Tallahassee Black Families Collection

Item set

Title

Description

Tallahassee was founded in 1825 and selected as the capital because of its location, which was the halfway point between Pensacola and St. Augustine. The city depended on a plantation economy, which was fueled by slave labor; as a result, by 1860, the Black population grew to three times the size of the White population. The descendants would create a rich and unique history in Tallahassee, which this collection has recorded and preserved. The collection contains the Mr. & Mrs. Levi Simmons Papers, Martin Family Papers, Pasty Miller Papers, Benjamin J. Baker Papers, Robert Meacham, Jack Jefferson Papers, Davis and Pemberton Family Reunion Program, Katherine Nickelson Spieghts Collection, Martha Brown Collection, Dr. Alpha Omega Campbell, Lewis Washington Taylor, Cherrye L. Turner Spencer, The Gardner Family History, The Hall family of Leon County, Rev. Bernyce H. Clausell History, and Charles Henry Rollins History.

Physical Location

Tallahassee Black Families Collection, John G. Riley House Archives, Tallahassee Community College Library, Tallahassee, Florida.

Items

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Family Group Records

Family records were documented during personal interviews conducted in 1997 by Althemese Barnes. Records include information on family members, their births, marriages, deaths, and burials. Families listed include Littleton, Barnes, Davis, Thompson, Pemberton, Sims, Robinson, Perry, Knox, and Arnold Families.
Lloyd and Lydia Pemberton biographical materials

A death certificate for Lloyd Pemberton; a record index of deeds dating from 1958 to 1962, including many granted to Willie Mae Pemberton; a mortgage listing Lloyd and Lydia Pemberton as mortgagees; and an indenture between Willie Mae Pemberton, Lloyd Pemberton, and others.
Maggie A. Yellowhair biographical materials

The program for Miss Maggie A. Yellowhair's funeral in 1952, in addition to notes on her life, career, and family.
Witherspoon Family materials

Several original deeds and contracts dated between 1909 and 1929, in addition to numerous photocopies of various other deeds and documents. It also includes several funeral programs.
Henry Watson biographical materials

A brief biography on Henry Watson also includes questions raised by the author about Watson's relationship with plantation owner, John Still Winthrop. A brief biography on Henry Bryan(t), who also had a connection to Winthrop, and to whom Winthrop sold land as he did Henry Watson. A chronology of Henry Watson's land purchases in Tallahassee from 1883 to 1900. Correspondence from one Geraldine Adams in regards to information on Henry Watson and Susie Thomas Watson. A photocopy of an obituary in The Weekly Floridian for "the wife of Mr. Henry Watson". It also includes an abstract of title mentioning land belonging to Henry Watson, and a separate piece of land belonging to Henry Bryan.
Walker-Robinson Family materials

A newspaper clipping from 1988 features an article on the Walker Family who hosted the Walker-Robinson Family Reunion in Tallahassee. It also includes a brief biography of the Walker patriarch, Ben Walker, who purportedly lived to be 121 years old. The article on the reverse side of the clipping celebrates James Eaton, who taught history at FAMU and FSU, and established the Black Archives Research Center and Museum.
Catherine Speights oral history transcript

The transcript for an oral interview with Catherine Speights in which she discusses her upbringing in Chaires, Florida.
Cherrye Turner Spencer biographical materials

Photocopies of photographs of Cherrye Turner Spencer and Jack Spencer, in addition to a biography on Cherrye L. Turner Spencer.
Swilley Family materials

A card from the Secretary of State that certifies one Mildred K. Swilley as a member of the State Board of Nursing of the State of Florida, Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation. It also includes an undated newspaper clipping from the Tallahassee Democrat that features a photo of Nurse Mildred Swilley accompanied by an article about the need for practical nurses in the Tallahassee area.
Beansie and Levi Simmons documents

Various letters addressed to the Simmons', including several letters penned to Levi Simmons during a stay at the Veterans Hospital. It also includes tax documents, deed records, an "Inquisition of Incompetency" form, various receipts, Veterans Affairs documents, and the academic history of one Davis Linwood Jr. from Jacksonville University, in addition to various other documents.