Belton Bass Bowden Morris

Belton, Bass, Bowden, Miller, Morris
and Connections

Warren, Issaquena, Hinds & Sharkey County, Mississippi

Great Grandparents:
Pete Belton & Angeline Bass Belton

My grandmother Gertrude's parents were Peter "Pete" Belton and Angeline Bass. Pete was born around 1880 in Warren County, Mississippi in the Bovina-Oak Ridge area. Angeline was born around 1879, also in Warren County near Bovina, just east of Vicksburg. They had two children: Jake Belton (1903) and my grandmother, Gertrude. I believe Pete Belton died shortly before or after Gertrude was born because Angeline was a widow by 1910, according to the 1910 Warren County census. Angeline later had another daughter, Pearlie Mae Weakley. Angeline later married a man named Henry Dennis, and they moved to the Nitta Yuma community of Sharkey County, Mississippi.

Great-Great Grandparents:
Peter Belton Sr. & Martha Miller Belton

In the 1870 and 1900 Warren County census, I found a man named Peter Belton. He was born in or around 1845 in Mississippi. Peter was the only Belton in Warren County in 1870. He's very likely the father of my great-grandfather, who was also named Peter Belton. Based on research findings, it is believed that Peter Belton Sr. was born into slavery on one of the Ross Plantations in Jefferson County, Mississippi. He and a relative named Jack Ross likely migrated to Warren County shortly after the Civil War.

One or both of Peter Belton's parents were likely once enslaved by a wealthy planter, Capt. Isaac Ross, of Jefferson County, Mississippi. Further research found that all of the Beltons residing in southwest Mississippi right after slavery had either been enslaved by Capt. Isaac Ross, or one or both of their parents had been slaves of Ross. Isaac Ross migrated to Jefferson County, Mississippi in 1808, transporting approximately 200 slaves with him from Kershaw County, South Carolina. His slaves built Prospect Hill Plantation, located several miles north of present-day Alcorn State University. Before joining the exodus of planters from the East, it has been speculated that Isaac Ross purchased some of his slaves from the Belton family of Kershaw County. Isaac Ross also obtained the slaves that had been owned by his wife's childless sister, Mary Allison Belton, after her death in 1823 in Jefferson County. Those slaves were the ancestors of the Belton families of southwest Mississippi after slavery. Some of them were also the grandparents of my great-great grandfather, Peter Belton Sr. During their time of enslavement on Prospect Hill Plantation, those slaves held on to the Belton surname, and their offspring who were fortunate to survive slavery carried on this surname.

In the 1910 Warren County census, I found a woman named Martha Belton, who I strongly feel was my great-grandfather's mother. Although she was listed as the head of household in 1910, Martha Belton was still married (one time) for 40 years, the mother of 8 children with 6 still living, and her birthplace was Mississippi. Marriage records for Warren County show that Peter Belton married Mrs. Martha Wilkins in 1880. Research has also shown that her maiden name was Martha Miller. Martha Miller Belton was born around 1855. Living with or near her were five of her six surviving children: Fred Belton, Bettie Belton, William Belton, Henry Belton, and Mat (Mattie) Belton. I have not yet identified the names of the other child. Relatives have verified that my grandmother, Gertrude Belton, had an aunt named "Miss Mattie" who she lived with for awhile.

Great-Great Grandparents:
John "Jack" Bass & Francis Morris Bass McAllister

Angeline's parents were John Bass & Frances Morris Bass McAllister. I found them in the 1870 Hinds County census and the 1880 Warren County census. They married in 1869 in Warren County. John was born around 1845 in North Carolina. Francis was born in or around 1846 in Mississippi. From census records, it appears that they had at least six children: Ada Bass Davis, Caroline Bass, Mary Bass, Jacob Bass, Loubita (Beady) Bass Moore, and my great-grandmother, Angeline. John Bass died in the 1880's, and Francis later married a man named George McAllister. She appeared to have had two more children, Willie McAlester (m) and Annie McAlester. According to the 1900 Warren County census, Frances had 13 children and 10 were still living in 1900, but I have been able to only identify eight of her 10 surviving children.

Great-Great-Great Grandparents:
Fredrick "Fred" & Hannah Miller

Living in the Bovina-Oak Ridge area where my great-great-grandmother Martha Miller Belton lived, a couple named Fredrick & Hannah Miller was found. Fredrick Miller was born circa 1830, and Hannah Miller was born circa 1840. I was able to trace them back to the 1870 Warren County census. In that census, they were reported as Fredrick & Hannah Neely. They were also reported with the Neely surname in the 1880 Warren County census. However, by 1900, the family changed their last name to Miller. Research findings indicate that Fredrick, and possibly Hannah too, had been enslaved by Wesley W. Neely, who owned a plantation in the Bovina area of Warren County. He was the only white Neely in the county.

According to the 1900 Warren County census, Hannah was the mother of 18 children with 13 children still living. From the censuses, I was able to find the names of the following children: Henry or Harry Miller, Fred Miller Jr., Will or William Miller, Charlotte Miller, Louis Miller, Robert Miller, John Miller, Virginia Miller, Mary Miller, Hattie Miller, Lynn Miller, and Jack Miller. Because of the same names my great-great-grandmother Martha Miller Belton had given to her own children, I strongly believe that Fredrick & Hannah Miller were her parents. Also, Martha answered that her parents were born in Alabama, and several of Fredrick & Hannah Miller's children also consistently reported Alabama as their parents' birthplace. However, the 1880 census reported that Fredrick Miller was born in Mississippi, and Hannah Miller was born in Alabama.

Four of Fredrick & Hannah Miller's children, Henry, Louis, Virginia, and Jack Miller, moved to Clarksdale, Mississippi by 1910. Louis Miller and his family later migrated to Chicago, Illinois by 1930. Their son, Will Miller, remained in Warren County, and his family lived on Fort Hill Street in Vicksburg. Will married and had children named Will Jr., Fred, Anna, Kemper (Kemp), Hannah, Susan, Elizabeth, Mary, Arthur, and Leroy Miller. The whereabouts of Fredrick & Hannah's other children are presently unknown.

Great-Great-Great Grandparents:
Tom Bowden & Beady --
Caroline Morris

According to John Bass's Freedman's Bank application, his parents were named Tom Bowden & Beady --. They were from somewhere in North Carolina. Research is being done to determine what happened to John's parents, and why he chose the Bass surname rather than Bowden.

A man named Thomas Bowden was found in the 1880 census in Richmond County, North Carolina. There is evidence that he may have been John Bass's father, but more research is being done. Other children of Beady probably included Eliza Newman, Oscar Hatcher or Oscar Birdsong, and Mimy Hatcher. Their names were listed on John Bass's Freedman's Bank application as being his sisters and brother. They were all living in Warren County, Mississippi after 1865. Eliza was married to a man named George Newman, and they relocated to Issaquena County, Mississippi by 1900. Eliza's children included Senaker Potter, Belle Potter, and Susan Potter Summerville/Somerville. It is uncertain why Oscar and Mimy chose the Hatcher surname.

It is believed that John Bass and his siblings were sold away from their father in North Carolina and transported to Mississippi, and thus took the surname of their last enslavers. Mimy Hatcher migrated to Cairo, Illinois with her daughter and her family. There is evidence that John Bass and his siblings were related to Senaker Hatcher and Jackson Bass, who lived next-door to each other in Hinds County, MS in 1870. Senaker Hatcher migrated to Cairo, Illinois by 1880. There is evidence that Senaker Hatcher and Jackson Bass were brothers, but it is unknown why they took different surnames, like Grandpa John Bass and his siblings.

Living with John "Jack" & Francis Bass in 1880 was Francis's mother, Caroline Morris. Based on census, Caroline was born in Virginia in or around 1815. I found Caroline Morris in the 1870 Warren County census with two sons, Edward (Ned) Morris and Jacob Morris and probably a daughter named Delia Washington who was married to Walter Washington. Jacob Morris later moved to Issaquena County, Mississippi. Ned Morris later moved to Sharkey County, Mississippi by 1900 and then on to Washington County, Mississippi by 1920. There were other African-American Morris families living in Warren County, but I haven't made a connection yet.