John Pickney Black, Sr. was my great-great grandfather. He always maintained that he was born in Pickens County, AL on July 30th, 1819. Unfortunately, no one really knows who J.P. Black, Sr.'s parents were - at least no one I have been in contact with or that has published or posted anything about him that is based on fact. There is a lot of speculation. Some fellow researchers were either told by family members or "heard" that JP Black, Sr. ran away from home and his name wasn't even JP Black, Sr. I don't believe that. On each and every census we find him on, he maintains that he was born in Alabama, his father was born in Scotland and his mother was born in England. My speculation is that he was either born in Pickens County, AL (or thought he was) or lived there prior to coming to Texas. One published family "history" (which we have all found to have many errors) by his grand-daughter, Bess Black, says he was "orphaned while young". That is very possible - he may have grown up in the house of an older brother or sister or aunt or uncle. I have met one other researcher that has seen a letter that was written to JP Black, Sr. from his children, when he sent them on a visit to an aunt in Pickens County, AL. I have never seen this letter, but it would establish that JP Black, Sr. at least had relatives in Pickens County, AL that he stayed in touch with. There are several "head of households" named Black on the 1820/1830/1840 AL census' - some in that immediate area, but it is difficult to discern if any or all of them are members of his larger family. Many believe he was somehow related to the ancestors of Hugo Lafayette Black of Alabama. Indeed, Lafayette is a family name - my great-grandfather, grandfather and father all were named "Lafayette".
We first find record of JP Black, Sr. as a citizen of the Republic of Texas in the household of his mother-in-law, Sarah Wilhelm. He was married to her daughter, Amanda "MJ" (Mary Jane) Wilhelm on March 18th, 1843. In the 1850 census (Washington County, TX) we find JP Black, Sr. and his wife "Jane" and their three children, Mary, born in 1846, Sarah, born in 1848 and young James, born in 1849, but died at the age of 1 or 2 years old. At that time, JP Black, Sr.'s occupation is shown as "mechanic". (In Bess Black's account of his life, she tells that he made wagon wheels in Brenham, very near the Wilhelm Homestead with Wilburn Hackworth. My great-grandfather's middle name was "Wilburn").
In 1851, JP Black, Sr. and his wife Amanda Wilhelm Black sold her portion of the inheritance of her mother's estate, which was passed down to Sarah Wilhelm upon the death of Amanda's father, Richard Wilhelm, (Richard & Sarah Wilhelm were early TX settlers) to Amanda's brother. In 1853, JP Black, Sr. bought what would be the first of many tracts of land in what is now Lee County, TX near the confluence of Yequa and Nails Creek - just east of present day Lake Somerville. He lived on this tract of land for the rest of his life. (I own an undivided interest in another piece of property he owned just across the street from there, that he willed to my great-grandfather, and was kept in our family and passed down to us from Loddie Wilburn Black). I have many copies of the land deeds outlining the numerous acres (well into the thousands) of land that my great-great grandfather procured, and either sold to his neighbors or willed to his children.
On January 13th., 1856, at the birth of their second son, George W. Black, Amanda died. It is unknown where Amanda is buried - her grave could have been very near their farm in what is now Lee County, or near Brenham where her family's homestead was located.
On June 15th., 1856 JP Black, Sr. married the daughter of his neighbor and close friend, Enoch J. Moore and his wife, Keziah - Elizabeth Adeline Moore. Elizabeth was born September 12, 1835 in Georgia, USA (exact county unknown at this time).
JP Black, Sr. and Elizabeth Adeline Moore had 4 children to their union - John Pickney Black, Jr., born in 1859, William Enoch Black, born in 1862, my great-grandfather, Lafayette (Loddie - nickname) Wilburn Black, born in 1864 and Martha Harriet Black, born in 1868.
In 1864, it is also notable that JP Black, Sr. was elected to the office of Constable and Justice of the Peace in Washington County, TX.
Elizabeth Adeline Moore died July 10th., 1885 at the age of 49, and is buried next to JP Black, Sr. in the old Salem Cemetery in Lee County, TX. They were married for almost 30 years. I do not know at this time what the cause of death was for Elizabeth Adeline Moore.
In 1891, JP Black, Sr. married for a third and last time, to the widow Mary C. Phelps Jones.
JP Black, Sr. died on May 17, 1893 at the age of 73 years, and is buried next to Elizabeth Adeline Moore at the old Salem Cemetery in Lee County, TX.
In his will, JP Black, Sr. gave each and every one of his children, male and female, an equal amount of land in the area he owned at the time of his death, which was still sizable. He further left the land his homestead was located on in the Lawrence/Reel/Austin leagues in an undivided interest between his sons, and made an allowance that his third wife, Mary C. Phelps Jones Black live in his home until the time of her death. She died in 1911.
JP Black, Sr. was instrumental in starting "The Grange" in his area with his neighbors, he was also a Mason and donated land, along with his neighbors for the community of Salem where a cemetery, and community building that housed the area school and was a meeting place for the area members of The Grange. He also donated land for the African-Methodist-Episcopal church for a community of African-Americans in the area.
It is a matter of contention and noteworthy that Bess Black and her siblings, all descedants of William Enoch Black, came forth after the death of my great-grandfather in 1846, and put a "notice" in the newspaper that the land JP Black, Sr. had left as an undivided interest to all of his sons, be legally transferred to the ownership of the heirs of only William Enoch Black (themselves being those heirs) and sold all of that land and its mineral rights to Ray Jensen, a neighbor. Most, if not all, of the heirs of the other 3 brothers lived in Houston or neighboring cities, and were never notified, even though Bess Black and her siblings well knew where they lived. Bess Black and her siblings dishonored JP Black, Sr's wishes, legacy and themselves in this very unfortunate and underhanded action.
JP Black, Sr. was very well respected in his community and beloved of his family. He made sure his children received excellent educations and helped provide for other members in his community.
Notes:
My research is based on 1).census reports in Washington and Lee Counties - 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880. The 1890 census is only a partial census and largely unavailable to genealogists. 2). Marriage Certificates in Washington & Lee County, TX 3). All land deeds, will & probate and other legal documents obtained from the Washington County courthouse in Brenham, TX., the Lee County courthouse in Giddings, TX and the Burleson County courthouse in Caldwell, TX. 4). Two bills of sale to JP Black, Sr. for slaves and the 1860 Federal Slave Census indicated that JP Black, Sr. owned at least 3, if not 4 slaves. In 1860, he owned two female slaves, ages 45 & 25 and at least one male slave, age 14. Most, if not all, of the purchases JP Black, Sr. made were in gold. 5). Books - "Citizens of the Republic of Texas" (Arlington, TX Public Library) and "A History of Lee County, TX" (Lee County Historical Society).
JP Black, Sr. did not serve in the civil war, and "family lore" is that he "received a wound to his foot from a cannon ball during a Mexican skirmish that never healed and caused him trouble for the rest of his life". I have thus far not been able to find that JP Black, Sr. served in the Mexican American War, although, if this story is true, he need not have been in a war to be in a "Mexican skirmish" - there were plenty of skirmishes between Mexicans and Native Americans for the early Texas Settlers.
I will continue to modify and update this page as I find more information......
