Deadwood, Dakota Territory's Barbers

I've been watching episodes of the HBO television series "Deadwood" on my cable's On Demand service. The drama follows the fictionalized incidences of the mining camp of Deadwood, Dakota Territory, in the mid-1870s. While the series does work in historical characters, like "Wild Bill" Hickok and Jane "Calamity Jane" Canary into the story lines, for the most part it shows the town's growing pains on the frontier. If you are sensitive to foul language, examples of extreme violence, and other scenes one might imagine in a nineteenth century Old West mining camp, well, I would not recommend Deadwood.

In one of the episodes I noticed a barber's services offered in the saloon of lead character Al Swearengen. The barber was a white man. That got me to wondering, were there black barbers in the real Deadwood's Old West, like those populated many towns and cities both in the North and South before the Civil War? To help me find out I looked up the Deadwood census of 1880. It was pretty interesting. Deadwood's polyglot population was reflected in the men who shaved its citizens chins and cut their bangs.

The first barber I located was Ah Chin, a thirty-five year old Chinese man. He was born in China, as were both of his parents, as was noted in the 1880 census form. I'm curious if he cut the hair of whites or if he only cut other Chinese.

The next barber was A. C. Buckner, a sixty-one year old single black man. He was born in England. His father was a Virginian, and his mother was from the West Indies. Intriguing!

Next located was Jessy Walker, a thirty-eight year old married black man. He was born in Alabama. It was unknown where his father was born, but his mother was from Virginia.

Paul Baume, a thirty-seven year old single white man was also found. He was born in Connecticut, as was his mother, but his father was born in Germany.

M. J. Myers, a thirty year old single white man, who was an Ohio native, as was both his mother and father.

Andrew Bauman, a thirty-eight year old married white man, who was born in Prussia, as was his parents.

Another German, John C. Muehhessen, was a twenty-nine year old single white man.

Al Flaherty, a twenty-one year old single white man, who was from New York, as were his parents.

Charles Emeigh, a Hoosier from Indiana, was a married thirty-five white man. His father and mother were Pennsylvanians. 

Edward Flaherty, a twenty-four year old married man. He was born in New York and his parents were born in Ireland.

B. H. Smith, a twenty-six year old single white man. He and his parents were all native New Yorkers,

Theodore Lyons, a fifty year old single black man, who was born in Kentucky. His father was a Virginian and mother was born in Ohio.

A "hair dresser" W. J. Grodniniski, a thirty-two year old white man from Russia and his parents were Russian, too.

William Saintclair, a twenty-five year old single white man, was born in Indiana. His father was from Ohio and his mother from Virginia. He was also listed a suffering from typhoid fever.

E. R. Sims, a thirty-two year old married mulatto. Sims was born in South Carolina, as were his parents.

John A, Hurlburt, a twenty-three year old single white man. He was born in Michigan, but his parents were both from Pennsylvania.

In summary, I was able to find sixteen total barbers or hair dressers in Deadwood's 1880 census. There was one Chinese barber, four African American barbers, six native-born white barbers, and five white barbers that were foreign born or who had at least one parent that was a non-native of the United States. My past research indicated that few native whites were barbers in 1860 and earlier. Foreign born whites entered the barber trade during this time period, too, and after emancipation there was a gradual increase in native-born white barbers. Deadwood seems to follow the trend I have noticed in the Upper South states of Kentucky, Virginia, and Maryland.

Image of Deadwood courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Danville, Virginia's 1860 Black Barbers

I am currently working my way through Frederick E. Siegel's The Roots of Southern Distinctiveness: Tobacco and Society in Danville, Virginina, 1780-1865. It is an interesting look at how the cultivation, and later, manufacture of tobacco shaped this south-central Virginia town, as well as its Pittsyvalania County.

In Chapter 9, "Tobacco Manufacturing," the author claims that in 1860 "only 8 percent of Danville's population consisted of white males aged twenty-one or older, compared to 13 or 14 percent for similar places like Lynchburg or Staunton."

Danville's total population in 1860 was 3,689. From my previous research, Upper-South town's of similar size usually provided enough patronage to support several barbers, the vast majority of whom were free African Americans. However, due to the author's claim of such a small white male population, I wondered if that perhaps affected the number of barbers in Danville.

The only real way to find out was to search through the 1860 census records for Pittsylvania County. I felt up to the job, and the findings were quite intriguing. Scanning through the pages I kept finding free people of color holding occupations such as washer woman, shoemaker, blacksmith, factory hand, farm hand, and laborer, but I was beginning to think I would find no barbers. Then, finally, I came upon Thomas Pierce. Pierce was a forty-two year old mulatto man who lived with his much younger wife Frances (twenty-four), and their children, Sally (five), and John (one). Also in the household was George Davis, a thirteen year old mulatto boy. I speculate that George may have been an apprentice for Pierce, but is not noted as such. All of this census information was quite common for free men of color barbers. However, Pierce apparently had quite good business skills as he is listed as owning $3,100 in real estate, and $2,000 in personal property; quite impressive sums for 1860. Pierce and his family were all born in Virginia and he was listed as being literate.

Continuing my search through Pittsylavnia's County's 1860 census, I came across Pritchese Scott, an eighteen year old mulatto man. Scott, like Pierce, was born in Virginia and was literate. However, being much younger, Scott had not established a household as yet and lived in the household (perhaps as a boarder) of seventy-six year old white man L. Shumaker, who's occupation was a farmer. Scott had no real estate or personal property wealth listed; also not uncommon for such a young man.

Curious to see if the more established Pierce had perhaps been in Danville for a while, I searched the 1850 census, but did not find him.

Of course, there may have been other African American barbers in Danville; those that were enslaved. They obviously would not have shown up in the census records.

Danville's small proportion of white men, as previously mentioned, probably had something to do with the limited number of barbers in town. After all, if there are only so many faces to shave and heads of hair to cut, that level of business can only support so much work. But then again, reviewing my previous findings for Staunton (which had a higher percentage of white males than Danville but a similar overall population) the Valley town only had one more barber than Danville. However, Lynchburg (which had a similar proportion of while males as Staunton, but with a population almost twice as large as Danville and Staunton) had eleven barbers who operated there. I think a larger sample size than just two or three towns will be required to make a sound claim.

William Hayden, Kentucky Slave Barber

I find myself once again with an odd Thursday off from work and watching TCM, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to make another post.

This past week while reading Slavery and Forced Migration in the Antebellum South, by Damian Alan Pargas, I stumbled upon a slave narrative that had previously escaped my observation. When Pargas discusses the various ways that slaves were transported in the domestic slave trade he mentioned the Frankfort, Kentucky, slave William Hayden, who had traveled via steamboat to the Deep South.

I was naturally curious with this reference so I quickly checked the footnotes to find its source. It was from the Narrative of William Hayden: Containing a Faithful Account of his Travels for a Number of Years, whilst a Slave in the South, which was Hayden's autobiography and was self published in 1846.  I found a copy on Google Books.

Hayden was born in Stafford County, Virginia in 1785, and as a child was sent to Kentucky by his owner. There he was bought up as a house servant  boy and was afforded an education. Later, he was also trained in the art of rope making, working in several ropewalks in Franklin and Scott Counties. However, hemp rope work did not seem to appeal to Hayden, and almost by happenstance, he fell into the profession of barbering with the permission of his master. Due to my interest in African American barbers in the antebellum Upper South, I found this part particularly interesting.

In past research, I have found numerous references to free black barbers and how they were apprenticed by their elders in the hair cutting and shaving trade. However, there is relatively slim information on enslaved barbers. Hayden described his introduction to barbering:

"In the Spring of 1811, I packed up, and went back to Frankfort. I left my horse with a friend of mine with directions to sell him, and after paying himself out of the proceeds for his trouble, to remit me the balance wherewith to pay my hire. I then when to the Barber shop of Mr. John S. Gowans [Goins], who had formed a friendship for me during my boyhood, when acting in the capacity of a fish-monger, and who felt disposed to aid me in all his power. Hearing that I had come again to Frankfort, he held out the hand of fellowship to me, and the friendship has left its indelible mark upon my heart, which can never be erased, until I meet him again in the Land of Spirits, whither he has long since departed.

After telling my friend my circumstances, and my desires, I asked if he would undertake to learn me the trade.After a long parley, during which he gave me little encouragement, he requested me to call again after breakfast, and he would give me a final answer."

Hayden did as requested, and returned to watch the master shave some of his patrons and cut the hair of others. When Goins finished with his customers, the two men talked. Goins then gave Hayden a razor to sharpen. Hayden did so and Goins approved after inspecting it closely. Goins gave the slave Hayden another razor to hone, and likewise received high praise for his work. Hayden recalled:

"The [barber] apprentices were rather taken a-back, for at first, they had considered it a capital joke, that a factory boy should presume to learn the Tonsorial art; but who, now, no doubt concluded, with Sam Patch, that 'some things can be done as well as others.' He then advised me to get a cup and box, and having given me a pair of razors and a hone, he told me to take them, with a clean towel, and go the rounds of the town every morning, shaving as many as I could for half price, and that in the course of a few weeks, I would be able to set up shop for myself. Before parting with him, to enter upon the duties of my new occupation, I asked him what he charged for the kindness he had shown me, and the advice and instruction which he had given me? His reply was, 'the only recompense I ask, is, that if you see any of my children or grandchildren in need, you will aid them as well as you can.' To this I greatly assented."

Instead of remaining in Frankfort, Hayden walked to Georgetown, and followed Goins's instructions. Fortune smiled on the enslaved man. He entered an inn and came upon a stranger who requested the service of a shave. Hayden obliged and confidently performed his new job. When Hayden informed the stranger that he was the would-be barber's first-ever customer, the man "was astonished and predicted for me a high standing in my vocation."

Hayden continued to serve as Georgetown's "street barber," as he called himself and was happy to find that he had made a profit of $8.00 after his first month's work. Hayden got his master to lease him a piece of town property on which his master built a shop, with the agreement that the slave barber give a portion of his proceeds to his master. Catching the entrepreneurial spirit, Hayden combined forces with a female slave friend and they also entered into a confectionery business partnership. Along with his two businesses' earnings, Hayden won a couple of lotteries, which added to this growing wealth.

Still enslaved, Hayden unfortunately changed hands and served for a time as help for a slave trader making trips up and down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. Hayden purchased his freedom in 1824 and received his deed of manumission from then owner Thomas Phillips of Paris, Bourbon County, Kentucky. He eventually settled in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he worked as a barber and wrote and published his slave narrative.

New Acquisitions to My Library

Lucky me received a generous Amazon gift card as a Christmas gift from my family. I used it to add a number of books that were on my "Wish List" to my personal library, which are finally starting to arrive in the mail each day. Is there anything much better than finding a book in your mailbox?

Books like Stephen Berry's All that Makes a Man: Love and Ambition in the Civil War South, which I read over a decade ago, stirred my interest in antebellum manhood and Southern honor studies. I'm hoping this one gives me some new things to think about.

Fredericksburg is one of my top three eastern theater battles to study. And George C. Rable's Fredericksburg! Fredericksburg! is one of my all-time favorite books, but I have read excellent reviews on this one as well. I'm looking forward to historian and National Park Service Ranger O'Reilly's take on this December 1862 battle.

Studies on the domestic slave trade and the forced migrations of slaves to the Old Southwest has intrigued me for the past few years. Books like The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism by Edward Baptist are drawing more and more scholars to this important subject, who are presenting new interpretations. 

There are so many myths, tales, and misinformation floating around about the origins of the Ku Klux Klan. Therefore, I am looking forward to examining this author's take and seeing what evidence is used to tell the beginnings of this terrorist organization during Reconstruction.

Similar to the above mentioned Slavery and Forced Migration in the Antebellum South, Walter Johnson explores the internal slave trade and the expansion of the Cotton Kingdom in River of Dark Dreams. I learned a lot from Johnson's previous work, Soul by Soul: Life Inside the Antebellum Slave Market, so I am sure this one will not disappoint either. 

Being always on the lookout for books about local history, the title to this one caught my attention, and since I am not too far from the book's location of focus, I am sure there many things I can learn and draw upon for work and for my personal knowledge. 

Just as there is much information about the Ku Klux Klan, there also is about the noted 54th and 55th Massachusetts Infantry Regiments. In 1989, the motion picture Glory brought significant attention to the 54th, and thus USCTs, but it also promoted some myths. I'm interested to read Edgerton's history of the 54th and 55th Infantries, and 5th Massachusetts Cavalry.

Well, I have to go. I have some serious reading to do.

O. Jennings Wise: Editor, Duelist, Soldier, Southerner

Richmond, Virginia's Hollywood Cemetery is a veritable "Who's Who" for the final resting places of notables in Old Dominion and Confederate history. United States presidents James Monroe and John Tyler are there, along with Confederate president Jefferson Davis. A host of Confederate generals, including  J.E.B. Stuart, George E. Pickett, Edward Johnson, John Imboden, and Henry A. Wise, also all rest at Hollywood.

Beside Governor Wise is a lesser known Confederate soldier; his son Captain Obadiah Jennings Wise. Known by family and close acquaintances as Obie, Wise was the governor's oldest son, and seemingly his favorite. Obie grew up to be Southern society's epitome of antebellum manhood.

O.Jennings Wise was born on April 12, 1831. He received his college education at William and Mary, and interestingly, Indiana University. After a term of service as a European diplomat, Wise returned to his native Virginia and eventually obtained the editorship of the Richmond Enquirer, the Capitol city's Democratic newspaper. Wise the younger's stint with the sheet coincided with his father's governorship; a situation that would bring trouble for Obie. Seemingly honor-bound to defend his father's name Wise fought at least eight duels within about two years, many over perceived injustices to his governor father.

Many of Wise's dueling opponents were fellow editors. A veritable war of words played out among Virginia's antebellum newspaper editors who were anything but "fair and balanced" in their coverage of political news. In 1858, he fought Robert Ridgeway, the editor of the Richmond Whig. That same year he battled Virginia politician Sherrard Clemmens. The gun play resulted in Clemmens being wounded in the groin. Wise was unharmed. The following year, 1859, Wise had a dust up with William Old of the Richmond Examiner. That year Obie fought Patrick Henry Aylett, who also worked for Examiner. Apparently Wise lived a blessed life, as it seems he escaped all of his many duels virtually unscathed.

While friends appreciated the pubic service of the Wises, it was not only dueling opponents who held both men in low regard. Virginia arch-secessionist Edmund Ruffin. Ruffin noted in his diary in August 1859: "The former [Obie], as well as his father, is a professional duelist, & a bravo, & by both precept & example, to make him a professional bully for political gain, & a murderer in intention, if not yet in deed."

When the Civil War broke out, Obie was made captain of Company A of the 46th Virginia Infantry. Company A was composed of members of the antebellum Richmond Light Infantry Blues militia unit. While serving on the North Carolina coast and fighting under his father's command at the Battle of Roanoke Island on February 8, 1862, Obie was wounded in the wrist of his sword arm. Shortly after bandaging this minor injury, he received grievous wound to his thigh. The captain was captured by Union forces and then died shortly thereafter. His body was returned to Richmond. A splendid funeral was held at St. James Episcopal church and he was interred at Hollywood Cemetery where he now rests, right beside his father.

McGowan's Brigade Resolutions and Becoming Slaves to the Enemy

Recently, I started a book club for staff and volunteers at work. The first volume that was selected to discus was Damn Yankees!: Demonization and Defiance in the Confederate South by George C. Rable. In this valuable contribution to the understanding of Southern determination, much is made about the power of words to inspire action and instill nationalism. Painting one's enemy with dehumanizing characteristics, and in some cases greatly exaggerating tales of atrocities or what could be expected should defeat be realized, buoyed hopes and strengthened many Southerners' resolve to continue the fight.

To prepare for our actual discussion meeting, I made copies of a set of resolutions that I remembered reading, which were drafted in February 1865, by Gen. Samuel McGowan's men while they were camped and headquartered at what was then the Bouisseau family's Tudor Hall plantation and is now Pamplin Historical Park. What stood out in my memory of the document was their defiant stance, but when I re-read it, what stood out was their fear of being "enslaved" by their enemies.

In three different places, which I have placed in bold type, the author(s) of the document used some from of the term slave. In the second resolution it states: "That the reasons which induced us to take up arms at the beginning have not been impaired, but, on the contrary, infinitely strengthened by the progress of the war. Outrage and cruelty have not made us love the perpetrators. If we then judged that the enemy intended to impoverish and oppress us, we now know [emphasis in original] that they propose to subjugate, enslave, disgrace and destroy us."

In the fourth and final resolution it mentions slavery twice. However, again, not in the sense you might think. "To submit to our enemies now, would be more infamous than it would have been in the beginning. It would be cowardly yielding to power that was denied upon principle. It would be to yield the cherished right of self-government, and to acknowledge ourselves wrong in the assertion of it; to brand the names of our slaughtered companions as traitors; to forfeit the glory already won; to lose the fruits of all the sacrifices made and privations endured; to give up independence now nearly gained, and bring certain ruin, disgrace and eternal slavery upon our country. Therefore, unsubdued by past reverses, and unawed by the future dangers, we declare determination to battle to the end, and not to lay down our arms until independence is secured. Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it Heaven!"

I find it intriguing that the author(s) of these resolutions decided to use that specific term over and over. Did they fully believe that the status of slave was only reserved for those they considered an inferior race? Did they fully understand what it meant to be a slave?; to have no real self-determination; to labor for others without receiving compensation; to be ordered about; to be separated from one's family on the whim of another, all gathered through their exposure to and practice of the institution for generations? Did they understand the seriousness of the military situation and the influence such words would have on keeping men in the ranks and to oppose the gradual yet steady advances of the enemy. I would say, yes to all. Did they sincerely believe that they would literally be made slaves, like the African Americans on the farms and plantations of South Carolina? I highly doubt it. But to lose the war, and thus be made to give up their way of life; one that was based on chattel slavery, was likely thought to be about as close to actual slavery as one could get, and for many death was preferable.

Richmond's Washington Monument - Then and Now

This past summer, and then again a couple of months later, I was fortunate to get to tour around the Virginia State Capitol and grounds. Mr. Jefferson's edifice is certainly an impressive structure, and its service and place in the state's, as well as the Confederacy's history only increased its importance.

On the Capitol grounds stands a monument as impressive, if not more, so than the building it was meant to complement. Richmond's George Washington equestrian monument is a tribute to the state's native son. Washington's roles as a citizen planter, soldier, and statesman made him the ideal example for America's youth, but particularly for Virginia's young men as a model of manhood.  

The stunning monument was dedicated in 1858. It also features fellow Virginia notables, who were added to the memorial later: Thomas Jefferson; Patrick Henry; George Mason; Supreme Court justice John Marshall, Andrew Lewis, a French and Indian War and Revolutionary War officer; and Thomas Nelson, Jr., a governor and representative in the Continental Congress.

Richmond's Washington monument became even more well known when it served as the backdrop for Jefferson Davis's inauguration in February 1862, and with its incorporation into the Great Seal of the Confederacy.

Historic photograph courtesy of the National Archives

Sharp Seeking Calvin

On my days off, when I'm not reading, I often pass the time watching old films on TCM. If they happen to be showing a movie that I've seen before, I sometimes browse digital editions of nineteenth century newspapers, while the movies serve as background noise. Not a real exciting way to pass the time, but it can be educational. Well, anyway, that was the scene yesterday evening as I waited for the Oklahoma-Auburn game to get going.

During my online time travel through the headlines of 1862, I happened upon the above advertisement, which appeared in the May 30, 1862, issue of the Petersburg Daily Express. In it Confederate soldier Private Albert T. Sharp, of the Third Alabama Infantry, sought to reclaim his slave Calvin, who likely served Sharp as a camp servant. This practice was not at all uncommon. Calvin likely saw his owner's lack of vigilance as an opportunity to attempt to gain his freedom.

Pvt. Sharp left Calvin in Petersburg to recover from an undisclosed illness while Sharp was stationed at Drury's Bluff, which is located on the James River, between Petersburg and Richmond. The two weeks between leaving Calvin in Petersburg, and then finding him absconded, gave the enslaved man a significant amount of time to make his getaway. One has to wonder if Calvin was pretending to be sick as part of plan of escape.

I am almost always curious to learn more about the actors in these historical dramas, so I searched the 1860 census for Albert T. Sharp. He was located living in the household of his father, William, in Montgomery County, Alabama. Sharp the younger was eighteen years old in 1860. His noted occupation was farmer. William Sharp was sixty years old. The elder Sharp was a native of North Carolina. He likely immigrated to Alabama with a serious case of "cotton fever" during the previous decades. William Sharp owned seventeen slaves. Not a huge holding, but they certainly added up to a significant part of his $40,000 in personal property.

Albert Sharp enlisted in Company H of the Third Alabama Infantry Regiment in Lowndesboro, Alabama, two months before this advertisement ran. Pvt. Sharp's father probably allowed Albert to take one of the family slaves with him to the front to do camp chores like cooking, laundry, and other fatigue duties. Since Calvin's age is not listed in the runaway advertisement, it is difficult to match him to one of the slaves listed in the census as being owned by William Sharp. However, the census lists several male slaves in the sixteen to twenty-five year old age range that was common for camp servants.

I do not know if Pvt. Albert Sharp ever reclaimed Calvin, or if the enslaved man made good on his flight. However, Sharp was likely preoccupied when the advertisement ran. His regiment was part of Huger's Division who were held in reserve on May 31 at the Battle of Seven Pines, which was fought just east of Richmond. The following day, June 1, the Third Alabama saw significant fighting. The regiment's colonel was killed as well as thirty-seven other members of the unit. The regiment also lost 122 men were wounded, including its lieutenant colonel, Cullen A. Battle. Sharp apparently made it through the fray unscathed. He was not as fortunate a little later though. His records are conflicting, but either on June 20 or on June 27, 1862, he was wounded. One record says "accidentally." After Sharp's wounding he received a furlough of undetermined length of time to go back home to Alabama to recover.

If Sharp did catch Calvin, he likely came in handy as a nurse, as Sharp's service records indicate that he spent considerable time in various hospitals around Richmond dealing with different illnesses in 1862, 63, and 64. Sharp was captured at Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, on August 4, 1864. His service records noted he "deserted." Sharp and the Third Alabama were part of Jubal Early's forces that raided into Maryland and briefly threatened Washington D.C. that summer. Perhaps he wandered away from the column and was captured, or perhaps he did actually call it quits and deserted. Regardless, he was confined at Fort Delaware until he was release on May 5, 1865, after taking the oath of allegiance.

If Calvin made good on his freedom quest, I wonder if he and his former owner ever met up again back in Alabama. If so, was Albert resentful? Or did his military service provide him with an opportunity to appreciate a different perspective. I wonder.

Lincoln, Don Quixote, and John Brown Pikes

Happy New Year! I hope 2017 brings you everything that 2016 failed to deliver.

In my seemingly never ending quest to knockout those books remaining on my "to be read" shelf (I guess it would help toward that end if I stopped acquiring more books), I recently finished reading Lines of Contention: Political Cartoons of the Civil War by J. G. Lewin and P. J. Huff. The authors offered a number of images for discussion and text interpreting them.

I was familiar with a number of the anti-Lincoln portrayals by Adelbert Volck, a Baltimore dentist, from previous exposure in which he offered demonized images of the 16th president and made vivid use of John Brown and the militant abolitionist's pikes.

However, Volck also made comparisons between Lincoln and Don Quixote, Miguel de Cervantes's wouldbe romantic latter-day knight as a way of showing Volck's impression of the president's incompetence. In the image at the top, Lincoln (as Quixote) and his sidekick squire Gen. Benjamin Butler (as the simple Sancho Panza) go forth to allegedly correct the ills of society. To assist in conquering the South, Lincoln uses a John Brown pike as his tilting lance.

Similarly, in the image below, Lincoln's pike is propped up behind his chair, while an ax and split rail help identify the subject of the image and a Spanish helmet strengthens the association with the ill-famed wouldbe knight . Lincoln sits in his best Don Quixote attire and ponders ideas of "improving society." He dips his pen in a artillery mortar shaped inkwell, while making a list of recent Union defeats. His foot rests on books labeled as the "Constitution," "Law," and "Habeas Corpus." This image was apparently produced early in the war, as on the wall, a portrait shows Gen. Winfield Scott, known popularly as "Old Fuss and Feathers." Scott was replaced as General in Chief in November 1861 by Gen. George B. McClellan.

Political cartoons are effective means and can be used for both good and ill propaganda. Identifying Lincoln as Don Quixote and connecting the president to John Brown through the use of pike images remind us that politics, especially combined with warfare, has always been contentious ground.