Dr. Antoinette Harrell, a genealogist and historian who is understood for serving to Black households join the dots, is at it once more. This time she has helped the Vernon household from Roseland, La. to raised perceive the historical past and legacy of their household and a city known as Vernon City that was based within the 1800s by their ancestor Robert “Free Bob” Vernon, a former slave.
Consequently, he was nicknamed Free Bob so as to distinguish himself from his white father. The Vernon household has held on to their land, oral historical past, images, and data that maintain the keys to their historical past in each Louisiana and Mississippi. This distinctive piece of historical past that might not be present in different native histories.
Free Bob was married thrice and fathered seventeen youngsters among the many three wives. His first spouse and his two sons had been offered as slaves in Mississippi. Years later, Free Bob acquired phrase that his first spouse had died and their two sons had been alone. Free Bob went again to Mississippi to get their two sons and returned to his house in Louisiana.
Free Bob’s father, Robert Vernon, Sr., taught his enslaved son concerning the significance of proudly owning land. His father made a take care of him in accordance with household oral historical past “in case you clear and work this [160] acres of land, I’ll see to it that you simply get possession.” With the assistance of his two sons, they cultivated 160 acres of land and constructed a log cabin home. His father allowed him to earn possession of the property to develop into a freedman.
Over time, Free Bob turned affluent in actual property crediting his father for the success. With a brand new household, and his mom at his aspect, he collected at the least 1,000 acres and as oral historical past tells it, it was as much as 2,000 and 300 acres over years of laborious work and cotton development.
“Free Bob bought land at 4 {dollars} per acre, and he secured the liberty of a number of slaves by acquiring them by way of gross sales from ‘their homeowners’ to grant them their freedom.”
4 of the acres had been donated to a neighborhood for ‘coloured of us’ to construct a church; later named Canaan, a faculty, and a cemetery. Nevertheless, Free Bob couldn’t learn or write and solely made his (x) mark. He believed that schooling was one of many keys to true freedom with land possession. He gifted 100 acres to every certainly one of his youngsters as a real reward of freedom and to start out with one thing of their very own.
Right this moment the church and cemetery are nonetheless on the land. After talking with native historian Dr. Antoinette Harrell, she urged putting a historic marker on the positioning to commemorate the historical past and legacy of Robert “Free Bob” Vernon. Vernon City is an unincorporated city that lots of Free Bob descendants nonetheless name house.
The Vernon household confronted the numerous challenges within the deep south like many blacks face throughout slavery, reconstruction, Jim Crow, and the Civil Rights Actions. Challenges that might have deterred the Vernon household from constructing a brighter future for themselves, their households, and the neighborhood. However they persevered within the face of problem and triumph to achieve their victories and success.
His descendants proceed to hold on the legacy, some by preserving the remaining land, whereas others turned profitable professionals akin to docs, attorneys, educators, engineers, entertainers, spiritual leaders, elected officers, navy personnel, and many others. His second nice granddaughter, Grace Walker, acknowledged that such dedication impressed her to develop into an educator. In flip, that have was handed alongside to her youngsters which assisted of their success.
Rev. Riley Vernon was a outstanding Christian chief together with different nice neighborhood leaders and ministers of the Third District Baptist Affiliation, Inc. shaped in 1889. Later, they constructed “Good Samaritan Nursing House” in Washington Parish, La. The nursing house continues to offer employment {and professional} care to these in want.
“Household historical past is a venue that may encourage and assist in understanding one’s personal id, and it may foster one’s need to find his or her previous,” stated Madelyn Collins, the third great-granddaughter of Free Bob.
Robert “Free Bob” Vernon left a robust basis for generations to return. A lot of his descendants achieved the ‘American’ dream to prosper and acquire for a profitable future.
“If he was alive immediately, I might need to inform him thanks for all he did for me and our household.” stated 80 plus yr previous second great-granddaughter, Grace Walker.
This text first appeared on Blacknews.com.
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