(SMITH) William Holt of Colonial Williamsburg

***NOTE: I have NOT verified this line. Descent from William Holt is based on information others have posted on familysearch.org/tree***



One of my husband's 6th great grandfathers is William Holt, from Virginia, who lived from 1737-1791. (I wrote about one of William's runaway slaves previously, here.)

The most interesting thing about William Holt is that he is one of the characters portrayed at Colonial Williamsburg. So if you're ever in Virginia, stop in and say hi!

William was a local merchant. He owned a store and a mill. He also imported slaves to sell, and posted newspaper ads in the Virginia Gazette to assist others searching for their runaway slaves.

Another notable thing about William is that he fathered triplets! All three babies were born healthy, which seems impressive for the 1700s.

The Colonial Williamsburg website has a page dedicated to William, which you can view here.


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Line of descent:

William Holt 1730-1791
William Holt 1765-1820
John Holt 1792-1872
Jesse Payton Holt 1833-1922
Maria Druzilla Holt 1861-1946
Lucia Naomi Scoville 1889-1958

Alice Zemp 1925-2000

(SMITH) The Slave that Got Away

In 1783, William Holt owned 21 slaves—more than any other Williamsburg resident at the time. If the British Army had cooperated, he would have owned 22.¹

During the American Revolution, the British commander-in-chief² hoped to weaken the American economy³ via the Philipsburg Proclamation, which proclaimed freedom to all slaves owned by American patriots and promised protection to slaves who left their masters.⁴ Thousands of slaves escaped to the British lines.⁵

Accordingly, one condition of the Treaty of Paris, which ended the War, prohibited the retreating British from “carrying away any Negroes or other property of the American Inhabitants.”⁷

General George Washington met with the British to discuss implementation of the treaty terms. Washington reminded them of the importance of returning “all Negroes and other property” to the Americans. The British general, Carleton, said that “in his interpretation, the term property meant property owned by Americans at the time the treaty was signed,” and therefore excluded slaves who had absconded to British lines during the war.⁸

The Americans were not pleased, but the British stood by their word: they had promised freedom. Although the former slaves had run away because of the Philipsburg Proclamation, Carleton noted that “the Negroes in question” had escaped before he arrived in New York as commander-in-chief. “I had therefore no right, as I thought, to prevent their going to any part of the world they thought proper.”⁹

Some of the former slaves were evacuated to the Canadian "part of the world." Among those bound for Port Roseway, Nova Scotia was Hannah Jackson, age 12, a “fine girl. Formerly the property of William Holt of Williamsburgh, Virginia.”¹⁰

William Holt would simply have to make do with 21 slaves.

**I am NOT condoning slavery, merely reporting history. And for the record, I think it's great that the British kept their word. 

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Line of descent:

William Holt 1730-1791

William Holt 1765-1820

John Holt 1792-1872

Jesse Payton Holt 1833-1922

Maria Druzilla Holt 1861-1946

Lucia Naomi Scoville 1889-1958

Alice Zemp 1925-2000

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Notes: 

1 - Thad W. Tate, Jr., “The Negro in Eighteenth-Century Williamsburg,” Colonial Williamsburg Digital Library, research.history.org

2 - “American Revolution: General Sir Henry Clinton,” http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/americanrevolutio1/p/hclinton.htm, Accessed 29 Apr 2015

3 - Black Loyalists, “The Philipsburg Proclamation, http://blackloyalist.com/cdc/story/revolution/philipsburg.htm, Accessed 29 Apr 2015

4 - Wikipedia, “Philipsburg Proclamation,” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philipsburg_Proclamation, Accessed 29 Apr 2015

5 - Wikipedia, “Philipsburg Proclamation,” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philipsburg_Proclamation, Accessed 29 Apr 2015

7 - Black Loyalist, “Treaty of Paris,” http://www.blackloyalist.info/treaty-of-paris/, accessed 29 Apr 2015

8 - Black Loyalist, “Evacuation of New York,” http://www.blackloyalist.info/evacuation-of-new-york/, Accessed 29 Apr 2015

9 - Black Loyalist, “Evacuation of New York,” http://www.blackloyalist.info/evacuation-of-new-york/, Accessed 29 Apr 2015. Same reference for entire paragraph.

10 - Black Loyalist, “The Book of Negroes – Transcript,” http://www.blackloyalist.info/sourceimagesdisplaypage/transcript/15, Accessed 29 Apr 2015

(ROBERTS) My first slave-owners! (Although I use the term "owners" loosely)

After 13 years of family history research, I have finally found some ancestors who owned slaves. I have long been proud of my Northern roots and my family's lack of involvement in slavery. And, after discovering this couple, I am still proud.

Rev. Simon Peter

Simon Peter married Elizabeth Hannah Hughes in 1822. They were both born and raised in "slave states": he in Kentucky, she in Tennessee. Simon was a minister for the Methodist Episcopal Church. After their marriage, he preached in the area for six additional years, at which point the couple "removed..., with a view of locating somewhere on the free soil of Illinois."1 According to one source, Simon left the South "because of his bitter opposition to slavery"2.

And so we come to the slave "ownership." A book documenting prominent Tennessee families includes this comment:  “Elizabeth Hughes, who married Rev. Simon Peter... removed to Illinois, carrying with them several valuable slaves and emancipating them because they were convinced the institution of slavery was wrong. It need not be added that the courage to do right under such

Elizabeth Hannah Hughes Peter

temptations sustained them in a life of usefulness and great prosperity.”3

Elizabeth's third cousin was also opposed to slavery, famously so. In 1864 he wrote, "If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong."4 Shortly thereafter, he worked with Congress to pass the 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery. His name? Abraham Lincoln.5 [Incidentally, we are also distant cousins of Mitt Romney through the same line.] 

Simon and Elizabeth had closer relatives also involved in the Civil War. Two of their sons "yielded to the voice of conscience, and their country's call"6 and served on the Union side. Both gave their lives fighting for the country they loved, and for the freedom of millions. Sadly, one died in battle in his mother's own home state--Tennessee.

In every article I have read, Simon, Elizabeth, and their children, are praised for their uprightness, their community service, and their devotion to doing right. They are among my noblest ancestors, and I am proud to be descended from Simon and Elizabeth Peter.


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Line of descent:
Simon Peter (1792-1877) [my 4th-great grandfather]
Simon J Peter (1836-1923)
William H Peter (1868-1923)
Earl Raymond Peter(s) (1893-1963)
Dolores Mae Peters Roberts (1927-1992)

Notes:
1) "The Story of the Peter Family in America," compiled by Stephen B. Peter, p. 21, Carlinville obituary. Available from the Family History Library as a PDF download, see https://familysearch.org/search/catalog/oclc/866000813?availability=Family%20History%20Library [Hereafter cited as "Peter Family"]
2) "Peter Family", p. 23, quoting "There the Heart Is, A History of Brighton, Illinois," by Martha A. Bentley, 1965, p. 53
3) Sketches of Prominent Tennesseans: Containing Biographies and Records of Many of the Families who Have Attained Prominence in Tennessee (Google eBook), p. 231 [I am well aware that this implies that Elizabeth's parents owned slaves, and I still love them and think they're wonderful. I certainly don't have any living relatives who are perfect, so I don't expect that from the dead ones either. :) ]
4) http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/hodges.htm
5) This chart, showing the relationship between Elizabeth Hughes Peter and Abraham Lincoln is from "Peter Family," p. 27

6) "Peter Family," p. 44, "Letter to the Editor"