The lineage and legacy of Harriet Blakeney (c. 1782-1822),
a woman whose journey from enslavement to freedom shaped
generations of descendants. Born in Virginia near the close
of the Revolutionary War, Harriet was the daughter of a
free woman of color who had been unlawfully captured in
Maryland, taken to South Carolina, and sold into slavery to
Thomas Blakeney's father. The Blakeney family later brought
Harriet to Montgomery County, Tennessee.
Harriet's path toward legal autonomy began in 1813 when
Thomas Blakeney petitioned the Tennessee Legislature to
honor his father's final wish that Harriet be raised "as
one of the family" and emancipated upon reaching adulthood.
In this initial petition, Thomas also requested the
legitimation of Harriet's first three sons: Frederick,
John, and Tobias. The legal transition progressed further
in 1815 when a subsequent petition to the county court
successfully secured Harriet's official emancipation.
During this extended process, the family continued to grow.
Alvin was born into slavery in 1814, leaving Thomas Jr. as
the only son born free.
Thomas executed several deeds of gift, granting significant
property to Harriet's sons out of "love, good will, and
affection." These documents transferred ownership of four
enslaved people to John, four to Alvin, and six to Thomas
Jr. This created a profound shift in status; these young
men of color became legal owners of others.
The journey of legal autonomy culminated in 1822 with
Harriet's own will, in which she-then a free
woman-bequeathed her property, including livestock, horses,
and household furniture, to all five of her sons. Notably,
her will also included specific personal bequests: she left
her saddle to Jane Blakeney (her son Frederick's wife) and
all of her wearing clothes to her sister, Charity. There is
no evidence Harriet had a biological sister, calling
Charity "sister" may have been a way to honor a deep,
lifelong bond-a "chosen family" connection that mattered
more than blood. To ensure these wishes were carried out,
she named Thomas Blakeney Sr., her former owner, as her
executor to oversee the distribution of her estate.
The depth of the brothers' legal and financial ties is most
visible in the 1839 will of Thomas Blakeney Jr., who died
without children of his own. By ensuring his entire
estate-including his land and 'Slaves of every
kind'-remained within the family, he divided his holdings
equally among his four surviving brothers: Frederick, John,
Tobias, and Alvin. This internal transfer of property
eventually translated into liquid capital; in a March 1841
bill of sale, John Blakeney sold three individuals he had
acquired from his brother's estate-a girl named Franky and
two boys, Jack and Calvin-to Jones Davis for over eighteen
hundred dollars.
The following genealogy tracks the descendants of Harriet's
five sons. Remarkably, despite their origins, these men
successfully assimilated into white society. Harriet's
grandsons would eventually serve on both sides of the
American Civil War, embodying the fractured, interwoven
history of the American South.3 4
Sources:
- 1813 Thomas Blakeney Legislative Petition
- Harriet Blakeney Will
- 1815 Thomas Blakeney County Court Petition
- 1841 Bill of Sale John Blakeney to Jones Davis
