Isam Scott & Mary Jones >
Isam Scott & Mary Jones
Isam Scott was born in or around 1810 to Bob and Chaney Scott in Screven County Georgia. Throughout his life, the spelling of his name on several records has several variations: Isam/Isom/Isome/Isham. Isham is the spelling that appears on most of them. Mary Jones was born around 1813 in Richmond County Georgia. Her parents are currently unknown, but they could be a couple named Moses and Eve or a woman named Hagar. This possibility arises from the will of her first owner, Seaborn Jones . He died in 1816 and leaves several slaves to his son, Augustus Jones. Isam and Mary naming their first child Moses provides additional evidence that the parents of Mary Jones were possibly the aforementioned Moses and Eve.
Isam Scott and Mary Jones must have met by 1839 as they would have their first child, Moses Scott, around this time. Together, Isam and Mary would have at least fourteen children: Moses, Robert, Caroline, Isam Jr., Elbert, Mary, Lucy, Millie, Thomas, Chaney, Sallie, Laura, July, Ellen, and Dennis. It is highly likely that the couple had more children than the fourteen listed or have children from other partners. The cause is unknown, but Augustus Jones begins to rapidly sell his slaves to neighbors. He sells slaves to his neighbor, Hardy Hunter. However, none of the enslaved Scotts that we know by name have been located. Despite the lack of a record, it is known that the enslaved Scott family ended up enslaved by Hardy Hunter by the time he moves to Lowndes County Georgia, as they are listed in his will.
In 1855, Hardy Hunter dies and his wife, Martha, marries William Jones. The enslaved Scott family was bequeathed to Martha and her new husband. It is in this particular document (Figure 19) that other children are listed for Mary Jones: Simon, Ann, Damon, Lavina, Ed, Daniel, and Eliza. These enslaved children align with several African Americans that would be found in Brooks County past 1870, however, the Inventory of Hardy Hunter’s Estate contradicts this.
The inventory list excludes the aforementioned children (Figure 20), which makes this a point of confusion. It was very common for enslaved men and women to have multiple children by different partners. Nevertheless, this family would remain enslaved by William and Martha Jones until emancipation in 1865.
By emancipation, Isam Scott and his many children were either living in Lowndes County or the newly formed Brooks County, carved out of the western portion of Lowndes. In June of 1868, Isam Scott entered a labor contract with a local white of Brooks County, William Gornto. As a mistake from the 1870 census Enumerator, Isam and his family are listed as Whites with the last name Gornto. This is most likely due to the fact they were living on Gornto’s land. Isam’s wife is now shown as Milly and it is very unclear if this is Mary Jones going by a nickname or if this is a completely different woman. There is not enough evidence to support either of these. However, an 1880 mortality schedule shows that an old black woman named Milly Scott died in 1879. Isam Scott Sr. would pass away some time between 1883 and 1900.
