George Washington Coleman Sr. was born in
South Carolina around 1860. After slavery ended his family moved to Macon, Mississippi where he met Mary Coulter. They
were married December 27, 1883.
On September 21, 1884 their first son Daniel was born. One year later they had another son
Amos, born Arpril 1895, and another son Osiah was born September 1887. Their first daughter Lillian (my grandmother) was
born September 21, 1890. About one year later the family moved to Greenwood, Mississippi.
George and Mary had six other children while the family lived in Greenwood; George Jr. April 1892,
Rosa April 1896, Anderson March 1898, *Peggy or Panky June 1, 1899 John McKinley September 14, 1902 and
*Amie June 13, 1905.
Even though some of the children were adults, by the time the family moved to Texas in the spring of 1907,
the entire family went together. This was common during those times because African Americans had been separated so much while
in slavery that they were afraid they would never see each other again if anyone stayed behind.
A few years later the family moved to Earle, Arkansas. George Jr. who was teaching at Prairie View,
an all black college in Prairie, Texas did not leave with the family. He and his brothers Daniel, Amos
and Osiah remained in Texas.
There is no record of Amos, Osiah or Anderson in Arkansas, so it is believed they died while in Texas.
Rosa died at the tender age of 15.
After a few years, Daniel and George Jr. moved to Arkansas to be with the rest of the family. George Jr.
met and married Susie Anna Miller. During their marriage they had two children, Johnnie Coleman and Geneva
Coleman Haynes. They both reside in Memphis, Tennessee.
About 1920, the Coleman family started to migrate to Illinois. This was to continue over the next 30 years.
Some family members settled in Mounds, some in Perks and some in Carbondale.
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*Note:
The records from the United States Census
show that Peggy or Panky was born June 1899 and that Amie was born in Greenwood, Mississippi in 1905. They also
show that McKinley's first name was John.
Some of the dates and the spelling of the names may not coincide with records you may have. I
am giving you the information the way it was recorded on the United States Census records.
During the early years some of the census takers were not educated and could not spell. Also, most African
Americans had not been to school and could not speak clearly. They would prounounce the names the best they could and the
census taker would spell them the way they sound to them. On most of the records Panky is spelled Peggy because this is how
it sound to the census taker.
Sometimes certain family members that gave information did not know the exact dates. For this reason some
of the birth date for the same person may be different on other records.
We learned to use the Soundex while searching old family records. We would find several records
of the same family with different spellings. This is why the census started using the soundex so every name that
had the same sound would come up. This was especially useful for African American families. You would use the information
you already had and compare it to the census records. Then you were able to choose the correct
family. It is a long slow process but the results are rewarding.
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This article is intended for educational purposes only, and not to offend anyone. I spelled my name one
way for 30 years, but one day I needed my birth certificate so I could legally use my maiden name again. I was surprised to
see that my name was not spelled the way I had been taught, also my birth year was different.
I had to have all my records changed, such as social security card and driver's license.
Sometimes if you check, you may also learn something different about yourself.
