Macon in Bibb County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)

Civil War Era Maconites of African Ancestry

Location of Ellen Smith Craft's Dwelling behind Home of Dr. Robert & Eliza Smith Collins

Photographed by Brandon D Cross, October 7, 2016

1. Civil War Era Maconites of African Ancestry Marker

Inscription. In 1860 the population of Bibb County was 16,289. The 6,790 slaves and free persons of color were the backbone of “King Cotton.” There were at least three slave depots (markets) on Poplar Street. Many slaves and freedman worked as skilled craftsman in construction, factory and railroad trades and as servants of wealthy Macon families. But most were laborers on nearby plantations. As the war progressed, Macon’s factories, Confederate industries, and hospitals hired slaves and freedman to replace soldiers.

Macon gained world-wide notoriety with the escape of William (1824-1900) and Ellen Smith Craft (1826-1891) in 1848 a slave couple who eventually made their way to England to lobby for the abolition of slavery. Having a light complexion, Ellen successfully posed as a sickly male master traveling north accompanied by her servant (William).

Prior to the war, freedmen included Solomon Humphries (d. 1855), a cotton trader and merchant; Jeremiah Scarborough (d. 1883), a Central of Georgia Railroad foreman; and Rev. David Laney, carpenter and pastor of the “colored” Presbyterian Church, today known as

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Washington Avenue Presbyterian Church. Charley Benger (1795-1880) became fifer for the Macon Volunteers after his arrival in Macon in 1831, and was given a pension for his service. William Sanders Scarborough, son of Jeremiah (1852-1926) mentioned above, became an educator, author of Latin and Greek texts, and President of Wilberforce University. Scarborough recalls life in Macon as an adolescent before , during, and after the war in his autobiography, American Journey from Slavery to Scholarship.

After the war, Rep. Jefferson Franklin Long (1852-1926), former slave and master tailor, was the first American of African descent to be elected from Georgia to the U.S. Congress and the very first to speak from the floor.

Lucy Craft Laney (1854-1933), the daughter of Rev. Laney above, was a renowned educator and founder of the Haines Institute, a large school for children in Augusta, GA.

Rev. Henry McNeal Turner (1834-1915) was a freedman who traveled as a Methodist evangelist prior to the war. During the war, Turner volunteered and became the first American of African ancestry to be appointed a chaplain in the U.S. Army. After the war,

Marker is in front of early 1800's home of Dr. Collins. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Kevin B Haywood, July 30, 2020

2. Marker is in front of early 1800's home of Dr. Collins.

The Dr. Robert Collins house is where Ellen and William Craft escaped from enslavement in 1848. They later wrote a book about their escape: "Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom".

he came to Macon to found AME churches and the Republican Party of Georgia. Turner was elected a state representative from Macon.

The children of area plantation owner Michael Healy and mulatto wife Mary Eliza were sent north to be educated before the war. Patrick Healy (1830-1910) earned his PhD, attained priesthood, and became president of Georgetown University. James Healy (1834-1900) became the first American of African ancestry to be appointed a bishop in the U.S. Captain Michael Healy (1838-1904) served as a defacto representative of the U.S. along the 20,000-mile coastline of recently acquired Alaska. Eliza Healy (1846-1918) became the first American of African ancestry to become Mother Superior, administering both a woman’s school and a convent.

Erected 2013 by Macon Civil War Sesquicentennial Committee.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Education • War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, and the Historically Black Colleges and Universities series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1860.

Location. 32° 50.391′ N,

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83° 37.897′ W. Marker is in Macon, Georgia, in Bibb County. It is on Mulberry Street east of Spring Street, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 830 Mulberry St, Macon GA 31201, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Georgia’s Piedmont.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Deep South.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Professional Building (a few steps from this marker); The Stoneman Raid (a few steps from this marker); Fencing from Findlay Foundry (within shouting distance of this marker); Judge Asa Holt House (within shouting distance of this marker); M. W. Grand Lodge of Georgia (within shouting distance of this marker); The March to the Sea (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); Mulberry Street Methodist Church (about 600 feet away); P.L. Hay House (about 600 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Macon.

Credits. This page was last revised on July 31, 2020. It was originally submitted on November 9, 2016, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. This page has been viewed 4,186 times since then and 197 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on November 9, 2016, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. 2. submitted on July 30, 2020, by Kevin B Haywood of Macon, Georgia. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.