CAROLINE AUTRY
Caroline was first found living in the household of Rueben Fort's
in the McDaniels township of Sampson County in 1870. Her eight year
old daughter Lucinda, was also found living in this household during
that time.
The fort household was listed as
Rueben Fort 40 year old white man
Hannah Fort 17 year old black woman
Michael Fort 5 year old black male
Ashley Fort 2 year old black female
Caroline Autry 23 year old black female
Lucinda Autry 8 year old black female
This household was also found to be one of George W. Autry's next
door neighbors. In George's estate records after his death I found
that Rueben's name was mentioned many times. From my interpretation
of the records it looks like Sarah put a lot of George's belongings
up for sale and Rueben was one of the people buying.
Although at this time I do not know if Caroline is Ned's sister, daughter
or just another slave that was owned by George W. Autry, it is very
likely that Rueben's wife and Caroline are Ned Edward and Rose's daughters.
I have not found any information on Caroline or her daughter since
1870. It is possible that their surnames were changed by 1880 due
to marriage.
Note: Rueben Fort was actually a black man that looked white (Mulatto).
Rueben also served in the 135th along with Ned. His military records
show that he was of very light complexion, black hair, black eyes,
6'4" and was born somewhere in North Carolina that he called
the Canton District. Thanks to Elizabeth Harris of Ashboro, we have
figured out that from the way Ruebens named was spelled in other information,
he had a speech impairment and the Canton District was actually the
Clinton District.
Rueben's family of 1880 is listed below. This is the last information
that I could find on any of them. I guess it is because of all the
females (the surname change) in his family.
Reuben Fort 47
Edey Fort (Wife) 24
Michael Fort 15
Ashley Fort 10
Ann E. Fort 7
Sallie A. Fort 3M
During 1880 Rueben and his family were found living in the Little
Coharie Township. They were living as neighbors to other African American
Fort families. Some of these families were also found living just
as close in the neighboring township of Cedar Creek in Cumberland
County. These people could have been Rueben's relatives. Rueben must
have died sometime between 1880-1890, he was not listed in the 1890
veterans schedule. |
