#blackquakers

\ooo/ Listened to one side of this James Cleveland album this morning. Quakers have soul, too. . . . . . . . #Gospel #BlackQuakers #JamesCleveland #CharlesFoldSingers (at Columbia Heights)

Day 7 of the #blackhistorymonthchallenge is earliest deed. This deed for 100 acres acquired by my 4th great grandfather, Miles Lassiter on 31 May 1815, as filed with the clerk of the Court of Common Pleas and Quarter Sessions. Ten years later, I assume, one tiny detail came to light forcing him to sell the land to Henry Newby, who protected the property eventually returning to Miles. In truth Miles never moved off the land. It was all smoke and mirrors to protect the land for Miles and his family. The little detail you ask? Miles was enslaved in Randolph County, NC. Miles’ freedom was bought by his wife, Healy Phillips Lassiter in 1840, after Miles’ mistress passed away. In 1845, he was accepted into Back Creek Meeting of the Society of Friends. Five years later, on 22 June 1850. #blackhistorymonth #blackquakers #mileslassiter #randolphcountync https://www.instagram.com/p/CZq5vTrLmuw/?utm_medium=tumblr

Looking for something to read while staying home? Interested in rural African American history? Try one or both of these two books on African Americans in Randolph County, North Carolina. From Hill Town to Strieby on the impact of an American Missionary Association school on the community of Hill Town, renamed Strieby; and Miles Lassiter, an early African American Quaker. #blackquakers #americanmissionaryassociation #randolphcountync #striebync #mileslassiter #islaywalden https://www.instagram.com/p/B_WNdmaJj_e/?igshid=iil7oo8qzhy7

#genealogyphotoaday prompt is surname. When I started my research in 1976, I had never heard the Lassiter surname. Neither had my mother. Little did I know my research would lead me to my maternal, 4th great grandfather, Miles Lassiter (an early African American Quaker) and dozens of Lassiter family cousins. #africanamericangenealogy #blackquakers #randolphcountync #mileslassiter https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv27XFDAPHp/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1g7y1r3osz34o

#genealogyphotoaday is the number “1”. “One is the loneliest number that you’ll ever do.” Three Dog Night. Pictured is the approval of the request to the Back Creek Monthly Meeting (Asheboro,NC) for membership in the Society of Friends. I can’t help but think Miles Lassiter wished there were other African American members in his local Quaker Meeting, Uwharrie Meeting, in what is now New Hope Township, Randolph County, North Carolina. While it is evident from various minutes where his name appears that he was a respected member of the Meeting, the implications of the singularity of his membership (he was the only African American member in the state of North Carolina) would not have been lost on him. His eulogizer, in his obituary (Dod: 22 June 1850) was bold enough to ask how it could be that he was the only one and wonder if there was a lack of hospitality (racism). Quakers still wrestle with the question. For more on Quakers and their historic relations with African Americans, see “Fit for Freedom, Not for Friendship.” #blackquakers #quakers #quakerhistory #societyoffriends #societyoffriendsakaquakers #africanamericanquakers #blackquakerhistory #africanamericanhistory #blackhistory #randolphcountync #mileslassiter https://www.instagram.com/p/BviqJxkAf_w/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1m5xcnvs7ep7h

My research journey that found my 4th great grandfather, the only fully received African American Quaker in the state of North Carolina when he died in 1850. There would not be another until after the Civil War. Available from Amazon, B&N, and from margoleewilliamsbooks.com/miles-lassiter/#africanamericangenealogy #mileslassiter #randolphcountync #blackquakers #blackhistory https://www.instagram.com/p/BvXgXpdA6zy/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1pkeungg7vxt6

“O” is for Obituaries. They are a goldmine. They can provide details of when and where people were born and died, who their parents and siblings were, who was (were) their spouse(s), their children and their spouses and even their grandchildren. If it is extensive enough there may even be a sketch of the person’s life, including where they lived and worked, what church/synagogue/mosque/temple etc. they belonged to, or what fraternal organizations they were members at. Sometimes, even family secrets can be revealed. This obit is for my 4th great grandfather, Miles Lassiter, who died on 22June 1850. Though formerly enslaved, he was a free man when he died and the only fully admitted African American Quaker in the state of North Carolina. This obit appeared in the Well-known Quaker journal, Friends Review. You can read more at margoleewilliamsbooks.com/miles-lassiter/ #genealogyphotoaday #blackhistory #quakerhistory #mileslassiter #blackquakers #gpad_feature https://www.instagram.com/p/BvE-fxOAepA/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=haoi3l588p8m

“L” is for Land — the Division of Lands of Miles Lassiter. After my 3x great grandmother Nancy Dunson, daughter of Miles Lassiter died, her daughters argued over their shares of the land. Since Miles had died intestate, and there had not been a probate ruling, the feud between granddaughters Ellen and Adelaide resulted in a court case that was resolved by the division of land (abt 400 acres) among the heirs of Miles’ children, Nancy and Collier, and his two surviving children , Abigail and Jane, as seen here. Much of the land is still in the hands of descendants. To learn more about Miles, an early African American Quaker, and his family and land, see info on my book, Miles Lassiter (Circa 177-1850) at: https://margoleewilliamsbooks.com/miles-lassiter/ #genealogyphotoaday #blackquakers #mileslassiter https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu-FsIvg0Ku/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=f7tvwow7dlaz