Sylvester Bearden

 Dennis and Charles Bearden's occupation were documented in census records as farming from 1870 to 1900 in Pike County, Mississippi. Dennis' 1881 property assessment consisted of 4 cows value fifty dollars, 1 horse 70 dollars, and 1 carriage 30 dollars.    Charles and his sons, Chalmers, Estes, and Jonas,  worked later in the lumber industry, except for Sylvester. Sylvester Bearden (Silvestus Bearden) was born in January 1887, as recorded in the 1900 Federal Census.    

Charles Bearden and his wife  with his  children and spouses

 Sylvester attended school with his brothers in 1890 in Pike County.

                    Transcribed 1890 Pike County School Census

Parent or Guardian	Name of Children	Age	Male
Chas Bearden	Bearden Chalmers	10	/
	Sylvester	8	/
	Estes	6	/
	Jones	5	/

           Transcribed 1890 Pike County School Census

Sylvester was enumerated in the 1900 Pike County Federal census with his parents and siblings.

      

Transcribed 1900 Pike County, Mississippi Federal Census   According to accounts passed down by family members, Sylvester Bearden had been working on the farm of George Walker and had been courting Walker’s daughter, Evie. Sylvester hoped to marry her and obtained a marriage license on February 10, 1910.      Family accounts state that Sylvester went to the Walker home to propose marriage to Evie. George Walker refused to consent to the marriage and ordered Sylvester to leave. An argument reportedly followed, ending in tragedy. Sylvester shot and killed George Walker and Evie. He was also reported to have shot another daughter and struck some of the children who were present with the butt of a shotgun. The incident attracted considerable attention and was reported in newspapers around the country. Authorities attempting to locate Sylvester may have followed travel routes and questioned family members, friends and  acquaintances. There was no national FBI fingerprint database at the time, and photographs were relatively expensive and uncommon among ordinary people living in rural communities. I have not found a photograph of Sylvester. Sheriff Holmes of Pike County made efforts to apprehend Sylvester, but those efforts were unsuccessful. Sylvester Bearden disappeared and, as far as I have been able to determine, was never found. I may never know exactly what happened in those final moments or what became of Sylvester after he disappeared. Some questions may never be answered. My genealogy research has been about recovering the stories of real people—their hopes, relationships, hardships, choices, and losses. Even when the past cannot be fully explained, it does not have to be forgotten. ---- The Tree Gardener Become a follower on my blog

Dennis Bearden Family: Sharecropping and Labor in Lumber and Turpentine Part 2

 Mississippi, along with Georgia, Florida, and the Carolinas, was part of the “pine belt” with vast longleaf pine forests. Turpentine was harvested from pine trees by cutting into the lower part of the tree (boxing) and removing the bark. "V" shaped cuts into the tree (catfacing) to the inner wood of the tree caused the gum resin to flow from the tree and be collected into a container.

By Dorothea Lange - This image is available from the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID fsa.8b29660.This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still required. See Commons:Licensing, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3396695

 The resin was then distilled. Turpentine and its byproduct, rosin, were made from the distilled gum resin of the pine tree. Tar and pitch were created by burning pine resin. A tupentine worker's day started at sunrise after receiving breakfast from the commissary store ending at sunset.  The expression "can't to can't"; can't see in the morning to can't see at night describes the work day.  The worker was usually Black and the foreman was White. The labor was harsh—chipping trees in the heat, hauling heavy barrels of resin, and enduring smoke and fumes at the still.  Because the resin was sticky, it clung to the shoes and even bare feet. The term "tar heel" originated from North Carolina barefoot workers who would get tar on their heels.

Turpentine and byproducts were considered a lucrative product. In 1909, the turpentine and rosin industry in the USA employed 44,524 individuals with 39,511 being wage earners.  "The value of products was $25,295,017; and the cost of materials, however, was $4,910,838 or 19.4 per cent of the value of products the value of manufacture being $20,384,179."

Turpentine, a key product of the naval stores industry, was historically used to seal wooden ships as early as colonial times. Beyond shipbuilding, it served as a solvent, paint thinner, and cleaning agent. Folk traditions also regarded turpentine as a remedy for ailments such as intestinal parasites, muscle pain, and infections due to its antiseptic qualities. Today, however, it is recognized as highly toxic and unsafe for ingestion, with potentially fatal effects.

 I was unable to find specific wages of the Mississippi turpentine worker in the early 1900s. Slave labor was used for production before the Civil War. A Florida turpentine worker's salary was $15 to $25 a month.  Payment for workers in lumber and turpentine camps was usually in the form of script or tokens, which could only be used at the company store. Non-farm workers nationwide at that time made $44-45 a month. The company store provided the workers with essential goods and they were given credit. The worker was many times unable to pay his debt for received credit. Workers could become indebted through credit from the company stores to cover their living expenses. This created a peonage system of debt servitude, which was against the law.

 Charles Bearden was the son of Dennis and Charity. Charles Bearden (Charles Beard) married Harriet (Harriet Stachie) on December 26, 1883.

Pike County, Mississippi December 26, 1883 File 0041806 Book A Page 270

Charles was enumerated as a wage earner in the 1910 Federal Census in Marion County at the Turpentine Plant with over 250 men.   This census record supports that the Enoch family was the probable established owner of the Turpentine Plant in Kokomo before 1912. The entire census of workers who were Black African American provided limited information.

"United States, Census, 1910", Marion County, Mississippi 3, SD 6 ED 106  sheet 27B for Chas Bearden

Transcribed 1910 Marion County Federal Census

 

Charles Bearden died in an accident, according to his granddaughter, before his father, Dennis Bearden passed in 1928.  I have been unable to locate his death certificate. 

Children of Lucius and Charles Bearden continued to work in the lumber industry.

 REFERENCE:

IPUMS: Turpentine and Rosin https://usa.ipums.usa

More information to come

----The Tree Gardener