Henrietta Hawkins Amis - A Presidential Pardon

Well, this is something new (for me),

something I never even imagined I'd see; 

a Presidential Pardon on MY family tree!

This won't be a long post, but I'm so amazed, right now, I just want to share this new finding with the world! 🌎

I've discovered a Presidential Pardon on my family tree! Yes, that's right. My second cousin, 4x removed, Henrietta HAWKINS Amis, received a presidential pardon from President Andrew Johnson in 1865. Her "crime" was taking part in the "rebellion" against the government of the United States. 

Source: Ancestry.com U.S., Pardons Under Amnesty Proclamations, 1865-1869
(Click to enlarge.)

There were three of these proclamations issued but this round, in which my cousin received hers, was the last, and the only one in which pardons were offered after the end of the Civil War. After the recipient of the pardon swore the oath to the United States, all of their property was to be restored except (of course) any (former) human chattel. To read more, click here. 

Just as an added tidbit, I only recently discovered Cousin Henrietta's place amongst my ancestors, after coming upon a newspaper clipping of her death. She was the daughter of my first cousin, 5x removed, William J. Hawkins, who was Governor of North Carolina from 1811-1814. Since I don't have a photo of Henrietta, I'll include an artist's rendering of her dad.

Governor William Hawkins - 17th Governor of North Carolina

And, this is the article I found about Henrietta's death. The copy is a bit light, but it tells of her being "one of the largest and most successful planters" in the area and identifies her as a slave owner. (A quick check of the 1860 Slave Schedule for Louisiana's Madison Parish shows her owning 191 slaves on one of her properties.

Death of Henrietta Amis - Daughter of Gov. Hawkins Thu, Sep 19, 1889 – Page 2 · The Roanoke News (Weldon, Halifax, North Carolina) · Newspapers.com

You never know what you'll find while researching your family tree!

Thanks for reading. :)

Renate

Additional sources:

Andrew Johnson, "Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction," May 29, 1865, Civil War Era NC, accessed November 15, 2018, https://cwnc.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/items/show/13.

Wikipedia contributors. (2017, December 11). William Hawkins (governor). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 03:29, November 16, 2018, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=William_Hawkins_(governor)&oldid=814930227

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