T.L. Eskridge Plantation

OVERVIEW

Location: Carroll County, Mississippi; Eskridge, near Duck Hill
Date Constructed/ Founded: ca. 1835
Associated Surnames: Eskridge, Ammons, Bennett, Brown, Grantham, McNeill, Roberts
Historical Notes: Thomas L. Eskridge, son of the wealthy Duck Hill planter Richard “Dick” Eskridge, amassed his own fortune in land and enslaved persons in the same town as his father. After his untimely death in 1838 (age 37) the estate was run by his family Mrs. Julia A. Eskridge (widow), William Chiles Eskridge (son), Richard E. Eskridge (son), Albert F. McNeill (son-in-law), and Mrs. Sarah Eskridge Grantham (niece) and her husband John D. Grantham.

Albert Fort McNeill’s family (parents Hector McNeill and Mrs. Harriet Ford McNeill) migrated from North Carolina to Carroll Co., MS in the early 1800’s. They established the Hector McNeill Plantation in Middleton, near Duck Hill. In 1844 Albert F. McNeill married Mary Tabitha Eskridge of the T.L. Eskridge Plantation. After he acquired partial control of the Eskridge plantation, he purchased land from the Grenada land office in 1855 and 1860 (Homestead and Cash Entry Patents, Pre-1908). According to his last Will and testament (1866), his holdings included a steam saw mill.

John D. Grantham, originally from North Carolina, was working as a manager on the farm of Elbert Collins in Carroll Co., MS in 1850 (US Federal Census). In 1851, he married Sarah R. Eskridge, niece of T.L. Eskridge (daughter of T.L.’s brother Samuel B. Eskridge). That same year, the probate court recorded their acquisition of three enslaved persons from the T.L. and Samuel B. Eskridge estate.

Associated Pages: Richard Eskridge Plantation (Carroll Co., MS), Hector McNeill Plantation (Carroll Co., MS)
Accession: MScarro00002

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ASSOCIATED ENSLAVED PERSONS

Brown family: Moses Brown (b.1800-d.?) – from Virginia; Lucy Eskridge Brown (b.1805-d.?) – wife, from South Carolina; Tom Brown (b.1852-d.?) – son; Synthia Brown (b.1856-d.?) – dau.

Bennett family: Nero Bennet (b.1817-d.?) – from North Carolina; Ferraby Eskridge Bennet (b.1822-d.?) – wife, from South Carolina; Anne Bennet (b.1854-d.?) – dau.; Isaac Bennett (b.1856-d.1910) – son; Ned Bennet (b.1858-d.?) – son, worked pumping water on the railroad in 1860; Martha Bennet (b.1860-d.?) – dau.; Amanda Bennet (b.1862-d.?) – dau.; Anthony Bennet (b.1864-d.1915) – son; Caroline Bennet (b.1868-d.?) – dau.
Note: Lucy Eskridge Brown and Feraby Eskridge Bennett were the daughters of Rose Eskridge, who was enslaved by Burdett Eskridge in South Carolina.

Eskridge family: Moses Eskridge (b.1810-d.?) – from Georgia; Winny Eskridge (b.1814-d.?) – wife, from Georgia; Squire Eskridge (b.1849-d.?) – son; Louis Eskridge (b.1851-d.?) – son; Jenna Eskridge (b.1857-d.?) – dau.

Roberts family: Thomas Roberts (b.1830-d.?) – could be “Tom”, from Mississippi; Parthenia “Parthurey” Brown Roberts (b.1843-d.?) – wife, dau. of Moses and Lucy Brown; Jinny Roberts (b.1866) – dau.; Bettie Roberts (b.1868-d.?) – dau.; infant (b.1870-d.?) – son

Eskridge family: Paldo Eskridge (b.1851-d.?) – from Mississippi; Eliza Sawyer Eskridge (b?-d.?) – wife [Note: Marriage information from Akee Tree (S. Hanks) “Index to Freedmen Marriage Register for Carroll County”]

Information from Antebellum Census & Estate Records

1840: 14 slaves – 1 boy under age 10 (b.1831-1840); 1 male, age 10 – 23 (b.1817-1830); 1 man, age 36 – 54 (b.1786-1804); 3 girls under age 10 (b.1831-1840); 6 females, age 10 – 23 (b.1817-1830); 2 women, age 24 – 35 (b.1805-1816) [1840 US Federal Census, Carroll Co., MS, Julia A. Eskridge, 14 total]

1845: Estate of Thomas L. Eskridge
Appraisal – Amanda ($575), Betsy ($225), Brown ($366.66), Lucy and child Porthena ($466.66), Moses ($341), Nancy ($275), Patsy ($500), Rose ($160), Samuel ($275); to Albert McNeil in right of his wife (son-in-law, husband of Mary Tabitha Eskridge) – Abigail ($200), Dolly and child Harril ($600), Fanny ($325), Feriby ($500); to Richard Eskridge (son) & William Eskridge (son) – Bill ($125), Ruth ($500), Winny and child Squire ($500). (Carroll County, Mississippi Estate Records)

1846: Estate of Thomas L. Eskridge
To Richard Eskridge (son) from William Eskridge – Amanda ($600), boy Sam ($400), woman Winford and child Squire ($600). (Carroll County, Mississippi Estate Records)

1850: Estate of Hector McNeill
Lot #3 drawn by Albert F. McNeill (son) – Jerry ($800), big Mary and child ($700), Sally ($150), Dick ($375), Charles ($375). (Carroll County, Mississippi Estate Records)

1850: female age 30 (b.1820), female age 22 (b.1828), 1 (unreadable), 1 (unreadable) [1850 U.S. Federal Census (Slave Schedule), Carroll Co., MS, Richard E. Eskridge, 4 total]

1850: Male age 54 (b.1796), Female age 50 (b.1800), Female age 44 (b.1806), Female age 24 (b.1826), Female age 23 (b.1827), Female age 22 (b.1828), Male age 14 (b.1836), Female age 12 (b.1838), Male age 7 (b.1843), Female age 6 (b.1844), Male age 3 (b.1847), Male age 2 (b.1848), Female age 0 (b.1850), Male age 0 (b.1850), Female age 0 (b.1850) [1850 U.S. Federal Census (Slave Schedule), Carroll Co., MS, Julia A. Eskridge, 15 total]

1851: Estate of Thomas L. Eskridge
To Sarah R. Grantham (dau.) wife of John Grantham, slaves belonging to the heirs of Samuel B. Eskridge – Lot #1 – Jim ($500), Mary, children of Mary and Jim  Dorcas, Paldon ($250), a child Edam ($100); Lot #2 – Jacob ($225), Maria ($650); Lot #3 – Jiny ($500), Becky ($350); Lot #4 – John ($300), Harriett ($250), Polly ($275). (Carroll County, Mississippi Estate Records)

1854: Estate of Thomas L. Eskridge
Lot #1 drawn by W.C. Eskridge (son) – Moses ($1200), Nancy ($300), Betsey ($700), John ($600), Tom ($475); Lot #2 drawn by Mrs. Julia Eskridge (wife/widow) – Brown ($1150), Lucy ($51), Patsey and child ($1200), Parthurey ($700). (Carroll County, Mississippi Estate Records)

1860: Group 1 – female age 40 (b.1820), male age 30 (b.1830), female age 28 (b.1832), male age 16 (b.1844); Group 2 – male age 19 (b.1841), female age 8 (b.1852), female age 6 (b.1854), male age 3 (b.1857), male age 3 (b.1857), female age 9 mo. (b.1860), female age 6 mo. (b.1860)  [1860 U.S. Federal Census (Slave Schedule), Carroll Co., MS, Richard E. Eskridge, 11 total, 2 houses]

1860: Group 1 – Male age 32 (b.1828), Female age 35 (b.1825), Female age 9 (b.1851), Female age 7 (b.1853), Male age 5 (b.1855), Male age 3 (b.1857), Female age 6 mo. (b.1860); Group 2 – Male age 30 (b.1830), Female age 17 (b.1843), Male age 6 mo. (b.1860); Group 3 – Male age 27 (b.1833), Female age 37 (b.1823), Female age 16 (b.1844), Female age 2 (b.1858); Group 4 – Female age 27 (b.1833), Female age 1 (b.1859); Group 5 – Female age 23 (b.1837), Male age 13 (b.1847); Group 6 – Female age 28 (b.1832), Female age 1 (b.1859); Group 7 – Female age 30 (b.1830), Female age 14 (b.1846), Male age 2 (b.1858), Female age 1 (b.1859), Male age 1 mo. (b.1860); Group 8 – Male age 23 (b.1837), Male age 20 (b.1840), Male age 22 (b.1838), Male age 18 (b.1842), Female age 16 (b.1844) [1860 US Federal Census (Slave Schedules), Carroll Co., MS, Albert F. McNeal (McNeill), 30 total, 5 houses]

1860: Group 1 – Male age 35 (b.1825), Female age 18 (b.1842), Male age 17 (b.1843), Female age 16 (b.1844), Male age 16 (b.1844), Male age 15 (b.1845), Female age 13 (b.1847) [1860 U.S. Federal Census – Slave Schedule, Carroll Co., MS, John D. Grantham, 7 total, 2 houses]

1860: Group 1 – Male age 32 (b.1828), Male age 18 (b.1842), Male age 13 (b.1847), Male age 11 (b.1849), Male age 10 (b.1850), Male age 3 (b.1857), Male age 2 (b.1858), Female age 30 (b.1830), Female age 30 (b.1830), Female age 25 (b.1835), Female age 25 (b.1835), Female age 50 (b.1810), Female age 10 (b.1850), Female age 10 (b.1850), Female age 8 (b.1852); Group 2 – Female age 8 (b.1852), Female age 6 (b.1854), Female age 6 (b.1854), Male age 2 (b.1858), Male age 1 (b.1859), Female age 2 (b.1858), Female age 1 (b.1859) [1860 U.S. Federal Census – Slave Schedule, Carrollton, Carroll Co., MS, Wm. C. Eskridge; Group 1, 15 total, 3 houses; Group 2, 7 total, 2 houses]

1860: Group 1 – Male age 40 (b.1820), Male age 21 (b.1839), Male age 13 (b.1847); Group 2 – Female age 50 (b.1810), Female age 12 (b.1848), Female age 10 (b.1850), Female age 8 (b.1852), Female age 8 (b.1852); Group 3 – Female age 28 (b.1832) [1860 US Federal Census (Slave Schedule), Carrollton, Carroll Co., MS, Julia A. Eskridge, 9 total, 2 houses]

ASSOCIATED FREE PERSONS

Eskridge family: Thomas Livingston Eskridge (b.1801-d.1838) – son of R.E. and N.L. Eskridge, see Richard Eskridge Plantation (Carroll Co., MS); Julia A. Lilly Eskridge (b.1805-d.1869) – wife (m.1824); Richard Edmund Eskridge (b.1826-d.1896) – son; David Lilly Eskridge (b.1831-d.?) – son; William Chiles Eskridge (b.1833-d.?) – son; Sarah Rebecca Eskridge (b.1836-d.?). – dau.; Mary Tabitha Eskridge (b.?-d.?) – dau.

Eskridge family: William Chiles Eskridge (b.1833-d.1878) – son of T.L. and J.A.L. Eskridge; Martha R. Fox Eskridge (b.1843-d.?) – wife (m.1859)

Grantham family: John D. Grantham (b.1826-d.?); Sarah “Sally” Rebecca Eskridge Grantham (b.1836-d.?) – wife (m.1851), dau. of Samuel B. Eskridge (brother of T.L. Eskridge, see Richard Eskridge Plantation); Samuel Thomas Grantham (b.1859-d.?) – son; Josiah C. Grantham (b.?-d.?) – son; Elizabeth Grantham (b.?-d.?) – dau.

Eskridge family: Richard Edmund Eskridge (b.1826-d.1896) – son of T.L. and J.A.L. Eskridge, owner of T.L. Eskridge Plantation; Luisa Ann Ammons Eskridge (b.1828-d.?) – wife (m.1845); Harriet Eskridge (b.1847-d.?) – dau.; Mary Eskridge (b.1848-d.?) – dau.; Samuel Eskridge (b.1852-d.?) – son; George R. Eskridge (b.1853-d.?) – son; Elizabeth Eskridge (b.1855-d.?) – dau.; Emily Clara Eskridge (b.1857-d.?) – dau.; William E. Eskridge (b.1860-d.?) – son; L.A. Eskridge (b.1862-d.?) – dau.; J.A. Eskridge (b.1864-d.?) – son; T.C. Eskridge (b.1866) – son

McNeill family: Albert F. McNeill (b.1823-d.1866) – son of H. and H.F. McNeill, see Hector McNeill Plantation (Carroll Co., MS), owner of T.L. Eskridge Plantation; Mary Tabitha Eskridge McNeill (b.1829-d.?) – wife (m.1844), dau. of T.L. and J.A.L. Eskridge; Thomas Hector McNeill (b.1847-d.?) – son; Josiah McNeill (b.1848-d.?) – son; Margaret A. McNeill (b.1851-d.?) – dau.; Adelle McNeill (b.1857-d.?) – dau.; Albert F. McNeill (b.1849-d.?) – son; Clarence McNeill (b.?-d.?) – son

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HISTORICAL RECORDS AND DATA

• Digital family tree: the-shorts — SHORT FAMILY CONNECTS (ID 232062), Thomas Livingston Eskridge (ID I3123) (RootsWeb WorldConnect)
• Digital family tree: Thomas Livingston Eskridge (1801 – 1838), https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Eskridge-260 (Wikitree)
• 1840 U.S. Federal Census, Carroll Co., Mississippi, USA (Ancestry.com) – Julia Eskridge (Roll: 215; Page: 50)
• 1850 U.S. Federal Census, Carroll Co., Mississippi, USA (Ancestry.com) – John Grantham (b.1822), manager, household 30 (Roll: 369; Page: 196b); Richard E. Eskridge (b.1826), farmer, household 16 (Roll: 369; Page: 254b); Julia Eskridge (b. 1806), no occupation, household 17 (Roll: 369; Page: 254b); Albert McNeil (b. 1824), farmer, household 65, (Roll: 369; Page: 258b)
• 1860 U.S. Federal Census, Carroll Co., Mississippi, USA (Ancestry.com) – William Eskridge (b.1833), grocer, household 89 (Page: 787); Julia A. Eskridge (b.1804), none (real estate $7500, personal estate $8000), household 89 (Page: 787); Richard E. Eskridge (b.1826), farmer, household 170 (Page: 840); Albert F. McNeal (b.1823), farmer, household 184 (Page: 843); John D. Grantham (b.1826), farmer, household 187 (Page: 843)
• 1870 U.S. Federal Census, Carroll Co., Mississippi, USA (Ancestry.com) – W.C. Eskridge (b.1833), white, farmer, household 55 (Roll: M593_723; Page: 694A); Nancy Eskridge (b.1855), black, house servant, household 56 (Roll: M593_723; Page: 694A); John D. Grantham (b.1826), white, farmer, household 9 (Roll: M593_723; Page: 683B); Paldo Eskridge (b.1851), black, farm hand, household 9 (Roll: M593_723; Page: 683B); Moses Brown (b.1800), black, farmer, household 56 (Roll: M593_723; Page: 695A); Nero Bennet (b.1817), black, farmer, household 57 (Roll: M593_723; Page: 695A); Thomas Roberds (Roberts) (b.1830), black, farmer, household 58 (Roll: M593_723; Page: 695A); R.E. Eskridge (b.1826), white, farmer, household 60 (Roll: M593_723; Page: 695A); Moses Eskridge (b.1820), black, farmer, household 101 (Roll: M593_723; Page: 730A)
• Chief Duck Statue – Duck Hill is named for a large hill northeast of the town, where a Choctaw chief named “Duck” held war councils. Chief Duck was also a medicine man or shaman. A statue of Chief Duck is located on U.S. Route 51 in Duck Hill. Chief Duck Statue, entry ID 52473 (Roadside America); Duck Hill, Mississippi (Wikipedia.com)

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REFERENCES

• Wikitree.com. [database online] http://www.wikitree.com/.
• Ancestry.com. 1800 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. http://ancestry.com. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Second Census of the United States, 1800: Population Schedules, Washington County, Territory Northwest of the River Ohio; and Population Census, 1803: Washington County, Ohio. NARA microfilm publication M1804 (1 roll).
• Ancestry.com. 1810 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. http://ancestry.com. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Third Census of the United States, 1810. (NARA microfilm publication M252, 71 rolls). Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• Ancestry.com. 1830 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. http://ancestry.com. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Fifth Census of the United States, 1830. (NARA microfilm publication M19, 201 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• Ancestry.com. 1850 U.S. Federal Census – Slave Schedules [database on-line]. http://ancestry.com. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2004. United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Seventh Census of the United States, 1850. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1850. M432, 1,009 rolls.
• Ancestry.com. 1860 U.S. Federal Census – Slave Schedules [database on-line]. http://ancestry.com. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Eighth Census of the United States, 1860. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1860. M653, 1,438 rolls
• Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. http://ancestry.com. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. 1870 U.S. census, population schedules. NARA microfilm publication M593, 1,761 rolls.
• Roadside America. Duck Hill, Mississippi: Chief Duck Statue [database on-line]. https://www.roadsideamerica.com/.
• Wikipedia. Duck Hill, Mississippi [database on-line]. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duck_Hill,_Mississippi
• Hanks, S. (2013). Akee Tree: A Descendant’s Quest for His Slave Ancestors on the Eskridge Plantation. American History Press.
• Wiltshire, B.C. (1997). Carroll County, Mississippi Estate Records 1840 – 1869 with Freedmen Apprenticeships. Pioneer Publishing Co.