Actually I started this search for a friend....and to add to the files of
Port Republic, the town in which Mack Curry lived in 1870.   Unfortunately
I am more interested in how this black gentleman showed up where he did (in
a white area) and how well he prospered...than my friend is.  The small
town of Port Republic is unique...two streets wide running between the
South and North rivers where they meet to form the South Fork of the
Shenandoah.  You may enjoy goggling the town for a bird's eye view.

You are very kind to send so many good sources.
m

On Mon, Nov 7, 2016 at 12:39 PM, Quan Arnett-Pruitt <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> I'm assuming that this is a family member you are searching for.  I always
> follow the money.
>  Maybe this will help.  Slavery ended in 1865.  Former slaves will show up
> in the 1870 or 1880 census for the first time.  If you could not find him
> in the 1860 or earlier census or city directories with him or her listed as
> a FPOC (free person of color) then most likely he was not.
>
> As an African American research genealogy you will hit a brick wall at
> some point usually 1870.  We don’t just run a family tree on our family but
> also on the possible or last owner to find information.  So there is the
> possibility you might run a lot on just one family alone.  Some last names
> where given by the military or they just picked a last name based on
> anything.  Some took the last owners name or the name of some past owner.
>   Now you have to find who the last owner was for clues to more information.
>
> To get pass the brick wall you will have to:
> 1 take clues in your oral history
> 2 Eliminate the obvious last name.  Curry by running a family tree on the
> family to see what slaves they owned, wills and etc.
> 3 check the freeman bank for clues
> 4 USCT
> 5 court records- Deeds, wills, sales, mortgages, dowers, partitions and
> etc.
> 6 change your thinking to the 1800's
> 7 Find his death record.  Sometimes it will list his parents name but most
> just have unknow.
>
> Slaves are value/money.  You will have to follow the money trail.
> You will have to always think of where is the money and how do I hide the
> money and how to make and keep the money.
>
> I check some things on Ancestry and found that they are not listed before
> 1870.  Also you might want to check  a couple areas in your search Mongolia
> VA and Washington PA.  It would seem as if they or the children moved
> there.  Also someone has started a tree on this family and they might be
> able to help you and each other on this search.  Maybe a new cousin.
>
> Good Luck
> Quan
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Research and writing about Virginia genealogy and family history.
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Madaline Preston
> Sent: Monday, November 7, 2016 8:40 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [VA-ROOTS] Mack Curry
>
> Exactly, now did Mack become a free black?  I haven't found anything on
> Ancestry prior to the 1870 census for Mack and wife, Miranda.
> m. preston
>
> On Fri, Nov 4, 2016 at 8:05 PM, Selma Stewart < 0000000da5e72097-dmarc-
> [log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> > The question is have you located Mack Curry in any of the census
> > records prior to 1870 such as 1860 and 1850..identified by name..this
> > would mean he would have been classified as a "Free Black".  At that
> > point you would have to determine how he became Free..either by birth
> > (meaning his mother was
> > Free) or emancipated by Will or Deed.
> >
> >
> > Have you found him identified by name on a census or any other records
> > prior to 1865.
> >
> >
> > Selma Stewart
> >
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
> > To: VA-ROOTS <[log in to unmask]>
> > Sent: Fri, Nov 4, 2016 3:59 pm
> > Subject: Re: [VA-ROOTS] Mack Curry
> >
> > By the 1870 and 1880 censuses, all African Americans were free.
> >
> >
> >  My email address has changed to [ [log in to unmask] ](
> mailto:
> > [log in to unmask] ).  Please update your records accordingly.
> > Thank you! Leslie Anderson, MSLSReference LibrarianAlexandria
> > LibrarySpecial Collections Branch717 Queen StreetAlexandria, VA
> > 22314-2420703.746.1718 (office)703.746.1720
> > (fax)alexlibraryva.orgFounded as a subscription library in 1794.
> Alexandria’s public library since 1937.
> >
> >
> >  -----Original Message-----
> > From: "Madaline Preston" <[log in to unmask]>
> >  Sent: Friday, November 4, 2016 1:31pmTo: [log in to unmask]
> >
> >
> > Subject: [VA-ROOTS] Mack CurryMack Curry, born 1824, and wife Miranda
> > are listed on the 1870 census forPort Republic, Virginia.
> > Blacks....living between mostly white familieson a street.By 1880 he
> > was a land owner in Ashby District, Rockingham County.Mr. Curry must
> have been a free black.
> > Any info on his heritage would bewonderful.M. PrestonTo subscribe,
> > change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions athttp://
> > listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html
> >
> > To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the
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> >
> >
> > To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the
> > instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html
> >
>
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