Luke Sconiers

Quick Facts

Significance:

Alabama Homesteader

Place of Birth:

Dale County, Alabama

Date of Birth:

1854

Place of Death:

Geneva County, Alabama

Date of Death:

April 20, 1920

Luke Sconiers (Sconyers) was the son of King Solomon Alexander Sconyer and his partner Liddie who met in Dale County, Alabama. Luke's father and his uncle, King Dock Alexander Sconyers, were sons of an enslaved woman named Sophie Simmons. Their father was Sophie's enslaver, William "Billy" Alexander, who lived in Fort Gaines, Georgia. After their birth, the brothers were kept together and sold to Allen Sconyers who lived in Alabama. According to census records, Luke was likely born enslaved to Allen Sconyers in Clayhatchee, Alabama in approximately 1854.

Solomon and Dock remained in Dale County, Alabama through emancipation. They became registered voters in the state of Alabama in 1867. Luke may have witnessed his father and his uncle register to vote as emancipated men.

Luke was approximately sixteen years of age by the 1870 census. He lived with his father Solomon and stepmother, Mendy, in Geneva County, Alabama. Siblings, Phyllis and James, were also listed as part of the household. Three years later, Luke married Ellen Louisa Engram in 1873.

On January 24, 1879, Luke filed Homestead Application No. 8157 at the Circuit Court in Geneva County, Alabama. By the 1880 census, Luke and Ellen had five children: James Bartlett, Aaron Rasberry, Reuben H., Charlotte Victoria “Lottie”, and Daniel. Luke farmed the homestead while Ellen maintained the home as the Sconiers household grew.

Luke made his Final Affidavit on March 22, 1884, which stated that he settled on his land in 1875. According to his Testimony of Claimant form, he built a log dwelling, a meat house, and cleared 30 acres of land. By this point, he and Ellen had seven children. Witness testimonies were given by their neighbor Bedford Donnell and Ellen’s father, James Engram. Luke Sconiers land patent was issued by the United States government by President Grover Cleveland on March 30, 1885, twenty years after emancipation. The land patent granted him full ownership of the land he resided on since 1875.

Although Luke could not read or write, the importance of a patent issued by the President of the United States made a lasting impression on the Sconiers family. Luke's 160.33 acre homestead became the home of his seventeen children. He went on to purchase 240 more acres of land between 1886 and 1895. He and Ellen donated land for the Mount Mariah AME Church, as well as the Bellwood Star Lodge #269.

By 1910, forty-five years after emancipation, Luke at 62 years old remained on his property as owner, without a mortgage debt. Luke’s father Solomon lived with Ellen and Luke until his death in 1911. Ellen died on May 21, 1918 after 45 years of marriage.

The loss Luke experienced with the death of his son Reuben in 1909, his father Solomon in 1911, and his wife Ellen in 1918, took a toll on his health. Luke emphatically declared after Ellen’s death his desire to have one of his children, King Sconyers, be sole executor of the last Will and Testament of Ellen and to carry out all responsibilities since he was too old and infirmed to continue to do such. Luke died on April 20, 1920, two years after Ellen’s death. His death certificate was one of the only vital and public records available and it did not include by the Informant or the Recorder where Luke was buried.

Luke was born enslaved, lived through Emancipation, was a registered voter, owned land during the Reconstruction South, and used his freedom to become a Homesteader.

Patent Details - BLM GLO Records

~ Contributed by Charles Wilson

Charles Wilson

More about the contributor: Charles Wilson is a retired U.S. Navy Chaplain, former Veterans Affairs Chaplain and currently Chaplain at a correctional facility in San Diego, California.  His wife's family are descendants of King Dock and Luke Sconiers, and the land they homesteaded is still within the Sconiers family in Alabama today. He completed the Boston University Certificate in Genealogical Research program and the 2019-2020 ProGen Study Group. He is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG), Afro-American Historical Genealogical Society (AAHGS) and serves as Board Secretary and Founding Board Member of the David & Dovetta Wilson Scholarship Fund (DDWSF). Charles is the Sole Proprietor of Wilson Griot Legacy, a genealogical service. He is Project Administrator of the African American Griot Legacy Project for Gedmatch members. He is married to Burlenda and they have two adult daughters, Charla Wilson, Bonita Wilson-Falconer and son-in-law, Darryl Falconer II. Burlenda, Charla and Bonita are direct descendants of Luke Sconiers.