Blog
I am thrilled to have the opportunity to serve as Artist in Residence for Stones River National Battlefield, a Civil War site and part of the National Park Service.
As I walked the grounds of the Stones River National Battlefield during the first week of my residency, I thought about the soldiers who fought and died here, as well as the inhabitants of the area who must have lived in terror or perhaps in hope during the horrors of battle.
I was particularly drawn to the McFadden Farm and the story of Hollie McFadden and her family. McFadden Farm was the site of the battle's final action, where over 1800 Confederates were killed or wounded. As drawn as I am to their story, I am more compelled to learn about the enslaved people who labored on her farm and the farms of her adult children. I want to know who they were and what happened to them as they continued to strive for freedom after the war.
Determined to raise the questions, I know that I'll probably never know the answers, but I want to at least try to follow their lives.
It begins with Hollie Posey.
Hollie Posey was born to Zachariah Posey and Nancy Squires Posey April 30, 1801, in Edgefield. SC.
At the age of 14, on January 18, 1815, she married Samuel McFadden, also from South Carolina. They married in Tennessee.
She gave birth to at least thirteen children:
William Ralph McFadden
Caroline McFadden who married John N. Clark
Nancy McFadden who married Isaac McCollough
Eliza L McFadden who married James M. Collier
James Squires McFadden
Mary Jane McFadden who married Benjamin Moore
Susan H. McFadden who married Jasper Marshall
Sarah J. McFadden who married Joseph N. Warren
Holly A. McFadden who married French Rayburn
Samuel McFadden
Henry C. McFadden
Catherine Louisa McFadden
John W. McFadden
Hollie's husband Samuel died April 29, 1848, and is buried in McFadden Cemetery, located on McFadden Farm, part of the Stones River National Battlefield.
THE MCFADDENS IN 1850:
In the 1850 US Federal Census, widow Hollie is living in Rutherford County, TN, with eight children, Elizabeth, 21; Susan, 20; Sarah, 19; Holly, 16; Samuel, 13; John, 12; Henry, 9; and Catherine, 6.
The 1850 U.S. Federal Census Slave Schedules report that Hollie owned six enslaved people. Although listed with no names, they include a black male, 26; mulatto female, 25; black male, 14; black male, 4; mulatto male, 3; and a mulatto male, 1.
Also, in the same 1850 U.S. Federal Census Slave Schedule, her son William R. Is listed as owning a mulatto male, 28, a black female, 26, and a mulatto male, 7.
Benjamin Moore, wife of Mary Jane McFadden owned a black female, 25; a black male, 6; two black males, age 5; a black male, 3; and a black female, age 1.
In 1850 the entire number of enslaved people held by the McFadden family—Hollie and her children—was fifteen—fifteen nameless, faceless humans held as property.
THE MCFADDENS IN 1860:
In the 1860 census, some two years before the Battle of Stones River which would decimate their farm, Hollie lived in District 9 of Rutherford County. Her real estate value was $3.000 and personal estate value, $8.000. Living with her were five children.
The U.S., Selected Federal Census, Non-Population Schedules give us this information about Hollie:
She owned 40 acres of improved land; 15 acres of unimproved land. Cash value of the farm is listed as $15,000. The worth of farm implements and machinery was $45.00. She owned three horses, one mule; two milch cows; two working oxen; eight other cattle, and 25 swine. The value of the livestock was $600.00. She owned 500 bushels of Indian corn and five bales of ginned cotton.
The 1860 U.S. Federal Census Slave Schedule reports that James Squires McFadden owned a black female, age 35; a black male, 24; a black male, 20; a black female, 10; a black male, 7; and a black male, 2.
William R. McFadden also owned slaves: a black male, 46; a black female, 43; a mulatto female, 35; a mulatto female, 15; a mulatto female, 13; and a mulatto female, 10.
John Clark, husband of Caroline McFadden, was the owner of a black male, 60; a black female, 45; a black male, 11; and a black male, age 4.
James Collier, husband of Eliza McFadden, owned 11 slaves: a black male, 35; a black female, 30; a black female, 20; a mulatto male, 16; a mulatto female, 12; a mulatto male, 10; a black female, 7; two black males, age 5; a black male, age 1; and a black female, age 1.
In 1860, the entire number of enslaved people held by the McFadden family—Hollie and her children—was 33 nameless, faceless humans held as property.
SAY THEIR NAMES:
So what happened to those nameless, faceless enslaved people held by the McFadden family? We'll never know for certain. However, we do know that slaves were often given the surname of the family who owned them, so my next step was to search the 1870 census for McFadden, Clark, Collier, and Moore names in Rutherford County.
I found them as farm laborers, cooks, servants, porters, and house keepers. Many families include children born during the years after the Battle of Stones River. Some are found in District 9 where they probably labored on the McFadden farm before the war. Some are found in nearby districts or wards in the city of Murfreesboro.
McFadden individuals who appear in the 1870 census, and who were of the age to have been counted in the 1860 census, include the following people.
Minerva, 20, servant. District 7
Peter, 30, servant., Murfreesboro, Ward 1
William, 40, porter, Murfreesboro, Ward 3
Mariah, 38, keeping house
Maren, 16, servant, District 9
George, 18, farm laborer, District 9
Laura, 35, farm hand, District 7
Brown, 15, at home, District 7
Martha, 50, at home, District 9
Brown, 20 farm laborer, District 9
Albe, 17, farm laborer, District 9
Adeline, 13, farm laborer, District 9
Ike, 28, farm laborer, District 9
Bell, 27, farm laborer, District 9
David 61, farm laborer, District 2
Mary, 44, keeping house, District 2
Julia, 80, at home, District 2
Mollie, 15, at home, District 2
Napoleon, 12, at home, District 2
Do I know for certain the individuals named above were owned by Hollie McFadden and her children? No.
Scores of black families bearing the names of Clark, Moore, and Collier also appear in the 1870 census. I'll never know if they, too, lived their early lives as property of the McFadden and allied families.
As I walk the acres of the Stones River National Battlefield and record images in paint on canvas, I feel the sprits of the people who were here before. The people who were here before were not only the thousands of soldiers who fought and died here. They were also the slaves held by the landowners in the area. They were Minervas and Ikes and Lauras and Marthas. Adeline may have been that young three year old in the McFadden household; David may have been a strong 51 year old. Albe may have carried water from the spring near McFadden Ford. Peter may have helped stack the rocks for that spring. Mariah may have gathered Indian corn and picked cotton. Brown may have walked behind a team of oxen turning the field for planting.
I want to give them names and honor their toil.
My latest creation has a story. Here is its story, which is also my mother’s story.
As many of you know, I am the caregiver for my 95-year-old mother. We spend much time together, both at her home or mine. In deference to her privacy, I do not discuss her health publicly. However, she has given me permission to tell this story. The important element to her story is that she is losing her sight due to macular degeneration.
A few years ago we were in the car—traveling to visit someone or running an errand or going shopping. She remarked, “You’re going to think I’m crazy, but I see people.”
“You do?” I asked. “Do you see them now?”
“Yes, they were just back there on the side of the road.”
“Do you think you got a glimpse of fence posts or mailboxes?”
“No, they were little girls in green print dresses.”
“Did they resemble anyone you know?”
“No, I didn’t get a good enough look at their faces.”
“How old do they appear to be?”
“Some are just little children; some are older, maybe teenagers.”
“Are they walking away from us or toward us?”
“Sometimes, both.”
I assured her that I didn’t think she was crazy, but I had no idea why she saw the visions of little girls in green print dresses.
Often since then, she will remark that she sees her little girls, usually when we’re in the car. Once we were indulging ourselves in our genealogy passion, exploring cemeteries; I walked ahead, looking for particular names. When I returned where Mother waited, she calmly remarked, “The little girl was following you as you walked through the cemetery.”
When I walk down the driveway to fetch the paper and mail, the little girl often follows me across the road, according to Mother. When I’m picking up limbs in the yard, Mother sees her, or when I walk to feed the chickens.
So the little girls have become a fixture for us. They’re not distressing or disturbing—they’re just little girls in green print dresses.
In the meantime, I read about Charles Bonnet Syndrome, a condition which causes people with decreased vision to have visual hallucinations. Think phantom limb syndrome. Sometimes the visions are patterns, buildings, animals, plants—or people.
A few weeks ago, Mother mentioned that she was seeing red spots, so we quickly made a call to her retina specialist who wanted to see her immediately.
After a thorough examination, he assured her that nothing was wrong; in fact, she was experiencing visions that sometimes affect people with macular degeneration.
I asked, “Do you mean Charles Bonnet Syndrome?” He said yes; I told him about Mother’s girls in green print dresses.
We had a name, a reason, a confirmation, and I knew it had to become a work of art. Because one of Mother’s passions is creating with fabric, I decided that this work of art had to be of fabric. So a piece of cotton duck and a variety of red circles, squares, and rectangles stitched on it became the basis. I placed a large, dark circle in the center to symbolize the dark circle that causes the loss of vision for individuals with macular degeneration. I cut and stitched tiny scraps of greens, browns, whites, and yellows to create the girls—two walking away, one facing the viewer. I randomly stitched over the entire piece in green and red thread. Finally, I bound the canvas.
Now we always have our girls in green print dresses.
Just outside the Hazen Brigade Cemetery wall at Stones River National Battlefield stand two military grave stones. They mark the resting place of William Holland (1834-1909) and William Harlan (1895-1979). William Holland began his life as a slave.
I have created a brief chronology which follows his life as a child and beyond through some of his descendants.
Although no known photographs of William Holland exist, I felt compelled to honor him and his family who lived in the Cemetery Community in Rutherford County. Using a photograph I located of his second great-grandson, as well as my understanding of features of the face, I created an image which I imagine to be William Holland.
I painted his image in pastels on paper on which I printed a copy of his military service record from the War Department, dated April 27, 1891.
The facts I have gleaned about him and his family are from the following sources:
www.nps.gov
Stones River National Battlefield
www.ancestry.com
www.familysearch.org
Sometime between mid-1820’s and 1834—William is born a slave in Kentucky; becomes the property of Benjamin Harlan in Maury County, TN.
1850—Slave Schedule of the 1850 Federal Census shows Benjamin Harlan owns 32 slaves. William is one of those.
1862—Sometime after Union army enters Tennessee, William escapes from slavery.
March 1, 1864—William Holland joins the Union army as a private in the 111th Regiment of the U.S. Colored Troops.
September 1864—William’s unit is captured by General Nathan Bedford Forrest, where he is assigned to Dr. James Cowan, Forrest’s chief surgeon, and where he remains for three months.
Early 1865—William returns to the Union lines. He helps to create the Stones River National Cemetery where he and fellow black soldiers rebury the remains of thousands of Union soldiers and begin building a stone wall surrounding the cemetery.
1867—William purchases land near the cemetery.
William marries Eliza Love according to an Ancestry family record
1868 Eliza dies according to Ancestry family record.
1870—According to the 1870 Federal Census, William Harlan, 40, is living in District 9 of Rutherford County in the household of S.S. Doolittle, superintendent of the cemetery. William is a farm laborer. David Harlan, 35, is also in the household. The census record tells us that David and William both were born in Kentucky. Is David his brother?
September 9, 1871—William marries Ruth Miller.
January, 1872 or 1873—Josephine, first child of William and Ruth, is born.
August 20, 1874—William Lenard, second child of William and Ruth, is born.
1878—Ruth dies.
1890—William Holland’s name is listed on the Veterans Schedule, a resident of District 9, Rutherford County.
1891—William Holland’s military service record is affirmed.
August 17, 1893—Josephine’s son, Joseph L., is born.
August 10, 1895—Josephine’s son, William Edith, is born.
July 10, 1899—Josephine’s daughter, Marie, is born.
August 14, 1902—Josephine’s daughter, Jimmie Evelyn, is born.
1900—William is a widower, living with his daughter Josephine and son William Lenard; William Lenard’s wife Della; and Josephine’s children, William Edith and Mary (Marie). His daughter Josephine is single, a day laborer, and can read and write.
August 10, 1909—William Harlan/Holland, Sergeant is Capt. James H. Dunn’s Co I, 111th Regiment Colored Infantry, and patriarch of the Harlan family dies. He is buried on his property in the Harlan/Holland Family Cemetery.
June 5, 1917—William Edith registers for the draft. He is medium height, medium build, brown eyes, black hair, and has a tumor on his leg. He enlists for WWI on June 21, 1918 and is released July 25, 1919.
January 15, 1918—Della Harlan, daughter of William and Alice Yeargan Jordan and wife of William Edith, dies of acute gastritis.
September 12, 1918—William Lenard Harlan, son of William and Ruth, registers for the draft. He’s a farmer, and his nearest relative is Marie Harlan, his sister.
1910—The United States Federal Census show William Harlan (Hollands), 36, living with his wife Della; his nieces Marie and Jimmie Evelyn, 11 and 9; and his nephews Joe L, and Will, 17 and 13.
1920—The United States Federal Census shows Joe Harlan, 24, living with his siblings, William, 22, Marie Hall, 20, Jimmie Bass, 18 in District 9, on Dixie Highway, Rutherford County, TN
1930—The United States Federal Census shows Joe Harlan, 36, living in District 9, Rutherford County, TN, with his wife Mattie and daughter, Helen, an infant.
1940—The United States Federal Census shows Joe Harlan, 46, living with his wife Mattie, daughter Helen, brother Will, and nephew Harris Gaines in Rutherford County, TN.
March 29, 1953—William Lenard Harlan, son of William and Ruth, dies. His death certificate indicates that he is buried in Harlan Cemetery, but no stone exists for him there.
June 26, 1955—Joseph L. Harlan applies for an upright marble headstone for his grandfather William to be placed in the Holland Family Cemetery, adjoining Hazen Brigade Cemetery, Stones River National Military Park.
November 18, 1979—William Edith Harlan dies; survived by his brother Joe, and two sisters, Mrs. Marie Thompson of St. Louis, MO, and Mrs. Evelyn Outley of Kansas City, MO. He is buried next to his grandfather in the Harlan/Holland Family Cemetery, adjoining Hazen Brigade Cemetery, Stones River National Battlefield.
July 20, 1990—Joseph L. Harlan, grandson of William Holland/Harlan, dies. He is survived by his daughter, Mrs. Helen Harlan Lee; sister, Mrs. Evelyn Outley of Kansas City, MO; and four grandchildren: Jimmy D. Manson, Elma Atkinson, Robert E. Lee of Nashville, and Tamara Miles of Augusta, Maine.
May 5, 1995—Jimmie Evelyn Harlan Outley dies.
I am indebted to the life and service of William Harlan/Holland and his descendants. I am also thankful for the public records which provided me with the information for the chronology of their lives.
