Benjamin Dabney (1838 - 1909)

Born 1838 in Dinwiddie County, Virginia, United States

Husband of Emma (Jones) Dabney — married 17 Nov 1885 in Petersburg, Dinwiddie, Virginia, United States

Descendants

Died 20 Oct 1909 at about age 71 in Petersburg, Petersburg City, Virginia, USA

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Biography

Benjamin Dabney is a part of US Black heritage.

Benjamin was born about 1838 according to the 1850 census. He is described as mulatto, the son of Becca Ampy and the white man Benjamin Dabney. He is free-born, and worked as a railroad hand.

He is married for the first time in 1885 (but he and Emma had children dating to the 1870's). In the marriage entry, he is estimated as born in 1843. Find-a-Grave lists him as born March 12, 1844, and the 1900 census says he was born March 1847, which is quite unlikely.

In the deposition for claims to be paid for property taken by the Union forces when General Sheridan's forces were camped "all around them", he and his sister Mary both state that Benjamin is the oldest of the siblings, but that doesn't match the 1850 census.

Along with his brother Robert, he filed a claim for property taken by the Union army near the end of the Civil War. Benjamin was forced into service to help the rebels.^[1]

Some excerpts from his deposition:

I was impressed into the Rebel service several times during the war. In 1862 I was taken to Manassas for what they said would be 60 days service but it was a year before I was discharged. I drove an Army wagon. Several times after I was compelled to work on the fortifications. I never bore arms or took any oath... I drove a wagon with the army when it went over into Maryland in 1862

Myself & brothers were all Union men always. Though we were free born we had no more privileges than servants except to work or not as we pleased. We couldn't vote, we couldn't carry arms, & if we were caught with a book in our hands we were liable to be whipped.

My father was a white man & gave the property to my mother. He died 17 years ago. My mother died five years ago leaving the property to her children in equal shares. I have four brothers & two sisters living. I am the oldest."

Most of the claim was denied. Another free born man largely backed up their claims, saying the Union forces were camped "all around us". A second witness however said it was mostly the Confederates that took the property (the Union army was not responsible for losses incurred by the Confederates). Neighbor David Carr wrote "When the union army rushed that point Gen. Lee was on his retreat and the union army was in hot pursuit and made no stop except that they were fighting in that neighborhood." This was just days before Lee's surrender.

Researcher's Notes

A third witnesses account (Armstrong) from their Civil War claim can probably be ignored, since he apparently doesn't know who their real father is, and most of his deposition is related to another man instead. But it does appear the Dabneys were not well-to-do, despite owning 96 acres (split evenly among the siblings).

From the depositions, it appeared the Dabneys lived adjacent to White Oak Road, close to Plank Road. Today there is "Dabney Estates" in that area, although that could also be named after the white Dabney family that lived nearby. On White Oak Road near Dabney Estates is a White Oak Road Battlefield, to mark the Civil War historical site.^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ National Archives Southern Claims Commission, Claim 42978 (20406)
2. ↑ Google Maps

• "United States Census, 1850," FamilySearch (9 April 2016), Virginia > Dinwiddie > Dinwiddie county, part of > image 35 of 120; citing NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
• "Virginia, Vital Records, 1715-1901", FamilySearch (4 April 2023), Benjamin Dabney in entry for Dabney, 1880.
• "Virginia Marriages, 1785-1940", FamilySearch (29 January 2020), Ben Ampy in entry for Ben Dabney, 1885. Image at p.542: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89XF-T3SG?i=541&cc=4149585
• "United States Census, 1900", FamilySearch (5 August 2014), Virginia > Dinwiddie > ED 102 Petersburg city Ward 5 > image 22 of 37; citing NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
• Find A Grave: Memorial #46253587 (accessed 27 April 2023), memorial page for Benjamin Dabney (12 Mar 1844–20 Oct 1909), citing Peoples Memorial Cemetery, Petersburg, Petersburg City, Virginia, USA; Maintained by reneekreat (contributor 46968347).