OUR GENEALOGY
Remember who you are…
Emma Fox, born in 1809, was the daughter of a Cherokee Indian and a black slave woman. Even though her father was free, the lineage of blacks during slavery was matrilineal, traced through the mother. Her early years were spent on a plantation and at some point; her mother was sold to another plantation owner. She never saw her mother again. She was left to fend for herself along with the other slave children.
Simons parents came to America from England on a slave ship. Most slaves that arrived in England came from the west coast of Africa in what are now Ghana, Mali and Senegal. Shortly after their arrival, most likely in Savannah or Charleston, they were auctioned off as a couple to a wealthy plantation owner in Lincolnton, Georgia. As was the custom in those days, they were given the Leverett name. Several children beside Simon were born to this union, however, their name are unknown.
According to the late Samuel Uncle Bud Martin. During the slavery years, the institution of love, courtship and marriage held little regard in the minds of massa. Husband and wives were usually chosen by overseers and massas. The new unions were merely for breeding purposes to enhance the slave trade. It was customary that male slaves were given passes by their massas to visit other plantations provided that it was agreeable to the other plantation owner. If while visiting they found a girl they liked and wanted to marry, they had to talk to their massa and ask permission to be married. While visiting the Leverett plantation, Simon met and fell in love with Emma Fox and wanted to marry her. He spoke to his massa, who in turn talked with Emmas massa and permission was granted for them to marry. Thus, Mr. Leverett bought Emma. A typical late 1800s price would have been set based on the current price of cotton. In 1825, when cotton was about 18 cent per pound, a prime field hand would be valued at about $600.00 with a child-bearing woman commandeering about 2/3s of that amount. According to oral tradition, Emma and Simon truly loved one another. Their union produced nine children: five sons, Brass, Fate, Ike, Tony and Bob: four daughters, Bessie, Georgeann, Cora and Neal.
After being together as a family for a number of years, Simon was sold to another plantation where he was given another wife, Laura. To our knowledge seven son were born to this union: Allen, Webb, Burle, Isaiah, Anthony, Herbert and Jake.Laura had one son from a previous marriage, Fred Tutt. It is possible that there were other children because there are many more Leveretts from the Lincoln County area who are related but we do not have the information to verify this. All that is known is We Is Kin.
Some time around 1865, after the ratification of the 13th Amendment, which expressly freed the slaves, Simon returned to his first family, however, he did not give up his love and support for his children by Laura. Oral tradition holds that Emma accepted and loved her stepchildren as if they were her own.Mr. Juburk (surname, unknown) was a white man who came to this country from France and settled in South Carolina. He had several children by his white wife and one son by his slave mistress. This son was acknowledged by his father and given his father's name, Juburk. He was a handsome, robust young man and purported to be the spitting image of his father. His father was a skilled artisan who built roads, houses and bridges. He also was a brick mason, tanner, shoemaker and a blacksmith. Oral tradition hints that Mrs. Juburk (surname, unknown) was very jealous and envious of the relationship between her husband and the younger Juburk as he had inherited and learned all of his fathers skills. Her sons by the elder Juburk were lazy and slothful and she demanded that the younger Juburk leave the plantation. At the age of 22, he was sold to the Martin family in Lincoln County for 90 bushels of wheat. He hence became known a Juburk Martin.
While on the Martin plantation, Juburk met and married Lula. Two children, Henry and John, were born to this union. The slaves were set free when Juburk was about 35 years old. They could not read or write, had no money, no place to live or food to eat. As a result, many stayed on with their former slave master. The law required that slaves be paid for their work, however there were many inequities in the sharecropping system. Juburk remained on the plantation until he and his family could fend for themselves.John and Henry Martin married two of the Leverett sisters, Neal and Georgeann. John and Neal had nine children: Doyle, Kizzie, Bell, Willie, Hattie, Jule, Ranze, Solomon and Thomas. Henry and Georgeann had five children: Lou, Jessie, Simon, Timothy and Samuel.Later, Henry was married also to Selena and from this union, two children were born, Allie and Cohen.
The marriage of John and Neal Leverett Martin, and Henry Martin and Georgeann Leverett Martin marked the beginning of the Martin-Leverett Interrelationship