As stated in Part Two. (Part 2 (Abbeville and the travel to the Cade Plantation) Part 2 (Abbeville and the travel to the Cade Plantation) , My wife and I traveled south of Abbeviille to try and locate the area where the Cade plantation once stood. Upon return home from the Natchez Trace Parkway trip, I embarked on searching the slave rolls and ancestry.com to located Addie Mae’s grandfather on the slave roll of the Cade Plantation. Using 1800 census information, I will try to place Monroe Cade on the Robert Cade slave roll of 1860. Enslaved people at the time did not appear on the normal Federal census, instead they were listed by number and age. The only thing I could do would be to work backwards from the Federal census beginning with the 1870 census. Just let it be known that much of the information on the Federal census at that time concerning enslaved people may not be entirely accurate, especially when looking at age and place of birth.
Based upon the 1870 Federal Census Monroe Cade (age 25 and a Farmer) was born in Mississippi and living in Louisiana with is wife (housekeeper) Chancy Cade (20). Birthplaces are not alway accurate. I believe Monroe Cade took the surname Cade, because that is where he was born, on the Cade Plantation)
This places Monroe’s birth in 1845.
Based upon the 1870 census for Addie Mae’s grandmother (Julia Cobbins, keeping house, age 26, birth year 1844) .
Based upon the 1880 Federal Census Gulia Collins (Cobbins/Cade), Head of household (34) was born in Louisiana and was living in Louisiana ( Places her birth at 1846). Son David Eaton (Mulatto) (20), daughter Mary Cade (16), daughter Adaline (11), son Monroe Cade (9), daughter Beulah (Beulia) Cade (7)-this was my paternal grandmother’s mother, my great grandmother, son Bascomb Wimberly (3).
From the 1870 census to the 1880 census, why did Julian (Gulia) children’s surnames change from Cobbins to Cade. David Cobbins changed to Eaton, but Julia’s surname remained Cobbins and occupation is now listed as “works farm.”
I would suspect the children with the Cade surname were fathered by Monroe Cade. David Eaton and Bascomb Wimberly were fathered from another male. I also suspect David Eaton’s father may have been a white plantation owner and therefore born into slavery, because he had the mulatto designation.
Discrepancy in age is probably due to the time of year when the census was taken.
The census shows Addie Mae’s grandmother at age 34 and born in Louisiana (1846 birth year – which means she probably wasn’t from Africa, because,
“In 1807, Congress outlawed the African slave trade effective on January 1, 1808 (2 Stat. 426), and in 1820 declared it to be piracy punishable by death (3 Stat. 600-601). Remaining unimpaired, however, were the rights to buy and sell slaves, and to transport them from one slave state to another.” But that doesn’t mean that her great grandmother may have been from Africa.
https://www.archives.gov/research/african-americans/slave-ship-manifests.html
However the 1880 Federal Census places an age of 45 on Monroe Cade that doesn’t jive with the 25 y.o. Monroe in 1970. But 20 years later the 1900 Federal Census shows Monroe Cade to be 55 year – this is in line with an 1845 birth year. The only reason I can think of/for the discrepancy is the census taker got the age wrong for the 1880 census year.
This is why one needs to take the information provide concerning former enslaved people with a “grain of salt.” The information may or may not be accurate, so inferences need to be made with an educated guess.
We are now armed with some information that can be used in determining where Monroe Cade might be located on the 1860 slave roll of the Robert Cade plantation. I have posted the1860 slave roll of the Robert Cade plantation as a jpg image.
Using the 1870 and 1890 Federal Census Report we should find a 15 year old male on this report. It would be even more fascinating to find on this report that the 15 year old’s race would be marked as M (mulatto). If this is the case then Addie Mae’s writing of her grandfather being the product of an enslaved person and the White plantation owner (Bible) or the White plantation owner’s daughter (letter) would be accurate.
The 1860 slave roll of the Cade Planation shows the following information:
Looking at the slave schedule and knowing that 1870 census shows Monroe Cade at age 25, and 1860 slave schedule shows a 15 y.o mulatto male,
I am fairly confident that this 15 y.o. slave is my grandmother’s Monroe Cade. Based on this information, this makes Monore Cade’s mother one of these 49 (B) 45 (B), 45 (B), 35 (M), or 31(M) y.o. enslaved females. – if Addie Mae’s Bible is accurate in stating that the father was the plantation owner. But Addie Mae’s letter could also be accurate in stating that Monroe’s mother was the daughter of the plantation owner if one of the enslaved women listed is the daughter of Robert Cade, the Plantation Owner. More than likely she would be either the 35 y.o Mulatto or the 31 y.o. Mulatto female. That means the Monore’s mother was either 20/19 or 15/16 y.o when he was born. For me I would
think the 35 y.o Mulatto female is the mother and possibly the “breeder” referred to my Addie Mae’s letter.
Speaking of “breeder,” it is entirely possible that the young mulatto children listed on the 1860 Robert Cade slave roll are his progeny. After all it was a way for for the plantation owner to increase his enslaved population without have to purchase them at auction. Just thinking this and stating this fact is repugnant. I have reformatted the slave roll for better readability.
According to the Meridional newspaper of Feb 11, 1893, the Cade plantation was offered for sale with a $35,000 price tag. “The Cade Plantation situated about seven miles south of Abbeville on the East bank of Vermillion River, containing 1600 acres with improvements consisting of two dwelling houses, a number of cabins (probably former slave cabins)stables, barns, cotton gin, etc.”
In the area where the Cade plantation once stood is “The Grotto” and a cemetery that houses the body of William Cade (son of Robert Cade, the owner of the Cade Plantation)
Photo slides of the Cade Plantation area. Click here
Part 2 (Abbeville and the travel to the Cade Plantation)
Part 3 (Travel to Natchez, MS)
Part 4 (Natches, MS, Center for slave traders in the area)
Part Six: 1619 and the beginning move to generational slavery.
No. Owners: 1 /No. Of houses: 11 / No. Male slaves: 30 / No of female slaves: 21
Total Slaves: 51