Historical Tyson Landowners

Nelson tindall

Born to Mary Tindall and an unknown father, Nelson Tindall likely lived from 1800-1881, and owned land at present-day Tyson in 1838. If Tindall was the same person as Isaac Nelson Tindall, his wife was Jeanette Ferguson, and his children were Samuel Tindall, Isaac F. Tindall, Ann Eliza Tindall, and Robert A. Tindall.

Tindall was an enslaver. The 1850 U.S. Federal Census Slave Schedule, District 82 records Tindall enslaving four men in their twenties, six boys ages 4, 4, 7, 9 10 and 18, two women in their twenties, and four girls ages 1, 1, 2, and 10. Tindall and his mother, Mary Tindall, enslaved Alvin Coffey, Mahala Coffey, and their five children, Mary Coffey, Lavina Coffey, John Coffey, Alvin Coffey and Stephen Coffey. 

Alvin Aaron Coffey went on to write an autobiography, which provides much of what we know about him and the Tindalls. 

Coffey’s story is exceptional. He was born into slavery in Mason County, Kentucky. In 1834, his enslaver, Margaret Cook, sold him to Henry H. Duvall. He married Mahala Tindall on October 9, 1842. In 1846, Duvall sold Coffey to Dr. Bassett. Coffey labored on Bassett’s farm for three years before being forced to accompany his enslaver on a Gold Rush expedition that departed from St. Louis on April 2, 1849. Coffey was later sold to Nelson Tindall. He negotiated to go back to California with Tindall’s brother, and used the money he made to purchase his family’s freedom. 

 After his success in the gold mines, Coffey brought his family out to California to live with him. He raised horses for the US army, opened a laundry, farmed turkey, and opened a school for African American and Native American children in Shasta, California. He was the only African American person to be inducted into the California Society of Pioneers. He wrote an autobiography, as mentioned above, Book of Reminiscences.  

Resources 

Alvin Aaron Coffey (1822-1902). (n.d.). Retrieved June 20, 2024, from https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/coffey-alvin-aaron-1822-1902/ 

Biro, E. Tyson Border Polygon. (2023) Tyson Research Center.  

Isaac Nelson Tindall (1800-1881)—Find a Grave. (n.d.). Retrieved June 20, 2024, from https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/107906036/isaac_nelson-tindall 

Kearns, E. Tindall’s Land 1838 ArcGIS Polygon. (2024) Washington University in St. Louis.  

St. Louis Integrated Database of Enslavement | Washington University in St. Louis. (n.d.). Retrieved June 17, 2024, from https://sites.wustl.edu/enslavementstl/search/.  

This Tyson landowner profile was researched and written by Undergraduate Fellow Emmett Kearns and edited by Undergraduate Fellow Juliana Morera during summer 2024.