A Teachable Moment

One of our student workers who was working in Interlibrary Loan came to me to ask for assistance locating an "article" she needed to retrieve. As I looked at the request, I noticed that the requesting library wanted to borrow 4 microfilmed rolls of the 1850 slave schedules. I told her that they were really wanting to borrow the microfilm (which we do not loan via ILL). She showed that the library had filled in the article line with "slave schedules." I decided to show her what the slave schedules were. I popped up the 1850 Jefferson County, Tennessee slave schedule and showed her how it listed the slave owners and the demographics for each slave. I told her that it did not name the slaves -- just the owners. It really caught her interest, and she began to ask questions. I told her that she could often find the names of the slaves in deeds and in probate records. She was amazed that these records still existed. I'm glad I took the time to show her what had been requested. I hope it may have sparked an interest in genealogical research.

Magnolia Plantation & Gardens

Amy Kime Arner posted a link on Facebook today to an Associated Press article about the slave cabins on Magnolia Plantation. That reminded me of my visit to that plantation about four years ago. When I discovered that I had not placed pictures of my visit online, I decided that it was time to place a few on the blog.

Above: This is one of the slave cabins. I would love to see the restoration that they mentioned. Perhaps I'll be able to do that when NGS visits Charleston in 2011 if I don't make it there before then. More information is available on the Slave Cabin Restoration Project.
This is the plantation house. It was built before the Revolutionary War, according to the Web site. I don't recall how many prior houses the tour guides told us there had been, and I did not see that information on the Web site.
This was a swampy area that I seem to remember being near the slave cabins. It was beautiful. There were alligators sunning themselves on specially placed boards in the midst of these swampy spots.
This is along the Ashley River which borders the property. It's one of my favorite photos from the trip.
Since Magnolia Plantations has absolutely gorgeous gardens, I would be remiss not including a photo of some of the beautiful plants. I chose these lovely blooms.

Abolition & The Underground Railroad in East Tennessee

On the Freedom Train in Jefferson County:Stories of the Tennessee Manumission Society & Underground Railroad

WHAT: An evening of meal-sharing, fellowship, worship, song, and learning. We'll share a pot-luck supper; have a ceremony of remembrance for those faithful souls who founded the South's first abolitionist society in New Market and the brave black and white people who ran our local system of hiding places and transportation for slaves escaping to freedom; take time to worship together; and enjoy musical and panel presentations to learn about the abolitionist movement and Underground Railroad in our our region.

WHEN: 6:00 - 9:00 pm. Friday, Feb. 8, 2008

WHERE: Lost Creek Friends Church, Friends Station Road, New Market, Tennessee http://www.geocities.com/lostcreekfriends/

DIRECTIONS:

Coming from the east (Jefferson City, Morristown)--Proceed west out of Jefferson City on HWY 11E towards Knoxville; pass through New Market; look for Biddle Auto Parts on right; turn right onto Friends Stations Road; Church is white frame structure on left.


Coming from the west (Knoxville vicinity)--Proceed east from Knoxville vicinity on HWY 11E; stay on 11E in east Knox County where 25/70 split off to right; proceed through Strawberry Plains; pass John Coker Antiques and brick Church on right; approaching New Market, turn left onto Friends Station Road just before Biddle Auto Parts; Church is white frame structure on left.

COST: There is no charge to attend this program. If possible please bring some food to share.

SPONSORS SO FAR: Lost Creek Friends Meeting, Appalachian Center and the Bonner Center for Service Learning & Civic Engagement at Carson-Newman College

Interesting Article in Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Descendants of slaves and slave owners bond with one another.

Magnolia Plantation Foundation's Online Archive

Dear Myrtle is reporting that Magnolia Plantation Foundation (Charleston, SC) is going to sponsor an online archive of plantation records concerning the slaves who worked there. This is very exciting! Magnolia Plantation and Gardens is my favorite of the Charleston Area plantations. The project called Lowcountry Africana is expected to launch in March 2008.

The photos here were taken in June 2006. The first is the Ashley River which meanders along the plantation's property. The second is a photo of one of the slave cabins. The third photo is the plantation house. The Drayton family were the owners of Magnolia Plantation. (There is also a Drayton Hall plantation along the same road.)

I am looking forward to this new resource. It promises to be one of the most informative online resources for those with African-American heritage (and interesting reading for the rest of us to understand more about the plantation culture.)