Stitched Together: Freedom Colony Families Along the Cibolo – an open commonplace notebook

    Cato Morgan (1812?-1887?)   Cato Morgan, born in North or South Carolina around 1812, was purchased by J. H. Polley on 22 September 1836 from James Reed. Morgan and Reed were slave traders that bought slaves in New Orleans at the St. Louis Hotel. Morgan and Reed brought the enslaved people by ship to Velasco, and then shipped them up the Brazos to Brazoria to be sold to Austin’s Colony (1) .       Cato was a trusted servant of the Polleys. J. B. Polley in his “Historical Reminiscences” writes that Cato “was recognized among his fellow darkeys as ‘Ole Marster’s favorright.’” Cato was an authority around the plantation. He was privileged to carry a shotgun and was considered a fairly good marksman. Cato accompanied Polley on many of his cattle drives. J. B. Polley recorded an episode of Cato picking mustang grapes for Mrs. Polley to make preserves and being attacked by Indians. He also mentioned that Cato was a grown slave in 1858 in on...

On Saturday, 3 February 2024, a new exhibit opened at the Sutherland Springs Historical Museum. The exhibit is my attempt to honor the people who were enslaved by J. H. Polley. In some cases I have managed to gather quite a bit of information. Sometimes my story is stitched together from a variety of sources and may or may not be completely correct. In some cases I have been able to find very little about the people at all. I welcome corrections and additions. I have managed, I think, to discover all of their names. My research included J. B. Polley's "Historical Reminiscences" articles in the San Antonio Daily Express , Josephine Golson's book, Bailey's Light, Slave Schedules, Census Records, Deeds, Probate Wills, newspaper articles, Sanborn Fire Insurance maps, Death Certificates, Marriage Licenses, Public School Tax Records, Tiner Diaries, Mark Gretchen's Slave Transactions of Guadalupe Co., Texas , La Vernia Historical Association's La Vernia Family L...