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Author: ccc149
Surnames:
Classification: queries
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http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.cage/88.1.2.1/mb.ashx
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Well, I'll start with what I know for sure. The children Levi Coffin talks about are
definitely those of Albert Gallatin Cage. There were three Cage brothers who settled in
Terrebonne Pa., LA: James (1776-1854), Harry (1795-1858) and Albert Gallatin (ca.
1796-1850). They were all the sons of Maj. William Cage (ca. 1745-1811) of Sumner Co.,
TN: James by first wife Elizabeth Douglass (1754-1792) and Harry and Albert by his second
wife Ann Hall (ca. 1762-1800).
James settled in Terrebonne first, and became a wealthy sugar planter. Brothers Harry and
Albert first settled in the Natchez/Woodville area of Mississippi, where Harry married
Catherine Stewart (1804-1829) and became a lawyer, judge, MS State Supreme Court Justice
an member of the US House of Representatives. He is the "Judge Cage" Coffin
refers to. He purchased a third interest in his brother James' Woodlawn Plantation
and moved to Terrebonne Pa. in 1844; their brother Albert Gallatin Cage owned bordering
Ashland Plantation.
James and Albert never married, but both had illegitimate children; James formally
acknowledged his (Martha, William, Thomas and George) in a legal document of 1846. Albert
unfortunately did not do the same and, as recounted by Coffin, his children were therefore
legally his slaves and his property.
James and Harry inherited their brother Albert's interest in Ashland Plantation - and
his slaves - after his intestate death in October of 1850. This started the chain of
events recounted in Coffin's memoirs. James Cage died in 1854. He wrote his will in
1850, however, before Albert died, specifically bequeathing in a codicil "to my
brother Albert G. Cage I leave one thousand dollars in addition to the one thousand
dollars already mentioned in my Will. This amount is to assist him in the education of
his children." He also leaves "to Delia Ann, mulattoe girl daughter of Kitty
Thomas I give fifteen hundred dollars."
After Albert's death, James ammended his will in 1851: "In the bequest to the
yellow girl Delia Ann mentioned in my Will of fifteen hundred dollars, I hereby add the
further sum of one thousand dollars, making her entire bequest to her twenty five hundred
dollars. I hereby bequeath to the illegitimate children of my brother Albert G. Cage
deceased, vested in the hands of my executors for their education the sum of one thousand
dollars, my legacy left in my Will, having lapsed by his death."
Harry Cage died in 1858 and, exactly as recounted by Coffin, his son Duncan Stewart Cage
(ca. 1825-1885), a Louisiana state representative, inherited his father's estate
(which presumably included his cousins).
So there is no doubt that the children Coffin talks about are those of Albert Gallatin
Cage. But who were they? Coffin states that there were eight children. The three eldest
(two sons and a daughter) were being educated "up north" when Albert died, and
the other five were still at home. One son - "a boy twelve or fourteen years
old" - was sent to Coffin 3 or 4 years before Harry Cage's death: i.e. ,1854 or
1855, and was thus born ca. 1840/43. The remaining 4 girls were sent up "shortly
before the rebellion" to Coffin to be placed at a school in Oberlin.
Amelia Cage & Franklin Cage, mulattos born in Louisiana, ages 12 & 11
(respectively) are in the household of Peter P. Pease in the 1860 Oberlin, Lorain Co. OH
census, so I think these are certainly Albert's children. The General Catalogue of
Oberlin College (Oberlin, OH: Oberlin College, 1909) shows the following enrolments:
Frances Cage, enr. 1860-1861, prep., from New Orleans, LA
Lizzie Cage, enr. 1860-1861, prep., from New Orleans, LA
Aurelia [sic: Amelia] Cage, enr. 1864-1865 prep., from Cincinnati, OH
Also, Robert Samuel Fletcher's "History of Oberlin College" (Oberlin, OH:
Oberlin College, 1943) states that "in 1860 a member of the Louisiana legislature was
much embarrassed to find that he had inherited his cousins, the daughters of his uncle and
a light-colored slave. He shipped these girls to Coffin at Cincinnati, with a request that
he provide for their edIication at Oberlin and a draft for five hundred dollars to pay
their initial expenses at that institution. Lizzie, Frances and Amelia Cage stayed in
Oberlin from June to November of 1860. Coffin sent money and instructions to Secretary
Hill from time to time. The youngest sister, Amelia, was never officially registered in
the Preparatory Department as were Frances and Lizzie. When the Civil War broke out money
ceased to come from their cousin, and Coffin obtained positions for them as household
servants. Their relative and legal owner is said to have lost all his property in the
war."
,
The 1860 Oberlin, Lorain Co. OH census shows the following household:
Nelson S Bishop 48 NY ca. 1812
William W Fort 28 OH ca. 1832
Julia L Bishop 45 CT ca. 1815
Henry Bishop 22 OH ca. 1838
Louis Bishop 18 OH ca. 1832
Julia Bishop 4 OH ca. 1856
Maria Smith 20 LA ca. 1840 mulatto
Emeline Fort 28 OH ca. 1832
Minnie Fort 3 OH ca. 1857
Angie Brua Fort 22 OH ca. 1838
Lizzie Cage Fort 23 LA ca. 1837 mulatto
Frances Fort 21 LA ca. 1839 mulatto
One researcher identifies "Fort" as "Foote", William W. Fort being
William Wirt Foote (1832-1895) with his wife Emmeline L. Brooks (1830-1819) and daughter
Minnie Emma Foote (1857-1925). What their association with Lizzie and Frances was, I
don't know. But I think these are certainly Lizzie & Frances Cage; Maria Smith
might be a sister as well.
Coffin states that the oldest girl - "a young woman of twenty-one" - returned to
New Orleans "to live the life of a concubine" with a merchant there. In the
1860 New Orleans census there appears in a single household (and in this order): Adaline
Cage (mulatto, age 24, b. LA, ca. 1836), Jules Lambert (white. age 24, b. LA ca. 1836),
Mary L. Cage (mulatto, age 1, b. LA ca. 1859), Antoinette Cage (mulatto, age 21, b. LA ca.
1839) and Delia Cage (mulatto, age 20, b. LA ca. 1840).
Orleans Parish birth records show Louisa Mary Lambert born 10 July 1859 to Jules Lambert
and "Adelaide Gage". I think this is certainly Adaline Cage, and that she is
the "concubine" with her lover (Jules Lambert) and their illegitimate child
(Mary Louisa Cage/Lambert). Antoinette & Delia may be younger sisters, but they
don't seem to fit in with Coffin's narrative. Delia Cage is almost certainly
"the yellow girl Delia Ann" mentioned in James Cage's will. He calls her
the daughter of "Kitty Thomas", though, so she may be a half sister. She
certainly was singled out and apparently excluded from Albert's children in James'
will, so she may not be Albert's child at all. How she and Antoinette fits into the
picture is anyone's guess.
Orleans Parish Death records show "Adelaide" Cage died 30 Oct 1869, age 33, and
Jules Lambert died on 24 July 1878, age 45. I have no record of what happened to their
daughter. Delia Cage died on 22 Jul 1865, age 24.
Finally, in 1850, there appears in the Cincinnati, Hamilton Co. OH census in a boarding
house Andrew Cage (Mulatto, age 20, b. LA ca. 1830). He is too old to be the boy first
sent to Coffin, but he may well be one of the two sons sent up north earlier.
So, of the possible children of Albert Cage, I find:
1. Andrew Cage (b. ca. 1830)
2. Adaline/Adelaide Cage, (ca. 1836-30 Oct 1869); had illegitimate child Mary Louisa Cage
(b. 10 July 1859) with Jules Lambert (ca. 1833/36-22 Jul 1865)
3. Lizzie (b. ca. 1837)
4. Frances Cage (b. ca. 1839)
5. Antoinette Cage (b. ca. 1839)
6. Delia Ann Cage (ca. 1840/41-22 Jul 1865); possibly a half-sister with mother Kitty
Thomas, or even a cousin
7. Amelia Cage (b. ca. 1848)
8. Franklin Cage (b. ca. 1849)
Coffin says there were eight children - three sons and five daughters - and though his
memories appear accurate, his memoirs were written sixteen years later and are probably
not perfect. However, of the eight probable children I mention, Andrew (the older son
educated "up north"), Adaline/Adelaide (the New Orleans concubine), and Lizzie,
Frances, Amelia & Franklin (Louisiana-born mulatto young adults & children who
appear in Oberlin, OH right before the war) so exactly match his recollections, that I
think there is no doubt that these five, at least, are the children of Albert G. Cage.
Can you provide more details on India Amelia, Maggie, Lizzie & Fannie - dates,
places, husbands, etc.? Maybe we can piece this together.
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