Louisiana
In 1828 James Dinsmore and his partner, John Minor, purchased land on Bayou Black in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, from James Bowie. He made several more purchases over the next few years bringing the total to about 2500 acres. Much of the land had not been under cultivation & required a lot of work to prepare it for planting sugarcane and cotton. Dinsmore purchased a steam engine from Pittsburg, a sugar mill and a saw mill from Cincinnati, both of which would be run by the engine. The use of steam engines was very innovative in the sugar industry. A local man was hired to build the sugar house, the house for the saw mill, a pigeonnier, and perhaps the house for the Dinsmore family. James never described his Louisiana house in his letters, but he used to tell stories to his granddaughters and Patty remembered this much about what he had told her:
Years and years ago before I was born, your [my] Grandfather & Grandmother lived in Louisiana on a sugar plantation. They had a pretty low house with a great hall through it and climbing all over it roses, such as we never see here even in hot houses. Crepe Myrtle & Oleander trees gave shad in the yard, and in front of the house between it and the bayou was a beautiful drive lined on either side by stately live oaks…
Dinsmore relied on the labor of about sixty enslaved people who worked year round planting, preparing, and harvesting the cane and cotton, and about twenty day laborers—Acadians, Isleños, Native Americans, and Anglo-Americans from the neighborhood. In 1838, tiring of the debt associated with cash crop planting, Dinsmore purchased farmland in Boone County, Kentucky, and four years later, after selling his Bayou Black land, he moved his family there.
Enslaved Laborers
Lindor Hooks
James Dinsmore and John Minor jointly purchased Lindor from an estate sale in Natchez, Mississippi in 1825. His age was never mentioned. Lindor would have been placed on one of the Minor family’s several plantations in the area. In 1829, one year after Dinsmore and Minor bought their Bayou Black plantation, James, on his own, purchased Dilsey, about 24 years old, and Lindor, her 16-month old son, from a nephew of John Minor. This allowed the family to be taken to Louisiana together. By 1849, there were four Hooks children: Lindor, Patsy (who was described as being crippled), Mark, and Dinah. Lindor must have earned a good deal of trust from Dinsmore, who elevated him to overseer in 1934. He was paid $100. Although it was only a temporary position and Lindor was not paid the same as a white overseer, his wages allowed him to purchase whiskey, tobacco, cotton, hats, and stockings. When Dinsmore moved to Kentucky, he gave Lindor the freedom to sell the labor of himself and his family to whomever he wished. The white men in the neighborhood would have had to agree to this arrangement for it to work. Unfortunately, it was feared by one neighbor that Lindor was not being paid—a result of his being without a white sponsor. Another correspondent wrote to Dinsmore that it was dangerous to allow Lindor so much freedom—other enslaved people might get ideas. Lindor’s “freedom” was no longer an issue when he died of measles in 1846. His wife, Dilsey, had died in 1845. By 1849, then, their four children were working for William J. Minor who owned the whole of the Bayou Black plantation. Six years later, Minor wrote Dinsmore with some troubling news about the Hooks children. He makes no mention of Patsy, but wrote that Dinah, who was about sixteen years old, had given birth several times but the infants had died and he suspected she may have been killing them— perhaps due to her age or a sign of resistance to the enslavement of her children. The boys, Mark and Lindor, Jr., he believed were not working very hard and he was convinced one of them was eating dirt. This was a sign of an insufficient diet. Lindor, Jr. died in the mid-1850s. In the 1850s, Dinsmore became a partner in the Gaines Farm in Saline County, Missouri, and by 1858 Dilsey and Mark Hooks were working there. They may have stayed in Missouri after the Civil War, but the Dinsmore family makes no further mention of them.
Allec
James Dinsmore and John Minor jointly purchased Allec at the same time as they bought Lindor, in 1825. He is mentioned with Judy occasionally, but she disappears in the 1830s. Allec, like Lindor, worked hard and eared more money than most of the other enslaved people. In 1840 he earned $95, and Dinsmore wrote that by 1841 Allec had paid him $422 towards his freedom, a sum that required years of hard work and very little spending. Dinsmore paid the enslaved people one cent per pound of cotton picked on Sundays—their only day off. Allec picked cotton, raised fowl, collected moss for mattresses, and did other odd jobs on Sundays to earn enough to buy his freedom—$508.00. By 1842 Dinsmore referred to Allec as a free man, but it was a freedom that was outside the legal system. As was the case with Lindor, the neighbors on Bayou Black had to acknowledge this freedom for it to mean anything. The fact that they did so indicates that Allec’s case was not unique. A letter from a friend of Dinsmore’s in 1845 describes “Old Allec” as “hold[ing] forth with Mrs. McMasters, alias old Hanna. The old man seems to be free from trouble himself, &, is of none certainly to any one else. ” (Van P. Winder to James Dinsmore, December 29, 1845) As with Lindor, though, Allec was not to enjoy his freedom for very long. In 1849 he was reported dead, with no cause given.
George
George had, at one time, been enslaved by James Dinsmore’s uncle, Silas Dinsmoor. When Silas was in Mobile, Alabama, he was forced to sell his slaves to pay a debt for which he had signed as security. James and his younger brother, Silas, Jr., purchased nine men and three women. George was among these. He is later listed as being thirty years old, so he was probably born close to 1800. As was the case with most of the men in this group of enslaved people, George was hired to the United States government to help build Fort Morgan, which was finally completed in 1834. The government paid Dinsmore almost $200 per year for George’s labor. One year before the fort’s completion, Dinsmore took George to Louisiana to work at Bayou Black. For two years he and his uncle discussed whether or not George should be sent to Kentucky to work on Silas’s farm. James thought it wasteful as Silas could hire two white men for what George’s labor was worth in the Deep South (James Dinsmore to Silas Dinsmoor, 13 April 1832). While working on the Bayou Black plantation, George, whose nervous disposition caused him to stutter) formed a relationship with a women named Peggy. Unfortunately, Peggy was owned by a neighbor, Shaffer, and was only hired by Dinsmore, so although they were able to live together for a time, the threat of separation was constant. When Dinsmore moved to Kentucky, George wanted to be purchased by Shaffer: “Your man George seems to be anxious to belong to Shaffer who he has applied to purchase him wishing to live with his wife. Mr. Shaffer requested me, when I wrote to you, to ask you whether you wished to sell him and what your price.” (Van P. Winder to James Dinsmore, 16 January 1844) Apparently the sale did not go through, because one year later, George is described as distraught over the death of his wife: “The death of his wife appeared to have had a serious effect on his mind…. I understand that he sometimes cries out for his wife at night, there is either something the matter with his mind or it is well affected.” (Van P. Winder to James Dinsmore, 29 December 1845) George was reported dead in 1846.
William Dinsmore
William (Bill) Dinsmore is the only enslaved person who took the name Dinsmore. Since there is not purchase of a William it is believed he was the child of an enslaved woman who was either owned by John Minor or James Dinsmore, but his parentage is a mystery, though his age puts his birth at about 1830. When James left Louisiana, he made a list of the enslaved people he was going to hire out in 1842 and William was not on the list, so it is very possible that his father had been enslaved by Dinsmore and his mother was owned by Minor. It is also possible that he took the Dinsmore last name because he thought (correctly or incorrectly) that Dinsmore was his father. Either way, once James moved to Louisiana, his contact with William would not have been close because William spent most of his time working on the Minor’s Waterloo plantation, closer to Natchez. In 1848 and again in 1852, William J. Minor made a list of his slaves on Waterloo plantation and Bill Dinsmore was on that list. Interestingly,in both cases he is in the “household” of single males, so there is no clue as to who his mother was. In 1850 William wrote a letter to Dinsmore from New River, Louisiana. He had just been to the Bayou Black plantation (by then renamed Southdown by William J. Minor). He wrote that he was too heavy to be a jockey anymore. (William Dinsmore to James Dinsmore, 7 July 1850) Minor was an avid horse racer on the courses near Natchez and outside New Orleans. This was a typical interest for southerners, but even for a southerner, Minor spent a good deal of money on horses and betting. The fact that William Dinsmore was a jockey and was literate were signs of the favor of the slaveowner. Unfortunately the position of jockeys was not one that lasted very long and his switch from jockey to plantation labor must have been a difficult transition. William died before his thirtieth birthday.
Rosetta
Rosetta was purchased in 1825 by James Dinsmore from John Minor. She may have already had a child, Mary, at that time. In 1829 she was moved to Terrebonne Parish with the other enslaved people owned by Dinsmore. According to documents kept by Dinsmore, and later by William J. Minor, she was in a household with a man named Bacchus Holmes. When James was getting ready to move north, he always referred to Rosetta and her family without mentioning Bacchus, so he probably did not own that man. Dinsmore was “satisfied they could not be happy but in this country.” (James Dinsmore to Martha M. Dinsmore, 8 February 1842) That would make sense if her husband was going to remain in the South, although James was overstating the case that she would be “happy” working on a plantation in Louisiana. His wife, Martha, in a very businesslike manner, thought about the financial side of slavery: “Negros are selling very high & you might wipe off some of your obligations with him (Minor) by promoting & securing the future well being (sic) & happiness of Rosetta & her family.” (Martha M. Dinsmore to James Dinsmore, 14 December 1841) Dinsmore chose, instead, to hire Rosetta to Minor until finally selling her in the 1850s. In 1852, Lewis, Amanda, and Mary Frances Holmes are living in the same household with Bacchus, Rosetta, and a twenty-year old, Edmond Clark. After the sale, there is no word of her or others from her family.
Acadians, Anglo-Americans, Islenos, and Native Americans
Mr. Bonnevilla Pierre Bonvilla shows up in the 1840 census in Terrebonne Parish as being 60-70 years old & enslaving four people.
Verret family In 1841 Madame Verret was paid $4/barrel for hauling 56 hogsheads sugar & $3/barrel for 347 hogsheads molasses and $8/barrel for 16 hogsheads sugar.
S. P. LeBlanc S. P. LeBlanc does not appear in the 1840 census, but there were several other LeBlancs—Valentine, three Js., Napoleon, and Simonette.
H. McGau H. McGau worked on the steam engine and in blacksmithing in 1840. There was no H. McGau or Gau (as James wrote) in the 1840 census, but there was an Alexandre McGau, 30-39 years old, living with three younger men, one of whom may have been the H. Gau working for Dinsmore.
John Johnson In 1840 there was no John Johnson listed in Terrebonne Parish, but there was one in Natchitoches, 20-29, living alone. Another lived in Calcasieu, 40-49 years old.
G. Ratliff Perhaps this is meant to be J. Ratliff, because there was a John Ratliff in Terrebonne Parish in 1840, 30-39 years old.
Nathaniel Purnell Nathaniel Purnell worked in the sawmill for $1/day in 1841.
R. N. Chapman R. N. Chapman was paid for running the engine for the sugar mill during the 1841 grinding season, 13 days for $32.50. In the 1840 census, there is an R. Chapman in East Feliciana Parish, 30-39 years old. He enslaved seven people.
R. H. Grinage R. H. Grinage was the local merchant where Dinsmore bought supplies. In 1850 he was recently widowed and living with his six children (Frank, Edwin, Hubert, Celeste, Evelina, and James). He had $12,000 in property.
J. Thorn John Thorn was in the 1840 census, 30-39 years old. He enslaved four people.
William McCay William McCay paid $50 for one month of overseeing, 1841. There was no William McCay in Terrebonne Parish as heading a household in 1840.
Edmund Fanquille
Alexandre & Marcellin The possibilities for these brothers, if they were brothers, is Robisho [sic], Babin, Thibodeaux, Duplantier, and Naquin.
Manuel This could be Manuel Alvarado, but he also could have been a younger male in someone else’s household. The name indicates that he was probably an Isleños.
José There were several Josés in the 1840 census. The more likely ones would be José Chatinea or José Coulvitre. José was probably an Isleños.
Louis Dué Louis Dué was paid $78 for helping to make sugar for one season, usually November to February. There were no Dués in the 1840 census.
P. LaBeuf
C. LaBeuf
Roman Labeuf In the 1840 census, Roman LaBeuf was 40-49 years old & had two sons who could be the C. & P.
D. M. Smith D. Smith was 40-49 years old in the 1840 census.
Francis Rodriguez Francis Rodriguez let Dinsmore use his oxen with sugar mill. In the 1840 census, he was 40-49 years old. This Francis could be Francisco, which would match the last name, which is spelled Rodrigue in 1850. He was likely an Isleños, coming from the Canary Islands, which was settled by the Spanish, and where sugar was cultivated. In 1850 Francisco was 55 years old, and was living in Terrebonne Parish with his wife, Sophroisine. They had two sons and two daughters, Lucien, Victorine, Pauline, and Victorin.
J. Clark There was a J. B. Clark in the 1840 census who was 40-49 years old. Like Rodriguez, he allowed Dinsmore to use oxen with sugar mill.
P. Fletcher P. Fletcher dug ditches on the Dinsmore plantation. The ditches were dug all around the fields to allow for drainage. In the 1840 census, there was no P. Fletcher in Terrebonne Parish, but there was a Patterson Fletcher in St. Mary’s Parish. He was 20-29 years old and enslaved one female.
Lewis Casson Lewis Casson was 30-39 years old in 1840.
Charles Jenkins Charles Jenkins was 42 years old in the 1850 census. His occupation was listed as cooper and he was born in Pennsylvania. He was living with his wife, Mary, and their five children (Charles, Edward, Louisa, Henry, and Every.
Norbert De Arsenaux Norbert Arsenaux helped Dinsmore in making sugar. The timing for pouring off the cane juice had to be just right to make a good crop of sugar, so this was a relatively skilled job that earned more pay, though it was seasonal. In the 1850 census, Norbert Arcenaux was 40 years old and was a laborer. He was living with his wife, Esther, and their two children, Harris and Eve.
José Campeche
Joseph Ryan
S. Laby/Labee [brothers] In the census, the name is Labit, and there were three heads of household with that name—J., Celeze, and Lartiler. In the 1850 census, there was a Surville Labit who was 38 years old. He had $600 in property and was living with his wife, Oreline, and their six children (Henri, Marie, Surville, Eveline, Joseph, and Desce).
Francis, Antoine & Manuel These three brothers (?) were likely younger members of a household because there was no family name shared by these three first names in the 1840 census. When Dinsmore uses first names only, he is indicating a lesser status for these men, so perhaps they were Isleños, Acadians mixed with Native Americans, or Acadians mixed with free blacks. There was a Manuel Domingue in the 1850 census, which would make him a likely brother of Francois and Napoleon Domingue, all of them probably settling in Louisiana from the Canary Islands, when the Spanish owned the Louisiana Territory. In the 1840 census, Manuel was 36 years old and had personal and real property worth $350. He was living with his wife, Melissaire, and their five children (Manuel, Olezime, Michel, Cleopha, and Julie).
Mr. Irby [?]
Francis, Charles, & Sylvere Francis, Charles, and Sylvere match up with three Blanchard men—likely brothers—Francis was 30-39 in 1840, Charles was 20-29 years old, and Sylvere was also 20-29.
M. Thibodaux In the 1840 census, there was an M. Thibodaux who was 70-79 years old, but there were also two young men in the household, 30-39, so one of them could have also been and M. Thibodaux.
Francois Domingo & Napoleon Domingo In the 1840 census, there was an F. Domingo who was 50-59 years old. There was also a male who was 30-39 years old and two males 20-29 years old. It could have been two of these three men who were Francois (Jr.) and Napoleon. The patronymic of Domingo indicates a Spanish/Isleños background.
Jabo
Narcisse In the 1840 census, there was a Narcisse Bergon who was 20-29 years old. His household listed three working in agriculture, which would have included his wife and daughter.
Augustin Trahan There was an Auguste USA listed in the 1840 census, which may have been Trahan. He was 30-39 years old.
J. B. Bergeron There was a Jean Charles Bergeron in the 1840 census who was 40-49 years old. There was a younger male in the household, 20-29 years old, that may have been Jean Baptiste.
Belone Blanchard Belone Blanchard did show up in the 1840 census as being 20-29 and enslaving three people.
Firman Blanchard In 1839 and 1840, Dinsmore paid him to clear 16 arpents of land in the forks of Bayou Black for $48; he girdled 57 ½ arpents below the upper field for $86.25; and he girdled 78 arpents above & adjoining Dinsmore’s cornfield $117. In payment, he bought of Dinsmore a barrel of sugar & one of molasses. In 1850, Firman was 39 years old and had $600 worth of property. He was living with his wife, Maria, and their four children (Eveline, Zeolide, Eloïse, and Arcide).
Alexis Blanchard An A. Blanchard was 40-49 years old in the 1840 census. There was also a younger male, 20-29 in the household. In the 1850 census there was an Alexis Blanchard who was 52 years old, had $5200 in personal and real property. He was living with his wife, Margerite, and six children (Hilaire, Delphine, Alexis, Theodule, Grasimond, and Eveline).
Henry Narcisse There was no one with the last name of Narcisse in the 1840 census, so James may have meant two men. There was a Henry Dugas, 30-39 years old.
LaVitte Did James Dinsmore mean LaFitte?
Archange Petra
Simeon Clement
Louis Petra Louis Petra worked in sugar making in 1840 and was paid $53.00. He received his wages in hogs, sugar, and cash.
Joseph Babin Joseph Babin worked in sugar making, 1840 and earned $45.75. In 1841 he was paid $40.50 for 40 ½ days work in boating the sugar to Thibodaux.
Victorin Babin Victorin Babin worked in sugar making in 1840 and earned $48.25. He does not show up in the 1840 census but could have been in someone else’s household.
Napoleon Babin Napoleon Babin worked in sugar making in 1840and earned $58.25. Like his relative, Victorin, Napoleon does not show up in the census of 1840.
Pierre Babin There was no Pierre Babin in Terrebonne Parish in 1840, but there was one in LaFourche Parish, which bordered Terrebonne. He was 20-29 years old and enslaved two people.
Julien Barras Julien Barras was paid $25 in 1839 for work at sugarmaking. In the 1840 census, Julien may have been a young man in the household of the Widow Julien Barras. There was also a free black male in the household.
Overseers/Partners
I.Y. Gibson Isaac Gibson was not related, as far as we know, to Tobias Gibson, a close friend of the Dinsmore family. Isaac agreed to be a partner in the Bayou Black plantation with James Dinsmore and John Minor in 1830. He left a year later, though in the late 1830s he was overseeing several plantations belonging to William J. Minor. In the 1840s, he moved to Tennessee.
A. Kees A. Kees was a partner with Dinsmore in the sawmill and sugar mill. In 1829 and 1830, he was overseeing the construction of various structures on the plantation: the sugar house, sawmill, Dinsmore’s house, and the housing for the enslaved people. Previously, he had worked for John Minor. By 1832, Kees had moved elsewhere.
E. G. Collinsworth E. G. Collinsworth/Collingsworth was hired as overseer in 1828; his wife was paid for making clothing for the enslaved people. In the 1830 census, he is 20-30 years old. For one year’s work overseeing, Collinsworth received $300. In 1840 he is involved in a lawsuit near Baton Rouge.
G/J Ratliff
Thomas Roddy Thomas Roddy started working part-time for Dinsmore in 1828, hauling cane. He also did blacksmith work. In 1850, there was a Thomas Roddy in the census who was 44 years old. He had $700 in personal and real property and was listed as a farmer. His wife was Rosalie and they had six children living at home (James, Minerva, Thomas, Sarah, George, and Evalina).
S. H. Hazard S. H. Hazard was a partner with James on Bayou Black for years 1838 through 1840. He was a Presbyterian pastor who served in Thibodeaux before arriving in Terrebonne. From there he moved to Clinton, MS, and in 1849 he was at the First Presbyterian in Lafayette, IN.
Holden Wright Holden Wright was overseeing plantation in 1838 and 1841. He owned land nearby by 1845. Minor had issues with him & the land border. In the 1850 census, Holden was listed as 56 years old and was born in New Jersey. He had amassed $10,500 and was living with his wife, Nancy, and eight children (Elisha, Marie, Abraham, Holden, Thomas, William, Mary Jane, and Nancy.
Andrew Brumbaugh Andrew Brumbaugh was overseer for part of 1841-42 season. He was not found in the 1840 or 1850 census, but there is a man of that name in Salem, OR, who was born in 1815 & died in 1908.
Daniel Reel Daniel Reel was an overseer for 5 days in 1840, making $10; In 1841 Dinsmore agreed to pay him $33/month to get out timber for barrels & hogsheads, making fence, making road or other such work James may have. Also, from Nov. 1st to Jan. 1st, 1842, Reel was to be paid $60/month for overseeing the sugar making. If the regular overseer was sick prior to Nov. 1, Reel was to take over those duties at said $60. Reel was making hogsheads in 1841.
Enslaved
John Goosecreek John died of liver affliction under care of Dr. John Bell, June 1830.
“Yellow” Mary Mary died of typhus, March 1831.
Levi Levi died of liver affliction, April 1831
Anthony
Samson Spain Samson (sometimes Sampson) made and sold cotton baskets, eggs, chickens, and moss to Dinsmore. With his money he bought Sunday shoes for Kate, whiskey, & fishing line.
Moses, Bob, Jim, and Harry [might be enslaved by neighbor]
Hannah
Levin
Jilson
Eliza
Nancy
Vincent
Becky Becky died of dropsy, May 1837.
Neighbors
Witherspoons
Cages
Banks—has cotton gin that Dinsmore uses
Winder
Cruger
Dr. Pierce
Louis Dué—making sugar; paid $78 for one season