I. Robert “Big Bob” Ealy and Jane Parrott Ealy
The Ealy family’s documented presence in Mississippi began around 1835, when a young enslaved man from North Carolina was brought to the state, leaving behind family members he would never see again. His name was Robert Ealy, although he became best known to his descendants as “Big Bob.”
Big Bob was among the hundreds of thousands of enslaved African Americans who were forcibly transported from Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and other Upper South states to Mississippi during the first half of the nineteenth century. Mississippi’s fertile soil and rapidly expanding cotton economy created an enormous demand for enslaved labor. Many enslaved people were sold away from their families, while others, like Big Bob, were taken to Mississippi by enslavers relocating to take advantage of the profitable cotton industry.
Genealogical research has revealed that Big Bob was originally from Nash County, North Carolina, where census records indicate that he was born into slavery around 1819. Research findings suggest that he spent his childhood on the farm of Jesse Bass, near Spring Hope, North Carolina, where he lived with his mother, Annie, and his siblings.
In 1822, Jesse Bass wrote his will and bequeathed to his youngest daughter, Frances Bass, two young enslaved boys named John and Bob. A preponderance of the evidence indicates that the young boy identified as “Bob” was our ancestor, Robert “Big Bob” Ealy, who was approximately three to five years old at the time.
Genealogical research and DNA evidence have also revealed that John was Big Bob’s brother. Frances later sold John to her brother, Jordan Bass, who took him to Gonzales County, Texas. Following emancipation, Uncle John adopted the Bass surname.
During the mid-1830s, Frances Bass married William W. Eley, also known as Billy Eley, of Franklin County, North Carolina. Under the laws of that era, property inherited by a woman generally came under her husband’s control upon marriage. Consequently, Big Bob came under Billy Eley’s ownership.
Around 1835, Billy and Frances Eley migrated to Mississippi along with several members of the Bass family, including Frances’s brothers Isaac, Gideon, Edwin, and Council Bass, and her older sister Elizabeth, who settled in Hinds County. They transported with them enslaved people who had been inherited from Jesse Bass. Some of those individuals, many of whom adopted the Bass surname after the Civil War, were likely related to Big Bob.
Billy and Frances Eley, however, settled in southern Leake County, Mississippi, bringing Big Bob with them. The Eleys were not wealthy planters but operated a relatively small farm near Lena.
According to Ealy family oral history, Big Bob was a large and physically strong man. Family tradition maintains that Billy Eley forced him to father children with other enslaved women. Oral history further recounts that Big Bob was housed separately in a one-room log cabin and may have fathered more than fifty children, many of whom he never knew. While the full extent of this family tradition cannot presently be documented, it has remained an important part of the Ealy family’s oral history.
Despite the brutal circumstances imposed upon him by slavery, Big Bob formed a lasting relationship with a young enslaved woman named Jane Parrott, who lived on the neighboring farm of William Parrott.
Around 1845, Big Bob and Jane were permitted to marry according to the customs available to enslaved people, and they “jumped the broom.” Because marriages between enslaved people had no legal recognition, couples often created and honored their own marriage traditions. Relationships between enslaved people living on neighboring farms and plantations were not uncommon.
Big Bob was apparently permitted to visit Jane, perhaps on weekends. Because the Parrott and Eley farms were near one another, he may also have visited her at night. Despite living under slavery and belonging to different enslavers, Big Bob and Jane built a family together and became the parents of numerous children.
Jane was born into slavery around 1829 in Lunenburg County, Virginia, on the farm of Rev. William Parrott. At the time, William Parrott and his wife, Betsy Johnson, lived on a farm of approximately 300 acres near Lunenburg.
Census research indicates that Rev. William Parrott relocated to Leake County, Mississippi, shortly before 1840, bringing approximately ten enslaved people with him. Among them were Jane, her mother Minvera, her siblings, and possibly her father. They endured the long journey from Virginia to Mississippi by wagon.
II. The First Generation: Children of Robert “Big Bob” Ealy
Robert “Big Bob” Ealy became the father of a large family. Research indicates that most of the first twelve children listed below were born to Big Bob and Jane, largely while Jane remained enslaved on the Parrott farm.
Seventeen children connected to Big Bob have been identified through census records and family research in Leake and Scott Counties, Mississippi.
Children of Robert “Big Bob” Ealy and Jane Parrott:
- John Ealy
- Adeline Ealy Robertson-Devlin Orman
- Annie Ealy Beamon
- Andrew “Andy” Ealy
- Robert “Bob” Ealy
- Paul Ealy
- Augustus “Gus” Ealy
- Haywood Ealy
- Will Ealy
- Martha Ealy Kennedy
- Penny Ealy Ragsdale
- Nicholson (or Nicholas) “Boot” Ealy
Additional children of Robert “Big Bob” Ealy:
- Nathan Stiles
- Mary “Sis” Ealy York
- Tempa Ealy Allen
- Emaline Ealy Kidd Gordon
- Ephraim Ealy
III. Freedom and a New Beginning
The Civil War ultimately transformed the lives of Big Bob, Jane, and their children. President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which took effect on January 1, 1863, declaring enslaved people in areas under Confederate control to be free. In practice, however, freedom came at different times as Union forces advanced through the South. The end of the Civil War in 1865 and the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment permanently abolished slavery throughout the United States.
For the first time, Big Bob, Jane, and their children could live as a legally free family.
They established their home in southern Leake County near Lena, Mississippi, where Big Bob became a farmer and landowner. The 1870 Leake County census valued his real estate at $550—a significant accomplishment for a man who had spent most of his life enslaved and unable to legally own himself, much less land.
Big Bob lived into old age. By 1900, he was residing in Scott County, Mississippi, in the household of his daughter Adeline Orman, who was caring for her elderly father. He died sometime after 1900.
The life of Robert “Big Bob” Ealy represents far more than the story of one man. Born enslaved in North Carolina, separated from members of his family, and transported hundreds of miles to Mississippi, he survived the institution of slavery and lived long enough to experience freedom, own land, and witness the growth of an extraordinary family.
Together, Robert “Big Bob” Ealy and Jane Parrott laid the foundation for generations of Ealy descendants. From their beginnings under slavery in Leake County, their descendants would establish families and communities throughout Mississippi and eventually across the United States.
Their story is one of survival, family, resilience, freedom, and legacy—a legacy that continues through their descendants today.
IV. The Second and Third Generations (Grandchildren of Big Bob)
Robert “Big Bob” Ealy’s Children with Jane Parrott Ealy
JOHN EALY
Spouse: Charity Beamon
Born: c. 1846 in Leake County, Mississippi
Died: before 1910 in Leake County, Mississippi
Children of John:
William M. Ealy (1867-1965)
Van Ealy (1868)
John Nelson Ealy (1869)
Andy “A.W.” Ealy (1871-1937)
Sylvester (Bill) Ealy (1874)
Lucretia Ealy Ross (1876-1939)
Velay Ealy (1878)
Haywood Ealy (1880)
Dock Ealy (1881)
Fisher Ealy (1883)
Leamon (Alex) Ealy (1884)
Lawyer Ealy (1886)
ADELINE “DOVE” EALY ROBINSON-DEVLIN ORMAN
Spouses: John W. Robinson-Devlin & Reuben Orman
Born: c. 1848 in Leake County, Mississippi
Died: after 1900, Midway, Scott County, Mississippi
Children of Adeline:
Mary Jane Devlin Kennedy (1867)
John Devlin (1868)
Jennie Devlin (1870)
Helen “Martha” Devlin Ferrell (1871-1909)
Bettie Devlin Beamon (1872)
Sallie Devlin Johnson (1875)
Eliza Robinson Burks (1879-1954)
Addie Robinson Gray (1880)
ANNIE EALY BEAMON
Spouse: Moses Beamon (married 1/20/1874)
Born: 1852 in Leake County, Mississippi
Died: 1909, Midway, Scott County, Mississippi
Children of Annie:
Mary Jane Ealy Nichols (1872-1899)
Lula Beamon Ferrell Roberts (1875)
William E. Beamon (1877)
Hassie Beamon (1880)
Jessie Beamon Butler (1883-1959)
Walter Beamon (1885)
Cora Beamon (1887)
Dora Beamon (1887)
Martha Beamon Sanders (1889-1976)
Arthur Beamon (1892-1971)
Sylvester Beamon (1893-1973)
Elizabeth Beamon (1895)
Pearlie Mae Beamon Simmons (1901)
ANDREW “ANDY” EALY
Spouse: Ida Rowan (married 9/28/1876)
Born: c. 1853 in Leake County, Mississippi
Died: before 1900, Midway, Scott County, Mississippi
Children of Andrew:
Maggie Ealy (1877)
Beulah Ealy Hopkins (1879)
Mary Ealy (1884)
Emma Ealy (1888)
Anna Ealy (1890)
(Andy’s widow and children moved to Memphis, Tennessee shortly before 1900.)
ROBERT “BOB” EALY
Spouse: Martha “Mattie” Kennedy (married 12/21/1876)
Born: 1855 in Leake County, Mississippi
Died: 1939 in Leake County, Mississippi
Children of Bob:
John Ealy (1877)
Lovie Ealy Moten Westmoreland (1877-1984)
Jane Ealy (1879)
Lucy Ealy Ammons Lindsey (1880-1971)
Bobbie Ann Ealy Morgan (1881-1969)
Billie Ealy (1886)
Willie (Will) “Tee” Ealy (1888-1950)
Jessie Albert Ealy (1890-1974)
Theodius Ealy (1891)
Rev. Floyd Ealy
PAUL EALY
Spouse: Adaline Kennedy (married 7/07/1879)
Adaline was the sister of Mattie Kennedy (Bob’s wife) and Albert Kennedy (Martha’s husband)
Born: 1859 in Leake County, Mississippi
Died: 1943 in Leake County, Mississippi
Children of Paul:
Aldora Ealy (1880) (died at a young age)
Elijah “Bung” Ealy (1881-1987)
Annie J. Ealy Ragsdale Nichols (1884-1970)
Alice Ealy McClendon (1885-1962)
App Ealy (1890-1966)
Albert Ealy (1892-1918)
Mack Ealy (1893-1972)
Florence Ealy Jones (1896-1970)
Viney Ealy Sparkman (1899-1958)
Willie Ealy Collier (1904-1990)
AUGUSTUS “GUS” EALY
Spouses: Emma Moorman & Mary Edmonds
Born: 1861 in Leake County, Mississippi
Died: 1913, Flora, Madison County, Mississippi
Children of Gus:
Joe Howard Ealy (1882-1965)
James (Gene) Ealy (1884)
Kate Ealy (1886)
Fonzy Ealy (1892-1976)
Genora Ealy (1901)
Elijah (Dunk) Ealy (1906-1996)
Claude Ealy (1909-1981)
HAYWOOD EALY
Spouses: Victoria Ragsdale & Elizabeth Chambers
Born: 1862 in Leake County, Mississippi
Died: After 1930, Flora, Madison County, Mississippi
Children of Haywood:
George (Skin) Ealy (1892-1978)
Lula Chambers Denson Pearson (1897-2002)
Willie Mae Chambers Denson (1900-1954)
Noble Ealy (1905-1989)
Paul Lee Ealy (1907-1979)
Guy Ealy (1910-1994)
WILL EALY
Spouse: Rose Evers (married 3/06/1885)
Born: 1863 in Leake County, Mississippi
Died: Before 1910, Tuscola, Leake County, Mississippi
Children of Will:
Rufus Gale (1880)
Mary (Crick) Kennedy Sparkman (1888-1971)
John Edmond (1892-1991)
Gus Kennedy (1894-1979)
MARTHA EALY KENNEDY
Spouse: Albert Kennedy (married 12/28/1881)
Albert was the brother of Adaline Kennedy Ealy and Mattie Kennedy Ealy.
Born: 1865 in Leake County, Mississippi
Died: 1895, Leake County, Mississippi
Children of Martha:
Dora Kennedy Luckett (1882-1940)
Will Kennedy (1884-1977)
Robert “Rob” Kennedy (1885-1977)
Hulen “Newt” Kennedy (1888-1970)
Wilson Kennedy (1891-1988)
PENNY EALY RAGSDALE
Spouse: Branch Ragsdale (married 1/14/1884)
Born: 1868 in Leake County, Mississippi
Died: Around 1885 in Leake County, Mississippi
Child of Penny:
Hattie Ragsdale Morgan (1885-1913)
NICHOLSON (or Nicholas) “BOOT” EALY
Spouses: Annie Jackson and Almedia Atkinson
Born: c. 1871 in Lena, Leake County, Mississippi
Died: After 1930, Brownsville, Hinds County, Mississippi
Children of Nicholson:
Ephraim Eley (1894-1956)
Ada Ealy Ward (1896-1980)
Willie Ealy (1898)
John Earl Ealy (1900)
Van Ealy (1904-1945)
Leroy Ealy (1905-1970)
Edmond Eley (1906-1965)
Queen Isabel Ealy Richmond (1906)
Robert Ealy (1907)
Tommy Ealy (1909)
Roberta Ealy (1910)
Additional Children of Robert “Big Bob” Ealy
NATHAN STILES
Spouses: Mary York and Alice Horn
Born: Aug. 1838 in Leake County, Mississippi
Died: after 1900, Leake County, Missisippi
Note: Oral history and DNA indicate that he was the son of Big Bob.
Nathan’s mother, Hester Stiles, was enslaved on William Eley’s small farm with him.
Children of Nathan:
Wright Stiles (1863)
Jane Stiles (1864)
Nathan Stiles (1867)
Fannie Stiles (1870)
Martha Stiles (1874)
John Ealy Stiles (1876)
Henry (Stinson) Stiles (1878)
Hester Stiles (1880)
MARY (SIS) EALY YORK
Spouse: Jordan York
Born: 1840 in Leake County, Mississippi
Died: After 1900, Leake County, Mississippi
Children of Sis:
John York (1858)
Ann York Parrott (1860-1899)
Abner “Abb” York (1862-1944)
Aaron York (1865)
Eliza Jane York White (1866-1952)
Jordan York (1869)
Mary “Molly” York Gilbert (1870-1910)
Hiram York (1872)
Lacey York (1874)
Lula York Perry (1876)
Ira York (1877)
Ned York (1878)
Sophronia York Ross (1882)
TEMPA EALY ALLEN
Spouse: Stephen Allen
Born: c. 1850
Died: after 1900 in Scott County, Mississippi
Children of Tempa:
Mollie Allen Owens (1869)
Allan Allen (1870-1912)
Eli Allen (1874)
Mariah Allen Ealy (1877-1919)
Edward Allen (1877-1930)
Sarah Allen (1879)
Garfield Allen (1884)
Allie Allen Shephard (1885)
Frances Allen Black (1889)
EMALINE EALY KIDD GORDON
Spouse: Isham Kidd (married 9/11/1873) and Caesar Gordon (married 12/11/1884)
Born: 1855 in Leake County, Mississippi
Died: Before 1910, Flora, Madison County, Mississippi
Note: Emaline’s mother was Ruthie Harris.
Children of Emaline:
Annie Kidd Robinson (1876)
Mollie Kidd (1879)
John Kidd (1881)
Irene Gordon (1885)
Ruthie Gordon White (1888-1970)
Mathis Gordon (1891)
Hattie Gordon (1893)
Jessie Gordon (1895)
Ben Gordon (1897)
