[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 131 (Thursday, September 6, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1821-E1822]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO ERVIN JAMES

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES E. CLYBURN

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 6, 2007

  Mr. CLYBURN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a 
phenomenal figure in African American history, Ervin James, the founder 
of Jamestown in Florence County, South Carolina. The extraordinary 
legacy of Ervin James's life powerfully changed the course of African 
American history in the South during the late nineteenth and early 
twentieth centuries.
  Ervin James's legacy richly contributed to the story of black history 
after the Civil War, the story of southern agriculture, and the story 
of community development in a time when many groups of African 
Americans struggled to survive.
  In 1870, Ervin James bought a sizable tract of land on his own from 
Eli McKissick and Mary Poston near Florence, South Carolina. The 
transaction was formally documented in a deed recorded on January 23, 
1871. James's purchase developed into more than just a family farm. 
During the last two decades of the nineteenth century, his tract of 
land grew into a small rural African American community. The community 
thrived for 70 years, from its establishment in 1870 until its decline 
in the 1940s.
  The development of Jamestown is a remarkable one. Beginning with 
Ervin James's

[[Page E1822]]

original purchase, the community expanded through cooperative purchase 
by James's five sons, Sidney, Ellison, Eli, Fisher, and James James as 
well as Ervin James's son-in-law, Alonza Wright. James's five sons and 
son-in-law divided up the original tract of land into six twelve-acre 
plots for each of them to farm individually. Throughout the last decade 
of the nineteenth century and the first decade of the early twentieth, 
these six men made several cooperative purchases to increase the 
collective land holdings of Jamestown.
  All six names appear on a deed recorded on March 26, 1891. In that 
year, the men bought several tracts of land from J.A. Grice and his 
wife Sarah E. Grice, the daughter of Eli McKissick. A subsequent deed 
recorded on May 29, 1891 documents the purchase of more land from 
Rebecca A. Gibson acting as trustee for the will of Nathan S. Gibson 
who owned land that bordered the James family holdings. The practice of 
cooperative purchase continued into the next generation of the James 
family. On June 29, 1915, Ephraim Ford, Eli James, James James, Robert 
James, Pat James, Elliott James, Mitchell James, James Wright and Betsy 
Williams collectively purchased land from J.R. Moody. The presence of 
several surnames other than James on the deed suggests that several 
other African American families had established themselves in the 
community by that time or had married into the James family. Jamestown 
had become a community.

  Land divisions were made during the earlier years of the community to 
establish individual homes and tracts of land for separate families to 
work. Over the years, the property was passed down to the family heirs 
in each generation who collectively owned the land of their ancestors.
  Social historian Edward Magdol asserts that owning land where family 
members could be reunited, live, and work together were primary 
concerns of freed African Americans. The community of Jamestown 
embodied each of these aspects. Without the dream of Ervin James, 
Jamestown and its powerful influence on African American history in the 
South would not have become a reality.
  A marker was erected in Florence County, Jamestown on July 23, 2006 
commemorating the extraordinary achievement of Ervin James. The marker 
thus reads:

                   Florence County, 21-22, Jamestown

       This African American community, which flourished here for 
     70 years, has its origins in a 105-acre tract bought in 1870 
     by former slave Ervin James (1815-1872). James, determined to 
     own his own farm instead of being dependent on sharecropping 
     or tenant farming, bought the tract from Eli McKissick and 
     Mary Poston. His five sons and a son-in-law later divided the 
     tract into individual farms.
       Between 1870 and 1940 Ervin James's descendants and other 
     area families purchased additional land, creating a rural 
     community of about 250 residents. Among its institutions were 
     the Jamestown Cemetery, dating from its earliest days; the 
     Summerville Methodist Church (renamed Bowers Chapel), 
     established about 1880; and the Summerville Elementary 
     School, built in 1926.
       Erected by Jamestown Reunion Committee, 2006

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