James CONLEY b. Abt 1800 of Cumberland, Cumberland County, North Carolina, USA d. Aft 1850 of Limestone, Alabama, USA: Our Family History

James CONLEY

Abt 1800 - Aft 1850 (> 51 years)

Name	James CONLEY [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Birth	Abt 1800	of Cumberland, Cumberland County, North Carolina, USA
Gender	Male
Residence	Between Jun and Oct 1850	District 3, Limestone, Alabama, USA [3, 4, 5]
Residence	1800	Cumberland, Cumberland, North Carolina [1]
Death	Aft 1850	of Limestone, Alabama, USA
Residence	1860	Division 1, Limestone, Alabama, USA [2]
Person ID	I983	Green
Last Modified	3 Oct 2024

Father	John Oldham CONNALLY, b. 7 Sep 1783, Chapel Hill, Orange, North Carolina, USA d. 11 Mar 1845, Huntsville, Madison, Alabama, USA (Age 61 years)
Relationship	natural
Mother	Likely Slave
Relationship	natural
Family ID	F254	Group Sheet \| Family Chart

Family Jane, b. Abt 1801, Prince Edward County, Virginia, USA

Children

	1. Felix CONLEY, b. 1819, Madison County, Alabama, USA d. 1899, Madison County, Alabama, USA (Age 80 years) [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]
	2. (John) Hamilton CONLEY, b. Oct 1834, Alabama d. Aft 1900, Madison County, Alabama, USA (Age > 67 years) [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]
	3. Fanny COTTON, b. Abt 1840, Alabama d. Jul 1879, Madison, Madison, Alabama, United States (Age 39 years) [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]
	4. Lucy CONLEY, b. 1829, , , Alabama d. Abt 1898, , Madison, Alabama, USA (Age 69 years) [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]
	5. Jesse Paschell CONLEY, b. 6 Jan 1822, Madison County, Alabama, USA d. 1883, Madison County, Alabama, USA (Age 60 years) [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]
	6. John J. CONLEY, b. 1821, Prince Edward County, Virginia, USA d. Between 1880 and 1885, Limestone, Alabama, USA (Age 59 years) [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]
	7. Washington CONLEY, b. 1820, Madison County, Alabama, USA d. 1899, Madison County, Alabama, USA (Age 79 years) [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]
	8. James CONLEY, b. 1828, Madison County, Alabama, USA d. 27 Mar 1893, Oxford, Chenango, New York, USA (Age 65 years) [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]
	9. William 'Bill' CONLEY, b. Abt 1824, Prince Edward County, Virginia, USA [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]
	10. Harriett CONLEY, b. Abt 1817, Huntsville, Madison, Alabama, USA d. 1892, Huntsville, Madison, Alabama, United States (Age 75 years) [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]

Family ID F253 Group Sheet | Family Chart

Last Modified 3 Oct 2024

Photos » Slide Show		JamesJaneHarriet1818
		James Conley
		James Conley 1829

Notes

James and Jane were likely mulattoes to account for most of their children being called black or mulatto in census records. I am noting this so I can hopefully find out more about James' family.

James is likely one of the 10 freed males that his father had living on his famous horse ranch in the 1840 census. Perhaps all of the 10 freed males were his children. I do not know. John Oldham Conley's son, James, was raised to be a talented blacksmith. After John Oldham Conley died in 1845, James was able to start a blacksmith business in nearby Limestone County, Alabama. His assets were worth $5000 by 1850, which is significantly higher than many other blacksmiths in the area.

The only records so far after extensive searches that I have of any James Conley is in the 1850 Slave Schedules for Limestone County, Alabama. James owned two slaves in the 1860 Slave Schedules, a male and a female, ages of 60. He is listed as James Conley in the following 1850 slave schedule:

1 female - age 60
1 male - age 18
2 females - age 18
1 female - age 11
1 male - age 17

In an inventory of farms in the 1850 slave schedules is where James is listed as a Blacksmith worth $5000.00. The job of a blacksmith was typically the job of the greatest wealth in communities of the time. There were multiple blacksmiths in District 3 of Limestone. They were: Armstead Burkes, John Riley, Henry Kindle, Joseph G. Fogg, Thomas Gibbs, Jesse Sargeiner, John Swope, and Jacob D. Armstrong on the same page as James Conley. There was also a John Conley (his likely son) who was a wagonmaker on this same page.

In the 1860 slave schedules, a J. Conley owned 2 slaves, a male and female, age 60 and employed 2 other slaves. This might be our James or it more likely refers to his son John b. 1821. This John was in the 1850 census also as a wagon maker who owned slaves. This J. Conley employed a 12-year-old boy who was owned by an Adkinson of Madison County, Alabama. Limestone's capital and Madison County were only 22 miles apart. J. Conley also employed a 30-year-old male who was owned by a Benton (Sanding).

We don't know James and John's motivation, but in both cases, they could have been giving these people a trade and life of protection from the harshness of some other masters. They were and are a respected family whom has carried down memories of them. They had an artist whom has sketched different family oral histories and photographs in some cases of these early generations of freed black ancestors. These sketches are maintained in a Conley Trust.

Sources

[S279] Ancestry.com, 1800 United States Federal Census, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2010;), Year: 1800; Census Place: Cumberland, Cumberland, North Carolina; Series: M32; Roll: 31; Page: 368; Image: 327; Family History Library Film: 337907.

1800 United States Federal Census
[S315] Ancestry.com, 1860 U.S. Federal Census - Slave Schedules, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Lehi, UT, USA; Date: 2010;), The National Archives in Washington DC; Washington DC, USA; Eighth Census of the United States 1860; Series Number: M653; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census; Record Group Number: 29.

1860 U.S. Federal Census - Slave Schedules
[S316] Ancestry.com, 1850 U.S. Federal Census - Slave Schedules, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Lehi, UT, USA; Date: 2004;), The National Archive in Washington DC; Washington, DC; NARA Microform Publication: M432; Title: Seventh Census Of The United States, 1850; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census; Record Group Number: 29.

1850 U.S. Federal Census - Slave Schedules
[S214] Ancestry.com, U.S., Selected Federal Census Non-Population Schedules, 1850-1880, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2010;), Census Year: 1850; Census Place: District 3, Limestone, Alabama; Archive Collection Number: M279; Roll: 27; Line: 1; Schedule Type: Industry.

U.S., Selected Federal Census Non-Population Schedules, 1850-1880
[S214] Ancestry.com, U.S., Selected Federal Census Non-Population Schedules, 1850-1880, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2010;), Census Year: 1850; Census Place: District 3, Limestone, Alabama; Archive Collection Number: M279; Roll: 27; Page: 9; Line: 37; Schedule Type: Agriculture.

U.S., Selected Federal Census Non-Population Schedules, 1850-1880

Webmaster Message

We make every effort to document our research. If you have something you would like to add, please contact us. Thank you to all whom have contributed in the past.

James CONLEY

Quick Links

Contact Us

Webmaster Message