An enslaved child’s surname changed when he was sold to a new plantation

Evidence

“Fred was born to the former slave Renty Taylor Thompson,” the story continued. “Fred later recalls his father recanting a story when he, at age ten, was sold along with his mother to the Thompson Plantation. Renty was born Renty Taylor and after the trade assumed the name Renty Taylor Thompson. Renty later married a girl named Ophelia Murdock and to this union was born ten children.” — Tamara Lanier, From These Roots, 61

Categorization

• DEFINE: The name change from Renty Taylor to Renty Taylor Thompson captures how enslavers imposed surnames on the enslaved, which will matter later in the legal dispute over identity.
• XREF: Connects to white naming conventions erasing enslaved identities — relevant to how Harvard’s archives later documented ‘Papa Renty’ and ‘Delia’ by their enslaver’s surname.