Milford Daniels family of Pennington
Point and
Macomb in McDonough County, IL
Milford Daniels, wife Eliza/Dica and grandson Joseph Daniel Sr. (early 1900s)
Milford Daniels was born on 18 March 1834
in Montgomery County, Kentucky, and died on 23 August 1920
in Macomb, McDonough County, Illinois. His father's name is
given as Hiram Daniel on his death certificate [1], and his mother's name
as Minerva Wright. Various records show that Minerva was
born about 1812 in Virginia or Kentucky and died on 21
January 1884 in McDonough County, IL. Her obituary gives her
birthplace as Montgomery County, KY. Minerva's race is
given as black in census records and Milford's race is
listed as mulatto. This suggests that Milford’s father was
at least part white.
Minerva Wright's tombstone, Oakwood Cemetery, Macomb, IL
Minerva's obituary appeared in a Macomb newspaper[ 2]. The date of Minerva's
death given in the newspaper differs from that on her
tombstone. According to the obituary, she died on 19 January
and was buried on 20 January 1884. No supporting records
have been found to determine which date is correct, so the
date on her tombstone is used to avoid confusion.
Mrs. Minerva Wright, an aged colored woman, died at the residence of her son, Milford Daniels, in this city, Saturday morning last, and was buried Sunday. She was about 75 years old, was born in Montgomery County, Kentucky, and lived there until after she was grown. Since, she lived many years in Missouri, and for the last 12 or 15 years has resided in Macomb.
Minerva married Edward Wright, about 1855,
probably in Montgomery County, Kentucky, and they appeared
in the 1870 census of McDonough County, IL. Minerva left
Edward about 1877 and he was granted a divorce in 1879[ 3] noting that Minerva had
been "guilty of wilful desertion" for two years. Minerva
retained the last name of Wright and appears that way in
records thereafter. Her tombstone[ 4] also bears the name
Minerva Wright. Edward and Minerva had one child, a son,
Preston "Press" Wright 1856-1898, who was a well known entertainer,
a "Jubilee Singer". Preston Wright was married and had an
infant son at the time of his death.
Milford married[5] Dica Ann Wyatt about 1854, probably in Montgomery County, KY. Dica was the daughter of Mose and Tabitha Wyatt, according to her death certificate. Her race is given as black in census records. She was born in March 1836 in Montgomery County, KY and died on 7 May 1925 in Macomb. There is some confusion about Dica's name. She appears as Eliza Ann Stevens in some records[6], but seems to be the same person. The reason for the change in her name after 1870 is a mystery. Milford, Minerva, and Dica are buried[7] in the Oakwood Cemetery in Macomb, as are many of their children and grandchildren. No stones mark Milford and Dica's graves, but it seems likely that they were buried in the same lot as Minerva which contains four plots, of which only Minerva's is marked. It may be that there were once stones for them, which have since fallen and been buried.
Milford's occupation on his death certificate[8 ] is given as carpenter. He is listed as a laborer in the 1870 and 1880 censuses, as a carpenter in the 1900 and 1910 censuses and no occupation in the 1920 census. 'Milton' Daniels name appears as steward and organizing member in the Second Church in Macomb. According to The History of Brown's Chapel of the African American Methodist Episcopal Church: 1876-1965 by Jeffery Jones, the Daniels family were prominent members of this church. Milford and Sanford Daniels did much of the carpentry and plastering work on this church.
A county history notes that Milford brought his family to McDonough County in the late 1860s. According to the history, there was resistance to black families settling in this county after the Civil War, but the Daniels family was aided by several white families from Montgomery County, KY who had settled there and known the Daniels in Kentucky and possibly in Missouri. Two families that assisted the Daniels were the Yocum and Harland families. The Yocums, in particular, were closely associated with the white Daniel family who had at one time owned Minerva Wright and Milford Daniels. One story in a history of Pennington Point, Illinois notes that an elderly black woman and her children and grandchildren, eight people, arrived at the home of a Mr. Yocum in Pennington Point in 1862 and suggests that this was probably the Daniels family. This story comes from a letter written by a daughter of Mr. Yocum in her later years.The Yocum man mentioned was likely Stephen Yocum who was born about 1800. There may be some truth to this story, but it does not completely match the facts. The letter seems to indicate that this black family came from Kentucky, not Missouri where the white and black Daniel families had resided since about 1858. The fact that the black woman is described as an elderly woman who had woven cloth for Mr. Yocum's mother does not seem to fit the facts either, because Minerva was only about fifty years old in 1862, the time that these events supposedly occurred. Other records[9] place Milford Daniels in Audrain County, MO between 1863 and 1865. Another discrepancy is the fact that Milford and Dica Daniels' daughter Amanda J. was born [10] in Audrain County, MO in 1864.
The history of Pennington Point notes that Sanford Daniels recorded a different version of the arrival of the Daniels family there, but discounts it as Sanford would have only been about four years old in 1862, and the Yocum girl was a grown woman. Other descriptions of the arrival of the Daniels family in McDonough County put their arrival there in the late 1860s and the 1870 McDonough County census shows that their daughter Isabell was born in Illinois in 1868. Sanford would have been old enough to remember the details of their arrival more clearly, then. Unfortunately, Sanford's account is not published in the Pennington history. It does seem likely that these same Yocums welcomed the Daniels when they arrived and they are listed near the Daniels in the 1870 census. Other families near the Daniels in the 1870 census that were also from Montgomery County included the Stephens, Mains (Means), and Hensleys, all closely connected to the white Daniel family of Montgomery County.
A lengthy memorial in a Macomb, IL
newspaper[11] a week after his death
states that Milford was one of about 50 slaves owned by
'Bob' and Katie Cockerel Daniel of Montgomery County, KY,
and was taken to the area of Independence, MO while very
young. It goes on to say that all of 'Bob' Daniel's slaves
remained with him until his death, near the end of the Civil
War. This article was written by a Hainline man who claimed
to be a descendant of one of Katie Cockerel's sisters. Mr.
Hainline stated that his data came from a conversation with
Milford some years before his death. Other primary records,
in addition to those cited previously, do not support this
version of the facts, though. The 1860 Missouri census shows
that Robert and Catherine Daniel, aged 61 and 62, were
living in Jackson County, MO. The 1860 slave census of
Jackson County shows that Robert owned only 11 slaves and
that none were the right age to be Milford and Dica Stevens
Daniels, or Minerva Wright. Numerous other records place
Milford in either Montgomery County, KY or Audrain County,
MO when he was supposedly in living Jackson County,
MO. It may be that the author of this article, hearing
that Milford was connected to a Daniel family that lived
near Mt. Sterling, Montgomery County, KY and later moved to
Missouri, assumed that it was the Robert and Catherine
Daniel family and the rest of the article was embellished.
It is possible that Milford knew of Robert and Catherine
Daniel, though he would have been very young when they moved
to Missouri. A deed recorded in Montgomery County, Kentucky
shows that Robert and Catherine Daniel were residents of
Jackson County, MO by 1837 and that Catherine's maiden name
was actually Hainline, not Cockerel. Robert Daniel was
unrelated to the Daniel family that probably actually owned
Milford and Dica Daniels.
Estridge Daniel tombstone, Daniel Cemetery, Montgomery County, KY
Minerva Wright, Milford's mother, was a slave of Estridge and Mary Fox Daniel, of Montgomery County, KY, and she was bequeathed to Mary in Estridge Daniel's will[12]:
Whereas I Estridge Daniel
of the county of Montgomery and State of
Kentucky am of a sound and composed State of mind but taking
into consideration that though now in health I may soon be
called unto death, I do make this my last will and
Testament.
First I will that all my debts should be paid. Second I give
and bequeath to my wife Mary, a certain negro woman named
Manerva with her offspring if she should have any after this
date and also the household and kitchen furniture
to have and to hold the same so long as she may live and at
her death the same is to be divided equally between Malinda
Hon, Shelby Daniel, Harvey Daniel, Isom Daniel, Jane
Alexander, James Q. Daniel. The Indian Creek tract of land
containing
100 acres and the Sand Mountain tract containing 200 acres
is also to be equally divided between the above named
children. Of my cash and cash notes I will and bequeath to
Santford Estridge Stephens and William Stephens, sons of
Narsissa Stephens, and Estridge, son of Elizabeth Stephens,
and Pelina Daniel fifty dollars cash. Pelina's is to come
out of her mother's part. The said children shall not have
this portion until they are twenty-one. The balance of the
cash, cash notes together with what other property I may
have at my death shall be equally divided between
Malinda Hon, Shelby Daniel, Harvey Daniel, Isom Daniel, Jane
Alexander and James Q. Daniel. The farm on which I now live
is to be James Q. Daniel's at my death. And I acknowledge
this to be my last will and testament all others
being
null and void in witness whereof I hereunto set my hand seal
on this 1st day of Feb. one thousand eight hundred and fifty
one.
Estridge Daniel (seal)
Attest
R.
C. Porter
Estridge D. Hon
Codicil
In
addition to what has been named in the foregoing my last
will and Testament I request that Shelby Daniel and James Q.
Daniel should be the executors to settle my estate. In witness
whereof, I set my hand and seal on this 2nd day of Feb.1851.
Attest R.C. Porter Estridge Daniel (seal)
State of Kentucky Sct. December Term 1852
A writing purporting to be the last Will and Testament of Estridge Daniel decd was this day produced in court and proven by the oaths of Reuben C. Porter and Estridge D Hon subscribing witnesses thereto and ordered to be Recorded. The codicil not being proven is continued until the next Term of this Court State of Kentucky Montgomery county court Sct. January Term 1853
A writing purporting to be the last Will and Testament and codicil to the same of Estridge Daniel decd was this day again produced in court and the codicil proven by the oath of R.C. Porter a subscribing witness thereto and ordered to be recorded
Tax lists for Montgomery County survive,
and it is possible to track the growth of Minerva's family
in them. A slave first appears in the home of Estridge
Daniel in 1830. This slave is listed as over 16 years of
age. Additional slaves under the age of 16 appear in 1835,
1837, 1840, 1845, 1847 and 1850. The
1840 census of Montgomery County, Kentucky shows that
Estridge Daniel had four slaves, two males under age ten,
one female under age ten, and one female aged twenty-four to
thirty-six. The ages fit what is known of Minerva and her
children. The
1850 slave census of Montgomery County, Kentucky shows
that Estridge Daniel owned six slaves. This included
females aged 37, 11, and 8, and males aged 17, 15, and 1.
The male age 15 is listed as a mulatto and the others are
listed as black. This fits well with what is known of the
family of Minerva Wright at this time. The female aged 37
is almost certainly Minerva, and the male aged 15 was
likely Milford Daniels. Tax lists and census records
suggest that Minerva's family remained intact, until
around the time of the death of Estridge Daniel. Family
tradition carried down by the descendants of Milford
Daniels says that Milford had a brother that was separated
from the rest of the family. The young males in the
household of Estridge Daniel are likely brothers, sons of
Minerva. This loosely fits with a story related in Sanford
Daniel's obituary which says that Sanford and his parents
were traded to a new master near Mexico, MO about 1859,
when he was about one year old. More likely, Milford
Daniels' and his family were given to James Q. Daniel when
the slaves of Estridge Daniel were divided between his
sons. James Quincy Daniel moved his family from Montgomery
County, KY to a farm about 5 miles north of Mexico, MO in
1857 or 1858.
These tax lists and
census records do call into question the name of Milford’s
father, who was identified as “Hiram” Daniel on his death
certificate, and was apparently white. There was a Hiram
Daniel living in Montgomery County, KY who could have been
Milford’s father, but the Daniel family that Hiram was a
member of was unrelated to, and lived some distance from,
the Daniel family that Milford was associated with. It
seems more likely that Milford’s father was perhaps Harvey
Daniel (born 1813), son of Estridge and Mary Fox Daniel,
if his father was a Daniel man. Estridge and Mary Daniel's
sons Shelby (born 1808) and Isom (born 1817) are also
possible candidates to be Milford's father. Shelby Daniel
married about 1833 and was seated on his own land, so is
less likely to be the father of Milford.
This hypothesis is
supported by the fact that two descendants of Milford
Daniels' son, Sanford Daniels, have autosomal DNA
matches to a descendant of
James Quincy Daniel, a son of Estridge Daniel, both at
Ancestry.com and one at 23andMe. Only one Sanford
descendant has tested at 23andMe. The distance of the
relationship ranges from 4th to 8th cousins. The
estimation for a most recent common ancestor (MRCA) as
Estridge Daniel is reasonable, since the distance from
Estridge Daniel, is five generations for James Quincy
Daniel's descendant and seven generations for the
descendants of Sanford Daniels, who are siblings.
There is a second set of
autosomal DNA matches between another, more distant, white
Daniel cousin of the descendant of James Quincy Daniel and
both descendants of Sanford Daniels who have tested at
Ancestry. That relationship is estimated at 5th to
8th cousins. The DNA match between this second white
Daniel man and the line of James Quincy Daniel has been
proved using Y DNA testing. They do not have an autosomal
DNA match at Ancestry and their connection is to a common
ancestor at least three generations earlier than Estridge
Daniel.
