Jerry Seals was born in Buena Vista, Miss., in 1810, according to records at Ancestry.com. However, no census records were found to substantiate the year and place of his birth. Based on what we know, he was born two years before the War of 1812 and 53 years before President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. The proclamation was an executive order that theoretically ended slavery for more than 3 million slaves.

Not much is known about Jerry, except he was married to Margaret Huddleston for 11 years. Margaret was born somewhere in Tennessee in 1820. It is not known how Margaret ended up in Buena Vista and being married to Jerry. However, their union most likely occurred from her being sold as a slave and shipped to Mississippi.

Jerry and Margaret had six children according to the 1870 Census: Ozella, Katie, Rose Anna, Augusta, Marcus, and my direct ancestor, Jack Seals. Other sources may show Margaret as having 11 children. However, I was not able to find sources to substantiate whether Jerry was the father of all 11 children. Malinda was Margaret’s eldest child, and she is presumed not to be Jerry’s daughter, and she may have been born before Jerry and Margaret were married.

There is no evidence that Jerry and Margaret were slaves, however, based on their geographical location in the South and that period in our country’s history, I would have to surmise that they indeed were bound by slavery at some point in their lives. Therefore, they were most likely prevented from traveling from place to place and were prevented from having access to adequate housing, food, and education.

There were many injustices surrounding slavery; however, the one I want to focus on here is the deprivation of food. Generally, slaves were issued small amounts of pork, grain, greens, flour, meal, legumes, and sorghum. The small amount of food given to a large family like the Seals would generally lead a family to look for alternative means of acquiring food. Options would include trapping wild game, fishing, or even securing food that had been discarded by the master.

I’d imagine Margaret was resourceful in creating the most nutritious meals possible, despite the small amount of food supply. Soups and stews were commonly prepared as they served more family members. Pork bones, peas, beans, and okra, which is indigenous to West Africa, and tomatoes were common ingredients used in soups and stews. And of course, greens of all types were a staple for most families.

Based on what is known today of the Seals family, Jerry and Margaret desires and abilities to provide for their family were passed down to their children. In addition to that, their strong work ethic and their love for God, family, and food were inbred in their children and thus, passed down to succeeding generations.

Jack Seals was the first child born to the union of Jerry and Margaret. The 1870 Census indicates Jack was born in Alabama, subsequent censuses indicate he was born in Mississippi. Ancestry.com records indicate he was born in Buena Vista, Miss., in November of 1849. Daphney Ann McIntosh was born in Buena Vista in 1856. Jack and Daphney married in 1875 when Jack was 26 years old, and Daphney was 19 years old. They had 14 children: George, Luke, Jack, Theodore, Clifford, Arell, Pleasant (Plez), Lucy, Lee Maria, William, Elmoria, Anne, Fred, and my grandfather, Isaiah.

The 13^th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified on December 6, 1865, officially outlawing slavery. Jack and Daphney married 10 years later when there was much optimism for new opportunities. The Negro people could freely move about as they pleased, or so they thought. Mississippi and other southern states enacted the Black Code Law, beginning in 1865 and 1866. This law was passed to restrict the freedom of the Negro people and in essence, force them back into the cotton fields. I can only assume how the new restriction may have prevented Jack and Daphney from improving their economic status and moving out of the South and into a less restrictive environment.

In spite of their circumstances and the conditions of the time, they were blessed by God to be married for 54 years until Jack’s death in 1929. They raised 14 children and owned a mortgage-free home. I can only imagine how much fun it must have been for the Seals family, so many personalities and differences of opinion. Imagine what it was like at family gatherings after church, during birthday parties, and holiday celebrations. All those fun-filled festivities were passed down through succeeding generations.

The Seals family has inherited a bountiful of blessings from God the Almighty, and from our ancestors. Let us continue to build on the legacies of Jerry and Margaret, and Jack and Daphney Seals.