During the time of slavery there lived a family of slave owners on a large farm in White Plains, Georgia who gave a big wedding for one of their daughters. When the daughter and her husband were ready to move to Talbotton (Talbot County), Georgia her father gave them one of his boy slaves named WILLIAM MAPP. He lived on the farm and worked very hard to please his young Master and Mistress.
Great, Great Grandmother BARBARA was lost or stolen from her Indian Tribe and ended up on a plantation that was owned by a Frenchman. She spoke no English. Consequently, being enslaved and not able to speak English created a bad relationship between her and the other slaves who could speak English. Many fights broke out with the other slaves because they could not communicate. This problem caused the slave owner to make her a house slave, which resulted in the slave owner being the father of two of BARBARA'S children, a son ROBERT LEONARD and a daughter who was named CATHERINE LEONARD.
When WILLIAM MAPP became of age he got permission to marry a slave girl named CATHERINE LEONARD whom he met in Talbotton, Georgia. They became MR. & MRS. WILLIAM MAPP but lived on separate lands until after slavery. They then became the parents of ten children, six boys and four girls. The first born were boys and the girls were born later. Two sons, RUBEN and OWEN MAPP, died at early ages. The remaining children are: ALLEN, RANDALL, MACK, ROBERT, SARAH, EMMA, MARY ETTA, and ANNE MAPP.
ALLEN (1) was the oldest son of WILLIAM and CATHERINE MAPP. There are no known photographs of him as he disliked having his picture taken. He traveled frequently and always carried with him a big walking stick. The story is told that they were inseparable. ALLEN’s first wife was Katie Hodoh. They became the parents of OWEN. His second wife was Vinnie Mathews. Their children are TOM, ROBERT, ELIZABETH, MANDIE, BARBARA, ANN, EMMA, and SALLIE JESSIE. OWEN (1.1) was born on August 15, 1882. On February 18, 1907 he married Elizabeth Evans. They were blessed with eight children; ROBERT, DELIA, JOHN, CLEM, MARY, MONROE, WILLIE (deceased at age 2), and IDA MAE. They adopted Evelyn Hodoh when she was one month old. OWEN died March 11, 1953. Elizabeth lived a very long life. Born October 30, 1887, in the small town of Sumner, Georgia, she met OWEN in the local church where they were both members. Living near each other, they became childhood sweethearts.
Eventually the family settled in Trenton, New Jersey. Elizabeth's secret for survival was, "I try to do right by people. If I can help somebody I help them, but if I can't, I don't hurt them." She also said, "It was hard in a way to raise the children, but you could get plenty of food and clothes, and I always put money to good use. It was hard, but we had our health and strength to work, and my children were good children; they would mind." OWEN and Elizabeth raised their children through two World Wars, the Great Depression, and the ominous cloud of racism. Following her husband's death, Elizabeth continued the task of family togetherness as devoted mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-great-grandmother. In late years she suffered with glaucoma and phlebitis. Despite these illnesses she felt that she was in relatively good health and kept her good spirit and as she always said, "Thank God that I'm still living." Elizabeth died September 28, 1990, just short of her 103rd birthday.
Now this is just a sample of much more information that has been collected, reserved, and will be shared and discussed at the Mapp’s 21st Family Reunion that will be held in Atlanta, GA in July of 2012. Our cousin the Reverend Dr. Calvin Kelly, president of the Mapp Family Reunion and other family members are updating mailing list and look forward to all family members to forward current contact information. Feel free to contact Cousin Calvin on Facebook @Calvin Kelly or call him at 720-270-7581. You can also forward your information on Facebook to Cousin Dave Wess Sr. @Dave Wess Sr.
God bless you and thank you for your help.
