19th Century Burrow Family and the History of American Slavery
​Chapter Eight- The Death of Banks Mechium Burrow, Sr. and Its Aftermath
That Banks M. Burrow, Sr. was revered by his family seems obvious to me. His given name, Banks, was used throughout the family’s naming practices for many generations. He had also been a pastor the local Methodist Episcopal Church for 48 years before his death. He was also a highly successful businessman, as his wealth increased steadily throughout his lifetime (As I say that, I want to also remember that his wealth came from the labor of an enslaved work force). He was 70 years old at the time of his death; his wife, Mary was 64. Also living with them at the time was a granddaughter, Maranda Rader, 13, and 67 slaves. The Burrow plantation house (referred to as the “old place” by some of the court documents of Banks, Sr.’s’ probate) is likely to be some version of the large frame house on Sand Hill Road about five miles south of Lavinia. This house burned down in the 1990s. Fortunately, we do have some photographs of the structure in its last days. While it is large and appears to be well constructed, it is not grand in the sense of the stereotypical “plantation house” of the South. It was ample for the six Burrow family members who lived there in 1840. It is likely that most of the slaves were housed in slave cabins (probably 6-8 “dog trot cabins; two families per structure).
At the time of his death, Banks, Sr.’s and Mary’s family was spread out over Carroll & Gibson Counties and the states of Arkansas and Texas. Their oldest son, John Jefferson Burrow, and his family were likely to be living in a separate location on the Lavinia plantation. His second oldest son, Banks M. Burrow, Jr. and his family were living on the Burrow plantation land in Gibson County (immediately to the west of Carroll County.) Banks and Mary’s oldest daughter, Nancy Rader (Burrow) and her family were also living on Burrow’s plantation in Gibson County.
Their third born son, Napoleon Bonaparte Burrow was a 32-year-old bachelor and attorney living with William Rader, the son of his oldest sister, Nancy S. Rader (Burrow) in Darysaw, Jefferson County, Arkansas in 1850. (The village of Darysaw no longer exists; it is shown on an 1855 map as being on what is now known as Princton Pike about six miles west of the center of Pine Bluff). Somehow, Napoleon is shown with 37 slaves at that time. Presumably, they were given or loaned to him by Banks, Sr. just prior to the 1850 census, possibly to initially clear land and construct farm buildings. Banks, Sr.’s second oldest daughter, Marabah Sommers (Burrow) and her family were living in White Oak, Jefferson County (White Oak is probably present-day White Oak Bluffs which is about seven miles SW of Pine Bluff) at the time of her father’s death. She is shown with seven slaves in 1850. Bank’s fourth born son, Abner, and his family were also living in White Oak, Jefferson County in 1850. He was also in possession of eleven Burrow slaves at that time. Plantation land in Darysaw and White Oak were greatly advantaged by their close proximity to the Arkansas River.
The second to last born daughter, Miranda, is shown with her husband, James Barbee, a physician, and her family in Houston, Texas at this time. She is shown with 17 slaves in her second marriage to Edward Keene in Burleson County, Texas in 1860. These were probably slaves allotted to her by the division of Banks, Sr.’s property among the heirs in 1852. Banks and Mary’s last-born daughter, Mary Hinton Rogers (Burrow) died on the Lavinia Burrow plantation just one year after her marriage to Jubilee Rogers, a physician, in 1847. She was but 20 years old at the time of her death.
Banks’ will was drawn up less than four months before his death in 1851. His directive was to divide up his real and personal property equally (1/8 portions) among his wife and seven children. He also clearly states in the first part of the will to “specify so as not to break or divide families of negros where it can be avoided.” In February of 1852, fifty of the Banks slaves were assigned to Banks, Sr.’s wife, Mary, and shortly after her death in 1856, the remainder were equally divided up among the seven children. Mary also retained possession of the 450-acre Lavinia plantation until her death in 1856.
Throughout the 1850s from the time of Banks, Sr.’s death in 1851 to the beginning of the Civil War in 1861, Bank’s son, John Jefferson Burrow, took on the lead role in the administration of the probate of the real estate of his deceased father. As the oldest son, he appears to have taken on this difficult task willingly and worked diligently at it for fifteen years. He and his small family began living at the original Burrow family “mansion house” after the death of his mother, Mary in 1856 and lived there until the sale of the house and land in 1876 to a George Washington Coleman. An unusual aspect of his and his wife, Eliza’s, lives is the number of their children who lived only a short time after their births. These children were: Parmento 1832-43, Banks 1834-35, John 1835-35, Mary 1835-39, Napoleon 1837-41, Eliza 1840-40, Catherine 1841-41, Abner 1842-42, Nancy 1842-44, Phillip 1845-45, George 1847-70, Miranda 1848-48, James 1849-49. Thirteen children died prematurely. I was astounded to find this story of incomprehensible tragedy in the history of the Burrow family. It has to be impossible to comprehend what this must have been like for the mother to have 13 pregnancies and deaths within a time period of seventeen years (1832-1849). John J. and Eliza did have two children who lived to adulthood, Harriet 1838-1909 and George 1846-1880, although George died young, age 34 and before his parent’s deaths. Life can be very cruel for the very unlucky.
As part of the research that I did on the Burrow family, I came across most of the original legal papers of the fifteen-year probate of Banks M. Burrow’s will. Copies were made (120 pages) and I set about transcribing them to digital files. As it turned out, there was nothing particularly unusual about the probate case as shown in these records other than it represented a complex administration of the distribution of extensive personal and real property involving numerous heirs living in four different states (Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri & Texas). It was, however, an important glimpse into the distant past. I was particularly impressed with the extraordinary amount of time and work that John J. Burrow put in as the lead executor of the will. At one point shortly after the court took up the case after the end of the war, he compiled and submitted a report of his activities and expenses over the fifteen years of litigation. The report is given below. The dollar amounts given below are his charge to the estate for his time spent.
April 1852- trip to Arkansas on business for the estate. $25
December 1853- second trip to Arkansas. $25
Spring 1854- Trip to Trenton, Jackson, and Huntingdon, eight times riding on horseback $40
Four days surveying land on Obion River $4; chain carriers. $8. (Trenton & Jackson are in Gibson County; Huntingdon is in Carroll County.)
July 1855- two weeks in _____ riding in Perry and Decatur Counties (East of Carroll County)
and to Jackson (Jackson, Madison County is south of Carroll County) getting up testimony and serving two notices in regard to the Still trust. $70
October- 1855- Seven days to Trenton, Jackson taking two dispositions in Decatur County; Burrow heirs vs Still heirs land trust. $5
May 1855- Trip to Jackson to settle a _____ _____ vs. A.L. & N.B. (Abner & Napoleon Burrow) $5
May 1855- Three days at Trenton about the Still suit in _____. $10
Four trips to Weakley County (Weakely County is immediately north of Carroll County) to collect the Vaden debt for said estate. $20
October 1855- Six days taking depositions in Decatur County in said chancellery cause. $60
July 1855- Four days in Decatur and Perry Counties to get testimony and said cause $20
Trip to mouth of Sandy (River) then to Kentucky and home and then to Lexington, Huntingdon and Trenton (18 days taking depositions in the chancellery with Stills heirs at $10 per day). $180
January 1856- Four days attending Chancery Court at Trenton. $8
June 1856- Four days attending Chancery Court at Trenton. $6
November 1856- Two days at Trenton & two days in Decatur County getting notices served $40
One day at Huntingdon and three days to Weakley County about the Brooks case. $20
December 1856- Three days at Trenton in Chancery in the Still case. $6
Two days in Chancellery at Huntingdon in the Brooks land case. $4
Trip to Weakley County for three days to collect the Vadin debt. $9
August 1856- Five days preparing to retake deposition serving notices in the Chancery suit,
Burrow vs. Still. $35
September 1856- Two days retaking depositions in the above case. $10
Six days riding to Decatur County retaking depositions and to Trenton retaking depositions, returning papers to chancery clerk. $18
October 1856 Thirteen days riding to mouth of Sandy (Big Sandy River in NE corner of Carroll
County) and home and then to Kentucky and back and then to Trenton.
Taking depositions and returning papers. $65
October 1856 trip to Jackson to advertise land sale and attended sale but sold none $5; three days riding to Decatur county to examine Stills ___ and to serve notices in said chancellery case. $15
December 1856- five days riding. Retaking _____ depositions add Tennessee River; three days
and one night riding in rain. $45
January 1858- One day riding to Huntingdon about the Brooks case $5
Three days measuring rented land at $2 per day. $6
June 1858- Two days at Chancery court at Trenton in the Still case. $10
August 1858- One day at Huntingdon to settle Brooks case and one day before Justice Howell
Adams about the Brooks case. $7
Fixing fence about the old place with twelve hands. $14.00
September 1858- Fixing wall around family graveyard and hauling dirt away, three days with
wagon team and three hands. Hire one hand, William Brewer, one day. $2
October 1858- Two days measuring land, collecting rents on estate lands. Also, two hands, John
Raeder and William Brewer. $5
December 1858- Collecting money for said estate _____ one day. $5
Ride to Huntingdon to pay Thomas. Also, to get a land _____ of _____ & _____ estate. $10
Also, riding and collecting money. $5
Attending Chancery Court in Trenton. $10
January 1859- Riding four days to Decatur and to Huntingdon; two days to Trenton; one day
about the Still case. $35
Rode to Jackson to see lawyer; also to Quincy to see the purchases of the Quincy land all about the Quincy Still suit; three days $15
Three days surveying land sold to Cook & Uttig. $6
July 1859- Three days at Huntingdon to get decree of Chancery Court to sell land. $10
Three days at Jackson chancellery court to get decree. $20
Ride to Jackson twice to Trenton and Huntingdon four days ride. $20
To Quincy two days about Still case. $10
Three days at Trenton at Chancery Court about the Still case. $15
August 1859- One day at Huntingdon about a decree to sell land. $5
December 1859- Trip to Decatur County to take depositions and also to Trenton four days to do
Decatur to Jackson. $35
March 1860- Rode to Huntingdon to see about a decree to sell land. $5
May 1960- Made a trip to Arkansas to close a settlement with Abner & Napoleon B. Burrow. $50
Hauling monument from Milan Depot: wagon and team, two hands, three days.
Furnishing 6 hands for one day putting up monument. Morning 2 workmen and a horse and extra hand when setting up monument. $45 (This could be Banks M. Burrow, Sr.’s monument.)
June 1860- Five days attending Chancery Court at Trenton; going to Jackson & Huntington. $25
August 1860- One day at Huntingdon attending Chancery Court to get a decree to sell land for division. $5
October 1860- Went to Huntingdon to get copy of the decree to sell the lands of B.M. Burrow for
division and distribution.
November 1860- Went to Jackson to have said lands advertised for sale and distribution. $10
December 1860- Trip to Jackson to see Langer about Steel case. $5
Went to Trenton to attend to said suit. $5
To working and hauling on the Old Plantation. $4
To riding and collecting money for rents. $1
January 1861- went to Arkansas on business of the estate. $50
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The Civil War begins on April 12, 1861.
September 1863- Two days work on land sold to Cook & Mills. $5
Working on watergap and repairing watergate. $5
December 1864- Ten hands, wagon and team, one day getting and putting posts under the gin
house at old place on bitter cold day. $25
March 1865- Two hands for two days splitting rails and repairing fence around the old place. Myself also eight hands six days all in ten days at $12 per day. $96
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The Civil War ends on April 9, 1865.
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September 1865- Rode to Huntingdon to the neighborhood of Christmasville (NW Carroll County)
to settle the suit of Burrow’s heirs vs. Still’s heirs. $5
December 1865- One day attending land sale and fixing papers. $1
January 1866- Rode to Trenton to see lawyer Jones about the old decree of Chancery Court to
sell the land of the estate of Banks M. Burrow, Sr., deceased $5
July 1866 - Rode to Huntingdon to see a lawyer about our land. McLendon being about to
interfere in the matter and to get a copy of the _____ the grant being lost during the war. $5
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In 1857, the Carroll County Court authorized the executors of both Banks and Mary’s wills to sell the 2,700 acres of land (1550 acres in Carroll County and 1,150 acres in Gibson County) of the Banks Burrow estate. The executors placed a large ad in the Nashville Union & American newspaper on October 18, 1857, but apparently received no offers.
GREAT SALE OF REAL ESTATE!
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On the first Monday in November next, the undersigned as Executors of the Late Rev. Banks M. Burrow, dec’d, will offer for sale, at the late residence of said dec’d about three miles north of Spring Creek, in Carroll County, Tennessee, all the real estate, belonging to the said estate, being about
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TWENTY-SEVEN HUNDRED ACRES!
A large portion of this land is of the best quality of Cotton land in the section where it lies. About 1650 acres lies in Carroll County, including the late residence of the said dec’d. The homestead contains 1550 acres, about 700 acres cleared, and can be divided into 2 or 3 good size farms. Near to the homestead tract is a tract of 100 acres of bottom land, finely timbered. The location is one of the healthiest in West Tennessee, convenient to churches and within one and a half miles of Lavinia High School, one of the best institutions in the country. The neighborhood is celebrated for its good society and morality.
The balance of the land lies in Gibson County, nine miles Northeast of Trenton, near the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, all woodland and of the finest quality. The lands in Carroll County will lie very near the contemplated Railroad from Jackson to Huntingdon.
The above lands will be sold without reserve on the day mentioned. TERMS- One third cash, the balance in one and two years, with a lien retained until the purchase money is paid.
J.J. BURROW
B.M. BURROW,
Executors
In 1860, the Carroll County Court heard expert witnesses as to whether the unsold land could be divided equitably among the heirs. The general response of the witnesses seemed to be that the land could not easily be divided into seven individual parcels for equitable distribution among the heirs.
It was in the following year that the war of the states began.
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Chapter Nine- The Burrow Family During the Civil War.
The 13th Amendment: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”- December 6, 1865
To preserve slavery as the “basis of their way of life” during the winter of 1860-61, the seven lower south states (South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas) seceded one by one. Before Abraham Lincoln took office on March 4, 1861, delegates from these states met at Montgomery, Alabama, adopted a constitution for the Confederate States of America and formed a provisional government with Jefferson Davis as president. Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina and, lastly, Tennessee (June 6, 1861) joined the Confederate States of America. Tennessee was a divided state, with the Eastern counties harboring pro-Union sentiment throughout the conflict. Although Tennessee provided a large number of troops for the Confederacy, it would also provide more soldiers for the Union army than any other state within the Confederacy.
On June 8, 1861, Carroll County voted whether to remain loyal to the Union or to secede. 967 people voted to separate from the Union and 1,349 voted not to secede. In the bloody conflict of the American Civil War, families were divided in their allegiance. West & Mid-Tennessee relatives and neighbors fought against one another.
War came to Mid- and Western Tennessee in February 1862 when the Union Army under Ulysses S. Grant captured Fort Henry on the Tennessee River and Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River. On February 25th, Nashville was the first Confederate state capitol to fall to the Union, thus opening the entire Confederate heartland to union invasion. Middle and Western Tennessee became an extensive crossroads for both armies for the rest of the war.
West Tennessee was for most of the populace excited to enter the war, not knowing the huge losses in men killed in battle and crops and land destroyed by invading armies that was to come. The years leading up to the war were bountiful and rich and the countryside was beautiful. At the end of the war, ruin was everywhere. Homes burned to the ground; crops and livestock hugely depleted almost everywhere. The general populace greatly feared both Union and Confederate armies that crisscrossed Tennessee. Both were ravenous hordes of often poorly controlled soldiers (locusts?) who raided farm stocks as they marched through the countryside.
On at least four occasions, Union or Confederate forces marched close by the Lavinia plantation. In February, 1862 and October of 1864, Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest passed within a few miles of the Lavinia plantation with a large cavalry force of 1,500-2,000 soldiers. In March of 1863, Forrest campaigned within a few miles of the Burrow land in Bedford County. Also in 1864, Confederate general, John Bell Hood, attacked middle Tennessee with an army of 40,000 and was defeated just short of reaching Nashville. This campaign passed through Bedford County within a few miles of the Burrow land holdings there. The Battle of Shiloh was fought 60 miles south of Lavinia on April 6-7, 1862. The Union Army had 65,000 soldiers and the Confederate Army had 45,000. Casualties for both sides was 24,000 soldiers. The victory was claimed by the Union forces.
Also, the whole economy of the region was gradually dismantled with the emancipation of the slaves. Increasingly, the Union army took larger and larger numbers of slaves for use as non-combatants in the various units. About mid-way through the war, the army began recruiting ex-slaves as soldiers. While all of this was going on, more and more slaves began to realize that they were free from bondage and left the plantations or stayed on but refused to work. In the matter of a few years, the plantations were faced with the necessity of converting slaves to paid workers which had to be a huge adjustment for the plantation owners. Not only had they lost many of their workers, but they had lost their fortunes with the freeing of the slaves. Land had also lost a great deal in value and there was no one with the cash to buy real estate.
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​ Burrow Plantation Barn, Lavinia
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The Burrow family was caught up in all of this at the worst possible time. They had lost their slaves and had large land holdings that they would have difficulty to farm or sell. To further disadvantage the Burrow family at this time was the fact that the court system across the state had been shut down from 1862 to the end of the war and the case of probating the will of Banks M. Burrow was completely stalled. Court records had been lost at this time and the litigation started over from scratch. It wasn’t until 1866 that the case was refiled, and the court was in a position to take it up again.
Once again we will turn to the U.S. Census reports to get an idea of how the Burrow family fared during the Civil War. Taking each of Banks M. Burrow, Sr.’s offspring and comparing them between the 1850 and 1870 census, we find the following:
Nancy S. Burrow (1804-1859) and her husband, John Rader (1793-1845
1850 Census- Gibson County, Tennessee- Nancy Rader 45, Absylla 16, Elizabeth 14, Miranda 12; Real
estate 1,000.
John Jefferson Burrow (1805-1887) and his wife, Eliza (1808-1891)
1850 Census- Carroll County; John J. 44, Eliza 42, Harriet 12, George 4; Real estate 5,000
1860 Census- Lavinia, Carroll County; John J. 53, Eliza 51 and son, George 14; Real estate- $10,000; Personal estate- $30,000.
1870 Census- Lavinia, Carroll County; John J. 63, Eliza 61; Real estate- $30,000; Personal estate-
$3,500. Harriet McKelvey 32 (daughter), James McKelvey 41 (daughter’s husband) and four children are shown as living next door. Also living next door are his son, George, and George’s wife, Harriet E.
Banks M. Burrow, Jr. (1809-1892) and his wife, Elizabeth (1807-1862)
1850 Census- Gibson County; Banks, Jr.. 41, Elizabeth 43, and children: John 17, Mary 15, Elizabeth
13, Martha 11, Harriet 9, Ann 8, Eliza 5, Banks 3, Real estate- $3,100
1860 Census- Gibson County; Banks, Jr. 57, Elizabeth 52 and children: John 27, Mary 24, Elizabeth 23, Martha 21, Harriet 19, Ann 18, Eliza 15, Banks 13, Emma 8 & Benjamin 6; Real estate- $8,000; Personal estate- $19,000.
1870 Census- Gibson County; Banks, Jr. 60 and children: John 33, Mary 30, Rebecca 28 (was known as Elizabeth, Martha 26, Adelia 24 (known as Harriet in 1860 census) 24, Ann 22, Alice (known as Eliza in the 1860 census) 18, Emma 16 & Benjamin 15; Real estate- $1,200; Personal estate- $1,000.
Maribah L. Burrow (1814-1884) and her husband, John B. Somers (1801-1876)
1850 Census- Jefferson County, Arkansas; John 48, Maribah 37 and children: Andrew, 12, Clark 7,
Willis 6, Banks 1; Real estate- not recorded.
1860 Census- Prairie County, Arkansas; John 58, Maribah 45 and children: Clark 18, Willis 14, Banks
10, Napoleon 8, Lenora 6, Henry 1; Real estate- $25,000; Personal estate- $25,000.
1870 Census- Pulaski County, Arkansas; John 69, Maribah 55 and children: Napoleon 16, Maribah 14 (known as Lenora in the 1860 census), Henry 10; Real estate- $3,200; Personal estate- $1,200.
Abner L. Burrow (1817-1866) and his wife, Jane (1826-1885)
1850 Census- Jefferson County, Arkansas; Abner 32, Jane 24 and children: Banks M. 5, Samuel 3; Real estate- $2,400
1860 Census- Iron County, Missouri; Abner 44, Jane 32 and children: Banks M. 15, Samuel 13, Mary 5,
Jane 2, John 1; Real estate- $15,000; Personal estate- $15,000.
1870 Census- Abner died in 1866; I was unable to find Jane in the 1870 census. Her son, Banks M.
Burrow (1845-1889) was living in Sebastian County, Arkansas with his wife, Martha, and two small children at that time. Banks’ occupation was listed as a lawyer.
Napoleon B. Burrow (1818-1880) and his wife, Francis (1835-1900)
1850 Slave Schedule-White Oak, Jefferson County, Arkansas, 37 slaves
1860 Census- Crawford County Arkansas; Napoleon 35, Francis 24 and children: Banks M. 3 and
Charley 1; Real estate- $110,000; Personal estate- $110,200.
1870 Census- Crawford County Arkansas; Napoleon 45, Francis 32 and children: Banks M. 12 and
Eliza 9; Real or personal estate information is blank. Napoleon’s occupation was listed as a lawyer.
Miranda Burrow (1820-1887) and her husbands, James G. Barbee (1816-1853) Edward Y. Keene (1816-1865)
1850 Census- Houston, Texas; James Barbee 36, Miranda 26 and children: Virginia Barbee 15,
Napoleon Barbee 13, Maurey Barbee 9, Banks Barbee 8 & John Barbee. 3; Real estate- $500
1860 Census- Burlson County, Texas; Edward Keene 44, Miranda 42 and children: John Barbee. 11,
James Barbee 8 and Juliet Keene 1; Real estate- $1,600; Personal estate- $11,000.
1870 Census- Burleson County, Texas; Miranda 42 and children: John Barbee. 22, James Barbee 19
Real estate- $500; Personal estate- $2,000.
# of #of Personal Real Personal Real Personal Real
Slaves Slaves Estate Estate Estate Estate Estate Estate
in 1850 1860 1850* 1850 1860 1860 1870 1870
Banks, Sr. 67 $20,000 (deceased 1851)
Nancy Rader 7 - $1,000 (deceased 1859)
John J. Burrow 18 8 $5,000 $10,000 $30,000 $3,000 $3.500
Banks, Jr. 7 18 $3,100 $8,000 $19,000 $12,000 $1,000
Maribah Somers 7 0 (blank) $25,000 $25,000 $3,200 $1,200
Miranda Keene - 17 $500 $1,600 $11,000 $500 $2,000
John – Miranda 43 $29,600 $44,600 $85,000 $18,700 $7,700
Losses -$25,900 -$77,300
Per cent loss 58% 91%
Abner Burrow 12 13 $2,400 $15,000 $15,000 (not available)
Napoleon Burrow 37 29 $110,000 $110,200 (left blank)
Totals 165 85 $32,000 $168,600 $210,000 $18,700 $7,700
*Personal estate was not given in the 1850 census.
“It has been said that the ruining of the planting class in the South through war was more complete than the destruction of the nobility and clergy in the French Revolution. The very foundations of the system were shattered.” “The Northern soldiers were transported home with provisions for their comfort, and often with royal welcomes, while the southern soldiers walked home in poverty and were disillusioned.” W.E.B. Du Bois, Black Reconstruction in America, 1860-1880 Page 129
We can easily conclude from the above table that the real and personal estates of all of the Burrow family members was greatly diminished during the war from the 1860 to the 1870 census. This was particularly true of real estate, as this was where the value of slave ownership was counted in the census. One big question raised by the slave counts in 1850 and 1860 is how did Napoleon Burrow come to own 37 slaves in 1850? He was the youngest of the siblings, unmarried and only 32 years old at the time. There is a story here, if we only knew. From what little we can discern from the probate records, we may assume that the slaves were on loan to Napoleon from his father in 1850 just one year before Banks, Sr.’s death. At the time of the distribution of the slaves in 1857, it must have been decided that the majority of the slaves in Napoleon’s possession were to be his fair share. In the 1860 census, we can see that Napoleon at 42 years of age was a very wealthy man.
Middle and West Tennessee witnessed considerable fighting during the Civil War. In early February 1862, the Union army and naval forces invaded middle Tennessee along the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers, and at Fort Donelson, they destroyed a large portion of the Confederate Army defending the heartland. A second Federal army marched into middle Tennessee from Kentucky and Nashville fell on February 24. For the inhabitants of Carroll and Gibson Counties, the armies of Confederate general, Nathan Bedford Forrest, marched close by many times. Tennessee at the beginning of the war was rich in crops and livestock and the armies knew that they could acquire (by force, if necessary) most of what they needed in food, horses and livestock, as they passed through. This was, of course, true of both the Confederate and Union armies. By the end of the war, middle and west Tennessee were ruined; most farms were pillaged and badly damaged.
The Confederate general, Nathan Bedford Forest, and his army crisscrossed middle and west Tennessee many times. Forest was born in Bedford County where many of the Burrows were also born and lived. He was a highly successful slave trader in Memphis and with his plantation holdings was considered one of the richest men in the South. At the beginning of the war, he enlisted in the Confederate Army as a private and quickly rose in the ranks. Considered an expert cavalry leader early in the war, he was given a command of a corps and established doctrines for mobile forces, earning the nickname “The Wizard of the Saddle.”
In December of 1861, Forest carried out his first “mobile infantry” raid in west Tennessee in his first major command of 700 cavalrymen. In this maneuver from Memphis to the north central of the state, he and his army passed within a few miles of the Burrow plantations in Gibson and Carroll Counties. In another major Confederate initiative in late 1862, Forrest with a regiment of 3,500 again passed right by the Lavinia Burrow plantation. In January and February 1864, Forest made his last foray into West Tennessee with 7,000 troops, once again coming within a few miles of the Lavinia Burrow plantation. Engaged in numerous skirmishes throughout the region in late March and early April and needing supplies, Forrest planned to move on Fort Pillow with about 2,500 men. Fort Pillow was on the Mississippi River in West Tennessee near present day Covington. It was during this time that the infamous “Fort Pillow Massacre” took place on April 12, 1864. The fort was taken by the Confederates, but in the final stages of the battle, their success was marred by the mid-battle execution of numerous surrendering Union troops including about 300 black soldiers. As might be guessed, there was great controversy then and now about what actually happened and who was to blame. No matter what, Forrest has to accept some blame as he was the general officer in charge of the Confederates in this engagement.
While Forrest was and is well regarded by the people of the South, especially those of Tennessee, his forays into Tennessee had to be supported by raids of the Confederates upon the locals to forage food and livestock. That Forrest was the Ku Klux Clan’s Grand Wizard for two years following the end of the war also greatly blemishes his otherwise storied career as a Confederate general.
We also must consider the Burrow family’s role in the Confederate army. Not surprisingly, every Burrow family had members that were Confederate soldiers. This makes some sense when we consider this quote from historian, Stephen Ash, “Three-quarters of the South’s white males had served in the Confederate armies at one time or another”. Reconstruction: American’s Unfinished Revolution 1863-1877, Eric Foner, Page 185
In fact, there was only one (Napoleon B. Barbee who served in the Union Army) of the eligible males in each Burrow family unit that did not serve in the Confederate Army. Of Banks Burrow, Sr.’s immediate family, the following children and grandchildren were rebel soldiers:
Napoleon Bonaparte Burrow (1818-1880), son of Banks Burrow, Sr., was a Confederate brigadier general of Arkansas militia.
John Jefferson Rader (1835-1892) son of Nancy Burrow Rader, daughter of Banks Burrow, Sr., was a soldier in the Confederate Tennessee 12th Infantry Regiment. He was the only recorded male son of the family.
Andrew John Somers (1842-65) son of Maribah Burrow Somers, daughter of Banks Burrow, Sr., was a Confederate sergeant in the 6th Regiment of the Arkansas Calvary.
Adam C. Somers (1842-65) son of Maribah Burrow Somers, daughter of Banks Burrow, Sr., was a Confederate soldier in the Arkansas 1st Calvary Regiment and died in a Union prisoner of war camp in 1865. Andrew and Adam were the only sons in the family old enough to serve.
John McKissick (1839-1911), son of Martha Lucinda Burrow McKissick (1816-1880), who was the daughter of Philip Burrow III, brother to Banks Burrow Sr., served as a private in Company B, 56th Georgia Infantry. Martha’s husband, Archibald McKissick, was murdered and her daughter, Mary Saphronia McKissick, was gang raped by marauding Union soldiers in 1864.
Edward H. Fleming, husband (m. 1886) to Napoleon Bonaparte Burrow’s daughter, Elizabeth Burrow, served in Company C of the Arkansas Confederate Calvary.
John Burrow (1839-1875), son of Madison Burrow and grandson of Ephraim Burrow, brother of Banks Burrow, Sr., served in the 19th Regiment, Texas Confederate Infantry as a sergeant, then ensign.
Robert Burrow (1841-1866), son of Madison Burrow and grandson of Ephraim Burrow, served in the Tennessee Confederate 12th Cavalry.
Ephraim Burrow (1843-1906), son of Madison Burrow and grandson of Ephraim Burrow, served in the Tennessee Confederate 21st Cavalry. John, Robert and Ephraim were the only sons in the family old enough to serve.
John Porch Burrow (1842-1920), son of Solomon and great-grandson of Ephraim Burrow, was a private in the Confederate Company E of Gordon’s Regiment Arkansas Calvary.
Lorenzo Burrow (1828-1888), son of Rev. Jesse Burrow (1792-1854), grandson of Ephraim Burrow, served in the Arkansas Confederate 38th Infantry.
Ishmael Burrow (1832-1863), son of Rev. Jesse Burrow (1792-1854) and grandson of Ephraim Burrow, served in the Arkansas Confederate 38th Infantry.
Henry Hiram Burrow (1837-1910), son of Rev. Jesse Burrow (1792-1854) and grandson of Ephraim Burrow, served in the Arkansas Confederate 38th Infantry.
Ephraim Burrow (1838-1906), son of Rev. Jesse Burrow (1792-1854) and grandson of Ephraim Burrow, served in the Arkansas Confederate 38th Infantry.
****All four of the above brothers enlisted at the same time, 4 Aug 1862. The 38th fought at the battles of Prairie Grove and Jenkin’s Ferry, Arkansas.
And lastly, the most unusual of all: Miranda Burrow Barbee Keene Davidson (1820-1887), daughter of Banks Burrow, Sr., had one son, Napoleon B. Barbee (1837-1928) who was a Colonel in the Texas Confederate 6th Battalion Cavalry and another son, John Burrow Barbee (1847-1928) who was a sergeant in the Union Tennessee 4th Infantry. Napoleon and John were the only sons old enough to serve.
There was certainly a great enthusiasm at the beginning of the war for joining the fight for the
Confederacy. As the war dragged on and as more and more of the conscripts came back from the fighting crippled or maimed (large numbers did not come back at all), fewer signed up to serve. For those who held back from the beginning, greater pressure was placed on them by the community at large to sign up. Only one of Banks Burrow, Sr.’s sons, Napoleon Bonaparte Burrow, served in the Confederate army. The other three of his sons, John Jefferson (1805-1887) & Banks, Jr. (1809-1892) were probably too old to be conscripted and Abner Burrow (1817-1866) who was 41 at the start of the war stayed out of the conflict for reasons we cannot know. However, as the state where he was living at the outbreak of the war, Missouri, was very divided between pro-Union and pro-Confederacy sentiment, this may have cased him and others to sit out the war. Also, Missouri did not secede from the Union and attempted to remain neutral throughout the war. In 1860 he had a young family with six children under the age of 14 and he may have been in poor health, as he died in 1866 at the age of 49.
In conclusion and as can be seen from the list above, every Burrow of the next generation (Banks’ grandchildren) served in the Confederate army, except for one standout, John Barbee who served on the Union side.
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Chapter Ten- The Two Brothers: John Jefferson Burrow & Banks M. Burrow, Jr.
14th Amendment: All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. July 9, 1868.
Banks M. Burrow, Sr.’s oldest sons, John Jefferson Burrow (1805-1887) and Banks M. Burrow, Jr. (1809-1892) were named executors of his will just prior to his death in 1851. As the eldest of the two, John, took the lead in the administration of the will which took 15 years to probate. It is best that we now take a look at the lives of these two brothers.
John Jefferson Burrow was born in Gates County, North Carolina. Gates is a county located in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of North Carolina, on the border with Virginia. His father and mother were married two years before. His father, Banks M. Burrow, Sr., was 22 years old, and his mother, Mary Blanchard, was 18. He was the second-born child with Nancy S. Burrow born the year before. The family moved to Jones County, Georgia in about 1814. They stayed there for a short time before moving to Bedford County, Tennessee where they stayed for 3-4 years. They then moved to Carroll County, Tennessee in about 1822. John Jefferson Burrow was about 17 years of age at that time. He received most of his education in Bedford County district schools, but afterward completed his education at the University of Nashville. He married Eliza Snell (1808-1891) sometime before the birth of their first child in 1832. He would have been 27 and she 24 at the time of their marriage. They lived on a farm near McLemoresville for the next 10 years. When his father and mother died in the early 1850s, they moved onto the Burrow family plantation home a few miles south of Lavinia. John was a Democrat in politics and cast his first presidential vote for Andrew Jackson. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity for many years. John and Eliza were to have fourteen children born to them over the next twelve years (1837-1849). Tragically, all except Harriett and George died in childhood. Most died in infancy and are buried in the Burrow family cemetery in Lavinia. How could John and Eliza endure the emotional anguish of losing a child a almost every year for twelve years? Every time that I think about this, I feel burdened with pity for these parents.
After the death of his father in 1851 and mother in 1856, it does appear that John and his small family inherited the family home and much of the Burrow land in Lavinia. It would also appear that he was a wealthy plantation owner given the number of slaves that he possessed prior to the war. It is likely that he was living and farming on Burrow land in the Lavinia area throughout most of his adult life.
1840 U.S. Census in Carroll County, Tennessee- 6 free white, and 11 slaves.
1841- Documentation in Carroll County Deeds- J.J. Burrow purchases 6-8 slaves for $1,600.
1850 Carroll County Slave Schedule shows him with 18 slaves.
1860 Carroll County Slave Schedule shows him with 8 slaves.
As shown in Chapter Seven, a considerable amount of John J. Burrow’s personal time went into the administration of his father’s will for over fifteen years. There is every indication from 120 pages of the probate documents from that time that he was diligent and prudent in his administration of the will. We also know that his family (as was the case for families of the South following the war) experienced significant financial losses and “hard times”. In their last years, John and Eliza had the good fortune to be surrounded by many family members.
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In 1870, the U.S. Census reports:
John J. Burrow 62 years old
Eliza (Snell) Burrow, 61 years old
James McKelvey, 41 years old, John & Eliza’s son-in-law
Harriet “Hattie” McKelvey, 32 years old, John & Eliza’s daughter
Banks McKelvey, 12 years old, James & Harriet’s son, John & Eliza’s grandson
Napoleon McKelvey, 8 years old, James & Harriet’s son, John & Eliza’s grandson
John W. McKelvey, 1 year old, James & Harriet’s son, John & Eliza’s grandson
George Burrow, 24 years old, John & Eliza’s son
Harriet E. (McKnight) Burrow, 21 years old, George Burrow’s wife
Harriet McFarland, 10 years old (unknown relationship to the Burrow family)
William McFarland, 7 years old (unknown relationship to the Burrow family)
Three Black American families with the last name of Burrow live next door.
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In 1880, the U.S. Census reports:
John J. Burrow 73 years old
Eliza (Snell) Burrow, 71 years old
George Burrow died in February, 1880, age 34, just before the census was taken. This is another child of
John & Eliza that died young. The last surviving child, Hattie, lived to 70 years of age.
Harriet “Hattie” E. (McKnight) Burrow, 31 years old, John & Eliza’s daughter-in-law
Mary H. Burrow, 9 years old, George & Harriet’s daughter, John & Eliza’s granddaughter
John J. Burrow, 5 years old, George & Harriet’s son, John & Eliza’s grandson
Banks McKelvey, 20 years old, James & Harriet’s son, John & Eliza’s grandson
John Jefferson died in 1887; Eliza died four years later. Both were buried in the Burrow family cemetery in Lavinia, Tennessee. There is no record of a will for either.
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Banks Mechium Burrow, Jr. was born in Gates County, North Carolina in 1809. The pattern of his early life would be identical to his older brother, John Jefferson Burrow (1805-1887) as outlined above in the first part of this chapter. He married Elizabeth Ann Richardson (1807-1862) in 1832. He was 27 and she was 25 at the time. The marriage took place in Gibson County, Tennessee where they lived for the rest of their lives. It is assumed that they were given Burrow land in Gibson County by Banks Burrow Sr. close to the village of Gibson where they lived for the rest of their lives. They had a large family of ten children born over an eleven-year period. Banks followed his father’s footsteps in becoming a Methodist Episcopal minister in 1850.
Unfortunately, there is no historical record of antebellum churches in Gibson or Carroll Counties, so we cannot know what churches he and his father pastored or for how long. All that we know with certainty is that the Burrow family attended Methodist Episcopal churches for many decades. The land that Banks, Jr. and his family farmed for many decades was likely near Gibson Station of Gibson County, 12 miles west of the Burrow plantation in Carroll County. Gibson Station (known as Gibson today) must be the train stop on the Seaboard Railroad halfway between Humbolt and Milan in the southeast part of the County.
Every once and a while, a family genealogy research person falls upon a historical account that so greatly illuminates the life and times of a distant ancestor or family member. The following account is such an event. Instead of dry genealogical facts, we get a vivid “slice of life.”
"Banks, Jr, was short in stature and was described as a man who resembled a banty rooster when his wrath was aroused. This is illustrated by the experience related by an officer in the Federal Army who took a detail of soldiers into the home about 1862 to search the premises for legitimate and questionable purposes. It seems the daughters were on the second floor of the home which could be approached by only one stairway. When time came to search the upper floors of the house, Banks planted himself (all five feet, two inches of himself) at the foot of the steps and defied the soldiers to pass. So forbidding a character was too much for the troops and they withdrew with no protest and failed to muster courage to burn the place as apparently were their orders and intentions." Burrow Family History, James Rightman Blanks, 1986, pg. 286
Something needs to be said about where in Gibson County, Banks, Jr. and his family resided. We do know that Banks, Jr. married Elizabeth Ann Richardson in Gibson County in 1832 and their first child, John Hayle Burrow, was born the next year, also in Gibson County. Banks, Jr. was 23 and Elizabeth was 25 at the time of their marriage. We can have a sense of their family life cycle by a review of forty years of census reports which are given below:
1840 No record of Banks Jr. in the U.S. Census in Gibson County, Tennessee.
1850 Gibson County Civil District 18 (probably, the Gibson Station area) Census Report: Banks M. 41; Elizabeth 43 wife; John 17; Mary 15; Elizabeth 13; Martha 11; Harriet 9; Nancy 7; Eliza 5; Banks 3; Emma 1 & Samuel Richardson 73 (Elizabeth’s father)
1850 Gibson County Slave Schedule shows him with 7 slaves.
1860 Gibson County Civil District 18 Census Report (Enterprise Post Office): Banks M. 57; Elizabeth 52 wife; John 27; Mary 25; Elizabeth 23; Harriet 19; Nancy 17; Eliza 15; Banks, III 13; Emma 11
1860 Gibson County Slave Schedule shows Banks, Jr. with 19 slaves.
1870 First Listing Civil District 2, Gibson County (Humbolt Post Office), July 9, 1870 Census Reports
Banks M. 60 (farmer); John 33, farmer (Banks, Jr.’s son, visiting?); M.S. 30 (Mary Suzannah; Banks, Jr.’s unmarried daughter); Rebecca 28 (Elizabeth Rebecca; Banks, Jr.’s married daughter, visiting from Arkansas); Adalaia 24 (Harriet Adalaia; Banks, Jr.’s married daughter); Ann 22 (Ann Hinton; Banks, Jr.’s married daughter); Banks 20 (Banks, Jr.’s unmarried son); Alice 18 (Eliza Alice; Banks, Jr.’s unmarried daughter); Benjamin 17 (Benjamin Hubbard; Banks, Jr.’s unmarried son); Emma 16 (Emma Louvilla; Banks, Jr.’s unmarried daughter).
1870 Second Listing Civil District 18, Gibson County (Milan Post Office) July 25, 1870 Census Report
Banks M. 62, “Minister Gospel”; Mary 30; Ann 2; Alice 22; Emma 21; Benjamin 19; Banks 17.
1880 Gibson County Civil District 18 (Gibson Station) Census Report: Banks M. 70; Mary 38 (Banks, Jr.’s unmarried daughter); Emma 30 (Banks, Jr.’s unmarried daughter) & Banks III (Banks Jr.’s unmarried son); 29.
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Civil District of Gibson County as referred to by the U.S. Census
Deeds of Burrow land in Gibson County:
February 1843, Banks, Sr. bought 300 acres from Samuel Richardson (Samuel was the father of Bank’s wife) for $900; on the waters of the North Fork of the Forked Deer River. This seems to be the most likely location for the Banks, Jr. permanent home.
December 1845, Banks, Sr. bought 1,964 acres from Henry Welker for $6,250; 13th Surveyors District, 1st Range, 1st Section
December 1846, Banks, Sr. bought 1,000 acres from Isham Boyce for $2,500; 13th Surveyors District, 1st Range, 3rd & 4th Sections (a Bear Creek is cited in the deed)
December 1847, Banks, Sr. & Banks, Jr. bought 1,992 acres from Samuel Richardson (Samuel was the father of Banks, Jr.'s wife) for $3,000; 13 Surveyors District, 1st Range, 3rd & 4th Sections. This and the 1846 purchase must be the “wooded land” mentioned in the 1857 Nashville newspaper advertisement. There is no indication that any Burrow family took up residence in the 1846 or 1847 land.
March 1848, Banks, Sr. bought 300 acres from the a Sheriff’s sale for the13th Surveyors District, 1st Range, 1st Section on the waters of the North Fork of the Forked Deer River, for payment of “double back taxes & charges” due from the previous owner.
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1832 Tennessee Surveyor's Maps with the Mississippi River on the left and Tennessee River on right
The yellow highlights the area that the Burrows had plantation land.
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We note that Banks Mechium Burrow, Jr. and his family are shown beginning in 1850 through 1880 as living in SE Gibson County, most notably in the Gibson Station vicinity (1850, 1860, 1880) and once in 1870 about six miles southeast of Gibson Station somewhere around the Medina area. The Gibson Station land was likely purchased in 1843 from Samuel Richardson (Banks, Jr.’s father-in-law) by Banks, Sr. for $900; 300 acres “on the waters of the North Fork of the Forked Deer River.” (See above) That the Gibson Station vicinity was the most permanent home for Banks, Jr. and his family is bolstered by the fact that there is an existing “Burrow Cemetery” that is one mile north of present-day Gibson. The Medina area Burrow property was likely bought from a Sheriff’s sale by Banks, Sr.; 300 acres in March of 1848 and located in the 13th Surveyors District, 1st Range, 1st Section “on the waters of the North Fork of the Forked Deer River”. That there were two 1870 census reports for the Banks, Jr. family, one on July 9, 1870 for Civil District 2 (Humbolt post office) and another one on July 25, 1870 for District 18 (Milan Post office) is worth noting. This suggests that the family had two homes and mistakenly allowed two separate census takers to interview them.
In the middle of the war, Banks, Jr.’s wife, Elizabeth, died in February 1862. Banks remarried five years later to Martha J. Mills (1841-1867) on October 1, 1867; she was 32 years younger than he and had been previously married with no children. Oddly, Martha died shortly after the marriage. Little to nothing is known about Martha’s adult life other than what is shown here. Banks, Jr. died on December 7, 1892 at the age of 83 in the home of his daughter, Harriet (Davie) Burrow in Pinson, Madison County, Tennessee. Madison County is the Tennessee county immediately south of Gibson County. Throughout his life, he was fortunate to be surrounded by his family.​
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