In a property estate document concerning a deceased man named Kenneth West from 1835, the now 9 year old Adolphus, that now listed as Dolphin was "valued" at $400. Dolphin was claimed by a relative, a possible nephew Kenneth West, name John Moore, who went by John "Bertie" Moore.

John Moore also born in Bertie County North Carolina had traveled West landing him some property in Haywood County Tennessee. John also acquired several other Enslaved black Americans from the county he was from in North Carolina bringing them out to his little over 1,000 acres of land, where he would harvest cotton.

Dolphin is believed to be brought out to Haywood County Tennessee around mid to late 1830s. To be Enslaved out in this new established plantation. Documents showed Dolphin remained on the property through the years of enslavement into the late 1800s during reconstruction. He year of death isn't certain, the last document i found was a then, sharecropping contract in 1884.

Dolphin was on the Moore plantation which was named Mooreland. Under enslavement, black Americans would typically go under the surname of the plantation owner. In the 1870s census, Dolphin showed up as Dolphin West, not Dolphin Moore.

Dolphus another name went by also Dolph, knew his true blood identity, going back to Bertie County NC. His biological father was a West, so he took that name back and empowered himself with his identity as that. He married a lady named Millie Estes and they had a total of 10 children.

Dolphin West is my 3 great grandfather. He's is who I look at our family's patriarch. Through the different generations that has followed him, his namesake has been given at least 7 times that ive found in documents. This tells me so much of how the family admired who he was for them.

One monumental decision in after enslavement, is taking his identity back with on how to address him. Mr. Dolphin West.
1826, now we're in 2026..200 years ago, our family's patriarch was born. Celebrating my family's bicentennial. I'll honor my 3 gr grandfather Dolph West throughout the year.

Happy 200th Grandfather Dolphin West and all of us that are descendants from him. Your presence still resonates in us and your name and your sacrifices are not forgotten.