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Surnames > Graham
> Felix Grimes
The author (Marty Grant) is
not related to Felix Grimes as far as is known. However, if it is true
that he is an illegitimate son of Jeffrey Graham, then he is my 4th Great
Grand Uncle.
Throughout this page I'll mention one document
frequently: 1905 court case Gilliland vs. Board of Education.
This case was about the ethnic origin of Jeffrey Graham and his
descendants. Felix is mentioned several times.
Felix Grimes was born ca 1808/09 [per 1870 census]
or ca 1809/10 [per 1880 census]. Those two are pretty close. He was born
in North Carolina per the same sources, presumably in Buncombe County.
Felix Grimes is a son of Jane Patton [per Gilliland vs.
Board of Education] who was a slave of the Patton family in Buncombe
County. I don't know to which Patton family she was attached, for there
were several.
Felix's father is unproven, but testimony in the case of
Gilliland vs. Board of Education makes the claim that he was a son of
Jeffrey Grimes/Graham. Several
testified to this effect, though Theodore Graham (who would have been
Felix's half brother) said they were not related. Consider the testimony:
On 25 Jan 1906 Harriet Burton, aged 70-80 "a colored woman" gave a statement for Gilliland vs.
Board of Education:
...that her maiden name is Harriet Grimes and that she is a daughter of Felix
Grimes, a colored man (negro), now dead. that the said Felix Grimes was the son
of Jeffrey Grimes, and that his mother was Jennie Patton, the first wife of said
Jeffrey Grimes and a slave at the time of her marriage to him; that both Jeffrey
and Jennie Grimes were colored persons (negroes) ... after living with Jennie,
his first wife, for several years, the said Jeffrey Grimes ... left his said
wife and at some later date ... was married to a woman named Estridge, her first
name and her color being unknown to the deponent. ... that the said Jeffrey
Grimes recognized the deponent as his grandchild and treated her as such,
holding her on his knees and playing with her many times.
Theodore Graham testified that he didn't even know Harriet Burton. (See his
testimony below.)
On 27 Jan 1906 William Greenlee, aged 75 "a colored man" gave a statement for
the case:
... that he knew Jeffrey Grimes and Louis Grimes well. That Jeffrey Grimes
was very dark, darker than Jane Patton, who he was reputed to have married, who
was also the mother of Felix Grimes colored (a negro); knew Felix Grimes and his
mother well; also knew that they claimed to be related to Jeffrey Grimes. That
the said Felix called the son of Jeffrey and Jane Patton, Jeffrey's reputed
wife. That the said Jeffrey and Louis are brothers.
On 7 May 1906 Maria Grimes, age not given, gave a statement for Gilliland vs.
Board of Education. Her testimony gives a different story regarding Felix
Grimes, though claiming the same father:
...She is the daughter of Felix Grimes; that her father was an illegitimate
child; and that Jeffrey Graham was his reputed father. The deponent further says
that she has heard her father say repeatedly that he was an illegitimate child,
and the son of Jeffrey Graham. Deponent further says that her mother, Rebecca
Grimes, has always told her that her father, Felix Graham, was an illegitimate
child; ... her grandmother, the mother of Felix Graham, was a colored woman, and
that her reputed grandfather, Jeffrey Graham, the father of Felix Graham was a
white man.
By Maria's testimony it appears that Jeffrey fathered Felix out of wedlock.
Theodore Graham testified in the case (no date):
I have never heard until it was alleged in the above mentioned
affidavits that my father was ever married but once, and I do not
believe the statement in said affidavit that his first wife was a
colored woman; such statement is absolutely false to the best of my
knowledge and belief. No such statement was ever made so far as I know
prior to the filing of this affidavit, and no such tradition has ever
existed in our family.
The statement in the affidavit of the Negrow woman Harriet Burton to
the effect that she has visited my home is absolutely false. I do not
know Harriet Burton nor has she ever visited my house; nor have I ever
recognized her as any relation of mine.
So therefore who is Felix Grimes father? Is it Jeffrey as
his daughters and others claimed? Could be, though obviously Jeffrey's son
Theodore didn't think so. Of course he might not have known the truth. The
fact that Felix took the Grimes surname must be proof that his father was
a Grimes, though not necessarily Jeffrey Grimes/Graham. DNA testing may
help sort this out, though the test participant would have to be a male
Grimes/Graham who is a direct descendant of Felix Grimes.
Since Felix Grimes lived his first 60 or so years in
slavery, there are no records on him until the 1870 census.
I've attempted to do some census analysis to find him
1810-1860, but this is a very difficult process. Assuming that he lived
with his mother (same owners), I'm guessing he was with a Patton family
for a time. There were a lot of Pattons in Buncombe County, many of whom
owned slaves.
On the 1810 census, slaves were enumerated in just one
combined column that included both sexes and all ages. Therefore there is
no way to analyze the slave listings to see where Felix may have been.
However, these Pattons had slaves: Aaron (1), Robert (11), George (3),
Col. John (22), Matthew (5), and James Patton (12). That doesn't really
help to narrow down which household Felix Grimes was in.
For the 1820 census, Felix would have been about 10 or 11
years old. If listed he would have been enumerated in the under 14 age
group. There were 14 Patton households in Buncombe County, but only a few
had a male slave in that age grouping: George Patton (1 male slave under
14 years of age), Robert (5), Robert H. (2), James Sr (10), and Joseph
Patton (1). Robert H Patton and James Patton Sr were listed on the same
page with Jeffrey and Felix Grimes.
For the 1830 census, Felix would have been around 20 or 21
years old. Therefore he should be enumerated in the 10-23 age grouping.
George Patton had two that age, Magdelen (1), John (2), and James Sr (7).
Felix Grimes married Rebecca --- sometime before ca
1832, presumably in Buncombe County. She was born ca 1814/15 in North
Carolina. I don't know her maiden name.
* I skipped an analysis of the 1840 census for which Felix would be about
30
or 31 years old.
I looked at the 1850 census slave schedule for Buncombe
County to see if any Pattons had slaves about the same age as Felix and
Rebecca and their children. I'm making a big assumption in that they were
still with a Patton family. There were 145 Patton slaves in Buncombe at
this time. Using the 1870 and 1880 census ages, Felix would be about 40 or
41, while his wife Rebecca would be about 35 to 38. They would have at
least one daughter around 18. I found three possible matches: Mont
Patton, J. E. Patton, and J. W. Patton. Each of these had a
male around 40 and a female in her mid to late 30's. No guarantee any of
these are Felix and family though.
Using the same sort of analysis for the 1860 census, I
found two possible matches: Thomas T. Patton and James W.
Patton.
Felix and family were listed on the 1870 census in
Buncombe County in Asheville.
- 1870 census abstract: (Explanation
of this census)
- (Note: The dates at the end of
each line are not part of the original census, but are approximate birth
years based on age)
1870 BUNCOMBE CO, NC Page 127B House/Family # 128/ 132--ASHEVILLE Twp ASHEVILLE P.O.
GRIMES FELIX 61 M M CARPENTER 150 NC 1808/1809
GRIMES REBECCA 55 F B KEEPING HOUSE NC 1814/1815
GRIMES MARIAH 17 F M NURSE NC 1852/1853
GRIMES WILLIAM 9 M M AT HOME NC 1860/1861
GRIMES ELLEN 0 M M 2/12 APR NC 1869/1870
HAMPTON LEWIS 17 M B LABOR NC 1852/1853
JOHNSTON LEWIS 60 M B LABOR NC 1809/1810
Felix and family were still in Asheville for the 1880
census.
- 1880 census abstract: (Explanation
of this census)
- (Note: The dates at the end of
each line are not part of the original census, but are approximate birth
years based on age)
1880 BUNCOMBE CO., NC Page 118B House/Family # 90/ 170 -- TOWN OF ASHEVILLE Twp
GRIMES FELIX M M 70 M CARPENTER NC NC NC 1809/1810
GRIMES REBECCA B F 68 WF M KEEPING HOUSE NC NC NC 1811/1812
GRIMES MARIAH R M F 24 D S NC NC NC 1855/1856
GRIMES WILLIAM A M M 18 S S NC NC NC 1861/1862
GRIMES LORANZO M M 10 GS S NC NC NC 1869/1870
FULLENDER WADE H B M 10 NE S NC NC NC 1869/1870
FULLENDER MINTA B F 12 NI S NC NC NC 1867/1868
I could not find them on the 1900 census. Hannah
Children of Felix and Rebecca (---) Graham.
They had several children as proven by the 1870 and 1880 census and also
by the 1905 court case. I'm sure there are others yet unidentified.
Researcher List
Persons researching this family (click
here for data on how to get on or off of this list):
Register Report
1. Felix1
Grimes
, born 1808/09 in Buncombe Co,
NC; died aft 1880 in Buncombe Co, NC, son of (---) Grimes
and Jane Patton
. He married bef 1831 in
Buncombe Co, NC Rebecca (---)
, born 1814/15 in NC; died aft
1880 in Buncombe Co, NC.
Children
of Felix Grimes and Rebecca (---) were as follows:
2
i Harriet2
Grimes
, born Aug 1832 in Buncombe Co,
NC; died aft 1910 in Buncombe Co, NC. She married bef 1880 in
Buncombe Co, NC Solomon Burton
, born 1827/28 in NC; died
1880/1900 in Buncombe Co, NC.
+ 3
ii Mariah R2
Grimes
, born Apr 1857 in Buncombe Co,
NC; died aft 1906 in Buncombe Co, NC. She married unknown.
4
iii William A2
Grimes
, born 1860/61 in Buncombe Co,
NC; died aft 1880 in Buncombe Co, NC.
5
iv Ellen2
Grimes
, born Apr 1870 in Buncombe Co,
NC; died aft 1870 in Buncombe Co, NC.
Generation 2
3. Mariah R2
Grimes
(Felix1),
born Apr 1857 in Buncombe Co, NC; died aft 1906 in Buncombe Co, NC.
She married unknown.
Children
of Mariah R Grimes were as follows:
6
i Frances3
Grimes
, born Nov 1881 in Buncombe Co,
NC.
7
ii Felix3
Grimes
, born Oct 1887 in Buncombe Co,
NC.
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