Posts Tagged ‘Civil War’
Monday, October 5th, 2009
Wessyngton Slave Cabins
Housing for slaves varied from plantation to plantation depending on the owners. Most slave quarters were generally arranged in avenues or streets and located behind the mansion or ‘Big House.’ They were strategically placed to give the owner or overseer a clear view of the slaves, so their activities could be easily monitored.
The slave settlement at Wessyngton Plantation, however, did not fit this pattern. The lack of a clustered settlement pattern at Wessyngton was somewhat unusual during antebellum times. This was primarily due to the hilly topography of the plantation. The scattered pattern gave the slaves at Wessyngton more freedom and made it far more difficult to keep them under constant surveillance.
Typically, slave housing at Wessyngton consisted of hand-hewn one-room log cabins measuring 20 by 20 square feet with brick end chimneys. Some cabins were 18 by 36 square feet. Each cabin had log flooring and a loft, where children slept.
Each cabin housed an average of six individuals. Family sizes varied depending on the number births, deaths and marriages.
Tags: African American Family Life in Slavery, African Slavery, Antebellum Mansion, Antebellum Plantation, Big House, Civil War, Great House, Log Cabin, Log Housing, Overseer, Slave cabins, Slave Family, Slave Houses, Slave Housing, Slave Plantation
Posted in Civil War, Genealogy & DNA, Interviews, Introduction & Personal, Plantation Life, Research | 1 Comment »
Sunday, September 6th, 2009
List of Men and Boys on Wessyngton Plantation 1856
Plantation owners used records such as slave bills of sales, birth registers, and many other documents to keep an accurate count of their slaves’ births, deaths, and their production on plantations and farms. These documents are invaluable in tracing African American genealogy.
The document above is a list of enslaved African American men and boys on Wessyngton Plantation in 1856 owned by George A. Washington. Slave owners had to pay taxes on their slaves from age twelve to fifty, so the list only identifies those in that age range who were a part of the plantation labor force. Many of the individuals are listed with surnames: Davis, Fairfield, Gardner, Holman, Lewis, Price, Smith, Terry, Vanhook, White and Woodard. The use of these surnames made it possible to locate them and their previous slave owners. Many of them were also found on the 1870 U. S. Census living on or near Wessyngton Plantation.
In 1964, the Washington family deposited all their family papers and plantation records in the Tennessee State Library and Archives in Nashville. Hundreds of these documents shed light on the lives of hundreds of African Americans enslaved there.
Tags: African American Genealogy, African American History, African American Surnames, Black Genealogy, Civil War, Genealogical Research, Naming Patterns, Plantation Life, Plantation Records, Roots, Slave Surnames
Posted in Civil War, Genealogy & DNA, Plantation Life, Research | No Comments »
Tuesday, August 4th, 2009
Letter from Queen Elizabeth
Queen Elizabeth acknowledged the receipt of a signed copy of my book. As is the custom, her lady-in-waiting wrote me. The royal seal indicated that the Queen was at her summer residence, Balmoral Castle in Scotland.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balmoral_Castle– for your info.
Tags: African American History, Balmoral Castle, Buckingham Palace, Civil War, Genealogical Research, President Washington, Queen Elizabeth, Royal Family, Slavery, Tennessee history, Washington family
Posted in Civil War, Current Events, Genealogy & DNA, Interviews, Introduction & Personal, Plantation Life, Research | 4 Comments »
Monday, May 18th, 2009
Baker at the Hermitage
On May 17th a dedication ceremony was held at The Hermitage, the plantation owned by President Andrew Jackson, in honor of 60 African Americans who had been enslaved on the Ingleside and Cleveland Hall Plantations. Both plantations were owned by nephews of Rachel Jackson and had ties to the enslaved population at The Hermitage.
As reported by the Associated Press, a memorial sculpture of seven oak trees in the shape of the Little Dipper was laid out among a circle of thirty boulders. The piece by Lee Benson is named “Our Peace, Follow the Drinking Gourd.” Slaves fleeing to the North would follow the North Star, one of the stars in the Little Dipper.
Following the ceremony I gave a presentation and did a book signing. It was a very special and meaningful event.
Tags: Andrew Jackson, Civil War, Cleveland Hall, Enslaved Memorial, Hermitage, Ingleside, Rachel Jackson, Tulip Grove
Posted in Book Tour & Reviews, Civil War, Current Events, Genealogy & DNA, Interviews, Introduction & Personal, Plantation Life, Research | No Comments »
Monday, May 18th, 2009
My half-hour television interview with John Seigenthaler Sr, A Word on Words, is available as a free downloadable Podcast.
http://www.wnpt.org/productions/wow/
Mr. Seigenthaler asked me many in-depth thought-provoking questions. At the end, he said, “I learned more from your book than I learned from reading my friend Alex Haley’s book called Roots.” I hope you enjoy the interview. Leave a comment with your reaction.
Tags: Abraham Lincoln, African American History, Black History Month, book review, Civil War, DNA Research, Emancipation, family history, family tree, Genealogy & DNA, George Washington, John F. Baker Jr., John Siegenthaler, plantation slavery, Reconstruction, Roots, Simon & Schuster, Tennessee slavery, Washington family, Wessyngton Plantation, WNPT, Word On Words
Posted in Book Tour & Reviews, Civil War, Current Events, Genealogy & DNA, Interviews, Introduction & Personal, Plantation Life, Research, Videos & Audios | No Comments »
Monday, May 18th, 2009
USCT from Wessyngton
On Memorial Day, we need to take a moment to tell our children about their ancestors who fought for freedom and America. During the Civil War, our ancestors fled slavery and the plantations and joined the Union Army to fight for freedom. We must never forget the sacrifices of our ancestors that we might enjoy freedom today.
Tags: African American History, August 8th, black history, Civil War, Contraband, Contraband Camps, Emancipation, Emancipation Proclamation, Freedmen, Freedmens Bureau, Ft. Negley, Ranaway Slaves, Union Army, Union Troops, United States Colored Troops
Posted in Civil War, Current Events, Genealogy & DNA, Interviews, Introduction & Personal, Plantation Life, Research | No Comments »
Friday, March 13th, 2009
I invite you to listen to an indepth interview: On with Leon Presents John F. Baker Jr. with host Dr. Leon Wilmer.
http://www.wilmerleon.com/shows/022109-JB.mp3
Tags: African American History, Black History Month, Civil War, DNA Research, Dr. Leon Wilmer, education, Emancipation, Genealogy & DNA, Slavery, Tennessee history, Wessyngton
Posted in Book Tour & Reviews, Civil War, Current Events, Genealogy & DNA, Interviews, Introduction & Personal, Plantation Life, Research, Videos & Audios | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009
I invite you to watch a short video in which I describe my research:
Wessyngton Plantation Research
Tags: African American, Black History Month, Civil War, dna, Emancipation, Genealogy & DNA, history, Plantation, Research, Roots, Slavery, Washington, Wessyngton
Posted in Current Events, Genealogy & DNA, Interviews, Plantation Life, Research, Videos & Audios | No Comments »
