1786-1860). The records are weird. Rootsweb reports he died in Abrams Plains, Granville, NC in both 1860 and 1870 which could mean there are two death certificates on file. Moreover, there are multiple Drury Smith Marrows. Drury’s younger brother, Thomas, named his fourth son after him. See what I mean by confusion?

 Anyway, he was 37 years-old the year Anderson was born. He married Susan P. Glover six years later.[v] Perfect time to have an “outside” child. So, he’s a candidate.

 Alexander F. Marrow (1798-1865). Again, his death is recorded in 1865, then in 1870 in Granville. Rootsweb reports he married his first of two wives between 1820 and 1825.

 He had seven children – five were boys. But, three of the boys’ names are recorded as unknown, including the oldest two. The first was born between 1820 and 1825, followed by the second son, born 1825 or 1830.[vi] 

 No sense in assuming the firstborn on record could be Anderson. It was, after all, slavery. Unless we find a record of Anderson’s illegitimate paternity, we can best assume his father wouldn’t put it in writing. There are stories of slave owners having sex with their slaves while they were married, although we really don’t know how common the practice was. In any case, Alexander was 25-years old the year Anderson was born – whether he was married or not – making him a viable candidate.

 Thomas Field Marrow (1805-1846). Records show Anderson belonged to one of Thomas’ children at emancipation.[vii] 

 Thomas was barely 31 years-old when he died, leaving his older brother, Drury Smith Marrow, as executor of his estate. According to his property assessment, Thomas had roughly 50 slaves. Anderson was among them. Thomas’ son, Drury, was his uncle Drury Smith’s namesake. At six years-old, he inherited Anderson when his father,Thomas, died.[viii] 

 He is probably the same relative of family lore that often visited Grandma Beck. He was born in 1840,[ix] so he’s a little older than she.

 Altogether, Thomas had six children from his 16-year marriage to Parthena Kittrell. However, he was 18 years-old the year Anderson was born. So, while he would have been a little young, he wasn’t too young to have sex with one of the slaves. He’s another possible candidate.

 Okay, so we have a shortlist of possible baby daddies: Drury Smith Marrow, Alexander F. Marrow and Thomas Field Marrow. But, the paper trail is vague and ambiguous.  So, buckle up, Kinfolk, this one’s gonna be bumpy.






[i] Data furnished to Rootsweb by Peggy Chapman, in 1990.
[vii] Allotment of slaves as determined in the “Report from Court,  September term, 1857 – Daniel I. Marrow against Drury S, Marrow, executor of Thomas F,. Marrow.” North Carolina State Archives. Research by Eleanor Shelton.
[viii] “An inventory of the property of Thomas F. Marrow (deceased) which is in the hands of D.S. Marrow, his executor.” ABT 1852. Granville County, North Carolina. Research by Eleanor Shelton.
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