Showing 105 ads
  • Tags: found

    • Found refers to ads that announce a person has been found. These ads often describe the search and include details about the reunion or upcoming reunion. The ads identified by this tag often detail years’ long searches and testify to the persistent desire of formerly enslaved people to reconnect with family and loved ones.

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Nat Miller reunited with his sister

Lawrence Daily World (Lawrence, KS)

March 28, 1904

After fifty years of separation,
Nat Miller, the colored janitor has
found his sister whom he lost during
slavery times Nat Miller is now
54 years old and his sister about 67.

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Mr. J. Sims reunited with his two sisters

The Colored American (Washington, DC)

November 25, 1899

Mr. J. Sims, of Capitol Hill, is rejoic
ing [rejoicing] over the arrival his two sisters from
Mississippi, from whom he was sepa
rated [separated] on the outbreak of the Civil War,
and only ascertained their whereabouts
a few months ago.

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Sisters, Julia Lyon and Emeline Skipwarth, reunited after 40 years

The Daily Inter Ocean (Chicago, IL)

November 20, 1885

AFTER MANY YEARS.

AFFECTING MEETING OF TWO SISTERS.

Special Telegram to the Inter Ocean.

BATTLE CREEK, Mich., Nov. 19.--Forty
years ago Julia and Emeline, two sisters,
were slaves upon the plantation of a master
by the name of Hall, in Kentucky. Emeline
left her sister one night, and with a party of
fugitives crossed the Ohio…

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Lee Barton reunited with his wife after 38 years

Eufala Daily Times (Eufala, AL)

May 10, 1891

AFTER MANY YEARS.

AFFECTING MEETING OF TWO SISTERS.

Special Telegram to the Inter Ocean.

BATTLE CREEK, Mich., Nov. 19.--Forty
years ago Julia and Emeline, two sisters,
were slaves upon the plantation of a master
by the name of Hall, in Kentucky. Emeline
left her sister one night, and with a party of
fugitives crossed the Ohio…

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Executors of estate found Robert Busby, "ex-slave," and gave him an inheritance

The Broad Ax (Chicago, IL)

October 9, 1897

AGED EX-SLAVE.

Left a Fortune of $50,000 by His
Former Master.

Benton Harbor, Mich., Sept 29.

--Robert Busby, an old ex-slave,
was today advised by a Charleston
(S. C.) lawyer that his former master,
Bradford North, who died four
years ago, has left him an inheritance
of $50,000. The old planter
left an immense estate, and…

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John Thompson and Kitty Owens reunited and married after 25 years

The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)

January 17, 1894

EX-SLAVES MARRIED.

Two Old Darkies United After a
Separation of Twenty-Five
Years.

The Groom Had But Ninety Cents To
Pay Magistrate Camp For
His Services.

Two ex-slaves who had not seen each
other for twenty-five years, were married
yesterday by Magistrate B. F. Camp at
his office in Court place. The principals
were John…

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Anthony Edwards and Lucinda Gibson reunited and remarried after 35-year separation

Mexico Weekly Ledger (Mexico, MO)

November 29, 1888

An Old Slave Marriage.
The Parties to It United After
Thirty-Five Years' Separation.
From the Globe Democrat.

An instance almost strange as
fiction itself occurred in the marriage
license department at the Recorder's
office yesterday. It appears
that about fifteen years previous
to the late civil war a colored
man, who now gives…

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Richard Jones and Jane Vaughn reunited and married in 1899

The Kansas City Gazette (Kansas City, KS)

January 16, 1899

A Romance of Slavery.

Saturday two ex-slaves, neither of
whom had ever been married before,
were granted a license to wed by probate
Judge Snyder. They were Richard
Jones, aged 55, and Jane Vaughn,
aged 40, both of this city. The two
negroes, when children, were owned
by the same master. When the war
was over and the slaves…

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David Walke and Nancy Gibbs reunited after 32 years

Public Ledger (Memphis, TN)

July 26, 1871

A Romance of Slavery.

The Norfolk Virginian mentions a romantic
incident in the life of a negro
man named David Walke, who was sold
and taken to New Orleans thirty-two
years ago: At the time he was living as
man and wife with a woman by the
name of Nancy Gibbs. He remained
in New Orleans until last year, when he
paid a brief…

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"Uncle Levi" and "Aunt Aggie" reunited and remarried after 40 years

The Butler Weekly Times (Butler, MO)

January 30, 1884

A ROMANCE OF SLAVERY.

The Husband and Wife Torn Apart
Forty Years Ago Happily United.

Rome, Ga. Special to Courier-Journal.

That there are romances as touching
in negro life as were ever told is
proven by the story of a colored
couple named Uncle Levi and Aunt
Aggie, who lived in Cedartown Valley.
In 1840 Levi belonged to Mr.…

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Alexander Foley and his wife reunited and remarried after forty years

The Evening Bulletin (Maysville, KY)

November 27, 1891

REUNITED.

Slaves of Over Forty Years Ago Meet and
Will Be Remarried.

CARROLLTON, Ky., Nov. 27.—Alexander
Foley, of Natchez, Miss., a former
slave, arrived here a few days ago to
visit Dr. Goslie, who used to be his old
master. His surprise could be imagined
when he was told by Dr. Goslie that his
wife who was sold from him…

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John Easton found his mother after decades of searching

The Sun (New York, NY)

July 3, 1892

AFTER YEARS OF SEARCH.
A Former Slave Finds His Mother, and Proves His Identity by a Strange Mark.
From the Indianapolis Sentinel.
John Easton, a colored fireman at the Nordyke-Marmon Works, has been for more than twenty years trying to find his mother, and about two weeks ago got traces of her whereabouts. They were separated when he was 7…

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Mrs. Anna Mollie Wright reunited with her daughter Mrs. Anna Freeman after 29 years

The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer (Wheeling, WV)

April 11, 1892

AFTER TWENTY-NINE YEARS
A Mother and Daughter are Reunited.
The Daughter a Clarksburg Woman who
Was Sold During Slavery Days.
Special Dispatch to the Intelligencer.
FINDLAY, O., April 10.-A remarkable
reunion of mother and daughter who
had been cruelly torn from each other
at the slave block in 1863 has just taken
place in this city.…

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Brothers Joshua Collins and Solomon Collins meet in Cincinnati after decades-long separation

The Highland Weekly News (Hillsboro, OH)

October 17, 1867

Two brothers, colored, met in the streets of Cincinnati, last Sunday, after a separation of sixty years. Their names are Joshua and Solomon Collins. They were both formerly slaves in Fleming county, Virginia. Joshua bought his freedom in 1849, and re-moved to Cincinnati, where he has since resided. Solomon ran away from his master, then living in…

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Hiram Jefferson reunited with son Thomas after 30 years

Daily State Gazette (Green Bay, WI)

November 15, 1893

After thirty years' separation Hiram
Jefferson and his son Thomas are reunited
in Janesville. The father became separ-
ated [separated] from his family just after the capture
of Fort Donelson, he being a slave on a
plantation near the fort.

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Frank E. Lawrence finds his father after 36 years

Juniata Sentinel and Republican (Mifflintown, PA)

November 11, 1891

After a separation of thirty-six
years, Frank E. Lawrence, of South
Chester, has discovered the where-
abouts [whereabouts] of his father, in St. Joseph,
Mo. As slaves his father and moth
er [mother] were separated.

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Jack Corkley finds his mother after 40 years

The Cincinnati Daily Star (Cincinnati, OH)

January 23, 1879

Special to the Star.
LOUISVILLE, Jan. 23.---Jack Corkley, col-ored porter of the Short-line, has returned from Louisiana, where, after an separa-tion of forty years, he found his mother. She was sold as a slave when Corkley was a year old.

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George Thompson finds his first wife after 46 years

Boston Post (Boston, MA)

February 22, 1876

---George Thompson is a negro of Newport, 81 years of age, who escaped from slavery at Freder-ick, Md., forty-six years ago, leaving a wife and family, and who has just heard from his wife, whom he had given up for dead, having been unable to hear from her in years past. Since his flight to the North he has married, but his second wife and four…

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George Harris and Mary J. Brooks reunite and remarry after 45 years

San Francisco Call (San Francisco, CA)

July 23, 1904

FORMER SLAVES
JOIN FORTUNES
After Separation of Forty-
Five Years They Meet by
Chance at Fresno and Wed
BOTH MARRIED BEFORE
Each Had Lost a Loved One
and They Quickly Decide
to Finish Life Together
Special Dispatch to The Call.
FRESNO, July 22.---After a separa-
tion [separation] of forty-five years George Harris
and Mary J.…

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Albert Harris and Mariah Harris reunite after 37 years and remarry

Richmond Democrat (Richmond, MO)

February 25, 1886

Albert and Mariah Harris, colored, aged 71 and 66, who lived as man and wife in their early days in Kentucky, were sold by their master thirty-seven years ago and separated. After their freedom they expected to find one another and have continued to search ever since and are just now success-ful. He has lived in Kentucky while she has for years…

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Tom Carnahan, the only black police officer in Lincoln, NE, finds his brother after two decades

The McCook Tribune (McCook, NE)

November 4, 1886

TOM CARNAHAN, the colored member of the Lincoln police force, has been treated to a genuine surprise by the arrival of his brother from Texas, whom he has not heard from in twenty years. Before the war Tom and his brother were slave chil-dren in Arkansas and were separated by the war. Tom drifted to the north and his brother to Texas. A short…

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Henry Tolliver finds his father Alfred Tolliver

Iowa State Bystander (Des Moines, IA)

August 7, 1903

EDITORIALS.
REMARKABLE COINCIDENCE
Henry Tolliver, a leading citi-
zen [citizen], living at 1413 Fremont street
is about to start on a trip to
Leavenworth, Kans., to visit his
aged father, whom he has not
seen since he was sold on the
slave block over a half century
ago, at the age of 9 years. The
father is a man of remarkable age…

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Robert Warren and Charity Atwater reunited and remarried after 53 years

Davenport Sunday Democrat (Davenport, IA)

June 6, 1897

Married After Fifty-three Years.
Oskaloosa, June 5. There was sol-
emnized [solemnized] here today a wedding that re-
united [reunited] “Uncle” Robert Warren, of Os-
kaloosa [Oskaloosa], and Charity Atwater, of North
Carolina, after a separation of 53 years.
The two were married according to
slave laws at Chapel Hill, North Caro-
lina…

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Henry Wilson reunited with his sister after 39 years

The Jacksonville Daily Journal (Jacksonville, IL)

November 4, 1903

FINDS SISTER AFTER YEARS.

To meet a sister after a separation of thirty-nine years is the recent experience of Henry Wilson, the colored butler who has been at the executive mansion through the administrations of Governors Ogles-by, Altgeld, Tanner and Yates. Wilson was born a slave in Missouri in 1855 and was held with his mother for more than…

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Brothers Nathan Branch and Lee Branch reunited after 66 years

The Chicago Weekly Tribune (Chicago, IL)

July 14, 1899

FORMER SLAVE BROTHERS MEET

Nathan Branch of Evanston Finds by
Chance Lee, from Whom He Was
Parted 66 Years Ago.

After a separation of sixty-six years Nathan
Branch, the oldest colored man in
Evanston, will meet his brother Lee of
Macon, Ga. The last sight they had of each
other was in an auctioneer’s room on a
plantation in…

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