City Directories and History: “Brown, John of nonresident plantation (name unknown) and Liberty Hill. Born Oct. 21, 1796 (S.C.) ; married in 1824 Mrs. Jane (Bailey) Cunningham (1802-July 20, 1851) and in 1860, Mrs. Martha (George) Stinson (1820-88) ; died July 15, 1865. Church: Presbyterian (Elder, Liberty Hill). Public Service: Commissioner of Free Schools. Other: Large tannery operations. Slaves: 117 (Kershaw District).”
The Last Foray, C. Gaston Davidson, SC Press – 1971
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By the 1820 federal census the total population of 12,429 in Kershaw District included 5,147 persons (mostly slaves) “engaged in agriculture.” James Chesnut was the districts largest planter, with 210 such workers. Three other planters reported statistics of 100 or more engaged in agriculture: Mary Boykin (150), Zachariah Cantey (100), and Duncan McRae (161). Planters who had 40 or more agricultural workers but fewer than 100 were a more sizable group: William Ancrum (93), James Blair (53), Joseph Brevard (81), John Carwell (55), Joseph Cunningham (45), James S. Deas (70), Joseph English (62), Benjamin Haile (48), Elizabeth Hopkins (47), William W. Lang (42), Powell McRae (50), Adam McWillie (57), Benjamin Perkins (47), Reuben Starke (40), and Mary Whitaker (60).
An even larger number of planters reported at least 15 but fewer than 40 engaged in agriculture. These included John Adamson (22), David Archer (15), Benjamin Bineham (36), Alfred Brevard (35), John Brown (16), John Cantey (22), Harriet Chesnut (27), John Chesnut (20), Lewis Ciples (32), Robert Coleman (18), Thomas Crim (16), Arthur Cunningham (19), Everard Cureton (20),William Daniel (19), William Dixon (18), Charles Ellis (15), Joshua English (25), Sarah Flake (16), William Guphill (22), Richard Hunley (17), Abram Jones (20), John Kershaw (18), Jesse Kilgore (26), Francis Killingworth (24), James W. Lang(26), Thomas Lang (35), Joseph Patterson (20), Philip Pitman (16), James C. Postell (26), John Reed (25), George Stratford (20), John Truesdell (18), Archibald Wadkins (20), Nancy Watson (15), James Wlliams (15), Robert Williams (18), and Lovick Young (17). (Information courtesy of A History of Kershaw County, S.C. by Joan A. Inabinet and L. Glenn Inabinet, 2001 – The Un. of S.C. Press)
By 1854, when the Southern Business Directory was published in Charleston, that publication gave the Kershaw District population as 14,473 included merchants of small communities: Liberty Hill, with John Brown, Matheson & Gibbons, and R. C. Patterson; Flat Rock, with W. G. Kirkland,W. B. Fletcher, and W. B. Fletcher Jr.; and Lynch(es) Creek, with William M(u)ngo.57 (Information courtesy of A History of Kershaw County, S.C. by Joan A. Inabinet and L. Glenn Inabinet, 2001 – The Un. of S.C. Press)
Liberty Hills one manufacturing, the tanyard of John Brown, processed leather for shoes sold at Aldens. In 1842 Alden & Co. paid for “dry or green hides” or exchanged hides for shoes, “at cash prices.” J. & S.White advertised a variety of shoes: “walking, dancing gentleman’s pumps, ladies seal skin, white silk, etc.” (Information courtesy of A History of Kershaw County, S.C. by Joan A. Inabinet and L. Glenn Inabinet, 2001 – The Un. of S.C. Press)
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Curry K Walker says
Thank you for the inclusion of the John Brown house at Roots and Recall. The beautiful round stair case can be seen the Henry Brown house at Liberty Hill today. His brother Henry Brown built a smaller home further down the road and the circular staircase is shown in Louise Johnston book History and Homes of Liberty Hill, South Carolina. This was the home of my great-great grandparents, Henry Robert Brown and Mary Elizabeth Reed. (Note – the house was destroyed by fire in Aug. of 2004)