Originally published May 24, 2017, 3:30 PM

Dr. James Thornton, who made his mark as a dentist in what is now known as Harlem New York, had parents, brothers and sisters who resided at some point during their lives in what is now popularly referred to as Oberlin Village, in Wake County North Carolina, within a few miles from downtown Raleigh.  Great uncles and relation could very well be buried in Oberlin Cemetery.

Census records show occupations such as bricklayers for the oldest son of record, that is of the Civil War soldier Thornton; however, that may not have been the only occupation, nor major undertakings especially in terms of responsibility.

Jumping around a bit, in the days of early settlement of Virginia, 1600s, 1700s, indications hold that there are relatives of ours had occupations on record such as 'shoemaker', while owning anywhere from a hundred to a few thousand acres in Virginia.  As far as constructing shoes 8 hours a day 5 days a week, might be another matter.  

Generally, terminology such as 'farmer', 'planter', are often found in records of many of those that settled in America in the Colonial era, easily understood, what constituted the purview of a farmer or planter a few hundred years ago does not necessarily equivocate to what is implied today, a farmer that owns one or two square miles of farmland, has a few tractors, and sells crop; back in the 17 and 1800s, these terms could refer to wealthy estate owners with multitudes of workers and family living on that land.

The 'occupation' on census records, can thus be a summary nomenclature and choice of words to annotate a census record.

Secondly, referring to the timeline of events from pre-Civil War days to post Civil War days, a cut-and-dried scenario and social construct of a 'Freedman' went to Oberlin Village, and Oberlin Village was a place set aside for slaves and formerly 'African American' that did not necessarily have full status as 'free' prior to, as the tone suggests, was not always that simplified for all residents that made their home Oberlin.

Case in point, Civil War soldier Thornton, in what appears to be in our agnatic ancestry [me, my father, ... father's father line of Thornton] moved in with his in-laws.  The in-laws had history, meaning land they owned, occupations, and so forth.

Racial categorization lines were drawn up and revised over time.  For example before and after the Trail of Tears era.  What was involved insofar ancestral lines of one 'race' was changed to allow for varying amounts of other 'races' in the ancestry to be considered in the former.  Of course sometimes it was not always the ancestral lines that made a person of a particular 'race', it could have been the 'race' that person married to, for example.

Altogether, Oberlin and surrounding area, is beyond a narrow scope of  solely a locale for 'blacks', 'African Americans', 'slaves' or 'Freedmen'; like many geographic locations, it is land created by the Creator, and the exact facts of what is and was upon that land is what it is.

Mordecai, according to handwritten land records, was involved in the story of lands the Thornton family and relatives interfaced with.

We are very thankful for the great efforts made by those that have been working to preserve Oberlin Village.  Recently, the past 10 years, there has been a surge of the preservation efforts, which is sincerely admirable and appreciated.

Update January 24, 2020: 

Oberlin Village is currently undergoing both preservation efforts and development going on in the area where old properties that were occupied in the Reconstruction era are being taken down. A landmarker as of this date, 24th of January, 2020, sits, wherein the content does not necessarily address all occupants of Oberlin Village, at least not then, and does not seem to fully encompass what I know, handed down from previous generations, plus genealogy research, about the Thornton and related families there. A copy of the letter written to Friends of Oberlin Village that has been sent, prerequisite to request to revise the landmarker is here: Concerns about Historic Matters in Oberlin Village