James & Nancy Yancey

James H. Yancey (c. 1820-1878) and Nancy A. Hale Yancey (1831-1903). James H. Yancey and his wife Nancy A. Hale Yancey both free blacks by the time they arrived in Iowa, are generally credited with being the first African-American family who settled permanently in Fairfield, having arrived with their three children around 1857. Formerly a seaman, James made his living as a barber and a bible salesman, and was a popular orator at Emancipation Day celebrations in Keokuk, Mt. Pleasant, and DesMoines. Nancy, had attended Oberlin's young ladies' course in 1847–1848 and "had ample experience and qualifications to teach school in Fairfield," was not likely to have been permitted to teach in Fairfield schools. She reportedly "sought amore lucrative employment and one which would keep her with her family, "opening a laundry and hiring several employees. The 1857 arrival date is extrapolated from information in the 1870 Federal Census forFairfield, which shows the three older Yancey children--Belle, Sonello, and Clay-having been born in Ohio, while the next oldest (Ida Mae, 13 years old) had been born in Iowa, along with

Annie (10), Nora (7) and Mary (5). Information on James's professions comes from Susan Fulton Welty, A Fair Field and information on his speaking engagements comes from Leslie A. Schwalm, "Emancipation Day Celebrations: The Commemoration of Slavery and Freedom in Iowa, "Annals of Iowa (Summer 2003).

 

James died unexpectedly on August 4, 1878, in Arkansas. There is no evidence of his burial there or here. Buried: (Nancy) Lot 205 W.1/2OFC; burial place of James H. Yancey is unknown, though his name appears on Nancy's headstone NANCY A. WIFE OF JAMES H. YANCEY BORN FEB. 12, 1831 DIED JAN. 7, 1903 "SHE HATH DONE WHAT SHE COULD"