An enslaved girl of color in the household of Henry Michelet.
Born 16 March 1817. Race was not recorded.
Baptized on 20 Jun 1817 by Father James Coleman at St. Michael’s Parish (Spanish Pensacola). Mother was Victoria, a negra woman enslaved in the same household. Father was listed as unknown in baptismal record (this usually meant the father was unwilling or unable to acknowledge the child). Sponsors were Martin Palao and Susan Lascosade[?].
Bill of Sale: 9 June 1823 – Henry Michelet sold Jeanne Nepomucena, a black female about 6 years old, “born in my own house of the slave Victoire,” to Adelaide Tallasco, a free woman of color, for $250. (Escambia Co. [FL] deeds, A/58)
Note on the name: “Nepomucena” is part of the given name, not a surname or middle name. Much as Romance-language speaking men can be given the compound name Jean-Baptiste or Juan Bautista after St. John the Baptist, the medieval St. John of Nepomuk provides the names “Juan Nepomuceno” and “Juana Nepomucena.” (“Jeanne” is a predictable variant of “Juana” given that Henry Michelet’s first language was French.)
FAMILY:
Mother: Victoria Michelet*
Sister: Maria Encarnación Michelet*
SOURCES:
Records of St. Michael’s Parish, Pensacola, FL, Book III: Baptisms of People of Color, 1817 – 1882. University of West Florida Archives and West Florida History Center. 22 SEP 2021.