Nettie (Allbrooks) Henry (abt. 1851)

Born about Apr 1851 in Livingston, Sumter, Alabama, United States

Wife of Carroll Henry — married 23 Nov 1870 in Lauderdale County, Mississippi, United States

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Biography

Nettie (Allbrooks) Henry is a part of US Black heritage.

This profile is part of the Henry Name Study.

Nettie Allbrooks was born about Apr 1851 in Livingston, Sumter, Alabama, United States, daughter of Isam Allbrooks. Her mother's name is unknown.

She was interviewed in 1937 by the Federal Writers' Project for their Slave Narrative Project when she was about 82 years old (the birth year in her vitals is based on the fact that she said she was 19 when she married and that happened in 1870). In the interview she recalls her childhood as an enslaved person and her life during Reconstruction and onward. Nettie's LNAB is spelled as Allbrooks in the interview but as Osbrooks on her marriage license.^[1]

She, her mother, and sisters Liza and Tempe were enslaved by a Chile or Childs family in Sumter County, Alabama. Nettie's father was enslaved by a different family but came to see them regularly until the family moved their household to Texas after the start of the Civil War. Nettie, her mother, and sisters were given to the slave owner's daughter Lizzie after she married John C Higgins and they were moved to Meridian, Mississippi. Nettie's mother was the cook and housekeeper for the daughter's household.

Nettie's father reunited with his family after Emancipation and her sister Tempe married a "mean" man named Cal and moved away. Nettie's father built a house for them on rented land. The family was apparently taught how to read by the children of Lizzie (so that they could read the Bible) and remained near the Higgins family in Meridian, apparently because it was safer.

Nettie married Carroll Henry on 23 November 1870 in Lauderdale County, Mississippi, United States and they had five children.^[2]

Research Notes

• Nettie may have died in 1939.^[3]
• One of her sons was living in Chicago as of 1937.

Slave Owners

The family was named Chile or Childs, but I was unable to find them. The slave owner had a daughter named Lizzie who married John C. Higgins about 1853, but I was unable to find a record for the marriage or a possible census record for Lizzie and John. Nettie, her mother, and her sisters were given to Lizzie after she married.

Sources

1. ↑ "Nettie Henry, Meridian, Mississippi" Federal Writers' Project: Slave Narrative Project, Vol. 9, Mississippi, Allen-Young. 1936. Manuscript/Mixed Material, pg. 61-67. https://www.loc.gov/item/mesn090/.
2. ↑ Marriage: "Mississippi Marriages, 1800-1911"
   citing Digital film/folder number: 007726319; FHL microfilm: 899122
   FamilySearch Record: V2D7-XDS (accessed 23 August 2023)
   Nettie Osbrooks marriage to Caroll Henry on 23 Nov 1870 in Lauderdale, Mississippi, United States.
3. ↑ Possible Death Record: "Mississippi, U.S., Index to Deaths, 1912-1943"
   Mississippi State Department of Health; Jackson, Mississippi; Statewide Index to Mississippi Death Records; Description: 1934-1941; Certificate Number: 2813
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 62090 #605673 (accessed 23 August 2023)
   Nettie Henry death 1939 in Lauderdale, Mississippi, USA.

• "Family Tree," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : modified 22 August 2023, 07:19), entry for Nettie Osbrooks (PID https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:946K-X2K ); contributed by various users.
• 1900 Census: "United States Census, 1900"
  citing Affiliate Name: The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Affiliate Publication Number: T623; Line: 27; Digital film/folder number: 004119881; FHL microfilm: 1240815; Image number: 133; Sheet number: 5; Sheet letter: A; Packet letter: A; Indexing batch: N00834-8
  FamilySearch Record: M9XS-XYH (accessed 23 August 2023)
  FamilySearch Image: S3HY-DH77-MRQ
  Nettie Henry (47), wife, in household of Carrol Henry (50) in Meridian, Lauderdale, Mississippi, United States. Born in Alabama.
• 1910 Census: "United States Census, 1910"
  citing Affiliate Name: The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Affiliate Publication Number: T624; Digital film/folder number: 004972585; FHL microfilm: 1374759; Image number: 799; Sheet number: 8; Sheet letter: A; Packet letter: A; Indexing batch: N03446-0
  FamilySearch Record: MP8R-25R (accessed 23 August 2023)
  FamilySearch Image: 33S7-9RN5-7W4
  Nettie Henry (56), wife, in household of Carroll Henry (65) in Meridian Ward 2, Lauderdale, Mississippi, United States. Born in Alabama.
• 1920 Census: "United States Census, 1920"
  citing Affiliate Name: The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Affiliate Publication Number: T625; Line: 24; Digital film/folder number: 004966260; FHL microfilm: 1820882; Image number: 748; Sheet number: 12; Sheet letter: A; Packet letter: A; Indexing batch: N02069-3
  FamilySearch Record: M43Z-R6L (accessed 23 August 2023)
  FamilySearch Image: 33S7-9RXF-QPT
  Nettie Henry (63), widowed head of household in Meridian, Lauderdale, Mississippi, United States. Born in Alabama.