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mcc-jrr_802-005

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SimpsonSlave Cemetery, 80-2 Summary Report, page 5

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This data shows that Charity Cooper Lee, the widow of James Cooper, lost the land of the NW/4 of Section 20 to James W. Fennell and others by 1867 and 1869, as a result of a Sheriff's sale for her bankruptcy. The bankruptcy was probably a result of the Civil War, but any slaves buried as such in the cemetery would have been before the Civil War. Of course, the cemetery would not cease being a cemetery just because the former slaves were emancipated during the war, so it could well have continued in use by black families whose ancestors were there - whether the black families owned the land or not. The INDEX TO LANDS reveals that eventually the NW/4 of Section 20 was under the ownership of George F. & Sarah H. Scruggs until at least 1902, when A. G. Proctor (who was married to a Simpson family member) purchased some of the land. 5 - (2769)    

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