A Brief Early History

A Brief Early History of the Welburn Family of Southeastern Sussex County, Delaware

Our Welburn family was established on October 4, 1832 when my 3rd-great-grandparents applied for a marriage bond in Sussex County, Delaware.

MARY A. GRAY-WELBURN (pictured on the right) is our matriarch. She was born circa 1815 in Sussex County, Delaware. Her father LONDON GRAY was listed as head of a "free colored" household in the 1810, 1820 and 1830 Federal Censuses and appeared in the tax records of the Baltimore Hundred district as early as 1803. Prior to this London Gray may have been counted among the household of Thomas Gray. Because of her physical appearance, the ethnicity of Mary Gray Welburn had been in question. DNA testing for her direct maternal ancestry in 2006 revealed an Eastern Mediterranean heritage, with an exact match to the Druze people of Palestine.

GEORGE W. WELBURN is our patriarch. He was born circa 1806 in Accomack County, VA, just 2 counties to the south. In all likelihood he was probably born a slave, but no manumission record for George has been discovered and he may have "strolled away" from or been illegally released by his owner. Prior to meeting his future wife, he resided in Sinepuxent, Worcester County, Maryland before migrating to Philadelphia, PA and registering for a Seaman's Certificate which was required for transatlantic voyages. He appears by name in the Federal Censuses of Sussex County, Delaware for 1840, 1850, 1870 and 1880. He is also listed in the Sussex County tax records beginning in 1835. Through DNA testing in the spring of 2008 it was discovered that George Welburn's direct paternal ancestry matches the Balanta people of Guinea-Bissau.

The woman we believe to be his mother, HANNAH WELBOURNE (born circa 1791), was a slave of Rev. Drummond Welbourne, a Methodist minister in Horntown, Accomack County, Virginia. Hannah's manumission was written in June 1818, but despite Virginia state law requiring freed slaves to leave the state, Hannah remained in Accomack County with the extended Welbourne family. There is strong evidence that Hannah was the child of Rev. Drummond Welbourne. This is supported by recent DNA testing which established a link between us and the ancestors of the Rev. Drummond Welbourne. Following Drummond's death in 1818, Hannah was under the protection of Drummond's brother, Capt. William Welbourne. In his will of 1839, William requested that his son Peter use a portion of the money from a mortgage on his mill to support a Negro woman called "Little Hannah." At this time, Hannah was approximately 48 years old. The implied Big (or elder) Hannah was probably her mother or elder female relative.

According to the 1880 Agricultural Census, George & Mary Gray Welburn owned a 30-acre farm, valued at $800 in 1880, which along with livestock produced eggs, indian corn, "irish" & sweet potatoes, butter, and molasses. However, tax records indicate that the Welburn farm was actually 46 acres.

According to R.P. Fletcher, a Special Examiner of Military Pensions, the Welburns "belonged to a set of colored people, some 15 to 18 families, who have for many years resided in Baltimore Hundred (district or township) Sussex County, Delaware-- free born and not like the usual colored communities segregated, but living among and with the whites in nearly equal terms. As a result during the twelve or more years I have known these people I have found them frank and direct in their speech, showing none of the secretiveness and antagonism the colored people so often exhibit when dealing with the whites."

This is just a small part of our family's story.

THEIR KNOWN CHILDREN

(click on a name below to learn some information about your ancestor)

WILLIAM JAMES WELBURN (born 1834, died August 23, 1865)

CATHARINE A. WELBURN BAYLIS LOW (born December 17, 1835, died October 11, 1926)

HANNAH WELBURN CONQUEST (born February 1840, died 1900)

MARY ELLEN WELBURN HOPKINS (born February 1840, died between 1880 & 1897)

NANCY JANE WELBURN OLIVER (born February 8, 1842, died December 22, 1918)

SENA ANN WELBURN TYRE (born February 8, 1847, died September 30, 1920)

THOMAS ROBINSON WELBURN, SR. (born May 7, 1849, died died April 11, 1924)

JAMES WELBURN (born c. 1852, presumed to have died between 1870 & 1880)

MARIA E. WELBURN WILLIAMS SMITH (born February 1852, died February 27, 1920)

MARTHA ELIZABETH WELBURN WELDON (born April 6, 1854, died January 31, 1924)

SARAH M. WELBURN SHORT (born March 1857, died before 1920)

ISAAC ALFRED WELBURN (born September 12, 1859, died after 1940)

ALICE ANITA WELBURN RICKARDS (born September 12, 1859, died May 2, 1918)

JOSHUA LONDON WELBURN, SR. (born September 21, 1862, died April 5, 1920)

This page was last edited 10 January 2024. Questions regarding the content of the page should be emailed to webmaster@GrayWelburn.com

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