I recently acquired this photo of theWakefield Plantation while visiting St. Francisville, Louisiana. It is also referred to as the Stirling Plantation. Lewis Stirling and his wife, Sarah Turnbull Stirling resided in a 1807 log house until 1834 when the present house was built.
Members of my Morgan and Weathers families were slaves on this plantation. Many of them were born, raised and died here. Lewis Stirling is their last slaveholder.
Wakefield plantation was originally two and one-half stories, but in 1877 the house was divided by the heirs and two other houses were built from it. Those two houses later burned, leaving the original diminished house. The current owners are Dr. Eugene and Jolie Berry.
During the 42nd Annual Audubon Pilgrimage, March 15, 16, 17, 2013, eight homes will be opened for tours including the Wakefield Plantation. This pilgrimage celebrates John Audubon's stay at the Oakley Plantation where he tutored a child and painted birds.
Dear friend, I am a member of the Stirling family and just stumbled on your site. My grandmother lived at Wakefield after her mother died - her name was Jenny Chichester Hereford, her father was James Stirling Hereford. I am 75 years old - my grandmother, who married and lived here in Alabama, told me many stories about her life at Wakefield but I never heard a word about slaves and am horrified to know this. I guess I am naive - after all, it was a plantation and who did I think was doing all the work?? Please accept my profoundest apologies. I am a firm believer in equality and am an Obama supporter and went to the 50th anniversary of the Selma march. Love to you, Patricia, Peyton Carmichael
ReplyDeletePeyton, Thank you very much for visiting my blog and your heartwarming email. You are the first person to respond who was a member of the Stirling family. I would love to hear some of your grandmother stories and I would like to communicate with you about your connection to the family. Please send me your email address. I appreciate the apologies, however, I don't hold the descendants of slaveholders responsible for slavery. I believe in reconciliation and open communication between the descendants of slaveholders and the descendants of slaves. I visited the Wakefield in 2013 and have some information from the new owners I can share with you. Patricia
DeletePatricia, I am just now seeing this. It is August, 2016. My email is peytoncar@mac.com. Please write to me and I will write the stories to you. Peyton
DeleteGood morning, I have read your blog before and I'm sure we are distant cousins. I completed DNA via ansestry.com and my results are there. I would love to hear some of Mrs. Peytons stories that her grandmother share with her. My Grandmother is still alive she is 87 years old and the stories I've heard for her are always troubling and ones of struggles and misfortune of course. Although she wasn't a "slave" she was now upgraded to sharecopping as a child picking cotton! Thank you for all that you do sending Love from Chicago!
Deletebabyj703@yahoo.com
Hi - My name is Peter Stirling Donahue and I live in Rye NY. My mother was Katharine Mary Haley and my grandmother was Lucy Stirling Haley. Her dad was Dr. Louis Stirling of Baton Rouge. HE was the son of Ruffin Grey Stirling
ReplyDeleteI’d love to hear more about Ruffin Gray Stirling and perhaps some of the stories, during his time at The Myrtles.
DeletePeyton Carmichael and Peter Stirling Donahue, you are my distant cousins! Peyton, you are my 6th cousin, once removed, and Peter, you are my 7th cousin. Genealogy has been quite the journey for me, and even more so since I was contacted by a distant black cousin, searching for his roots. He has been on a ten year journey and said I was the first breakthrough that he'd had. I was as dismayed as Peyton to find slave owners in my family tree ... they seem to be EVERYWHERE on my mother's side. If either of you get this message, please contact me if you are willing and able to help this cousin. I do think we have him placed within two generations of this one branch of the tree - although he and I have found that we are cousins several times over. I can be contacted at DancerWithClass@gmail.com, and if you are able to contact me I will fill you in on my connection to you. Thank you so much, Patricia, for all that you do. (I don't know HOW you do it all!) Nancy Colford
ReplyDeleteHi Patricia, my great grandmother Cecile Bryant was born on Wakefield Plantation in 1835 and had my grandfather Virgil Sterling there in 1852. I have some information and I have a relative who has more. Please contact me at ucanmk2@hotmail.com I am happy to help with your research.
ReplyDeleteHello Everyone,
ReplyDeleteI am researching the Samuel Wakefield family of New Iberia, LA who was a Louisiana state senator during reconstruction (around 1876-1878). Samuel and his family were light-complexioned Blacks (at least 1 daughter moved from Louisiana with her husband and "passed" as White). His daughter Emma was the first Black female to receive a Medical Degree in Louisiana. In census records, Samuel listed his father as having been born in England.Does anyone know if there is a relation between Samuel Wakefield, and the Wakefields associated with the Stirling Plantation? Thank you,
Phebe (phebe530@gmail.com)
hey we mite be related
DeleteI am mlm part of the sterling clan
ReplyDeleteHi everyone,
ReplyDeleteI am from Louisiana and have been researching plantations near my home. My family history is not connected to Wakefield Plantation, however someone I know is.
My ancestors were plantation owners who died at a young age. Their surviving son who was 12 at the time remained on his plantation and was raised by the slaves that he then owned. I am forever grateful for them and to them. Without those wonderful people I may have never existed.
Being from Louisiana,I am very familiar with the subject of slavery.I do not approve of it in any way, shape or form. Even though I am not from the generations of my ancestors who were responsible for and participated in slavery, I deeply regret that slavery is a part of my heritage.
I have noticed that some of the replies in this blog include remarks of horror and shock that the person had ancestors who were slaves or slave owners. I want to encourage those of us in that situation to realize that we had no part of that. We can not do anything about the past. We however can and must do whatever we can to help make our futures better. Not by being divided by the issues of slavery and racism but by being united by the bond of being human.
I wish you all luck and blessings in your searches for your family history and living relatives.
Sincerely,
K.G Firmin
Hello!
ReplyDeleteMy husbands last name is Wakefield. We think his family name came from a plantation that owned a distant relative. All he knows of family history is that at some point they came from Louisiana, so one day he googled “Wakefield plantation in Louisiana” and came across this place! What are the odds??
I see the posts on here are infrequent, but I’m hoping someone can point me in the right direction. Does this plantation have records of formerly owned slaves with their names? It’s possible we can connect the dots from that.
I’m very impressed to see this running blog and the discovered family histories from this plantation. It’s encouraging.
Thank you!
Dear S. Wake, Wakefield Plantation was until a few decades ago the home of members of the Stirling family. The story in the family was that the home was named for the novel "The Vicar of Wakefield" by Oliver Goldsmith which was supposed to be a favorite book of Lewis and Sarah Stirling who built the existing plantation house. I know of no connection to any actual family by the name of Wakefield. Of course as you say, it is very possible that your ancestor acquired the name Wakefield due to being brought up at that plantation.
DeleteI am a great-grandson of Mary Polk Stirling Ames who was a daughter of Henry Stirling and grand-daughter of Ruffin Gray Stirling of the Myrtles, a plantation very near to Wakefield.
As another person in this thread noted, there are records of Wakefield and the Stirling family at LSU, perhaps there are slave records there.
I wish you much luck finding out more about your family history.
Recently found out that i'm connected to this plantation as well. Ancestry.com
ReplyDeleteTo be more specific, the Sterling family.
DeletePatricia, I want to thank you! When I started my ancestry journey in 09, your vlog was one of the first I found. I am so grateful for you. My name is Osbern Sterling, my 3rd great grandfather was Lewis Stirling. He had children by a number of enslaved wimen, one being my 3rd great grandmother, Frocene. There only child together was Primus. He was born on the Arbroath Plantation and Raised on the Wakefield plantation. My second great grandfather Duncon was born on the Wakefield plantation. I started a Facebook group in 09 called The Sterling Family. If you have questions. Send a message to the group
ReplyDeletePatricia, I was looking up the history of Wakefield Plantation because I own a piece of property right next door to the Plantation. I have always been interested in it's history and did know one of the Stirling descendants. She died several years back and was a "friend of a friend" and I met her twice. I really know no one other than that lady who I really didn't know. I do know the current owners (Dr. Eugene and Jolie Berry). Sadly, Jolie died of cancer a couple of years ago. I can say that they are lovely people. Dr. Berry is a cardiac surgeon in Baton Rouge and was a mentor to a young doctor who is a good friend of mine, Dr. Mark McInnis, who was also Jolie's cousin. I really got to know them through Mark, and not well, but they are lovely neighbors. He raises Longhorn cattle. On occasion, we had fencing issues and I would end up with a few in my yard and see them on morning walks. A very gentle breed and would go back through the fence with my encouragement. They are also amazing to watch them manipulate their horns through close, tight spaces. I never see Dr. Berry - I see their herdsman on occasion, Glen, and they are all extremely nice and good neighbors. I've always been curious about the plight of the slaves here and was interested to hear of the surnames of these people. After being raised by racists and learning in my teens that I was basically being brainwashed by my parents (as they were by their generation), I am a huge proponent of #blacklivesmatter and the recent protests. This makes me even more interested in the plight of the slave families who lived her. As an interesting aside, the serial rapist/killer, Derek Todd Lee lived up here (never killed women here, but lived here) and died her at Angola on death row of heart disease. I read a book about him. He was eventually found out by a sheriff in Zachary who tracked his DNA and discovered that the DNA of the "rapist/killer" had a direct link to Africa, which meant that he was a direct descendant of slaves who worked up here. I always found this fascinating. The book was An Invisible Man by Stephanie Stanley. An interesting read. I'm sorry I'm so late in replying to this blog, but I just wanted to give you what little information I had about the current owners of Wakefield. Wish you much luck and love during this difficult time for our country. I am hoping that in November, our country can start to heal. Thanks for your blog - Flo
ReplyDeleteDear Flo,
DeleteI am sorry to learn of the death of Jolie Berry. I met her when I attended the 42nd Annual Audubon Pilgrimage in March 2013. I toured the home and I had a moment to talk to Jolie. She knew nothing about the slaves and she asked me to send her some information. The guides didn't have any information about the slaves and were excited to learn about them. I sent an email to Jolie and she responded with information I didn't have. She was a kind and generous woman. I didn't meet Dr. Berry. Her death probably is the explanation why The Wakefield is not included in the Pilgrimage any more. I saw the cattle when we were there.I have never been that close to longhorn cattle before. I saw a story on TV about Derek Todd Lee.i look at crime shows on the weekend and I am especially interested when DNA is used to discover criminals. We genealogist use DNA to discover our ancestors when the paper trail ends. Thank you for visiting my blog.
Patricia
Dear Patricia,
ReplyDeleteIt’s been some time since we last talked. It is remarkable while researching my mother’s family that you have connections to Wakefield as well. My mother’s paternal grandmother was Pyrina (Rina) Stirling. She was born at Wakefield in 1862. Her father was reputed to be Col. Lewis Stirling. Ironically, Lewis was married to Sara Turnbull. My mother is also descended from Daniel Turnbull on her maternal side. Her grandfather was Jacob Turnbull he worked at Rosedown well into the 20th century. Who knows perhaps we are double cousins?
Best, Sandra Green Thomas
Dear Sandra,
DeleteGood to hear from you. I looked for Pyrina aka Rina in the book," The Black Family in Slavery and Freedom 1750-1925" by Herbert G. Gutman and didn't find a Rina but I found a Rinah born in 1858 to Jane. No father listed. Jane also has a son Dave. Stirling Family Papers are at LSU in Baton Rouge.good source of birth records and some deaths. The book I mentioned has my father's family in charts and a birth register.
Best, Patricia
Dear Patricia,
ReplyDeleteIt’s been some time since we last talked. It is remarkable while researching my mother’s family that you have connections to Wakefield as well. My mother’s paternal grandmother was Pyrina (Rina) Stirling. She was born at Wakefield in 1862. Her father was reputed to be Col. Lewis Stirling. Ironically, Lewis was married to Sara Turnbull. My mother is also descended from Daniel Turnbull on her maternal side. Her grandfather was Jacob Turnbull he worked at Rosedown well into the 20th century. Who knows perhaps we are double cousins?
Best, Sandra Green Thomas
Dear Patricia,
ReplyDeleteIt’s been some time since we last talked. It is remarkable while researching my mother’s family that you have connections to Wakefield as well. My mother’s paternal grandmother was Pyrina (Rina) Stirling. She was born at Wakefield in 1862. Her father was reputed to be Col. Lewis Stirling. Ironically, Lewis was married to Sara Turnbull. My mother is also descended from Daniel Turnbull on her maternal side. Her grandfather was Jacob Turnbull he worked at Rosedown well into the 20th century. Who knows perhaps we are double cousins?
Best, Sandra Green Thomas
Hello! Thank you for sharing such a wonderful blog with photographs.
ReplyDelete<3
Courtney Austin
Hello we are descendants of Lewis Stirling. Our mother, Lilie Stirling Allain lived in New Orleans, but spent her summers at Wakefield with her grandparents, Robert and Lilie Stirling. She always talked about playing with her friend Hattie whose last name we do not know, when she was staying at Wakefield. Hattie was a descendant of the slaves that worked Wakefield. Have you run across any information about Hattie? This would have been in the earlier 1930's. Our mother (Lilie Stirling Allain) was born in 1925. Thank You for this blog. Full of great information.
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ReplyDeleteHello! I am seeing this for the first time and since it has been over a year since there has been any activity, I am wondering if you are still active. My great-grandmother was Alix Alexandra Caroline Stirling, daughter of Alexander Ruffin Stirling and Sarah Adelaide Foster. She was born in 1861. I never met her but did hear that as I young girl she would sneak out of her room at night and go out to listen to the slaves tell stories around the fire and eat turnips and corn cakes.
ReplyDelete