Shaun Usher of deputy dog has a new blog called Letters of Note which shares classic correspondence of all kinds. One that stands out is from a slave named Vilet Lester to a member of her former owner’s family, written in 1857. Here is an excerpt.
The post contains a transcript of the entire letter and a photograph of the handwriting. Link
I am well and this is Injoying good hlth and has ever Since I Left Randolph. whend I left Randolf I went to Rockingham and Stad there five weaks and then I left there and went to Richmon virgina to be Sold and I Stade there three days and was bought by a man by the name of Groover and braught to Georgia and he kept me about Nine months and he being a trader Sold me to a man by the name of Rimes and he Sold me to a man by the name of Lester and he has owned me four years and Says that he will keep me til death Siperates us without Some of my old north Caroliner friends wants to buy me again. my Dear Mistress I cannot tell my fealings nor how bad I wish to See youand old Boss and Mss Rahol and Mother. I do not now which I want to See the worst Miss Rahol or mother I have thaugh that I wanted to See mother but never befour did I no what it was to want to See a parent and could not.
The post contains a transcript of the entire letter and a photograph of the handwriting. Link
Letters like this give insights in everyday life that
are never shown by history books.
Yes there was slavery. Yes there was hardship and slavery is inhumane and North and South fought a war over it (or something like that). But this man was a slave. And he could read and write. And he tells about being sold over and over again (why so often?). and he also tells that he dearly misses his earlier Boss and Mistress.
How much will they know about our daily goingons in 2209...?
Now, my grammar and spelling is also horrible, but my hand writing looks like that of a 5 year old. I am really curious how a slave learned to write that neatly. (and to read and write for that matter)
("Lester" was the name of his current master; therefore I refer to Villet only by his first name.)
My ancestors on both sides didn't arrive in the USA until after the Civil War, and came from parts of Europe where hired servants were fairly common at the time, but slavery was considered barbaric. Naturally, some of us were morbidly curious about slavery: why did it happen, what was it like to be a slave, what could this do to a person's mind/attitude, etc. Getting answers wasn't always easy, but we did hear of this sort of thing. If a slave was treated well, he might view his master's family as his own (often in place of his real family, which was usually broken up, sadly). We are naturally inclined toward a nuclear family, and will "imprint" after a fashion on whoever takes care of us. Indeed, many slaves resented being slaves; but some seemed to accept their lot. I don't think any slave enjoyed it, of course. But some just didn't see any favorable alternative, and figured, "Yeah, it's a lot of work, but they take care of me. If I ran away, nobody would take care of me."
The frequent sale of Villet can be attributed to several things. Economics played a part. Slaves were cheaper than hired help, but they were not cheap. Slave owners would often sell slaves to make some money. Villet's short tenure with one or two masters could mean that he was bought specifically to be sold at a higher price, or that he didn't have the qualities these masters sought. Apparently he was highly valued by Mr. Lester, who wanted to keep him in his household for the remainder of his days. He must have been quite wealthy, to be able to make a statement to that effect --- he didn't foresee a need to sell off his slaves.
This is a very sad letter --- Villet loves and misses his "family," yet the head of that "family" had sold him. I doubt that that man would have sold his biological son. Villet's love is misplaced --- but in the absence of a true family, which would never sell him, where else can he direct the love he feels?
It's also sad that I've heard that some people have used the fact that some slaves viewed their owners as "family" and were relatively well-treated as justification for slavery. Take a good, hard look at anyone who is in an abusive relationship and can't seem to leave; that is inexcusable, and slavery is quite plainly the institutionalization of an abusive relationship.
great post
You bring up a good point. Villet was rather well-treated, if she was taught how to write. Kids would usually do this, actually, but a master or mistress might want the slave to know how to read a grocery list for shopping excursions.
Schools in those days were one-room affairs in which the teacher would directly instruct the older students, who in turn would then instruct the younger students. It was not uncommon for the bossiest girl in the family to play "schoolmarm" when she got home, often using the slave children as her "students." Sometimes, someone actually learned something...
So that makes this story perhaps even more colourful- a woman slave / servant sold over and over again- Explicitly described slave TRADE as background for an intense Human story. Whatever became of her... Will she ever have gone back to her dearly missed Boss and Mistress...? Did she have children and her own family...? How old was she when she wrote this letter...? Did she get old...?
Anywho, very interesting. Specially since this woman loved her former Boss/Mistress so much. Just kinda weird.
Primary sources like that make slavery seem so real and personal, not like some sort of distant historical evil. I was reading through old newspapers a while back while researching something else and in the classified ads were ads selling slaves and ads for people looking to buy slaves or offering rewards for the return of runaway slaves. It was so sickening to see right there in the paper on the same page as ads for livestock or wagons. It shouldn't have been a surprise since I was looking through newspapers from Arkansas in the 1800s, but somehow it being in print in the current tense with it being treated as totally normal everyday business like that was really upsetting.
Another great find, Miss C!
http://www.ridgway.k12.co.us/uploads/h7/GM/h7GMpPmbvq6aASekdjWX9Q/anderson_letter.pdf
I bet if we didn't have spell check on every application we'd see how bad people spell presently.