Molly Mercer (abt. 1790 - abt. 1828)

Born about 1790 in Virginia, United States

Descendants

Died about 1828 at about age 38 in Georgia, United States [uncertain]

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Biography

Molly was born about 1790. She passed away about 1828.

Molly was most likely born into slavery around 1790 in Virginia, but came to Georgia around 1808. Her parents are unknown at this time. By 1819 she was a light-skinned free woman of color. For this reason, pursuant to a Georgia law passed in December of 1818, Molly had to register herself and her whole family every year.^[1] These registry records can still be found in the archives of various Baldwin County Newspapers, including The Southron and The Georgia Journal.

It is not known what Molly’s original surname was. The 1820 census has an entry for a free woman of color named just “Molly” directly beneath the entry for a white man named Solomon Betton, whose connection to her family will be explained below. ^[2]

Molly eventually took the last name of Mercer. This may have been her original last name. It is worth noting that the maiden name of Solomon Betton’s wife Lucinda was Mercer, and that Lucinda (Mercer) Betton had come from a large slave plantation, Marlborough in Virginia. A plantation where, by the way, Solomon Betton had once been an overseer. That plantation had been liquidated all in the decades after Lucinda Mercer Betton’s father’s death in 1793. It is possible that Molly had once been a slave on the Mercer plantation. She may even have been the child of one of the Mercer sons. More research is needed.

According to the registers, Molly’s children were (in age order) Lucinda (Lucy) and Robert (both born in Virginia), and Julia, Billy, Elizabeth (Betsy), Mary Ellen (aka Eleanor), and Laura Antoinette Virginia (Antoinette) (all born in Georgia). There is a considerable age gap between the oldest, Lucinda, and youngest, Antoinette. Most of Molly’s surviving daughters became washerwomen and seamstresses, like their mother, who was both. Robert would become a renown barber. Billy only appears in the 1819 and 1825 registers, and may have died as a child. Apart from Lucinda, all of Molly’s children were consistently described as light or “yellow” complected or “mulatto,” so their father may have been a white man. In the March 22, 1825 edition of the Milledgeville Georgia Journal, however, only Lucinda is described as “dark complected.” ^[3] Again, it is worth noting that several of Molly’s younger children were born after she moved next door to the Solomon Betton’s family. It is possible that he either fathered some of her children or that one of his male slaves was the father of Molly’s children.

It is, however, significant that Molly Mercer named one of her daughters Lucinda, and that her other daughter Antoinette named one of her daughters Lucinda, as it may imply a familial connection with the Mercers of Marlborough Plantation. (This was not an uncommon practice among slaves whose children were fathered by white men.) Marlborough was originally owned by John Fenton Mercer, an immigrant from Ireland, who became a well-respected attorney, and brought the plantation to prosperity, but also encumbered it with debt. John Fenton Mercer died in 1768, after which his second surviving son, Judge James Mercer (who was one of George Washington’s mother’s attorneys), inherited the estate after John’s death, and managed it until he died in 1793. Thereafter, Jame’s Mercer’s oldest son, John Fenton Mercer II, took over and eventually liquidated the indebted estate. Some slaves were freed, and Molly Mercer may have been one of them. Judge James Mercer was Lucinda (Mercer) Betton’s father.

Molly lived next door to or lived near the Solomon Bettons until her apparent death between 1828-1829. Her date of death is approximated based on the fact that she ceases to appear on any register or census after 1828.

After Molly died, some of her children may have continued to live near, possibly with, Solomon Dyre Betton. Antoinette, Betsy, Lucinda, and Robert all eventually took the last name of Betton. And, as little Antoinette was only seven years old and Lucinda was 22, it seems that Lucinda may have assumed a maternal role for her and some of the younger siblings, which explains why many assume that Lucinda is Antoinette’s mother. ^[4] Because Lucinda and Antoinette are no longer listed in the Free Person of Color Registers in Baldwin County (though some of the other siblings are), it is presumed that they had relocated, probably to Macon in Bibb County, which has no surviving register. Some of Molly’s children disappear from known records after Molly’s death. Is possible that they either married and changed their names, died, or chose to pass for white.

Antoinette Betton, Betsy Betton, and Antoinette’s children are listed in the 1850 census under the name “Benton,” and in the 1860 census as “Betton,” where they are joined by Lucy (Lucinda). In the 1870 census, Lucinda’s last name is given as “Grant,” so it is possible that she got married. It is not clear if she has any children of her own.

Lucinda Mercer/Betton does not appear in the census again after 1870. It is presumed that she passed away.

Sources

• The Georgia Journal, Milledgeville, Georgia, April 27, 1819
• The Milledgeville Georgia Journal, March 22, 1825
• The Southron, Milledgeville, Georgia, February 23, 1828
• The Georgia Journal, Milledgeville, Georgia, May 30, 1829

1. ↑ The Georgia Journal, (Milledgeville, Ga.) 1809-1847, April 27, 1819, Image 3.[1]
2. ↑ 1820 Census: "1820 United States Federal Census,” Fourth Census of the United States, 1820; Census Place: Baldwin, Georgia; Page: 58; NARA Roll: M33_6; Image: 43
3. ↑ The Milledgeville Georgia Journal, March 22, 1825.
4. ↑ The Georgia Journal, (Milledgeville, Ga.) 1809-1847, May 30, 1829, Image 3[2]