The Naming Project: Pamela Barbour Taliaferro

What We Know About Pamela Barbour Taliaferro

Pamela’s name first appeared (without a surname) in the 1807 will of Nelly Conway Madison, the mother of President James Madison. Nelly planned to divide the people she enslaved among several of her children and grandchildren, noting:

“it is my desire that my slaves be consulted to know to which of the before named legatees they may choose to be allotted … it is my will and desire that my slaves Simon, Peter, Sawney, Sam, Tabby, Violett, Mary and Pamela shall at all events have their choice as before mentioned…”

In a May 1818 codicil to her will, Nelly directed that all the people she enslaved should be allowed to choose their next enslaver, not just the eight people she had originally specified.[1] It may be significant that Nelly always intended for Pamela to have this opportunity. This suggests that Pamela waited on Nelly in the house or in another close capacity.

Pamela may have been a young girl or a teenager when Nelly wrote her will in 1807. Records created after the Civil War indicate that Pamela had married Frank Taliaferro[2] at an unknown date.[3] He may have been one of several men named Frank who were enslaved at Montpelier, or he may have lived nearby. Pamela gave birth to at least two children, Solomon (born ca. 1819) and Judy (born ca. 1821).

“Allowed to Choose”

Pamela was not mentioned in any surviving records between 1807 and 1829. She next appeared in records created after Nelly Madison died on February 11, 1829. When Nelly’s estate was appraised on April 2, 1829, “Pamela & Child Judy 8 years old” were valued at $200.[4]

Another version of the estate inventory was taken on June 30, 1829, to include three elderly enslaved people who had been left out of the initial inventory. Pamela and 8-year-old Judy were again valued at $200. MIcrofilm image courtesy of Library of Virginia.

Reynolds Chapman, administrator of the estate, made an announcement on August 15, 1829, to the people Nelly had enslaved:

“Reynolds Chapman … called together the negroes belonging to the estate of Mrs. Nelly Madison, deceased, and informed them that by the will of their mistress they were allowed to choose for their masters or mistresses, Mr. James Madison, General William Madison, Mrs. Macon or either of the children of Mrs. Frances T. Rose, deceased, or if they preferred any other persons he was authorized to sell them to such persons at their valuations and requested them to inform him whom they chose.”

Neighbors Reuben Newman and Charles P. Howard recorded the choices:

“Pamela has selected for herself, Son Solomon & Daughter Judy who are under fourteen years Old . . . Sarah Macon”[5]

This estate document makes clear that Pamela was the mother of Solomon, as well as Judy. “Soloman” had been listed separately at $275 in the April 2 appraisal. Being about 10 years old, Solomon was on the brink of being too old to be grouped with his mother and younger sister. Was he appraised as an individual because he was tall or looked older than he was? Did Pamela realize that her son had been appraised separately, and did this cause her to worry? Did Pamela have to speak up to ensure that her son came with her, when she chose for her family to go to Sarah Madison Macon’s nearby Somerset plantation?

Pamela’s family grouping was again made clear in another estate document that listed the total value of the enslaved people who were received by each of Nelly Madison’s heirs. Sarah Madison Macon received $825 worth of human property, including Sam (valued at $50), Peter (valued at “nothing”), James (valued at $300), and

“Pamela her son Solomon and daughter Judy — valued to $475.”[6]

We don’t know what motivated Pamela to choose Sarah Macon. Possibly Pamela’s family had kinship ties to other people enslaved at Somerset.

Pamela and her children did not immediately leave Montpelier, due to legal wrangling among Nelly Madison’s heirs. To settle the estate, the court ordered in 1833 that the estate administrator deliver Sam, James, and Pamela with her children Solomon and Judy, to Sarah Macon’s sons, who were acting as her trustees. (Peter had died by this time.) If Sarah Macon’s sons failed to pay the amount they owed to other heirs, one or more of the enslaved people could be sold to make the payment.[7]

Pamela Disappears

What happened next is not documented. Presumably Pamela, Solomon, and Judy were taken to Sarah Macon at Somerset after the court order in 1833. Somerset was sold a few years later, after Sarah’s husband Thomas Macon died in 1838. Sarah herself died in 1843. Pamela was not listed in Sarah’s estate inventory, although Solomon and Judy were listed, along with a child of Judy.[8]

What happened to Pamela? She may have died between 1833 and 1843. It is also possible that she was sold, perhaps at the time of Thomas Macon’s death, to discharge the significant amount of debt he owed at the time he died. Pamela’s name does not appear again in the historical record during her lifetime.

Revealed in a Register

Pamela’s name does, however, appear in one more document, likely created after her death. Her son Solomon entered into a second marriage in 1889, when he was nearing 70 years old. African American marriages were legally recognized by that time, and Solomon Taliaferro’s marriage to Sarah Brown was duly recorded in the Orange County marriage register. The newly-married couple was required to give information including their place of birth, their place of residence, and the names of their parents.

Solomon listed his parents as Frank Taliaferro and Pamela Barbour.[9] The name Barbour is likely connected to the Barbour family of Barboursville in Orange County. Pamela’s family may have had the name Barbour for generations, but since the Madisons – like many enslavers – did not recognize the surnames of enslaved people, there is no way to document how far back the Barbour name went in Pamela’s family.

Frank Taliaferro and Pamela Barbour were recorded as the parents of Solomon Taliaferro when Solomon married on October 10, 1889. Courtesy of the Orange County Clerk’s Office.

A Name Remembered

To the woman who enslaved her, to the heirs who bickered over her, and to the courts who kept record of her, she was simply Pamela, without the dignity of a last name.

Yet Pamela did have a surname – Barbour – that was recognized within the enslaved community, and remembered and recorded by her son Solomon.

And Pamela had a husband with a surname – Taliaferro – that would have legally been her name as well, if the marriages of enslaved people had been legally recognized.

Pamela Barbour Taliaferro. Her son remembered her name, and so do we.