While working on Jim and Calypso Harris’ family tree, I found an 1871 Freedmen’s Bureau Bank Record for Moses Harris that listed his parents as James and Calypso, and his birthplace as Jefferson Co., Fla. It also listed his 5 siblings, Lewis, Simon, Anthony, Sallie, and Bella, which match the names on the 1844 Casa Bianca mortgage! How did Moses Harris end up in Memphis? But yet another puzzle piece fell into place in the remarks section of his bank application: he listed Esther Bumpus (see Record 84) as a beneficiary. Who was she? According to Record 84, which was made in 1867, Esther (actually Hester) was Mary Baker’s daughter! “My mother[‘s] name is Mary Baker she lives in Florida,” as her application stated. Hester also named her two sisters, Caroline Baker and Evaline White, and said her brother Clayborne was dead. Mary Baker, Hester, Caroline, and Clayborne were all listed together on the 1844 Casa Bianca mortgage. Hester married Barrill Bumpus (Bumpass) on December 14, 1864 in Memphis, and Barrill was enlisted in Co. A, 59th USCT. And a Moses Harris appeared on the muster of Co. H, 59th USCT. Was this the same Moses Harris? And how did both Moses and Hester get from Florida to Memphis?
