The Washingtons of Wessyngton Plantation: Stories of My Family's Journey to Freedom
by John F. Baker, Jr.
To be Published by Atria Books a Division of Simon & Schuster February 2009

Documents

Wessyngton Slave Birth Register 1795 to 1860.

Baker used hundreds of documents like this one to trace his own ancestry and the hundreds of other slave families on Wessyngton Plantation.

1802 Slave bill of sale.

Another document found in the Washington Family Papers which aided Baker in his research of Wessyngton slave families.

It lists the name of his great-great-great-grandmother Jenny Blow Washington b. 1792 in Sussex County,Virginia. Jenny's family is the oldest Wessyngton family that can be traced to present day descendants.

Jenny and her sister Sarah were brought to Tennessee from Virginia by Joseph Washington, Wessyngton's founder.

Articles

"African American History of Wessyngton Plantation"

"Slave Cabins Site of Archaeological Dig"

"Washington Family Makes Plantation Biggest in Nation"

"Descendants of Former Slaves Trace Roots Back to County's Beginnings"

"Celebrating Black History Month with Local Family History"

"A Chance Discovery Sends a Man on a Fascinating Journey Through His Family's Past"

"DNA Bridges Gap for African American Genealogical Research"

Interviews

Joseph Washington (1895-2002) on his 102nd birthday. Joseph was born at Wessyngton Plantation in a former slave cabin. His father Gabriel Washington was the last Washington slave who remained on the plantation after emancipation.

Ann Nixon Cooper on her 100th birthday. Mrs. Cooper is now 106 years old and lives in Atlanta, Georgia. Mrs. Cooper's adopted mother was born a slave on Wessyngton Plantation.

The Research

Baker's primary source of research has been the Washington Family Papers housed in the Tennessee State Library and Archives in Nashville. In the course of thirty years of research Baker has viewed nearly seventy rolls of microfilm countless times to unravel his ancestry and the other Wessyngton slave families.

He has also used public records such as wills, deeds, census records, marriage records, court records, minute books, slave bills of sales, Freedmens Bureau records and many others.

As Baker has traced some of the slaves before their arrival at Wessyngton, he has used records from Virginia, Kentucky, North and South Carolina.

Articles on Wessyngton and Local History

Families and Cabins: Archaeological and Historical Investigations at Wessyngton Plantation. The Search for My African American Ancestry. August 1994.

The Robertson County Times, "Celebrating Black History Month with Local Family History." February 15, 2006.

The Robertson County Times, "Descendants of Former Slaves Trace Roots Back to County's Beginning." February 8, 2006.

The Robertson County Times, "The African American History of Wessyngton Plantation." February 1, 2006.

The Robertson County Times, "African American Businesses of 13th Avenue and Cheatham Street." February 23, 2005.

The Robertson County Times, "First African Americans in Robertson County." February 16, 2005.

The Robertson County Times, "Many African American Soldiers were in Union Army." February 5, 2005.

The Robertson County Times, "The African American Church in Robertson County." February 1, 2005.

The Robertson County Times, "Steeped in Robertson County History, The Bransford Family Stands Out." February 25, 2004.

The Robertson County Times, "DNA Bridges Gap for African American Genealogical Research." February 11, 2004.

The Robertson County Times, "Remembering African American Firsts." February 16, 2000.

Tennessee Home of the World's Finest Celebrating 200 Years, 1996. Provided African American history of Robertson County, Tennessee for its bicentennial.

The Robertson County Times, "Washington Family Made Plantation Biggest in Nation." June 26, 1996.

The Robertson County Times, "Monument Marks Slaves' Final Rest." April 19, 1995.

The Tennessean, "His Roots to be Carved in Stone 39 Ancestors to be Memorialized." April 12, 1995.

The Tennessean, "Chance Glimpse of Photo Unravels Story of a Family: Discovery of Photo in History Book Leads to African Heritage." 1994.

The Tennessean, "Slave Cabins Site of Archaeological Dig." September 25, 1991.

The Interviews

Baker has interviewed more than twenty-five children and grandchildren of former Wessyngton slaves (ranging in age from 85 to 106) during his thirty plus years of research. They shared with him the many stories related to them first hand by their ancestors.

He has also interviewed descendants of the plantation owners. Many of their stories are remarkably similar.

This project is ongoing as Baker meets new people with ties to Wessyngton.