The Weeping Time; Butler Slave Auction
Listings & Statistics
by Annette Holmes

Starting 2 March 1859 the largest auction of enslaved persons was held in Savannah, Chatham Co., Georgia.  Within a 48 hour period, approximately 429 persons were sold at the auction block, a sale that totaled over $303,000 (in today's money that would be over $6.7 million) and was dubbed "The Weeping Time" due to so many families being broken beyond repair.  However, this was not the total of enslaved persons owned by the Butler estate; there were about 479 that were retained by the family.

While researching her personal family history, Annette Holmes has taken it upon herself to delve into the journals, ledgers, and family papers of the Butler estate to cull out names and statistics of those persons who were enslaved on the Butler plantations in Glynn & McIntosh Counties, Georgia.  Not only did Ms. Holmes create lists of those sold and those retained by the family, she also tried to research these families into the future, tracing some all the way to the 1930 census year.  The following lists and notes are hers.

The first list below will be for those who were sold during "The Weeping Time" on 2-3 March 1859, the second list is of those who were retained by the Butler family.  Ms. Holmes tried her best to note persons who may be related, and to note who their parents, spouses, and other relatives may have been.

479 Persons that Remained in the Butler Family

POSSIBLE FAMILIES SHARE COLORS

Chattel #

 Name Age Est. year born
Col. added by Ms. Holmes		 Area Sold For Comments (my notes are in red and blue)
1 George* 27 1832 Prime Cotton Planter $620 Found on the 1870 census for Darien, GA. Last name Broughton.
2 Sue 26 1833 Prime Rice Planter $620  
3 George Jr. 4 1855 Boy Child $620  
4 Harry 2 1857 Boy Child $620  
5 Elisha* 39 1820 Prime rice planter and driver $695 Found in Freedman's Bank Records (1865-1874) Last name Myers.
6 Molly 35 1824 Full hand, rice $695  
7 Israel 12 1847 Prime boy $695 Israel was dead by 1870 (see "Found" tab)
8 Sevanda 3 1856 Prime girl $695  
9 Joe (carpenter) 49 1810 Prime carpenter and wheelwright; slightly lame $730 Joe and his first wife, Sack, are the parents of Robert Chiffen, #15 (see "Found" tab)
10 Hagar 27 1832 Prime cotton worker $730  
11 McPherson 10 1849 Fine boy $730 Found in Freedman's Bank Records (1865-1874) under name Mack Turner.
12 Patterson 9 1850   $730  
13 Killoby 8 1851   $730  
14 Angus 6 1853   $730  
15 Robert (Carp'tr) 26 1833 Good plantation carpenter $1,005 Found in Freedman's Bank Records (1865-1874) Last name Chiffen.  Robert is the son of Joe (#9) and first wife Sack (Psyche).
16 Luna 20 1839 Goitre, otherwise very prime $1,005  
17 Israel (Hostler) 44 1815 Ploughman and horse man $720 Elisha's (#5) brother
18 Edi 45 1814 Full cotton hand $720  
19 Elisha 18 1841 Prime young man $720  
20 George 15 1844 Lame in hip $720  
21 Rutledge 12 1847   $720  
22 Brutus 3 1856   $720  
23 Bella 50 1809 Cotton hand $570  
24 Venus 16 1843 Cotton hand $570  
25 Nija 14 1845 Rice, prime boy $570  
26 Juno 5 1854   $570  
27 John 1 1858   $570  
28 Patty 31 1828 Cotton hand $620  
29 Santee 7 1852   $620  
30 James aged ? Gardener $685 Is this the brother of Kate?
31 Beck 50 1809 Rice hand $685  
32 Manigault 19 1840 Rice, prime young man $685  
33 Netty 18 1841 Rice hand $685  
34 Tena 12 1847 Prime girl $685  
35 Zebulon 16 1843 Rice hand--fine girl $685  
36 Binah 1 1858   $685  
37 Quacco (cooper) 47 1812 Cooper and rice-field hand $685  
38 Jean 34 1825 Rice--prime woman $685  
39 Delia 13 1846 Prime girl $685 Delia Ramsey?
40 Philadelphia 4 1855 Girl $685  
41 Chaney 3 mos 1859 Infant girl $685  
42 Lazarus 19 1840 Prime Rice field hand $365  
43 Bram (driver) 47 1812 Prime cot. Dri'r, high character $1,410 Son of Roswell King Sr.
44 Joan 42 1817 Woman $1,410  
45 Morris 15 1844 Cotton hand--prime boy $1,410 Is this Morris Butler on the 1880 census for Darien, McIntosh, Georgia?
46 Lucy 12 1847 Prime girl $1,410  
47 Zephora 6 1853   $1,410  
48 Mary 4 1855   $1,410  
49 Pierce 3 mos 1859   $1,410  
50 St. Faux 22 1837 Cotton--prime young man $1,385 Named after the Couper slave San Fois (cook)
51 Bram 17 1842 Cotton--prime young man $1,385 Son of Driver Bram and Joan.
52 Rufus 20 1839 Cotton--prime young man $910  
53 Sue 18 1841 Prime young woman $910  
54 Infant 3 mos 1859 Girl $910  
55 Moses (driver) 38 1821 Prime rice driver $880  
56 Melinda 32 1827 Rice hand $880  
57 Pompey 11 1848 Prime boy $880 Descendants of Butler slaves?
58 Dosey 12 1847 Prime boy $880  
59 Sarah 1 1858   $880  
60 Aaron 38 1821 Rice hand $655  
61 Clary 34 1825 Rice hand--prime woman $655 Is this the daughter of Sophy (born 1790)?
62 Binah 11 1848 Prime girl $655  
63 Sunbury 9 1850 Boy $655  
64 Bram 7 1852 Boy $655  
65 Mose 5 1854   $655  
66 Stepney 37 1822 Rice hand $650  
67 Eve 32 1827 Rice hand--one eye $650  
68 Jonas 6 1853   $650  
69 Lester 2 1857 Boy $650  
70 Cudjo (driver) 49 1810 Prime rice-driver $710  
71 Lucy 44 1815 Cotton hand $710  
72 Primus (carp'r)* 32 1827 Plantation carpenter $635 Found in the Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1874, and the 1870 census for St. Peter's Parish, Beaufort, South Carolina; Last name Wilson.
73 Daphney 28 1831 Rice--prime woman $635  
74 Dido 3 1856 Girl $635  
75 Infant   1859 Born February 14, 1859 $635 Dead by 1869.
76 Phillip 28 1831 Rough carpenter and rice hand $840  
77 Pender 19 1840 Rice--prime woman $840 Pender Gordon?
78 Hannah 3 mos 1859   $840  
79 John (cooper) 37 1822 Prime cooper and field hand, can make spirit barrels $1,195  
80 Levi 23 1836 Cotton--prime man $805 Possible match: Found 1870 Census for Ward 4, Natchitoches Parish, LA. Last Name Russell.
81 Rachel 19 1840 Cotton--prime woman $805  
82 Kate aged ?   $805 Is this Kate Butler?
83 Rentee aged ? Good shoemaker $300 Rentee and Sukey were the parents of Amos, Rentee, Emanuel, Betty, Peter, and Dicey. (Source: Them Dark Days by William Dusinberre)
84 Sukey 50 1809 Cotton hand $300  
85 Amorita 17 1842 Cotton hand $950 Is this a descendant of Blake slave Amaritto?
86 Happy 11 1848 Prime girl $950  
87 Rentee 29 1830 Rice--left hand crippled   Son of Rentee and Sukey
88 Elizabeth 31 1828 Rice hand    
89 Hector's Bess 42 1817 Cotton hand $1,205 (Is this horse trainer Hector's wife?)
90 Ben 21 1838 Cotton, prime young man $1,205  
91 Betty 17 1842 Cotton, prime young woman $1,205  
92 Phoebe 15 1844 Cotton, prime young woman $1,205 Did Phoebe marry Morris, the son of Bram and Joan?
93 Hector 12 1847 Fine boy $1,205  
94 George's Frank 50 1809 Rice hand $800  
95 Ruth 24 1835 Rice, prime woman $800 Is this Betsy's  (the wife of Kate's John) sister? Jerry and Violet had a daughter named Ruth on November 4, 1834.
96 Charleston 20 1839 Prime young man $800  
97 Joe 9 1850   $800  
98 Frank 3 1856   $800  
99 Kate's John 31 1828 Rice, prime man $510 Sold to Louisiana (Natchitoches Parish). Plantation of A.W. Baird. Found on the 1870 census under last name Baird; on the 1880 census under last name Butler. Butler was name used from then on. Found under the name Butter also (transcriber's mistake). John
100 Betsey 29 1830 rice, unsound $510 Child of Jerry and Violet. Born June 22, 1829
101 Kate 6 1853   $510 Named after her paternal grandmother
102 Violet 3 mos. 1859   $510 Named after her maternal grandmother
103 Wooster 45 1814 Rice hand, and fair mason $300 (Name is probably Worcester.) Found on the 1870 census for Chatham County, GA. Last name Gordon.
104 Mary 40 1819 Cotton hand $300  
105 Com'dore Bob aged ? Rice hand $600 Returned to the Butler plantations after Emancipation; Last name became Bob.
106 Kate  aged ? Cotton $600 Is this John Butler's mother?
107 Linda 19 1840 Cotton, prime young woman $600 Is this the same person as Melinda Roberts who lives with the Bobs on the 1870 census?
108 Joe 13 1846 Rice, prime boy $600  
109 Bob* 30 1829 Rice $1,135  
110 Mary* 25 1834 Rice, prime woman $1,135 Is this Kate's John's sister?
111 Anson* 49 1810 Rice--ruptured, one eye $250 Are they the same as Ansel and Violet Small found on the 1870 census for Beaufort, South Carolina?
112 Violet* 55 1804 Rice hand $250 very sick, probably consumption. Is this the mother of Betsey, #100?
113 Allen Jeffrey 46 1813 Rice hand and sawyer in st'm mill $475  
114 Sikey 43 1816 Rice hand $475  
115 Watty 5 1854 Infirm legs $475  
116 Rina 18 1841 Rice, prime young woman $645 Rina is the eldest child of Lowden and  Hagar (#349 and #350). Source: SavannahConnect news article dated March 2008, regarding historical marker for Butler slave auction
117 Lena 1 1858   $645  
118 Pompey 31 1828 Rice--lame in one foot $585  
119 Kitty 30 1829 Rice--prime woman $585 Is this Kate's John's sister?
120 Pompey, Jr. 10 1849 Prime boy $585  
121 John 7 1852   $585  
122 Noble 1 1858 Boy $585  
123 Andrew 45 1814 Lame in right hand--mill tender $650 Found on the 1870 census for Darien, GA. Last name Stewart.
124 Hetty 42 1817 Rice hand $650  
125 Sena 12 1847 Rice hand, prime girl $650 Did Sena marry Pierce B. Alexander (the son of Aleck and Daphney Alexander)?
126 Corington 10 1849 Rice hand, prime boy $650 Listed as Carrington Stewart on the census
127 Ned 56 1803 Cotton hand $485 Ned and Scena Bleach are buried in Butler's Cemetery, Butler Island Georgia. Ned and Scena are the parents of Flanders, Hannah, Mary, Bess, Thomas, and Ezekiel.
128 Sena 50 1809 Cotton--cook $485 Ned Bleach 11/16/1803-8/9/1886. Scena (Cascena Baker?) Bleach 4/20/1806-8/11/1879. 
129 Mary 24 1835 Cotton, prime woman   Is this Mary Baker, daughter of Ned Bleach and Caseny (Sena) Baker?
130 Robert 4 1855      
131 Daniel 3 mos 1859      
132 Bess 31 1828 Cotton, prime woman $525 Is the Bess Baker, daughter of Ned Bleach and Caseny (Sena) Baker?
133 Sam 10 1849 Prime boy $525  
134 Elizabeth 9 1850   $525  
135 Sena 6 1853   $525  
136 Affa 3 1856   $525  
137 Hannah 3 mos 1859   $525  
138 Doctor George 39 1820 Fair carpenter   Not sold (Found George and Margaret Goulding on the 1870 census for Butler's Island)
139 Margaret* 38 1821     Not sold, confined on 2/16/1859
140 Maria 11 1848     Not sold
141 Lena 6 1853     Not sold
142 Mary Ann 3 1856     Not sold
143 Infant   1859 Boy, born February 16   Not sold
144 Somerset aged ? Ruptured $480 Is this Somerset and Phoebe Gordon?
145 Phoebe 54 1805 Cotton $480  
146 Fenton 16 1843 Cotton, prime boy $480  
147 Cain 27 1832 Rice, prime man $775  
148 Jane 23 1836 Cotton, prime woman $775  
149 Samuel 5 1854   $775  
150 Auber 1 1858 Boy $775  
151 Yo'g Somerset 34 1825 Rice driver--one hand $555  
152 Melinda 29 1830 Rice--prime woman $555  
153 Somerset 13 1846 Prime boy $555  
154 Nancy 10 1849 Prime girl $555  
155 Hagar 7 1852   $555  
156 Molly 11 1848 Prime girl $555  
157 Mary 3 1856   $555  
158 Caledonia 2 1857   $555  
159 Toney's Rose 50 1809 Cotton hand $915  
160 Will 17 1842 Cotton--prime young man $915  
161 Sarah 15 1844 Cotton $915  
162 Dorcas 12 1847 Prime girl $915  
163 Sue 8 1851   $915  
164 Ben 22 1837 Cotton--good blacksmith $1,450  
165 Sally 19 1840 Cotton hand $1,450  
166 3 Fing'd Tony 34 1825 Stable boy $545  
167 Betty 30 1829 Cotton hand $545 Is this the daughter of Sukey and Rentee (shoemaker)?
168 Solomon 10 1849 Prime boy $545  
169 Bina 3 1856   $545  
170 Luna 5 1854 Boy $545  
171 Quash 1 1858