THE FAMILY
Who Were Jessee & Anna Donaldson?
Born in Huntsville, Alabama in 1846, Jessee was believed to be the son of Levi Donaldson, his white plantation owner & enslaver, and Sarah. Levi and Levi’s wife Charlotte (Ammonette) Donaldson enslaved Sarah and her four children, including Jessee, at the former home of Elizabeth Routt in Hazel Green. Levi listed Jessee as “mulatto” in the 1860 U.S. Federal Census. In 1862, Jessee escaped the plantation and joined Union recruiters, making the perilous journey to Shelbyville, Tennessee, enlisting and serving during the Civil War in the
United States Colored Infantry 15th Regiment. He was also a combat veteran sustaining lifelong significant injury.
After the war, Jessee lived in Pulaski, Tennessee in the 1870s, and eventually settled in Trenton, Georgia. In 1871, Jessee was accused of stealing hogs and was jailed in the Giles County Courthouse in Pulaski until 1873. He married Anna Smalley in 1875 and they began a family. In the 1880s, Jessee was approached by Black American community leader, labor recruiter, and politician James Shepperson, to relocate to the Pacific Northwest. Shepperson had become enamored by the area’s natural beauty and decided to relocate from Virginia and work for the Northern Pacific Railroad. Jessee elected to remain behind with the rest of the family to obtain his pension, for which he had been denied multiple times.
After much consideration, it was decided that Jessee’s oldest son General (“Jeneral”), who was 13 at the time, would go alone & scout ahead. General boarded a train that picked up more Black American families across Tennessee. In Saint Paul, Minnesota, Pinkerton Guards, hired by the Northern Pacific Coal Company, boarded the train. Unbeknownst to these passengers, they had de facto been hired to break a white coal miner’s strike. In May 1891, General disembarked in Cle Elum, WA, with the train traveling further west to Franklin, WA, facing hostility and violence from the striking white coal miners. Estimates range with an upper end of approximately 2,000 African American laborers recruited to mine statewide, many of whom were directly recruited by Shepperson.
Jessee & Anna moved the family from Tennessee to join General, arriving in Roslyn in August 1894. Jessee worked in the coal mines and farmed his land, and purchased land for his family’s home in 1897. Anna served as President of the Women’s Home and Foreign Convention and took leadership roles with the Baptist Church. In 1904, Jessee finally received pension approval, though Anna sadly passed away the same year from tuberculosis. In August 1913, Jessee moved to the Washington State Soldiers Home in Orting, WA, and he died at his home in Roslyn in November 1913.
Jessee and Anna’s seven surviving children began families of their own throughout Washington State, including Seattle, Bellevue, Kirkland, Renton and Yakima. Descendants of Jessee and Anna’s seven children represent seven branches of the Donaldson extended family today.
Born in Huntsville, Alabama in 1846, Jessee was believed to be the son of Levi Donaldson, his white plantation owner & enslaver, and Sarah. Levi and Levi’s wife Charlotte (Ammonette) Donaldson enslaved Sarah and her four children, including Jessee, at the former home of Elizabeth Routt in Hazel Green. Levi listed Jessee as “mulatto” in the 1860 U.S. Federal Census. In 1862, Jessee escaped the plantation and joined Union recruiters, making the perilous journey to Shelbyville, Tennessee, enlisting and serving during the Civil War in the
United States Colored Infantry 15th Regiment. He was also a combat veteran sustaining lifelong significant injury.
After the war, Jessee lived in Pulaski, Tennessee in the 1870s, and eventually settled in Trenton, Georgia. In 1871, Jessee was accused of stealing hogs and was jailed in the Giles County Courthouse in Pulaski until 1873. He married Anna Smalley in 1875 and they began a family. In the 1880s, Jessee was approached by Black American community leader, labor recruiter, and politician James Shepperson, to relocate to the Pacific Northwest. Shepperson had become enamored by the area’s natural beauty and decided to relocate from Virginia and work for the Northern Pacific Railroad. Jessee elected to remain behind with the rest of the family to obtain his pension, for which he had been denied multiple times.
After much consideration, it was decided that Jessee’s oldest son General (“Jeneral”), who was 13 at the time, would go alone & scout ahead. General boarded a train that picked up more Black American families across Tennessee. In Saint Paul, Minnesota, Pinkerton Guards, hired by the Northern Pacific Coal Company, boarded the train. Unbeknownst to these passengers, they had de facto been hired to break a white coal miner’s strike. In May 1891, General disembarked in Cle Elum, WA, with the train traveling further west to Franklin, WA, facing hostility and violence from the striking white coal miners. Estimates range with an upper end of approximately 2,000 African American laborers recruited to mine statewide, many of whom were directly recruited by Shepperson.
Jessee & Anna moved the family from Tennessee to join General, arriving in Roslyn in August 1894. Jessee worked in the coal mines and farmed his land, and purchased land for his family’s home in 1897. Anna served as President of the Women’s Home and Foreign Convention and took leadership roles with the Baptist Church. In 1904, Jessee finally received pension approval, though Anna sadly passed away the same year from tuberculosis. In August 1913, Jessee moved to the Washington State Soldiers Home in Orting, WA, and he died at his home in Roslyn in November 1913.
Jessee and Anna’s seven surviving children began families of their own throughout Washington State, including Seattle, Bellevue, Kirkland, Renton and Yakima. Descendants of Jessee and Anna’s seven children represent seven branches of the Donaldson extended family today.
Videos
"The Forgotten Pioneers", produced by Nerissa Williams and Lisa Cohen - Washington Centennial Ethnic Heritage Project. “First Sunday” series. KIRO-TV, 1988 - https://archive.org/details/SMA_8831
“When History is Your Story” virtual program co-organized by the Black Heritage Society of Washington State and the Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI). February 24, 2021. Ryan Anthony Donaldson with co-storytellers Eddie Rye and Chardonnay Beaver. Event link: https://mohai.org/event/when-history-is-your-story/ & video recording: https://youtu.be/KmvMocn3m2Y
Jessee Donaldson Living History Portrayal. Roslyn Cemetery Kiosk Dedication. Script written by family members Al "Butch" Smith & Ryan Anthony Donaldson. Reading by Raymond Donaldson, Jessee's great great grandson. May 29, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Em8Tr3upHqU
The Donaldson Odyssey Extended: Tracing A Family Genealogy From the Deep South to the Pacific Northwest. Roslyn Ronald Cle Elum Heritage Club presentation given at the Cle Elum Eagles and via Zoom by Ryan Anthony Donaldson. October 13, 2021. Video recording: https://youtu.be/1uRwxLuIIO8