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Martha Freeman

Timeline

  • May 1844: Martha Freeman was born in Georgia as an enslaved person
  • 1860: Thomas Berry and Frances Rhea marry in April and in June the US Census records them living near the Turkey, Alabama post office. Turkey, in Cherokee County, is now considered a ghost town; the post office was decommissioned in 1861. The county seat of Cherokee is Centre, about 30 miles from Rome.
  • January 1, 1863: The Emancipation Proclamation changed the legal status under federal law of enslaved African Americans in the secessionist Confederate states from enslaved to free.
  • May to November 1864: General William T. Sherman and his troops occupied Rome during the Civil War.
  • July 1866: Thomas Berry purchases property in Rome.
  • October 7, 1866: Martha McChesney Berry is born in Alabama, to Frances Margaret Rhea and Thomas Berry. The family moved to Rome that same year.
  • 1867: Martha Freeman, around 16, came to work for Thomas Berry and his family.
  • 1870: Thomas Berry is a grocer living in Rome's Ward 3 with his wife Fannie; daughters Jennie, 5 year old Mattie, and Bessie; a cook named Kittie Edwards, house servant Mary Edwards, 20, and two children Georgia and Minnie Edwards. All of the Edwards's are Black and were born in Alabama.
  • 1871: Thomas Berry purchased a former residence of Charles H. Smith, later to be known as Oak Hill.
  • 1875: Martha Freeman, 20, and Enoch Freeman get married. They live in a two-room cabin on Berry's land, rumored to be where the CVS stands near Oak Hill.
  • 1895: Enoch Freeman dies. Martha Freeman moves into a small cottage, called the Schoolhouse, besides Martha Berry's house.
  • 1900: Martha Freeman is mother to seven children, two of which are still alive at this time. Their birthdates are unknown. 
  • December 1926: Martha Berry tells Kate Macy Ladd that Martha Freeman has lost one eye due to cataracts.
  • 1930: Martha Freeman is a retired servant in the home of Martha Berry.
  • May 1935: Martha Berry gives Martha Freeman, along with seven other loyal workers, a silver, 25th anniversary medal as a token of appreciation for her service at the 33rd annual commencement exercises for the Berry Schools and College.
  • July 1936: Martha Freeman becomes blind in both eyes, due to cataracts.
  • February 27, 1942: Martha Berry dies. Martha Freeman centered her interests in the Berry Schools.
  • February 1947: Martha Freeman's birthday was arbitrarily chosen to be February 6th, as her real birthdate is unknown.
  • February 1949: Martha Freeman, for her birthday, was gifted a case of Co-cola by the Co-Cola company for being one of the oldest people in the county.
  • 1950: Martha Freeman is the head of household for the home of Martha Berry.
  • May 15, 1951: Martha Freeman dies, around 111, due to an illness and is buried near Martha Berry next to the Mount Berry Chapel.