In researching Garland's paternal family in Tennessee, it was hoped by both myself and Judy's relative, Curry Wolfe, that we would not find that they had owned slaves. At the very least, - if that were the case - we hoped that they were not unkind slave owners.
Early in my research, a descendant of a Knoxville fort owner, explained to me that in the late 1700s and early 1800s in Tennessee - or the Southwest Territory, as it was then called - slaves were often bought as help-mates to travel through the wilderness and settle the land. Usually, the "masters" worked side by side with these persons of color. Later, slavery became something quite different. In the beginning, however, there is no way the settlers could have survived the wilderness and built their towns and farms without additional help.
When researching the Gum(m) family, we could only verify one woman slave bought by the direct line of that family. She was given as a gift by Norton Gum to his wife, Sally. However, on Judy's father's maternal side--the Baughs and Marables--there were many slaves.
In the mid-1800s, as Garland's great grandfather, John Aldridge Baugh worked to increase his landholdings and he bought quite a few slaves to farm that land. It was a sad day when I first held property records in my hands showing the sale of human beings as so much property. In time, I learned that unlike some neighbors who bought and sold slaves, John Aldridge Baugh and his wife Mary Ann Marable Baugh, with maybe two or three exceptions, kept the slaves like family, and noted the birth of each child in the family Bible.
Some of these persons stayed with the family even after slavery was over. Some moved to town and were still connect to the family even when Judy Garland's father Frank Gumm, was a little boy. Realizing this, I began to study these person's genealogy with the hope I might find some descendants.
One important person in the life of the Baugh family was Miranda Marable Baugh. It appears that Miranday, as she was called, joined the Marable family in Virginia as a young girl. She was about 3-5 years younger than Mary Ann Marable and so the two girls grew up together. Miranday traveled from Virginia to Tennessee with Mary Ann and when she married John Aldridge Baugh, Miranday went with her.
It seems Miranday married or had a child with one of the slaves on the Marable Farm. Their son, Willis Baugh referred to his father as Clem Marable during an interview in the 1900s regarding his history and his service as a Confederate soldier.
During the time Mary Ann Baugh was giving birth to her 10 children, Mirandy was giving birth to about 10 children of her own. Some of Mirandy's children did not survive as noted by Willis in his interview. Others listed in the family Bible to note the names of their parents. We do know that among her surviving children were Willis, Gilbert and Jane. Willis went with two of the masters in the Civil War. As result, he saw some of the worst Battles anyone could imagine, most prominently, the Battle at Shiloh.
When the Baugh family moved to Murfreesboro after the war, Miranda joined them. Mary Ann gave her a house to live in. By now, Miranda's name was Miranday Miller (there were many Millers in Millersburg). When "Aunt Ran" or "Mammy Ran" as the family called her, moved to Murfreesboro, she was joined by her daughter, Jane Hoover. Jane had been working as a cook up in Nashville and had a couple of boys. Eventually, she remarried and moved to a small house not far from Frank Gumm's family. This was between 1900 and 1910. Eventually the house where Aunt Ran lived in was inherited by Judy Garland''s grandmother, Clemmie Gum. After the Gum home burnt, the family moved into Ran's old home, and Ran Miller (sometimes listed as Hoover) moved in with her daughter.
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| My Meeting with Mary Fox, Granddaughter of Willis Baugh From Tennessee to Oz, Part 2 |
In search of Miranda's descendants via her daughter, Jane, I was unable to find any. Either they had no children or they left the area. Neither was I able to find a grave or date of death for Miranda, who died sometime between 1910 and 1920. This was very sad to me, but I had a surprise coming. One day a women lent me a book on a neighboring county and by chance I saw the name "Willis Baugh" listed in it. The information in the book allowed me to trace a granddaughter for Willis. Amazingly, she had a photo of her grandfather, which someone had found blowing along the railroad tracks. This photo is in Part One of From Tennessee to Oz. When I returned to Tennessee, Mary agreed to meet me for lunch one day, an event I found quite thrilling. I was truly connecting past and present.
In researching the African American history in Tennessee, I learned that that many African American descendants do not want to know about the days of slavery. It is no doubt a painful chapter in their past. In some cases, they may find that they are related to the white masters who held their ancestors in slavery. I found that many black persons in Tennessee were hesitant to speak about their history to a white person, but a couple of ladies who were quite elderly and past fear or caring told me that women of color had no choice over what the white man wanted.
Looking back on this past, I found nothing but admiration for these persons - for what they endured and for how they came out. They lived difficult lives, often loosing a loved one, even a child, who was sold away. They often worked hard and lived in deplorable conditions (though a Union soldier visiting Murfreesboro during the war said that black folks in that town lived better than poor white folks). Yet with all that these persons endured, it is also true that they were usually the ones who showed the young white children the most love and affection. A Tennessean lady informed me that historically, the relation of white children to their parents was one of formality. The relation to the black "mammy" (which I might add is also what white folks also call their white mothers) was one of affection, love and warmth. They also exposed the children to some of their culture. So, in relation to Judy Garland's paternal family, we might comment that these persons, referred to as servants" were also family and had an affect in the formation of the children, including young Frank Gumm who loved to sing. One of his favorite songs was "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen," an old Negro spiritual.
For more information, read "From Tennessee to Oz" Parts I and II or contact me regarding the genealogy. I will help if I can.
