Many of the slaves had been forgotten to the world until the Virginia Historical Society received a $100,000 grant to pore over some of its 8 million unpublished manuscripts letters, diaries, ledgers, books and farm documents from Virginians dating to the 1600s and began discovering the long-lost identities of the slaves, said society president and CEO Paul Levengood. Cookie Policy He would charge $5 an acre for cleared land & let me pay for it by picking cotton at $1 per 100 pounds. For more on Able, see Able Family. His next ferry payment was to cross the Red River on July 11, likely on his way out of Alexandria. Dudley I think will die. Arrival of Mrs Spark and her son, other Mississippi refugees, who had found and brought Jack Lancaster. They lived in this original dwelling until 1853, when they began construction of Brandon Hall which was completed in 1856. Slavery in Virginia is not just a Virginia story. It wasn't until she returned to Mississippi with Brandon in 1866 that she gained her freedom; she continued to work for Brandon, now promised a salary of $10 a month, but she would say she was never paid. An affidavit provided by Brandon in a later lawsuit indicates he departed on July 1.5. Robert Payne, who attended Saturdays workshop, said hes been researching his family for the past 15 years, but finding information about his ancestors wasnt easy. Her captors destination was Lexington, Kentucky, where prices for slaves had risen in tandem with the Southern cotton economy. Stayed at a house in which the Ladies (3) of the house washed their feet (in our presence) in the common wash pan. S. Able who owns 3500 acres on the John Welch and Joseph Welch grants.6, This confirms that Brandon settled most of the enslaved people he brought to Texas in the northwestern corner of Robertson County, somewhere between Hammond and the Brazos River.7. Discovery Company. Reflects on James in the field. Learns that some have been plotting to start off for Miss. Though a fraction of what Wood had asked for, the amount would be worth nearly $65,000 today. After 1815, as white settlers rushed into the lower Mississippi River Valley, many looked to purchase slaves to cultivate the region's most profitable crop. Saving Slave Houses Project Preservationist Jobie Hill gave a tour of the Brandon Plantation in southern Virginia and talked about her Saving Slave Houses project and read more Report. But these people were writing down their inventory as if you would for insurance purposes. They also operate tours during the fall and spring pilgrimages. Cold front. But Wood's award, however insufficient, was not ineffectual. Slaves at the Boone Hall Plantation & Gardens. This list is by no means complete. Cirodes daughter and son-in-law, Josephine and Robert White, still lived in Kentucky and disagreed with Jane Cirodes manumission of Wood; they viewed her as their inheritance. Improve this listing Property amenities Free parking On October 29, 1840, Charlotte Hoggatt married Gerard Brandon III, who was the son of an early Governor of Mississippi and the grandson of a Revolutionary War Hero of the same name. Brandon Hall C1856. Today, it remains virtually unknown, even as reparations for slavery are once again in the headlines. The whole country bleeds and is in mourning. When she died in 1912, her suit was already forgotten by all except her son. Arranges situation for Phoebe.11 Feels gloomy, homesick. On July 1, 1863, just days before the U.S. Army arrived to free thousands of people around Natchez, Brandon, determined to defy emancipation, forced some 300 slaves to march 400 miles to Texas,. It remains the largest known sum ever granted by a U.S. court in restitution for slavery. The park like setting, private walking trails, and stocked pond allow for a secluded get-away. The Virginia Historical Society finds 3,200 slaves named in private documents, The unpublished documents are from Virginians' attics, basements and desk drawers, "We sold all the negros 43 in number at astonishingly large prices," an 1858 letter says, One user of the society's free database of slaves finds the owner of his great-great-great-grandfather. But Woods name never made it into the history books. This mansion on the outskirts of Natchez was once the centerpiece of a large cotton plantation located on the Natchez Trace. Drayton Hall's African American history interpretation began with Richmond Bowens, who was descended from enslaved African Americans at Drayton Hall. Terms of Use One Sunday afternoon in April 1853, Boyd tricked Wood into taking a carriage ride across the river. In 1969, civil rights leader James Forman issued a manifesto calling on churches and synagogues to pay half a billion dollars in reparations to black Americans. After Brandon pursued several possible places to rent in Texas, Joseph S. Able, a resident of Robertson County, offered Brandon a place on his land with 300 acres in cultivation 2 cabins & corn on the ground as well as use of a mill. Harrisonburg by the 16th, butcould not pass the pickets" and found that all the Ferries on Ouachita & Tensas were destroyed or strictly guarded. Backtracks to Alexandria. Brandon Hall is a beautifully restored plantation home that dates back to 1856. After Brandon and his wife died, the property changed hand numerous times, and with each sale, the vast acreage diminished. Then the crops of choice became cotton and indigo. Then, in 1878, jurors ruled that Ward should pay Wood for her enslavement. Gerod Brandon appears on the 1864 County Tax Rolls for Robertson County with no real estate, but 270 slaves valued at $108,000, as well as $5000 in Confederate Notes and $6,125 in horses, cattle, and other property. ( photo 1; photo 2 ) Her official freedom papers, at a courthouse in Cincinnati, had been destroyed in an 1849 fire, and her kidnappers had confiscated her personal copy. I wanted to really know. Brooding about home. Brandon was originally a vast land grant to John Martin, companion of Captain John Smith, on his first voyage to America. She is described as the familys faithful colored servant Henrietta. The building is an example of the fast-disappearing service structures that once were a ubiquitous feature of the Southern agrarian landscape. The site is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the final tour starts at 4 p.m. Few white Americans wished to dwell on those evils. Betsy brought $1400. Often they appeared in the records of the owners who owned slaves as human property, which to us sounds so obscene and alien, said Levengood, whos also a historian. Ancestry places birth on December 5, 1864., See also this genealogy page and the Gerard Brandon children website., See Steven Brooke, The Majesty of Natchez (Gretna, La. Danish West Indies, Denmark, Records of Enslaved People, 1672-1917 While Wood received $2,500 as compensation for more than 16 years of unpaid labor, her former enslaver, Ward, left an estate worth at least $600,000 when he died in 1894, a multimillionaire in today's terms. Fortunately for this country the institution of slavery has passed away, he had instructed the jurors, and we should not bring our particular ideas of the legality or morality of an institution of that character into Court or the jury-box. He had cautioned the jurors against an excessive award, claimingfalselythat many former slaveholders already regretted slavery. Ownership may have meant the purchase of a spouse, an individual's children, or other relatives who were not emancipated. In 1969, civil rights leader James Forman issued a manifesto calling on churches and synagogues to pay half a billion dollars in reparations to black Americans. She spent the first nights of her captivity locked inside two roadside inns. Report of a Mrs. More information can also be found at brandonhallplantation.com. Captivating Houses is NOT a real estate company, it is an opinion-based blog and does NOT represent any property or agency. This site contains affiliate links to products. Then, in 1848, Jane Cirode went to a county courthouse and registered Wood as free. (She is still living this October 6, 1932. (The plantations were part of his wife's dowry.) Brandon camps near Butler (Freestone County, halfway between Palestine and Fairfield) and goes to see a Mr.Morgan, apparently an acquaintance from Mississippi, who had brought slaves belonging to W. S. (or S. Reynolds and Lively got married at Boone Hall Plantation in Mount Pleasant, which features nine slave cabins, referred to as "Slave Street." The move was criticized at the time, but came under . The $2,500 verdict, the largest ever of its kind, offers evidence of the generational impact such awards can have. The bulk of his papers are in several collections at Historic Natchez Foundation. In the same tax rolls is a J. Goes Friday to see after some negroes I had hired in Falls Co. Stays with H. L. Bennett. I need to know my history, she said, adding the site may help her prove or disprove many of the things shes heard about her familys past. Harriss said many architectural features were kept true to the original design when the house was renovated in. and Mimy and three children $2505. This is a list of plantations and/or plantation houses in the U.S. state of Virginia that are National Historic Landmarks, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, other historic registers, or are otherwise significant for their history, association with significant events or people, or their architecture and design. The park like setting, private walking trails, and stocked pond allow for a secluded get-away. The family plans to occupy the. My children must thank me for the attempt to save [?] You have to read between the lines: Oh, they mention Amy in a letter, and then you have to read another letter in the collection to realize that Amy is a slave and not a family member, Levengood said. Grain and food were raised for local use. Born into bondage in Kentucky, Wood testified, she had been granted her freedom in Cincinnati in 1848, but five years later she was kidnapped by Ward, who sold her, and she ended up enslaved on a Texas plantation until after the Civil War. Major Boone was a successful planter and slave owner, and his plantation . All rights reserved. Few white Americans wished to dwell on those evils. herculoids gloop and gleep sounds Today, many reparations advocates look to legislation, targeting governments for their complicity in slavery and white supremacy. He owned 700 to 800 slaves on several plantations, and he put me to work at once in the cotton field, she said. The advanced search fields include the slaves first name or last name; gender; occupation; owners last name; date range; and record type. He had cautioned the jurors against an excessive award, claiming falsely that many former slaveholders already regretted slavery. A NCGenWeb Special Project Documented Slave Plantations of North Carolina is a comprehensive database of various plantations derived from a variety of information mediums. Negro slave owners were listed in 29 Kentucky counties (see below). The freedom suit had prevented Ward from selling Wood for nearly two years, but in 1855, he took her to a Kentucky slave-trading firm that did business in Natchez, Mississippi. Sometimes its a real detective work. Destructive 'Super Pigs' From Canada Threaten the Northern U.S. Did an Ancient Magnetic Field Reversal Cause Chaos for Life on Earth 42,000 Years Ago? The search for enslaved ancestors requires research in the records of slaveholding families. Its a model and I hope the rest of the states catch up real quickly.. Buttermilk at Robertsons. "I can't quite tell my age," Wood recalled in a newspaper interview in 1876, but she knew she was born enslaved to the Tousey family between 1818 and 1820. Wagons and wheels being fixed. Some newspapers even predicted that lawsuits like hers would proliferate. These slaves hadn't been disguised as 'servants . Brandon and Middleton travelling. The plantation is located on 4,500 of the original 7,000 acres patented to Captain John Martin (1562-1632) in 1616. The 1860 slave census shows 52 slaves on Fish Haul. In 1834, the teenager was bought by a merchant in Louisville and taken from her family. Two hundred and five years ago, on the night of January 8, 1811, more than 500 enslaved people took up arms in one of the largest slave rebellions in U.S. history. Cirode's daughter and son-in-law, Josephine and Robert White, still lived in Kentucky and disagreed with Jane Cirode's manumission of Wood; they viewed her as their inheritance. W.?) Milnor worried about his stock (thieves? Black men and women were first brought . Ward planned to make Wood the latest victim of this trade, but she resolved to fight. Cirode returned to France in 1844, abandoning his wife, Jane, who eventually took Wood with her to Ohio, a free state. It would have bought 20,000 in Confederate money at that time. Known as the Robintation Tree, it is said to have been quite feared by the slaves of the plantation. She was suing him for $20,000 in reparations. A letter Cornelia Jane Shields to James Brandons wife states that Mr. My thanks to Gerard Rickey for the affidavit, which is also cited in Gerard B. Rickey and Alan C. Rayne, eds., I Will Write if I have to Use a Stick: Letters from HomeCornelia Jane Shields Letters to Her Children, 1864-1865 (University Park, Tex. 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