A death certificate placed the Thompsons on Taylor-owned land, proving kinship.

Evidence

My mom spoke of Renty Taylor Thompson’s brother George. In a miraculous discovery, George Thompson’s death certificate reveals that he lived and died in Columbia, that his mother was Tena, and his father was Renty. But most remarkably, the certificate determines the domicile of the decedent as “Arthurtown,” which, prior to 1871, was land owned by Benjamin Franklin Taylor. George Thompson’s death record offers a very compelling argument. It points to a kinship between the Taylors and Thompsons; even more incredibly, this record places my ancestors not only in Columbia but on land owned by the slave owner Benjamin Franklin Taylor. — Tamara Lanier, From These Roots, 1155