joe mosley (mosler)
1860-1920
Life Story
Farmer • Son of the Reconstruction Generation
Early Life
Joe Mosley (also recorded as Mosler) was born around 1860, likely in Newton County, Mississippi, during the final years of slavery. He was part of the first generation of African American children to transition from enslavement into freedom following the Civil War.
On his death certificate, Joe’s mother was listed as Mirah Gipson, though other records connect him to the Mosley family of William Charley Mosley and Clarisy (Clarasy) Mosley, suggesting that extended kinship networks shaped his upbringing. The naming inconsistencies are typical of early 20th-century death records for African Americans, where informants sometimes supplied incomplete or mistaken information.
Marriage and Family Life
Joe Mosley married twice over the course of his life.
First Marriage (1885–1910)
On February 24, 1898, he appeared on a deed in which he was granted 20 acres of land for the sum of $112 from the Evans family in Section 18, Township 5, Range 11. His wife, whom he married around 1885, on the deed was Delany Evans Mosley (1860-Bef.1920). She jointly owned land with her siblings, Sena Evans (1848-1914), Emma Evans McAdory (1860-?), and sister-in-law, Millie Evans (1858-?), along with her sister-in-law’s two children, Viney Evans (1874-?) and Norflate Evans (1879-1943). The couple lived in Newton County, where Joe worked as a farmer, and his land was free of a mortgage.
On January 10, 1899, Joe and Delany purchased another 40 acres of land from W.B. Richardson for the sum of $150 in Section 18, Township 5, Range 11. On January 3, 1905, he purchased an additional 20 acres for the sum of $80 from his sister-in-law Millie and her two children. The last record found on Delany is the 1910 federal census.
Second Marriage (by 1919)
Joe Mosley appeared again on records on December 21, 1919, where he gifted his second wife Myra Mosley (born 1882), whom he referred to in the deeds as the love of his life, 20 acres of land. A few days later, before Christmas, he deeded her 100 acres of land. Joe, being an ill man, wanted to ensure that his land remained in family hands before he passed on January 19, 1920.
Occupation
Throughout his adult life, Joe worked as a farmer, a livelihood shared by many Black men in Newton County during this period. Farming required skill, strength, and endurance, as well as cooperation among relatives and neighbors. Joe’s work helped sustain not only his immediate family but the broader Mosley and Evans kin networks that shaped the Bethel/Altare community.
Illness and Death
Joe Mosley passed away on January 19, 1920, at approximately 60 years old. His cause of death was listed as nephritis, also known as Bright’s disease, a chronic kidney condition commonly noted on early Mississippi death certificates.
Nephritis was frequently associated with:
- untreated infections,
- long-term dehydration,
- harsh working conditions, or
- limited access to medical care—
all of which disproportionately affected rural African Americans of the era.
The informant on his death certificate was Ben Walker, indicating close ties between the Mosley, Walker, and Evans families. Myra was listed as his wife at the time of his death.
Joe’s place of burial was not recorded on the certificate, though based on family patterns, it is likely that he was laid to rest in or near the Evans Cemetery or another burial ground used by the extended Mosley family.
Legacy
Joe Mosley lived during a period of dramatic change—from slavery’s final years to Reconstruction to the dawn of Jim Crow. Though records of his life are limited, the traces he left in census reports, marriage documents, land deeds, and his death certificate reveal a man deeply embedded in the fabric of Newton County’s Black farming community.
His descendants and relatives continued to shape the history of Bethel, Altare, and the surrounding communities, carrying forward the strength and endurance of the Mosley line.
Resting Place
Photos/Albums
Sources
- 1900 Federal Census
- 1910 Federal Census
- 1920 Federal Census
- Mississippi, U.S., Index to Deaths, 1912-1943
- Newton County, Mississippi Land Deeds
- U.S., Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current
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