William Jasper Blackmon: “Old Moneybags”

Understanding More About the Father of William Mack Blackmon

Introduction

William Jasper “Jasper” Blackmon was a prosperous farmer, merchant, landowner, and family patriarch whose life connected the Blackmon family to the White Bluff and Kershaw communities of Lancaster County, South Carolina.

In Murder and Mayhem in Old Kershaw and in Nearby Sections of Lancaster, Kershaw and Chesterfield Counties, local historian Miles Gardner recounts Jasper’s financial success, the reputation he developed in the community, and a violent 1892 robbery at his home. The story offers a rare glimpse into Jasper’s life, wealth, family relationships, and standing in the area during the late nineteenth century.

Historical-name note: The book refers to him as “William J. Blackmon.” Blackmon family research identifies him as William Jasper Blackmon.

What the Book Says About Jasper

Miles Gardner describes William J. Blackmon as a prosperous farmer living in the White Bluff area of Lancaster County. According to Gardner, Blackmon accumulated considerable wealth and became widely known in the community for keeping significant amounts of money at his home and on his person.

The account also places him within a larger network of Lancaster and Kershaw families. It discusses his connections to the Catoe family and identifies children and relatives who later lived in or near Kershaw.

Gardner writes that Blackmon opened the first store in Kershaw. By the time his wife Polly died in 1887, he had become so well known for his financial success that people called him “Old Moneybags.”

A Closer Look at “Old Moneybags”

The nickname “Old Moneybags” appears to have reflected Jasper’s reputation as a financially successful man rather than being his formal name or title.

Gardner portrays him as someone who had accumulated enough wealth to be considered one of the more prosperous residents of his community. His decision to keep money at home was understandable in an era before federal deposit insurance, but it also exposed him to considerable danger once others learned about the cash.

The story is especially meaningful because it documents a Black man who acquired property, operated a business, maintained considerable personal wealth and supported a large family during the decades following slavery and Reconstruction.

However, the book does not provide a complete accounting of exactly how Jasper accumulated all of his wealth. It attributes his standing primarily to farming, land, commerce and the store he reportedly established. Those claims should be compared with deeds, agricultural schedules, tax records, probate files, business records and census documents before presenting every detail as independently verified fact.