Twelve Years a Slave - Enhanced Edition (35 page)

33.
John Williams is not listed among slaves in the
Orleans
manifest.

34.
Randall appears to be listed on the manifest as #35, Rudal Ames, 4’7” tall. The size is consistent with a child [See
Orleans
manifest].

35.
Emily Cooper #39, female, age 7, 3’7” tall, black complexion, is listed on the
Orleans
ship manifest as one of the slaves of James H. Burch [
sic
] [See
Orleans
manifest].

36.
Eliza Cooper, renamed “Dradey” as a slave, is listed as #38 in the
Orleans
ship manifest, as a female twenty-seven years old, 5’5” tall, black complexion, on May 24, 1841 [See
Orleans
manifest].

37.
In 1850 Elisha Berry, sixty-three, lived in Prince Edward County, Maryland, in a household headed by Deborah Burgess, owner of five slaves. Deborah Burgess’s real property is listed as $3,500. According to the U.S. Census of 1850, Elisha Berry had no occupation. Three other males lived in the household: Richard Berry, thirty, whose occupation is listed as farmer; Dorsey Berry, twenty-seven, carpenter; and Walter Berry, twenty-five, millwright. A woman, Sarah R., is also listed as a member of the household [See Bureau of Census, 1850].

38.
In 1850 Jacob Brooks, a sixty-seven year old mulatto and free man of color, lived in the household with Jane, whom Wilson identifies as the daughter of Elisha Berry. Jane is described as black in color, along with Jane Ridgly, ten years old, and Sarah Ridgly, twelve years old, both black. All were free. No occupation is listed for Jacob Brooks [See Bureau of the Census, 1840; 1850].

39.
A pioneer Louisiana geographer, Samuel H. Lockett, a professor at Louisiana State Seminary at Pineville (later to become Louisiana State University and moved to Baton Rouge) wrote:

Red River: the next most important river in Louisiana [to the Mississippi] is Red River, the only tributary of the Mississippi flowing in from the west within the limits of the state. Red River flows diagonally across Louisiana, from northwest to southeast, and thus occupies a position of the utmost possible importance. In many respects it is very similar to the Mississippi. Its waters are excessively turbid, and of a deep red color; its current is swift; its banks are constantly washing away at one point and building up at another; cut-offs are frequent; islands, old rivers, and abandoned channels are numerous; bayous are sent off from the parent stream; overflows and crevasses occur; in fact, all the phenomena of the greater stream may be observed in the lesser. [See Lockett, 122]

In 1869 Lockett surveyed Louisiana traveling across the state on horse or mule, by buggy, sulky, train, and even boat. His work was not published by the impoverished state until 1969 [See Lockett, 122].

Chapter Four

40.
Jacob Brooks, a mulatto and free man of color, according to the U.S. Census, 1840, is described in endnote 38 [See Bureau of the Census, 1840].

41.
According to the U.S. Census, Elisha Berry lived in a household with individuals, one of whom may have been his wife. He is listed as having no business. There is no evidence that he had a plantation [See Bureau of the Census, 1840]. For more information, see note 37.

42.
Goodin at the Richmond slave pen, like Theophilus Freeman, is described as being greeted as a friend of Birch, the circumstances appearing to connect him with Birch as a business associate or, perhaps, a partner. Richmond had a significant slave market:

Richmond was the center of the Southern slave trade and in the late antebellum era thousands of slaves were sold yearly from Virginia to feed the cotton boom in the lower South. Most of these slaves left Virginia through Richmond. The purchase and resale of slaves was a highly profitable and highly visible business as public slave auctions became increasingly common in Richmond . . . The auctions linked the city with the countryside and with the larger regional economy. Slaves were vital in Richmond, not only for their labor but for their marketability. [See Tyler-McGraw and Kimball, 2]

In the Richmond directory for 1840 there were fifteen slave traders listed [See Tyler-McGraw and Kimball, 27-28]. Research in Richmond was performed by attorney Jonathan Blank.

43.
Robert is likely Robert Jones, the last slave listed of those slaves traveling on the
Orleans
. He is described as being thirty-five years old, 5’7” tall, yellow complexion, from Dayton, Ohio [See the
Orleans
manifest in the Extras & More section of our website at
www.TwelveYearsASlave.org
]. He was captured through exactly the same technique as that used in Solomon Northup’s kidnapping. The editor is indebted to David Fiske, Saratoga Springs, New York, who provided the manifest of the
Orleans
, which he located at the National Archives. According to the manifest the Master of the brig
Orleans
was William Wickham, who sailed with crew and passengers from Richmond, Virginia, on April 27, 1841, and from Norfolk, Virginia, on May 1, 1841, for the Port of New Orleans [See
Orleans
manifest].

44.
David (listed is a “Davy Singleton, 22, 5’3” tall) and Caroline Parnell, age 20, 5’2” tall, are listed on the manifest of the
Orleans
as being shipped by George M. Barnes to Theo. Freeman.

45.
A slave named Mary McCoy, 16, 5’1” from Norfolk, was shipped by Barnes to Freeman in New Orleans, according to the manifest of the
Orleans
. Mary McCoy was also the name of a plantation owner referenced by Northup in Chapter 20.

46.
Lethe Shelton, 25, 5’ tall, listed as brown, was one of the forty-one slaves on the
Orleans
.

47.
William Wickham was master of the brig, sailing with forty slaves from Richmond to New Orleans on May 21, 1841. A group of nine of the slaves were shipped by James H. Burch [
sic
] to New Orleans, arriving May 24, 1841. F. Jacobs signed the information written on the manifest as inspector.

Chapter Five

48.
“Platt Hamilton” is #33 on the manifest of the brig
Orleans
(note the surname is that of Abram Hamilton, the pseudonym of one of the kidnappers), twenty-six, 5’7” tall, yellow complexion. [See the
Orleans
manifest in the Extras & More section of our website at
www.TwelveYearsASlave.org
].

49.
No Frederick is listed. Henry Wallace, fifty, 5’7” tall, with brown complexion, is listed as #4 on the
Orleans
manifest. Another Henry, Henry Williams, twenty-five, is listed as #29, 5’5” tall and having a black complexion, but there is a seventeen-year-old boy, Joe Singleton, 5’3” tall, black, who is #8.

50.
Maria, #31 on the
Orleans
manifest, might have been Birch’s slave, Mehala Irvin, 23, 5’6” tall and black. The names of slaves were often changed by masters, and the age is about right.

51.
Arthur Curtis, unnumbered on the manifest, kidnapped in Norfolk, Virginia, is the second slave listed on page 2 of the manifest with his description as a twenty-two year-old male, 5’10” tall and black. The fact that the man was kidnapped and then held in a Norfolk slave pen until the
Orleans
arrived may also link him as a victim of the Reverse Underground Railroad based in Washington, D.C. He is listed as one of Birch’s slaves [See
Orleans
manifest].

52.
Number 1 on the
Orleans
manifest was Cuff Singleton, 40, a male 5’6” tall with black complexion; #28 was Jim Whiteus, 27, 6’ tall, black. There were eight young women in their twenties on the
Orleans
manifest list of slaves, one of whom may have answered to the name “Jenny” [See
Orleans
manifest].

53.
A note regarding Robert Jones, who was one of Birch’s nine slaves shipped on the brig
Orleans
to Freeman’s slave pen in New Orleans, was included in the report of Master Wickam inscribed across page 2: “Examined and found correct with the exception of Robert Jones, who Captain Wickham states, died on the voyage. New Orleans, 24 May 1841. Signed by T. Jacobs, Imp rt” [See
Orleans
manifest].

54.
Manning did as he had promised in mailing the letter, but a copy was never found. Confirmation that it was mailed came from Henry B. Northup. He acknowledged in an affidavit that he had received the letter, but since Solomon was in chains aboard a ship and did not know his destination, he could do nothing more than guess Solomon’s destination.

55.
Eliza is listed by her slave name as #38 Dradey Cooper. Her children are #39 Emily Cooper, age 7, 3’7” tall, and #35 Rudal Ames, age 11, 4’7” tall, who is the boy Randall mentioned in the narrative [See
Orleans
manifest].

56.
Henry Hyman, who is #3 on the manifest, was 40, 5’8” and black complexion, and #30 is Lethe Shelton, 25, 5’ tall with brown complexion; they are listed among the forty-one slaves aboard the
Orleans
. Henry and Harry could be the same person [See
Orleans
manifest].

Chapter Six

57.
Theophilus Freeman and James H. Birch had been partners at an earlier date and maintained “a relationship”; Birch shipped slaves to Freeman’s slave pen.

58.
During the early nineteenth century, life on the western frontier with Louisiana at its fringe revolved around land. Bayou Boeuf planters of central Louisiana, all with small plantations, had their investments mostly in their slaves, and many of the slaves were mortgaged. To complete the essential work to support a plantation on Bayou Boeuf, the planter and slaves were interdependent, and the planter’s goal was to maintain the plantation in order to earn a profit. Thus, while there were cruel slave owners who whipped their slaves regardless of the economic consequences, there were others who did not inflict damage on their property out of self-interest or who were genuinely non-violent.

59.
The U.S. Census for Louisiana, 1810-1890, lists thirteen males named Carr as living in New Orleans [See Bureau of U.S. Census, 1810-1890].

60.
The Hospital of St. John, or the Charity Hospital, was established in 1740 during the French colonial period. The poor were taken care of there. Ursuline nuns cared for patients after 1770. The hospital was destroyed by a hurricane and rebuilt in 1779 by Andres Almonester y Rojas during the Spanish period. Under Almonester the name of the hospital was changed to St. Carlos. It was destroyed, this time by fire, but was again rebuilt by Almonester [See Prichard. LSUA now has the editor’s copy, given to her by the widow of Dr. Prichard].

61.
Microfilm of the Charity Hospital admissions records for this period is on file at the New Orleans Public Library and confirms Northup’s statement regarding his stay there [See Charity Hospital Admission Records].

62.
[See Charity Hospital Admission Records].

63.
The sale of Solomon Northup (as Platt), Eliza (as Dradey), and Harry to William Prince Ford can be viewed in the sale papers recorded in Notarial Acts of New Orleans. Platt, then thirty-three years of age, was listed as twenty-three years old, and Dradey was probably older than twenty. Since youthful age with years of service ahead brought higher prices, the ages of slaves were routinely lowered at a sale. For the men, $900 each and $700 for Dradey were prices in keeping with slave prices of 1841.

The signatures of Freeman and William Prince Ford appear on the front and back of the sale papers. Included also are witnesses F.N. Newton and Alphonse Barnett with Schraw Barnett, officer of the court [Notarial Acts of New Orleans, June 23, 1841, XVII, 670. See image of actual conveyance record of Solomon/Platt to Ford in the Extras & More section of our website at
www.TwelveYearsASlave.org
].

64.
Emily is listed as a seven-year-old black female. Freeman may not have known the rules for inclusion in the famous quadroon balls; qualifications included skin of light color, as implied by the word “quadroon,” and years of preparation. It is unlikely Emily would have qualified as one of the elite, although Freeman may have had in mind a sale to an individual not among the privileged group for whom the quadroon balls were staged.

65.
“Her infant voice grew faint and still more faint”—describing seven-year-old Emily—is an example of Wilson’s dramatic writing style.

Chapter Seven

66.
The
Rodoph
was a regular carrier in the commerce between New Orleans and the inland port of Alexandria [See Bennett to Turrell and Calhoun].

67.
Voluminous documents of George W. Kelso [spelled Kelsow in text] are located in the archives at Louisiana State University, Alexandria, Louisiana. Judge John Clement, who presided over a lengthy case related to Kelso’s estate, wrote September 19, 1892, that George W. Kelso was seventy-two years old and resided at his plantation on Bayou Robert on the northwest side of the road along the bayou, about ten miles south of Alexandria. He had been at this location since 1840. In the U.S. Census report of slaves in 1850, George W. Kelso owned 330 slaves, 162 of which were employed in agriculture. He died in 1854 and left a will that brought strong dissent from descendants from the time of his death until this court case years later [See Conveyance Record Q, 379-380].

68.
William Prince Ford (1804-1861) was one of the first pioneers to establish a plantation in the picturesque country bordering Hurricane Creek, near present-day Forest Hill. A native of Tennessee, he was brought to Louisiana as a boy of thirteen by his parents, who settled near Cheneyville. He married Martha Tanner (1808-1849), eleventh child of Robert Tanner, founder of Cheneyville. Although he operated a 200-acre plantation south of Cheneyville that Martha inherited, he and Martha made their home at the place on Hurricane Creek. There he operated a variety of small businesses, including a mattress manufacturing shop, a brick manufacturing facility, and a “pony” sawmill in partnership with William Ramsay. The sawmill was built January 3, 1840, in “the Great Pinewoods” about ten miles north of Ford’s home on Hurricane Creek. His partnership purchased 79.87 acres at $99.84 per acre. Copies of the sale documents are in the United States Land Office, District of Opelousas, Rapides Courthouse.