[Champ]

I’m seeking information on the Williams, Wardens and Donathan families who lived in Surry County, NC between 1830-1900. They were listed as mulatto on the census records. My ancestor was Michael Warden b. 1823 who married Tabitha Williams in 1840 in Stokes County. The marriage was not recognized in Surry County and they appeared in various court records in the late 1840s. Tabitha kept her maiden name of Williams and Michael and Tabitha’s child Leroy, took his mother’s name. Michael remarried to Anna Sturdivant and he was listed in grand jury records as a free man of color (1848). He and Anna were living in Stokes County in 1850 and Tabitha was living in Stokes with her children Leroy and a younger son, James. Michael and Anna (because of their color), left the area and went to Ohio where they were listed as white in the 1860 census.

My ancestor, Leroy (Warden) Williams, was born in 1843. He married Martha Donathan in 1863 whose race was also questionable. They appeared as mulattos on the census records until 1900 when they were listed as white.

Leroy was my grandmother’s grandfather. I believe the families to be tri-racial, but I have no proof. Has anyone seen these names?

[Author]

Posts