RANDOM ACTS OF GENEALOGICAL KINDNESS: SOME AFRICAN-AMERICAN HUDSON FAMILIES OF 1870-1880, PULASKI CO., ILLINOIS

 Along the way, one often finds information that does not apply to the line being searched but you know that someone - out there - would like to have the information.

In searching for a Hudson line in Pulaski Co., Illinois ca 1880 to 1900 , I found several families of African-American Hudson.  Having noted the sparse number of resources for the area in my own search, I began to note these as well. A minor expression of random acts of genealogical kindness. The area had great economic potential and attracted many people seeking to make their mark and build a life. Unfortunately, social views of the time made it much harder for African-Americans to succeed. So many did and that is a testament to the human spirit.  Any one having information about the Hudson's of Villa Ridge and Mound City in Pulaski County from 1870 to 1900 with names William, Emily, Louis, Millie and a step-son Thomas Benjamin Cain, please comment and let us connect. 

Anyone having information about Cuba Hudson and Zach Hudson, comment and I will add it to the entry so others seeking information may find it to help them in their search. 

CUBA HUDSON

The Pulaski Patriot, Thursday, 27 Nov 1879:"Cuba Hudson, a highly respected colored man, died at his home in this place last Friday night.  He was buried by the Mound City and Cairo lodges United Brethren in Friendship, of which organization he was a member.  He leaves a wife and three small children." (Cuba Hudson married Eliza Porter on 18 Sep 1868, in Pulaski Co., Ill.).  The 1880 Mortality Schedule of the county provided the information he had died of consumption and that he had been born in 1843 in Louisiana, he was 36 at the time of his death.

ZACH HUDSON

Another African-American Hudson family of the county was Zach Hudson, born 1846 in Alabama, who was 24 on the 1870 Census of Mound City, Pulaski Co., Il and worked as a teamster.  The area was kept busy with goods delivered to the docks in Cairo and then off loaded transferred to distant locations using wagons and skilled teamsters such a this man.  He was instrumental in making the economy of the region soar in that time. Zach's wife was Texanni or Texanna and she was 19 born in Tennessee in 1851.

For a more academic look at African Americans in Pulaski County, Ill here is a link : Black Migration to Pulaski County, Illinois 1860-1900 on JSTOR

Another site with information on the topic for Pulaski County, Ill can be found here: Illinois Afrigeneas Pulaski County Illinois and its anchor site at AfriGeneas | African American Genealogy - Illinois