From NKAA, Notable Kentucky African Americans Database (main entry)
Immigration from the West Indies to Kentucky, USA [1870]
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* NOTE: There were not 370 persons born in Nassau, Bahamas, and living in Kentucky in 1870. The Nassau location is not specified in the 1870 U. S. Census: Table VI. Population of the United States, Classified by Race and Place of Birth, p.339.
* February 3, 1870. The 15th Amendment was ratified by the U.S. Congress, giving African American men the right to vote. Kentucky rejected the 15th Amendment, though enough states had ratified the amendment that granted all African American men the right to vote, including those in Kentucky. March 18, 1976, Kentucky symbolically ratified the 15th Amendment. SOURCE: 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Voting Rights (1870), a National Archives webpage (online).
* July 14, 1870. The Naturalization Act of 1870 was signed into law. White immigrants and aliens of African birth and descent received naturalization rights. This included the enslaved who had been brought to Kentucky from the West Indies. SOURCE: Salyer, Lucy E. "Reconstructing the immigrant: the Naturalization Act of 1870 in global perspective." Journal of the Civil War Era, v
* March 22, 1873. Slavery was abolished in Puerto Rico. The slave owners were compensated with 35 million pesetas for their enslaved persons, and the enslaved were required to continue working for three more years. SOURCE: Lisa Herndon. "Slavery Ended in Puerto Rico 150 Years Ago. Examine the Island’s History from Spanish Colony to US Territory." September 12, 2003, New York Public Library (online).
* The economic structure of the West Indies began shifting in the 1870s as the increase in European beet sugar added to the decline in the production of sugar cane in the West Indies. SOURCE: "West Indian sugar," Tropical Agriculture; the journal of the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture, v.3, April 1926, pp.78-79.
* The growth rate of the foreign-born population in Kentucky had slowed down: from 31,420 in 1850, to 59,799 in 1860, to 63,398 in 1870. The need for an Immigration Bureau in Kentucky was discussed by the Kentucky Legislators starting in the early 1870s. By 1880, the bill passed to continue the Geological Survey of Kentucky with a State Geologist who would also serve as the Commissioner of Immigration in Kentucky. SOURCES: Campbell Gibson and Kay Jung. Historical census statistics on the foreign-born population of the United States, 1850 to 2000. Working Paper No.81. Bureau of the Census. Population Division. (online); "The Geological Survey," The Courier-Journal, 04/23/1880, p.2.
* Persons in Kentucky were enumerated in the U.S. Census as black, colored, Mulatto, or white. The majority from the West Indies and living in Kentucky continued to be enumerated as white. In 1870, there were 29 persons in Kentucky enumerated as born in the West Indies and 10 born in Cuba. Some of their names are below.
NAMES:
Racheal Bailey (b.1830), see in 1860 above.
Georgena Bouscaren (b.1843), see in 1860 above.
Lise Cécile Adelaide Bouscaren (1812-1877), see in 1860 above.
(S.O.) John D. Colmesniel (b.1787), enumerated as white and born in Jamaica. He was a slave owner with 11 enslaved people in 1830 in Louisville, KY (Jefferson County). J. D. Colmesniel was listed as a clerk on p.160 of Edwards' 5th Annual Directory of the City of Louisville, 1869. He was head of a household with several people in 1870. They lived in Shepherdsville, KY (Bullitt County). [(S.O.)=slave owner]
D. E. Craig(b.1849) and E. S. Craig (b.1853), both enumerated as white and born in the West Indies. They were the sons of E. A. and Caroline Craig. The family of eight lived in Newport, KY (Campbell County). The father, E. A. Craig, and the son, D. E. Craig, were life insurance agents.
James C. Cunningham(1787-1877), see in 1850 above.
James R. Cunningham (1853-1943), see in 1860 above.
Estelle Dustin (1858-1892) and Louis A. Dustin (1857-1925), the siblings were enumerated as white and born in Cuba. They were the children of Zadoc and Isabella Dustin. Zadoc was a railroad engineer. The family lived in Covington, KY (Kenton County). Estell Dustin died and is buried in Houston, TX. Louis A. Dustin died in Pearland, TX, and is buried in Houston, TX.
Laura Gerding (1834-1881), enumerated as white and born in the West Indies. She was the wife of Fred W. Gerding and the couple lived in Louisville, KY (Jefferson County). They had three children. Fred was in the wholesale liquor business. Laura Gerding is buried in Louisville, KY.
Mary Evalina Gardner Green(1800-1874), see in 1850 above.
Esther Bernal Hassan (1830-1896), see in 1860 above.
Adele Combe Hawes (1823-1892), see in 1850 above.
Aurelia Josephine Hawes(1822-1894), see in 1850 above.
Thomas E. Lesley(1844-1919), enumerated as white and born in Cuba. He immigrated to the U.S. in 1864. He was the husband of Margaret C. Lesley. In 1870, Thomas was a farm worker in Logan County, KY. In 1880, the family of eight lived in Butler County, KY. By 1900, the family lived in Muhlenberg County, KY. Thomas E. Lesley died and is buried in Muhlenberg County, KY.
Henry Milledon (b.1830), enumerated and born in Martinique. Henry was a hotel cook in Covington, KY (Kenton County). He was the husband of Cordelia Milledon.
John Glendower Owen (1815-1878), see in 1850 above.
Julius Parker(b.1825), enumerated as a free Mulatto born in Cuba. He was a barber in Carlisle, KY (Nicholas County).
Barbara Robbins Pryor (b.1825), see in 1850 above.
Alexander Ramos (b.1809), enumerated as white and born in Cuba. He was a cigarmaker who lived in Cross Roads, KY (Jefferson County).
Mary Rickers (b.1838) and Richard (?) Rickers (b.1837), both enumerated as white and born in Cuba. The couple lived in Covington, KY (Kenton County), with their six children. Richard (?) Rickers was enumerated as a seamstress.
Isabelle Williams (b.1830), enumerated as white and born in the West Indies. She lived in Canton, KY (Trigg County) with her six children.
SOURCES: Ford, Thomas R. (1982) "Kentucky in the 1880s: an exploration in historical demography," The Kentucky Review, Vol. 3: No. 2, Article 5. (online); 1870 U. S. Census: Table VI. Population of the United States, Classified by Race and Place of Birth, pp.338-339 (online); 1870 U.S. Census schedules; Ancestry.com; see Milestone Documents: "15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Voting Rights (1870)" at the National Archives website (online); World of 1898: International Perspectives on the Spanish American War. Abolition of Slavery in Puerto Rico. A Library of Congress Research Guide (online); Sugar, Slavery, and Freedom in Nineteenth-Century Puerto Rico by Luis A. Figueroa.
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