Part 9- Peter Javain – Farewell to Chucktown

When we left off Peter had just moved to the outskirts of town on the corner of Line and St. Philip Street. This area became known as “Charleston Neck”. (3)

“History books generally describe Charleston Neck as a sort of a vacuum—a disorderly, unincorporated no man’s land lurking ominously beyond the northern boundary of the more genteel City of Charleston. In reality, however, the Neck did have a government of sorts during the nineteenth-century—an elected board of commissioners.”

Considered the “poorer” part of town where most of the houses are of wooden construction, it is mostly occupied by persons of color. There was more land in this area for Peter to cultivate a garden and generally “do his own thing”. Also, he is close enough to the city to still be a part of trade and commerce. St. Philip Street is the first road outside of the city limits. We find him in the 1830 census with some guests:

There are 2 female slaves listed as aged between 10-23 years old. One of the young ladies is definitely Fanny (also named Etrenne and is Mammie’s granddaughter). I do not know who the other young lady is. There is also one female aged between 20-49 and I do not know who that is either. The male aged 20-29 is a cousin named Henri J Javain who has recently moved to town and stays with Peter. I have never been able to figure out where exactly Henri fits in the family tree. Also, I have never been able to figure out who the boy between 10-14 is.

Henri J Javain is a silversmith and is listed in Early American Silversmith lists. I have found a picture of his silversmith mark. (1)

Henri set up his jeweler’s shop in one of Peter’s old grocery storefronts at 187 King Street. I found this daring robbery of his store:

The newspapers also operated as tabloid gossip columns. They were similar to Facebook, where people (brag) post where they are going, where they have just come from and who was with them. People also will complain about others. Here is Peter calling out a “Gentleman’s” careless and unfeeling behavior:

If you recall an earlier post I mentioned the slave badges that the slaves had to wear in order to travel around town. Little Fanny must not have liked to wear hers because here is Peter saying she is allowed to roam and NOT to put her in the workhouse. In 1831 Nat Turner’s famous slave rebellion was very fresh on slaveholder’s minds. There was a general fear of slave insurrection which had the side effect of stricter controls on persons of color movements around Charleston and, stricter emancipation laws.

I find it fascinating that at 9 years old she was allowed to roam the city. Granted, we don’t know if she was traveling with someone and just didn’t have her badge on. I was curious about the large blue and white striped homespun dress and found some possible examples:

Over the next couple of years, Peter purchases more slaves, Polly and Grig and an older man named Isaac.

In June of 1832, his 2-story wooden house burns down. The story was covered in not just local news but for some reason made national news and was in various northeast papers. At 2 in the morning, a slave just coming home from the market had left a candle lit in the kitchen, and it caught fire to some clothes hanging up to dry. Also, the news reported, “a negro woman died in the vicinity of the fire”. The police said they were not sure how she died, but it seemed she died of fright. They never gave her name in the papers.

A couple of months later both Isaac and Grig decide to run away. Isaac is described as about 50 years old, blind in his left eye and has some grey hairs. He speaks very good English. He has a wife and daughters residing at Mr. Pepper’s plantation. Isaac makes it back and ends up dying a few years later of dropsy (called edema now). Grig is described as about 30 years old and 5 foot 6 inches tall with a burn mark on his right shoulder.

There is no shortage of newspaper notices concerning Peter. One says as Peter rebuilds his house, thieves steal tools from his work shed and take off with his dog. Another that the Farmer P. Javain has joined a Gardening society and won a prize for his apples. Also, plenty of shipping news, once that he and Henry have just traveled to Virginia on a steam packet (to presumably visit his sister and her family).

Charleston was still recovering from multiple previous fires when on June 6, 1835,  “one of the most awful and destructive conflagrations that has visited our city since the great fire of 1810” erupted. It began before dawn … and illuminated the night sky as a high wind drove the fire southward. ” (2)

In this fire, another wooden house of Peter’s burns down as well as another piece of property he owned!

As you can see in this graphic there were numerous fires over this decade. I think I counted 3 times in this decade that some part of Peter’s property was burned in several of these fires.

In 1838 Henry dies. I have never found a death certificate so I do not know how he died. The burnt district from the fire in July of 1837 included the area of Henry’s jewelry shop so it is possible that he was hurt in the fire. Peter is named the executor of his estate.

By 1839 Peter decides to stop his gardening business and starts advertising all of his many properties for sale. He also advertises for sale varieties of fruit trees, artichokes, apples, and strawberries.

The last census Peter shows up in is in 1840 and Peter has increased his number of slaves. Etrenne would be one of the females aged 24. I found a copy of the original census and actually Ancestry.com has it wrong, there should be one female listed in the Free Persons of Color aged 24 through 35. This probably would be Annette – the young lady that was manumitted by Jean and Zepherine. Remember in an earlier post that she would have been emancipated and freed at this time. She would have been required by law to move from Jean and Zepherine’s home in Virginia to a different state after securing her freedom. I have never been absolutely sure where she went, but this would be a likely scenario. I am not certain who everyone else is.

Bernard gained his freedom the year after Annette. He did come to live in Charleston. Peter secured an apprenticeship for him with Monsieur Remouillat who owns a Confectionery business.

In 1842 a boy is born and is named John. I do not know who his mother or father is. At the end of 1842, his nephew John Laurence, who is also an attorney comes to Charleston to assist him with closing up his affairs in Charleston. Peter must have been sick and known his life was ending. Peter draws up his will during this time.

At the beginning of 1843, Peter left Charleston for the last time and went to stay with his sister and her family in Hydropolis (present-day Cocoville), Lousiana. He brought Etrenne with him.

Peter Javain died on March 2, 1843, surrounded by his loving sister, brother-in-law and his nieces and nephews. I have never been able to find where he was buried. I am assuming that it is in St. Paul cemetery where eventually his sister will be buried in. I will have to physically visit the Catholic archives in person to view the death records for this area. Being buried within the Roman Catholic church’s rules was very important to him and he spent a page of his will asking to buried within the church’s graces.

Peter’s will is fairly long. He made changes on his deathbed. I will share excerpts and afterward go over them:

“…. I give and bequeath to my brother in law John Constantine De Generes my bookcase with all my books and Violin (Cremonia ) the Label inside painted thus “Nicolaus Amatius Cremonium Hieronimi file Antoni Nepositiel A. 1690.

“…to my friend Mr. John S. Cogdell my Masonic Jewels of Grand Inspector General the thirty-third degree, and all the Masonic Jewels in my possession and Seals… These things I give to the said Mason John Cogdell as a Material of my love to him.”

“…to James Bernard Zepherine alias James Zepherine Bernard formerly learning the Confectionery business at Mr. Remouillat, now residing in Buenos Ayres South America, one thousand dollars..”

“… to I. Eugene Bertrand the son of Mrs. Elizabeth Jamith wife of Mr. Bertrand residing in Augusta, Ga, two hundred dollars.. “

“… I also recommend to the protection of my Executors, my Sister and her children my trusty Servant a mulatto girl named Etrenne aged 28 years as the Law do not permit to Emancipate, I trust that my heirs will appreciate that my life was preserved by her Grand Mother, and a reward is due to her Grand Daughter.”

“..to my beloved niece Marelina de Generes the sum of three thousand dollars as a mark of the affection I bear to her and in consideration of the devoted attachment she has manifested for me. “

“.. to Eugenia De Generes the sum of two thousand dollars as a mark of the affection I entertain for her and in consideration of the devoted attachment she has manifested for me.”

“.. to my beloved nephew Laurence De Generes the sum of two hundred dollars as a mark of the affection I entertain for him, and in consideration of the devoted attachment he has manifested for me and which amount it is my will and desire that he shall appropriate to the purchase of Law books necessary and useful in the prosecution of his profession.

He leaves the remainder of his estate to his sister.

So wow that violin! It took me a while to figure out this violin. Nicolo Amati is a famous Master Luthier (violin maker) from Cremona, Italy that died in 1684. The violin referred to in the will seems to be made by in the style of Nicolo Amati by an Antoni Nepositiel. I have not found this particular violin maker. I do not have an actual picture of this violin, and I do not know where the violin went after being passed to Jean. The violin pictured below is an original Nicolo Amati violin, and some have sold for upwards of $654,000. (5) https://tarisio.com/cozio-archive/browse-the-archive/makers/maker/?Maker_ID=12

I have spoken about Peter’s best friend Mr. John Cogdell in previous posts. I have read Mr. Cogdell’s will and he does not mention the Masonic jewels in it. I assume that Mr. Cogdell donated them to the Masonic lodge.

Now to James Zepherine Bernard. James did indeed move to Buenos Ayres (now Aires), Argentina. There he goes by Diego (Spanish for James) Bernard. He marries an Argentinan, Wenceslada Colman. They have a son named Diego Fausto Bernard and baptize him at Iglesia San Miguel Arcángel. If anyone ever finds themselves in Argentina, here is the location. https://goo.gl/maps/wZFFWV5cVs4CUeVP6

Diego opens a grocery store in a province just south of Buenos Aires called Quilmes. I don’t know why Diego moved to South America, but one possible reason has been described as the “mulatto escape hatch”. This is the ability of people of mixed races to break through the barriers of socio-economic upward mobility that existed in the U.S. by moving to another country. He decided to try his luck in Argentinan society without his background hindering him and I think he was a success. In one census he is listed as a grocer and able to read and write, so he was taught by Jean and Zepherine. In a City Directory, he is also listed as an agent for The Standard– an English newspaper based out of London. Peter obviously cared for him as evidenced by bequeathing Diego such a substantial sum. There are many more Argentinan records for me to sort through and maybe I will do a post one day just about Diego-James. I can’t help but feel so happy for him!

So next is Mr. I. Eugene Bertrand and his mother Elizabeth Jamith. I have spent countless hours scouring for who this could be and any record I could find. I have never been able to find any of them in Augusta, Georgia. I think that there could be a transcription error and her name would be Elizabeth Javain. I have found other transcription errors in this document. That would make more sense. I don’t have a copy of the original will, just a transcription to verify.

Next, Etrenne has been my special research project for many years. Jean and Etrenne went to Charleston to close out his affairs and to bring the adjustments to his will to Charleston. This ship manifest of her trip to Charleston is the last record I have been able to find of Etrenne. Notice she is listed as Elizabeth. That is one popular name in this family!

There is an old saying that is often quoted in genealogy research:

“Well behaved women rarely make history!”

Etrenne must have been a very well-behaved woman because I have never been able to find her after her trip back to Charleston. Women historically are very difficult to find in records -especially- if they are “well behaved”. I don’t know if she stayed in Charleston or went back to Louisiana. If she stayed in Charleston, she would be an unmarried female slave with an absentee owner which would be a precarious situation. She could be easily taken with no recourse. If she went back to Louisiana, she found her life vastly different in small-town Louisiana. I never found a marriage certificate, but I did find an interesting development. Remember the young boy named John that was born in 1842? Well, he dies of yellow fever in 1850 and is listed as a white child. This leads me to think that this is Etrenne’s son and she possibly went back to Charleston and had some benefactor. She and young John Javain continue to remain mysteries.

Marcelina and Eugenia must have been so kind to him at the end for him to redraw his will and add them. John Laurence does indeed become a lawyer.

Jean and Etrenne (and probably John Laurence) go back to Charleston to settle his affairs. His obituary ran in the Charleston Courier.

Peter’s good friend Mr R. Leaumont was the executor of his estate. The estate inventory lists the slave’s names.

Slaves names exactly as written and their “supposed” value :

Etrenne- Mulatto woman out of state in Louisiana $550

Brock – Mulatto man $100

George- a negro (old) $50

Jim- a negro (old) $50

Sarah -a negress (old) $80

Nancy- a negress (old) illegible

Charles $425

Koziah – a negro (old) $70

Stantia – a negress (old) $100

Nancy and Charles were sold to Simon Sanders for $430. Simon was from Lexington, South Carolina, but he moved to Alabama. I have not found any other records on Nancy and Charles.

I have never been able to find everyone else again. They were all described as old, so I just don’t know what happened to them. There always seem to be more and more records that are digitized online so I don’t give up hope.

So that wraps up Pierre Peter Javain de Poincy’s life story. To me, he is a fascinating and complex man, full of contradictions. He was deeply religious Roman Catholic, yet also a Free Mason. He obviously cared deeply for Etrenne and Bernard, yet he shipped other slaves away to (possibly) unknown circumstances in New Orleans. He was involved in many charitable organizations yet he wasn’t so charitable to those slaves sent away. Lastly, his will is so full of tenderness towards the people he loved (my direct ancestors) it was a wonderful day when I found it! I hope you enjoyed learning about Peter as much as I enjoyed sharing his story with you!

Next up I will wrap up Jean and Zepherine’s life story. I am so excited I found some new documents about them so off to another rabbit hole for me!

As always Lovelies, any questions or comments- please let me know below in the comments. Have you noticed an error in my deductions, any ideas for me to follow? Did you enjoy hearing his story?

(1) American Silversmiths and Their Marks: The Definitive (1948) Edition by Stephen Ensko Courier Corporation, Aug 2, 2012

(2) http://halseymap.com/Flash/window.asp?HMID=61

(3) https://www.ram.ac.uk/museum/item/23506

(4) https://www.ccpl.org/charleston-time-machine/grasping-neck-origins-charlestons-northern-neighbor