13 Facts About the 13 Colonies-- Part 2

Again, go to the site for more information.

7.  New Hampshire offered parcels of land in exchange  for one ear of corn each year.  (Sounds like a deal to me.)

8.  Georgia was founded as a new haven for debtors and impoverished people.

9.  New York became  the first target of British trade restrictions -- for exporting fur hats.

10.  South Carolina benefited from the demand for blue dye.

11.  North Carolina was sold back to the British Crown.

12.  Rhode Island played a big role in the slave trade.  (By 1775, slaves made up 11.5% of its population.)

13.  Delaware really wasn't  formed until 1776.

--CootCol

Family of First Enslaved Africans in America Marks 400 Years-- Part 2

The men and women who came from what is now Angola in Africa arrived on two ships and were traded for food and supplies from the English colonists in Virginia.  The landing is considered a pivotal moment in American history, setting the stage for a system of race-based slavery that continues to haunt the nation.

Many of the first Africans in America are known only by their first names.  That included Anthony and Isabella, who became servants for a Captain William Tucker.

They had a son named William Tucker who many believe was the first documented African child born in English-occupied North America.

"We're still here," Wanda Tucker shouted in her family's shaded cemetery, which included many worn gravestones, as well as white crosses where ground penetrating radar had recently found unmarked graves.

The Africans were just 12 years after the founding of Jamestown, England's first permanent colony, and weeks after the first English-style legislature was convened there.

Family of First Enslaved Africans in America Marks 400 Years Back in 2019-- Part 1

From the August 24, 2019, Dubuque (Iowa) Telegraph Herald by Ben Finley, AP.

Hampton, Virginia --  A family that traces its bloodline to America's first enslaved Africans said Friday that their ancestors endured unimaginable toil and hardship -- but they helped forge the nation.

"Four hundred years ago, our family started building America, can I get an Amen?" Wanda Tucker said before a crowd in the Tucker Family Cemetery in Hampton, Virginia.

"They loved," she continued.  "They experienced loss.  They worked.  They created.  They made a way out of no way, determined that their labor would not be in vain."

Tucker, a college professor in Arizona, spoke at one of several events in Virginia this weekend that will mark the anniversary of the arrival of more than 30 enslaved Africans at a spot on the Chesapeake Bay in August 1619.

It is amazing that any family can trace its roots back so far,  Congratulations Tucker family.  And, it is so good to see Virginia commemorating its history these days.

Quaker Oats Rebranding Aunt Jemima Because of Racial Stereotype

 From the June 18, 2020, Chicago Tribune "Quaker Oats to rebrand Aunt Jemima" by Mary Ellen Podmolik.

The Aunt Jemima brand, which has been on syrup and other Quaker Oats products form over 130 years, is being retired.

Chicago-based Quaker Oats, now a unit of PepsiCo, announced Wednesday June 17, that the company would first be removing the image from packaging and later would change the name.  Of course, this is because of the current wave of BLM  after the death of George Floyd and black awareness sweeping the country.  I just have to wonder why it took Blacks so long to figure out they were offended by these images.

Aunt Jemima's image has been changed over the years, already moving it from the controversial first "slave figure."  A 1968 makeover  replaced a kerchief on her head with a headband.  In 1989, she got a gray-streaked hairstyle without a headband, plus pearl earrings and a white lace collar.  At that time, a tribune executive said it would no longer be changed because "that kind of familiarity and recognition is an invaluable asset."

--Cooter

Five Lies About Early American History You Might Have Learned in School

From the Literacy Site by Allison Stout.

1.  CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS DISCOVERED  THE AMERICAS.

2.  THE ENTIRE THANKSGIVING STORY  There is a 4:30 minute video for you to watch.

3.  THERE WERE 13 ORIGINAL COLONIES--    There were only 12 because Delaware was a part of Pennsylvania until 1776.  Delaware may not have been a colony, it was the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution (hence the nickname "The First State).

4.  THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE WAS ADDRESSED TO KING GEORGE III.  It was actually an explanation to the world and England that the colonies had to cut ties with England.  And, John Hancock did not sign his name really big so that King George III could read it without his glasses.    He just had an obnoxiously big signature.

5.  THE UNION FOUGHT THE CIVIL WAR TO FREE THE SLAVES.  Lincoln actually wanted to preserve the Union at first and to keep the border states happy.  Abolishing slavery would not go over big in these slave states.

It wasn't until later in the war that the goal began to shift toward freeing the slaves.

--Cooter

Fallen Mt. Vernon Tree Stood the Test of Time-- Part 2: George Washington Probably Saw It

It fell just before midnight on November 4.  Said Dean Norton, Mount Vernon director of horticulture:  "Middle of the night.  No wind.  It just falls over."

It was about 115 feet tall, 12 feet around and roughly 230 years old, almost as old as the United States.

Witness to so much history, "trees just give up on occasion," Norton said.  It wasn't sick, "It was just its time."

The tree dated to at least 1780 according to Norton who then cut it and measured its rings that help date it and tell its story.  His count, he admits, is on the conservative side and it could be older.

George Washington owned the Mount Vernon plantation along with its home and more than 100 slaves.   He and his wife Martha are buried on the property, which is on the Potomac River about 15 miles south of Washington.

The Mount Vernon people said that wood from the tree will be used to make repairs.

--CootTree

Virginia Commemorating 400th Anniversary of Arrival of African Slaves-- Part 3

Though little noted at the time, the arrival of the enslaved Africans in England's first successful colony in the New World is now considered a pivotal moment in American history.

Englishman John Rolfe documented the landing of the first slave ship, the White Lion, at what was then called Point Comfort (where Fortress Monroe is located).  He wrote that the colonists traded supplies and provisions for the slaves.

From the White Lion, and a second ship, the English colonists took more than 30 Africans to properties along the James River, including Jamestown.

By that time, more than 500,000 enslaved Africans had already crossed the Atlantic to European colonies, but the Africans in Virginia are widely considered the first in English-controlled North America.

They came 12 years after the founding of Jamestown, England's first permanent colony, and weeks after the first English-style legislature was (the House of Burgesses) was convened there.

Virginia Commemorating the 400th Anniversary of Arrival of African Slaves-- Part 2: "What Became a Nation"

Virginia's two senators and governor will make remarks at a Saturday ceremony.  And, a family that traces its bloodlines to those first Africans will hold a reflection at its cemetery on Friday.

"This moment means everything to folks like myself who are African American and to folks on the continent as well, " said Mary Elliott, curator of American Slavery at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture.

"But it should mean something to everybody, regardless of race,"  she added,"because it is a moment that define a nation -- what became a nation."

Virginia Commemorating 400th Anniversary of Arrival of African Slaves-- Part 1

From the August 23, 2019, Dubuque (Iowa) Telegraph Herald by Bill Finley A.P.

Officials will mark the pivotal moment in American history when enslaved Africans arrived by holding a 'Healing Day.'

Norfolk, Va.  --  Four hundred years after American slavery and democratic self-rule came to what became the state of Virginia, ceremonies will mark the arrival of enslaved Africans and seek healing from the legacy of bondage that still haunts the nation.

Yet, the weekend ceremonies will take place against the backdrop of white supremacism across the country, racist tweets by President Trump and a lingering scandal surrounding Virginia;s governor and a blackface photo.

The commemoration will include Sunday's "Healing Day" on the Chesapeake Bay where two ships traded men and women from what is today Angola for food and supplies from English colonists in August 1619.

A bell will ring for four minutes, while churches across the country are expected to join in.

A Very Unfortunate Event in History.

How About a Kosciuszko Day-- Part 4: Captured By Russians, Returned to U.S.

After the war, Kosciuszko returned to Poland and fought for his own country.  He also advocated for full citizenship of peasants and Jews.  Eventually wounded in battle, he was captured by the Russians.  After the death of Catherine the Great, Czar Paul I pardoned him and set him free.

Kosciuszko returned to the United States for a time and became a friend of Thomas Jefferson.  Jefferson became both the executor and beneficiary of Kosciuszko's will.  He left Jefferson his wartime pay as compensation for freeing and the education of Jefferson's slaves.

--Cooter

Think Beyond BBQ on This Fourth-- Part 2: A Slave's Story

Not everyone rejoiced this date 239 years ago.  It was a gamble many didn't want to take.  Britain would consider the Declaration of Independence and all its supporters as being guilty of treason, punishable by death.  Others wanted to stay with Britain.

Jehu Grant was a slave and the declaration was written by a slaveholder.  Yet he heard something in Thomas Jefferson's words that weren't intended for him:  "Songs of liberty that saluted my ear, thrilled my heart," Grant said in his petition.  "These considerations induced me to enlist in the American army, where I served faithful about ten months, when my master found me and took me home."

Later he purchased his freedom and unsuccessfully applied for his pension.

After 75 Years, Frankly, We Still Give a Damn

From the Dec. 2014/Jan. 2015 AARP Magazine by Bill Newcott.

The movie "Gone With the Wind" sits at the halfway mark between us and the Civil War at 75 years.  Atlanta went up in flames at its premier in Atlanta on December 15, 1939.  Most will say it is the most popular film of all time (even bigger than "Avatar") and in adjusted box office receipts has taken in as much at $5.4 billion.

Yet it remains the topic of discussion.  Some have nothing but breathless praise, others fiery condemnation.

Praise is easy.  David O. Selznick brought Margaret Mitchell's novel to life in a huge way, had Clark Gable at the peak of his suavity and Vivien Leigh able to break the hearts of young suitors and even middle aged men.

But, GWTW comes out just months after "12 Years a Slave," which pummels GWTW's fantasy of contented slaves.

Hollywood was a different place in 1939.

But, Miss Scarlett.  --Cooter

Arlington National Cemetery's 150th-- Part 3

5.  Three World War II enemy combatants are also buried there: 2 Italian POWs and one German.  They died in the Washington, D.C. area and the Geneva Convention requires proper burial and Arlington was chosen.

In addition, some 60 foreign nationals are buried there, most Allied servicemen.

6.  Nearly 4,00 former slaves are buried there as well.  After seizing the estate, acreage was set aside for a model community for emancipated, freed and fugitive slaves called Freedman's Village.

It operated until 1900 and blacks who died there are buried in Section 27, with headstones inscribed as "citizen" or "civilian."

--Cooter

Some More on Slave Reunions-- Part 2

I found the same photo posted at the Shorpy site of Jan. 19, 2009. This one was shown as being taken in Wasdington, D.C., circa 1916. It listed their names and ages: Lewis Martin, 100; Martha Elizabeth Banks, 101; Amy Ware, 103 and the Rev. Simon F. Drew, born free (perhaps like "12 Years a Slave?). The photo was taken at Cosmopolitan Baptist Churcg at 921 N. Street, N.W.. ////

Some More on Slave Reunions-- Part 1

I did a Yahoo! search for slave reunions and came up with a photo titled "Slave Reunion from 1916" on Boing Boing. Unfortunately, it didn't say where it was or if the four former slaves pictures (two mwen and two women) were part of a larger group. But, being 1916, there must have been more than one slave reunions. //// This could make a good topic for a book. ////

Slave Reunion in 1914

From the April 12, 2014, Wilmington (NC) Star-News "Back Then." //// This is a look back at past papers. From the January 1, 1914, paper: "The first reunion of the ex-slaves of New Hanover (NC) County was held at St. Stephen A.M.E. Church. Some 300 were in attendance, including some white citizens. //// The article seemed to infer that most of the former slaves had been house servants in Wilmington. //// I'd never heard of former slave reunions. I wonder if this happened other times? The youngest ones would have been about 49. //// Something I Didn't Know.

John William Dunjee: President Tyler's Son?

Wikipedia.

Back on July 29th, while writing about two of Tyler's grandchildren still being alive, I mentioned that he might have fathered a child named John Dunjee with a slave.

The article says he was an American missionary, educator, Baptist minister and founder of Baptist churches. He was born a slave in Virginia to his owners, the Farrel family.

Dinjee's family has always asserted that his father was John Tyler and his mother one of the Farrell slaves. In 1859, he learned that the Farrels were going to move to Alabama and take him. Not wanting to go, he escaped and took the Underground Railroad to Canada.

After the Civil War, Dunjee returned to the United States and studied at the Maine Seminary and Oberlin College in Ohio. As a Baptist minister, he started churches from New England to the South to the Midwest. He also established several black colleges. I was unable to learn more about his relationship to President Tyler.

Quite a Man, Regardless. Perhaps It's Time for a Movie?  --Cooter

Fort Mose: First Free Black Colonial Town

From the February 1997 National Georgraphic Magazine "Geographica: Colonial Florida Fort recalls a Shining Moment in Black History."

The remains are hidden in the salt marshes just to the north of St. Augustine, Florida, but, Fort Mose was the first free black town in what became the United States.  Its residents were African slaves from British plantations to the north in the English colonies who found refuge by escaping to Spanish-held Florida, where they converted to Catholicism.

The site was declared a national historic landmark in 1994.  Two years of excavation have been led by archaeologist Kathleen Deagan.  So far, they have uncovered everyday items for cooking, clothing, shelter and defense.  Also found was a hand-crafted silver medal with an image of St. Christopher on one side and a sailor's compass rose on the other.  Many escaped slaves served as crewmen on Spanish ships.

Both England and Spain claimed northern Florida and slaves knew they would be free in Spanish-Florida.  In 1739, the Spanish formed a freedman's militia and moved one hundred black men, women and children from St. Augustine to build the 65-square-foot Fort Mose.  Two years later, the English attacked, forcing the residents back to St. Augustine.  In 1752, blacks built a new and larger Fort Mose nearby.  In 1763, Florida was ceded to England and the Spanish blacks moved to Cuba.

Stuff I Didn't Know.  --Cooter

First Lady Michelle Obama Traces Roots Back to Slavery

From the October 8, 2009, Chicago Sun Times.

Geneaologists have traced Michelle Obama's roots back to a 6-year-old slave girl in South Carolina, Melvinia, her great-great-great grandmother.

She eventually had a baby with an unknown white man after she was willed to him.

Dolphus T. Shields born around 1859 when Melvinia was perhaps fifteen.

Melvinia died in 1938.

The Old Slave Mart in Charleston, SC

From the May28, 2009, St. Petersburg (Fl) Times "Museum offers quiet testimony to horrors of slavery" by John Frank.

The Old Slave Mart is a relatively new attraction in this city of attractions. It is the only remaining slave auction house in the country and located at 6 Chalmers St. near East Bay Street downtown.

Prominent slave auctioneer Thomas Ryan opened it July 1856 after Charleston banned the outdoor auction of slaves. It was known as Ryan's Mart.

About 40% of enslaved blacks came through Charleston, most landing on Sullivan's Island. First Lady Michelle Obama's ancestors came through Charleston. Her great-great grandfather worked on a rice plantation in Georgetown.

The museum has lots of information on the slave selling business and a first-hand account of slavery by Elijah Green, born in 1843 and recorded by the WPA in 1937. The museum itself is small as most of the compound was torn down, with just a roofed alley left.

A Sad Part of American History. --DaCoot