Grassdale, also documented as the John Coleman House, was a Coleman family property near Eutaw in Greene County, Alabama. This page brings together the main record groups useful to descendants and local-history researchers.

LocationEutaw, Greene County, Alabama
EstablishedFamily settlement, 1817–1819
Associated surnameColeman
Also known asJohn Coleman House

Historical outline

John Coleman travelled from Edgecombe County, North Carolina, to Greene County in 1817 with an enslaved man named Trim. Coleman returned with his family in 1819. A federal land grant associated with the property was signed by President James Monroe in 1824. The surviving house is listed in Alabama preservation records under both John Coleman House and Grassdale.

The Coleman family members connected with the property include John Coleman (1781–1852), Rhoda Cobb Coleman and their children. The 1850 federal census also identifies James H. Johnson as an overseer.

Records of enslaved people

The restored archive names Trim because he appears in the historical account. Most other people were recorded without names in federal slave schedules, so researchers should combine schedules with wills, probate files, deeds, church records and post-emancipation records.

  • The 1840 census recorded 75 enslaved people in John Coleman's household: 41 male and 34 female.
  • The 1850 slave schedule recorded 37 enslaved people associated with John Coleman.
  • The 1860 schedules contain separate entries for members of the Coleman family, including Rhoda, Wiley, James C. and Bestor Coleman.
Research caution: census schedule counts describe enslaver households, not necessarily a single workforce at one location. Verify identities across multiple records before connecting a person to Grassdale.

Research path

  1. Begin with the 1850 and 1860 Greene County federal population and slave schedules.
  2. Search Greene County probate, deed and estate records for Coleman family transfers and distributions.
  3. Compare ages and family groups with the 1870 population census, Freedmen's Bureau material and nearby church records.

Sources and further reading

Page restored and source-checked 23 August 2026.