Louis Mitchell Bass

Louis Mitchell Bass

Angela Walton-Raji

Quick Facts

Significance:

Veteran, Homesteader

Place of Birth:

Elkton, Giles County, Tennessee

Date of Birth:

1840

Place of Death:

Horatio, Sevier County, Arkansas

Date of Death:

June, 4 1915

Place of Burial:

Unknown

Louis Mitchell Bass was born a slave in Giles County, Tennessee. He was the son of Irving and Nancy, who were both slaves of Major John Bass of Elkton. 

Upon the death of Major Bass in 1860, some of the Bass estate was divided, and as debts were paid and gifts were made from the estate, the lives of the enslaved people were dramatically affected by this settlement. One of those affected was Mitchell.

Mitchell was sent as a "gift" to one of the daughters of Major Bass, and sent to live in Southwest Arkansas, near the town of Horatio. 

Not much was known about his life while enslaved in Arkansas forever separated from his family. It has been said that he was often working with sheep and wool, and spinning yarn.

Louis Mitchell would remain in Arkansas, for most of  his life, although he would often receive news and treasure news about the family that remained in Tennessee. Mitchell was known to be a strict disciplinarian and a devout family man. He would later keep in touch with one of the few remaining brothers who eventually left Tennessee and moved to Kansas. Two older brothers were in Texas, but Mitchell never saw them again.

Mitchell would marry twice in his lifetime, first to Susan Houston, and after she died he then married her sister Georgia Ann Houston.

He would raise a very large family in Horatio Arkansas, even renting land to families nearby. Agriculture was how he made a living, and the family would remain in the same Arkansas community until the 1940s. In the late 1800s Mitchell Bass obtained some of his land as a homesteader. One of his sons, Irving also later acquired land and the family prospered for many years off of the combined parcels acquired land

 ~ contributed by Angela Walton-Raji, homesteader descendant

Angela Waton-Raji is a descendant of homesteader Louis Mitchell Bass of Sevier County Arkansas and has documented his lineage back to pre-Civil War years in Tennessee. By documenting her ancestors as homesteaders several years ago, she confirmed the story of family land in their small community of Horatio, Arkansas.
Ms. Walton-Raji is nationally known for her genealogical research and work on Oklahoma Native American records and also of Freedmen’s Bureau records. In addition, she is a founding member of AfriGeneas.com, and a founding faculty member of the Midwest African American Genealogy Institute, in Ft. Wayne Indiana.

Ms. Walton-Raji has spoken nationally including Roots Tech, and numerous genealogical conferences from Washington DC to California. She has authored three books on Freedmen from the Five Tribes in Oklahoma—Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek and Seminole Nations. In 2019 she was awarded the Phyliss Wheatley Book Award for her book, Freedmen of the Frontier. She was also the first author to write a book on methods of researching Freedmen Records of Oklahoma. She maintains several blogs, a YouTube channel, and maintains a presence on several social media platforms. Angela Walton-Raji has a bachelor’s degree in Spanish from St. Louis University, and a master’s degree of Education from Antioch. She resides in Maryland where she continues to research and write.
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Louis Mitchell Bass - Land Patent

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