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The People Who Lived on the Land that is Now Redstone Arsenal, page 45
John Rankin stated: Again, all of the neighbors of Isaac and James Inman are known early pioneers of arsenal and Madison area lands. Isaac Inman was listed as having two slaves in (Madison County Alabama 1840 Census, p. 160). None of the other Inman families were shown as owning slaves. Isaac had only what was termed “household slaves”, as they were both females, of an age that indicated a woman and her daughter. No other census year showed slaves in the Inman household, so they may have been freed or sold, as they don't appear in the estate papers after Isaac passed away in 1840. Additionally, there were no RSA families in Madison County with the surname Inman in later years after the Civil War, so there were apparently none that were freed from Inman ownership at that time. This would account for the lack of the name Inman in the Black population on the arsenal land. In addition, it would indicate that the Inman Cemetery, a burying ground for White people in the 1800s, later was used by the local Black population, as was often the case. An excerpt (page 160) from the Madison County 1840 census is presented on the following page. It shows slave holdings of James Inman and Isaac Inman. Following this, a page is presented from the Madison County Estate File. It shows Isaac Inman's heirs and notes that no slaves were held. In his research notes (as compiled in 2002), John Rankin further commented on information found in the Inman papers: These papers not only list the heirs of Isaac as including his widow Martha and sons James H. and Green L. Inman, but they likewise show the people who purchased items at the estate sale (typically nearby neighbors). Among those purchasers at the sale of the “perishable property” were many known pioneers of arsenal lands, including especially Edward Frost. Genealogical research led to the discovery that Isaac's widow Martha was a daughter of Edward Frost, who is known to have lived at or very near to the cemetery site. All of this points to a burial of at least Isaac Inman in the Inman Cemetery, since most pioneers were buried on their own land, and there was no listing for Isaac Inman (or any other Inman of this generation) in the old Maple Hill Cemetery records in Huntsville. The page showing the estate items of Isaac Inman, the names of the people who purchased them, and the prices paid for the items has been reproduced and is shown on page 48. 45 - (4078)