Ceasar

Ceasar is our first documented relative in our family. He is listed as Pleasant Shoffners Father. We do not know a lot about him. He may not have been born into slavery. It is a reasonable assumption that he could have been brought directly from the shores of Africa. We know that he was born in the 1830s, but there is not much else we could find about his history.

The name Ceasar was not that common for an enslaved person. We began seeing these classical names given to enslaved people around the eighteenth century. On a Slave ship's cargo list, names like Caesar, Nero, and Pluto were common names.

Also, names like Primus and Secundus". These were usually the chained African men lying in the first and second rows of the slave ship. The sailors and slave traders gave these few men names for accounting purposes only. They would be the few slaves that would already have names before they stepped foot on American soil.

Being on a slave ship may be how our Ceasar got his name, but we will continue to research it to be sure. So far, we know that Ceasar married a woman named Rhodia, and the two had a son they named Pleasant.

Pleasant is the only documented child we could find from the couple. Pleasant was born into slavery. He is where we first see the name Shoffner appear. Historically Shoffner is a German name, and the Shoffners owned large amounts of land in Alamance County in North Carolina.

On Pleasants death certificate, we see his parents' names, Ceasar and Rhodia. We also see Ceasars Middle name as Brean. Middle names were unusual. Most were the names of previous slave owners. Brean was likely the name of Ceasar's first slave master. The name Brean is historically a French or Irish name. It is also possible that the name was misspelled and meant to be Green. That would also make sense because Green is also a county near Alamance County.

It is unclear if the Shoffners owned Ceasar and Rhodia because later, we see their son Pleasant documented as an orphan. We also see Pleasant begin to use the name Green as a middle name. This could be to make the connection with his parents. Often slaves would carry all the names of their previous owners in case someone new them and could get a message to that plantation.

Other than knowing that Rhodia was Ceasar's wife, we don't know anything else about her yet. It is possible that Ceasar and Rhodia had more children and were all separated. We cannot be sure what happened to the couple, but we do know that Pleasant was separated from them. They were listed on Pleasants death certificate as "Shoffner's", but It is possible that was because Shoffner was Pleasants last name. We will continue to research these facts and give updates as we learn more about Ceasar and Rhodia.

What we do know is:

Our Family Tree in America begins with Ceasar and Rhodia. We can only imagine what they endured. Just knowing that they were separated from their son is heartbreaking. We are a blessed family to have been able to trace our ancestors back to the 1830s.

We will continue to research it even further back, but for now, we will begin here with Ceasar and Rhodia. They are the beginning of our roots and our foundation.

We love and honor them for what they have sacrificed for all of us. Let us remember that whatever strength they had running through their blood is the same strength we have running through ours. Let's make them proud.

Click Here - Pleasant Shoffner