Page 109

“…Burnett and Nat and Allen…”

See “…more slaves of his own now…,” above.

“…added a second level…”

When Sims says that he went to work on his hospital, it can be assumed that he means his slaves did the work.

SIMS, J. Marion, (1885). The Story of my Life, ed. by H. Marion-Sims. D. Appleton & Co: New York, p. 236.

“…tallest building in town.”

Images showing a fountain near the entrance to Montgomery Hall are held at the Alabama Department of Archives and History.

“…leased slaves as servants…”

A small selection of records from Montgomery Hall, including receipts for the hire of enslaved persons John, Boy Henry, Joe, Frederick, Robert, Willis, Pleasant, and others, is held at the Alabama Department of Archives and History in Montgomery, Alabama.

“Dr. Sims leased Anarcha…”

As will be described later, Anarcha cared for a doctor named Jarvis—and subsequently Senator William Rufus King—at Montgomery Hall in 1848. Given Sims’s financial situation, it makes sense that he would have been trying to curb his expenses as soon as the young women came into his possession. Sims would not have been anxious to share these details with the Northern audience to whom he would soon tell the overly romantic narrative of Anarcha, Lucy, and Betsey.

“…Dr. Sims had recognized…”

It is the letters of Sims, first to Jarvis’s family and then to Jarvis himself—an episode that will be described in a later chapter—that suggest Sims now realized that he knew Anarcha.

“A salve made from chitlings…”

Narrative of Maggie Woods.

Library of Congress. (2018). Slave narratives: A folk history of slavery in the U.S., Arkansas Narratives, Vol. 7, p. 234.

Maggie Woods

“The Indian turnip…”

Narrative of Gus Smith.

Library of Congress. (2018). Slave narratives: A folk history of slavery in the U.S., Missiouri Narratives, Vol. 1, p. 332.

Gus Smith

“Or soaking your clothes overnight…”

Narrative of Millie Evans.

Library of Congress. (2018). Slave narratives: A folk history of slavery in the U.S., Arkansas Narratives, Vol. 2, p. 245.

Millie Evans

“…turpentine and okra blossom…”

Narratives of Rivana Boynton and George Pretty.

Library of Congress. (2018). Slave narratives: A folk history of slavery in the U.S., Florida Narratives, Vol. 1, pp. 46, 273.

“…sugar and cobwebs…”

Narrative of Marion Johnson.

Library of Congress. (2018). Slave narratives: A folk history of slavery in the U.S., Arkansas Narratives, Vol. 4, p. 116.

Marion Johnson

“…they smoked the wounds…”

Narrative of Harriet Collins and Henry Rogers.

Library of Congress. (2018). Slave narratives: A folk history of slavery in the U.S., Texas Narratives, Vol. 1, pp. 244; Georgia Narratives, Vol. 3, p. 222.

“Dr. Sims was having instruments made…”

SIMS, J. Marion, (1885). The Story of my Life, ed. by H. Marion-Sims. D. Appleton & Co: New York, p. 235.