Freeman is an
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
located in
Brunswick County, in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
.
Oral history of the origins of Freeman, Virginia
The oral history that is shared by members of th
Union Bethel RZUA Churchtells a story of two or three enslaved persons, some by the last name of
Callis Callis is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Ann Callis (born 1964), American judge
* Charles A. Callis (1865–1947), American Mormon leader
*Don Callis (born 1963), Canadian wrestler
* Henry Arthur Callis (1887–1974), American ...
. The brothers, Rufin and Ira Callis were told by their slave-master or owner in Louisiana that if he does not return alive from the Civil War that they are to be given their freedom and a certain amount of gold. The slave-master's last name was Callis; Rufin and Ira took it as their own.
When it became known that the owner died, the oral history goes, in 1866 the two Callis brothers, now free walked for about ten days to Totaro, Virginia. With their large sum of money they were referred to as Freeman. Rufin Callis purchased 900 acres of land for $1 per acre. Ira Callis also purchased "several hundreds" acres. The area is now known as "Freeman", which the named in honor of their freedom.
[The Genealogy Collection of Yigal M. Rechtman, Fort Lee, New Jersey]
The oral history tells that the land for the Union Bethel RZUA Church, the adjacent school building (now a cemetery), and the cemetery were parts of the purchased land that was donated to create the Church. To this day, members of the
Callis' and ''Robertson'' families own tract of lands in Freeman, Virginia
References
*
Unincorporated communities in Virginia
Unincorporated communities in Brunswick County, Virginia
{{BrunswickCountyVA-geo-stub