Sara’s Fountain Pen is a blog about family, history, culture, and land.

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The mystery of some property that seemed to have vanished from our grip almost five generations ago, and a ticking time clock, have made us more than just a little bit nervous about our obligations to both those ancestors who have gone on before us and the generations we’re leaving behind. I am calling this a “Research and Recovery” project. My plan is to probe this query in a public forum, use researched information that will strip it of all its ambiguities and duplicities, and employ whatever legal remedies necessary that will answer the questions of who, what, When and Why of this quandary.

In Search of Our Mother’s Garden 

It has been said that life—-with all its mysteries and mystics—gives us our greatest gift, or our worst luck, in the people to whom we are born. If this is true, or even tenable, then we, the children of Susie Nettles Fountain and Willie Lee Fountain were most highly favored  and wonderfully blessed.  Both of our parents were born in the same small rural town in the Alabama backwoods. Our father met and married Our Mother when she was just eighteen, and brought her to the “Old Dump” house to begin their lives together. The year was 1935.

Introducing: the Research and Recovery Project

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In Search of My Mother’s Garden
In Search of My Mother’s Garden

Our father, in moments of wit or jest, often described Our Mother as “ a pretty thang.” And she was. She was also spirited, maybe even a little vain and naive, and sometimes, a wee bit goofy. She loved her hair (she said it was her glory), her hats, her home and her husband. These were also the things that gave Our Mother a lot of sway with our father, which, occasionally, she leveraged. Nevertheless, he was her protector, her provider and her partner. And these were not just words; they were evidenced in his attitude and behaviors. Conversely, she was the keeper of his home, his children, his dreams, his secrets, and his best self. These were not just words either.

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How Heirs and Property Owners Can Prevent Loss of Their Property
How Heirs and Property Owners Can Prevent Loss of Their Property

After the Civil War, Black farmers had the most farmland they would ever own in the United States — almost 20 million acres. But decade after decade, a host of race-related atrocities (often perpetuated with the help of the government), virtually stripped this land from the hands of Black farmers. With very few exceptions, most of these involuntary land losses were generated from policies and procedures that involved dispossession loopholes. So the long question now is: what can property owners do to prevent further erosion of this now scarce commodity? The short answer is: Not much and Everything.

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Heirship and Land Loss
Heirship and Land Loss

Property that is passed down through generations and shared by relatives is called heirship, commonly referred to as heirs’ property. This is because property passed down in this manner (intestate) is done so without the benefits of a will. Without a will designating to whom the property belongs, all blood relatives become heirs; i.e. they all own equal share of the property. Land ownerships held by an assortment of heirs can be tricky to navigate. Without proof of transfer (a clear title), it is often difficult to determine who the actual owners are, especially if the deeds remain in the deceased person(s) name(s).

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Avoiding Dispossession Loopholes
Avoiding Dispossession Loopholes

What can we do, in 2023 and onward, after so much Black involuntary land loss (20 million acres by 1910; 14+ million acres since)? The lesson learned is to hold on tighter to those few acres of blood, sweat and generational tears that remain in the sacred core of our ancestors’ hopes, dreams and fears. Disparities in the social justice systems and our inability to secure and sustain these systems are still in the troubling stage. This is why a plan for the transfer of your property (a will or transfer on death deed) should be the first order of your land ownership business. DO IT!

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