I am interested in researching any information pertaining to the trial
and the subsequent hanging of Celia in the streets of Jacksonville, FL
in 1848.  I am especially in need of information on the trial, the
jurors, newspaper accounts, and some information about what happened
to the family and children of Celia.

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Request for Question Clarification by blader-ga on 26 Jun 2002 16:51 PDT

Dear shaqcat:

Thank you for your question. I couldn't find all of your requested
information, so   I will be posting what I have as an clarification
request. I was unable to find any information related to the trial
other than basic names and relationships anywhere online. You may have
better luck contacting the Jacksonville libraries or archives. The
below represents all of the available information on your topic on the
internet.

Celia's last name is Celia Bryan. His father is Jacob Bryan:

"She was the first woman executed in Florida since 1848 when a freed
slave named Celia was hanged in Jacksonville for killing her former
master, Jacob Bryan, who also was her father and may have been the
father of her four children."
http://sun-herald.com/yearend/state/fl8.htm

Celia did have children, but apparently it was through incest with her
master/father:

"The state's last execution of a woman was in 1848, when a slave named
Celia was hanged for killing her owner, Jacob Bryan, who also was her
father and the father of her children."
http://www.th-record.com/1998/03/03-30-98/widowk.htm

Sorry I couldn't find more information. Good luck on your search!

Best Regards,
blader-ga

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Request for Question Clarification by webbob-ga on 29 Jun 2002 14:29 PDT

Hi shaqcat,
I did extensive searches and cannot give a complete answer to your
question either.  So, I too, will add this as a clarification. 
Searching the “Jacksonville libraries or archives” as suggested by
blader-ga is probably your best course to find the information you are
seeking.  I did find a few random tidbits you may be interested in.

When looking for the following quotes, I suggest you use your
browser’s “Find” tool to search for “Bryan” or “Celia Bryan” or “Jacob
Bryan” as some of these pages are quite large.

There is a remote possibility that Jacob Bryan was also known as Jacob
“Brasell (by several spellings, including Braswell)”.  Rhonda Hargrove
Thompson of Montgomery, AL 36109 made this contribution to “The
Braswell Family Guestbook-Vol. 4” on 10/27/98.  You can click on
Rhonda’s name to send her an email.  You’ll find the above quote about
4/5ths the way down the following page:
The Braswell Family Guestbook-Vol. 4
http://www.braswellfamily.org/gbvol004.html

Here are three more references to Celia’s execution:

Page down three times to find this reference:
"Florida's execution of Judias V. Buenoano on March 30, 1998, was that
state's first execution of a woman since that of Celia Bryan in 1848."
http://www.acs.ohio-state.edu/units/law/LawJournal/streibsympab.htm

You will find this reference about žth the way down the page:
"the first execution of a female offender in Florida since that of a
black slave named Celia Bryan in 1848, over one and one-half centuries
ago."
http://www.law.ohio-state.edu/LawJournal/streib.htm

The following reference is the second paragraph of this page:
"In 1848, a plantation owner named Jacob Bryan was murdered by one of
his slaves in Jacksonville. Celia was tried, convicted and hanged for
the death."
http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/120901/dss_8033661.html

You will find a listing for both Celia and Jacob Bryan in the Georgia
Slave Bills of Sale
( http://www.afrigeneas.com/library/ga-slavebills/indxak.htm ).  This
listing only gives names in alphabetical order with the words
“County/Cities” after them and there is no date on the document. 
There is no definite connection to those you are seeking here?


The following keywords were used in Google Search: "Celia Bryan"
+Florida
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF8&q=%22Celia+Bryan%22+%2BFlorida&btnG=Google+Search

Good luck in your pursuit,
webbob-ga

Hi,

I think you may have to do some offline reading to get the information
you need.

The University of Georgia Press has: Celia, a Slave by Melton A.
McLaurin
http://www.uga.edu/ugapress/books/shelf/0820313521.html

McLaurin is a respected historian. Anything you need that is not
covered in the text should be available in the references. The
reviewers have given it good press. You can order the book online. I
may get a copy myself!

search terms: Celia slavery Florida history

Good question!

bcguide

I am quite surprised and be whelmed by this answer. It does not seem
to follow the question in any terms? Wrong name, city, county,
perhaps? - certainly the wrong state?

"Celia was only fourteen years old when she was acquired by John
Newsom, an aging widower and one of the most prosperous and respected
citizens of Callaway County, Missouri."
http://www.uga.edu/ugapress/books/shelf/0820313521.html

Sorry bcguide-ga, it just does not work for me?
webbob

PS. I waited a few days to post this comment because I did not want to
rain on what could be the correct answer anyway?

Greetings!

I am leaving this information as a comment, since this question is
already considered "answered".

I did some extensive search concerning Celia, and according to my
source the Celia you are requesting information about is not the same
Celia mentioned in "Celia, a Slave" by Melton A. McLaurin.  That novel
is about another famous murder by a slave named Celia that took place
in Missouri.  These cases are not related and I was warned by my
sources not to get information about the two cases mixed together.

Here is the information that I have obtained about the slave named
Celia from Jacksonville, Florida.

Celia was the first female executed in Florida in 1848.  She was a
slave of Jacob Bryan whom she murdered.  My source stated she was also
his common law wife and he was also her father.  He abused her and she
stabbed him with a knife.

There was sympathy for her during her trial during which she was
defended by local attorneys.  She was found guilty and sentenced to
death.  Several prominent local attorneys petitioned the governor for
clemency.  He issued a temporary stay while they went to Tallahassee
to try and persuade him to help Celia.

Their efforts were in vain, and the Governor removed the stay arguing
she was guilty and he had to carry out the sentence.  So poor Celia
was subsequently executed.

The heirs to the Jacob Bryan estate became prominent local citizens
for several generations.  Jacob Bryan III was the President of
Independent Insurance Company and a major benefactor of the local
symphony.  Jacob Bryan IV was a major benefactor of several local
universities.

According to my source, some information that could be more helpful
may be found contained in the pages of a masters degree thesis from
Florida State University.  It is entitled "Blacks in Jacksonville
1840-1865" by Frankie H. Fennell.

This thesis cites a publication called Jacksonville Florida News,
1848. A check of OCLC FirstSearch on the internet showed there are
several other libraries
that own the microfilm for this publication.  Your local library could
locate this information for you and you could get copies of the
articles
through interlibrary loan.  

I am sorry you were given misleading information the first time
around.  I hope that the information I provided proved to be helpful. 
If so, I would appreciate your feedback.

Thanks,  
madsky101 


Source of information:

Library L-H Department  
You can reach them by email
L-H@coj.net


Search Criteria:

I sent emails to libraries in Jacksonville and surrounding counties,
and to local Jacksonville newspapers.