The Ex-Slaves of Faquier County, Virginia

From Fauquier county, Virginia, approximately 86 slaves were set free by the plantation owner, Thomas Ottaway B. Carter when he died in the1830s or 1840s. His family contested the will, but his wishes were granted in 1849. Several of the freed slaves moved from the plantation in the 1850s to the north. According to John Alexander’s obit of June 3, 1893, (Altoona Mirror, pg. 4) the Commonwealth of Virginia had passed a law in 1849 stating that free blacks could not stay in that state. I also suspect that the passage of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act encouraged the mass exodus from the plantation.

Thomas O.B. Carter was listed in Elizabeth Hollinger’s obituary of Monday, December 30, 1895, pg. 5 Altoona Tribune and Nimrod Warren’s obituary of Thursday, July 19, 1917, pg.12 Altoona Tribune

Some of these emancipated ex-slaves moved into Bedford County and Southern Blair in the 1850s. Their names are part of the census records of 1850 and 1860 in the towns and townships of Woodbury, Cumberland Valley, Bloomfield, Bedford, Loysburg, Everett and Yellow Creek. One former slave’s obituary stated that this emancipated Fauquier slave and her family moved to Shavers’ Creek Valley in Huntingdon county. A number of these ex slaves moved to Altoona; others eventually moved to Ohio to start their new lives.

The county of Fauquier County, Virginia is pronounced as “Faw-keer”, in my research I have found another spelling of the county as Farquahar.

In addition to Nimrod Warren and his wife, and the Hollingers, which was also spelled as Hollenger, I have found the obits and newspaper articles listing George Love, John Love, Robert Love, Polly Love Warren, and Chaney Love Tillman as ex-slaves from Carter’s estate. John Love stayed in Bedford. The other members of the Love family moved to Altoona. The Hollingers consisted of the father James H., the mother Elizabeth, the children Festus, Fanny Hollinger Banks, Barbara Hollinger Rhodes, James H., Jr., and Ferdinand. In the 1850s, they lived in Woodbury, PA. The family moved to Altoona in the 1860s. Elizabeth, also known as Betsy, is mentioned in the Edgar A. Custer’s 1936 article “When I Was Young” and 1937 book “No Royal Road”. John Alexander and John H. Ferguson (Furguson) of Altoona were named in obit as emancipated slaves from Carter’s plantation.

These former slaves fought in the Civil War, worked in and owned businesses in farming, restaurants, barbershop owners, garbage haulers, porters, etc. They were involved in the Prince Hall Masonic organizations, involved in the local leadership of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME), the African Methodist Episcopal Zion (AMEZ) and Baptist Church, selected for jury duty and involved in civic organizations like the Pennsylvania State Equal Rights League, the Afro-American League locally and statewide.

John Alexander obit June 3 1893