African American Families

Alice Cannon will talk about what she learned as she followed the paths after Emancipation of all the people who were enslaved at Bleak House, the James B. Rogers plantation near Earlysville: where they went, how they supported each other, what they and their children went on to do. She will particularly focus on the story of the Woodfolk and Whipps families and the Evans family: who stayed, who left, and how did they remained connected?

Kenwood Library, Monticello

4pm, the first Thursday of most months.

Brenda Desobry will tell us what she has heard about her great-great-grandmother Elizabeth Scott and her great-grandmother Nannie Cox Jackson, a noted educator in Charlottesville. The stories passed down through this family are remarkably detailed and consistent. They are also, as research discoveries of Gayle Schulman, Sam Towler and others have shown, remarkably accurate. Cinder Stanton will summarize some of these connections between oral history and the documentary record.

Mysteries still remain, however, so come help solve them. What is the nature of the Monticello connection? Why did Robert Scott (who married Elizabeth Scott’s mother, Nancy) apparently free only one of his children? And Brenda is particularly eager to know more about the Indian connection and her ancestor Nancy Redcross.

Edwina will tell “Emma’s Story,” about discovering her mother’s Charlottesville roots (aka “How W L met Harriet”). She says she has become hopelessly addicted to researching her mother’s paternal and maternal ancestry, adding to the family tree, and learning about the social interactions of Charlottesville’s African-American families in the late 19th Century.

Steve will give an overview of archaeological research at Morven since 2009: its goals, results, and potential next steps. This will include reference to salient aspects of the history of this estate near Ash Lawn-Highland that once belonged to Jefferson’s friend William Short, local merchant David Higginbotham, and others.

Next meeting of Central Virginia History Researchers: Thursday, April 5, 4 PM, at the Jefferson Library

Gayle will tell us about seven persons of color born in Charlottesville/Albemarle between 1862 and 1882 who went on to become physicians. She is exploring their local roots as well as their professional careers. One of the doctors married a woman from Newaygo, Michigan (she says, Check it out on a map!). Gayle is also interested in knowing if and how their stories should be made available to others.

Bob will talk about his work on the Tinsley family of Louisa County. He will use Wilson and Marcia Tinsley, owned by two different Green Springs residents, as an example of an ‘abroad’ marriage and a springboard to using historical sources to understand the nature and extent of such marriages in central Virginia. He has asked members of the Tinsley family to come to the meeting to share their photographs and stories.