Page 287

“…the young Duncan girl…”

See “…Maria Caroline…,” above.

“…something had gone wrong with the catching…”

There is little that has survived about the death of the Harriet Maury—apart from the fact that not long after the girl passed away Ann Fontaine Maury left Old Mansion for Milton, North Carolina, and separated Anarcha from her daughter, Delia, at that time. In any event, it was not uncommon for white physicians to think poorly of black midwives, and to hold them accountable for bad health results.

“Remarks on Trismus, or Tetanus Nascentium, and on its Identity with Tramautic Tetanus in the Adult,” William O. Baldwin, American Journal of the Medical Sciences, Vol. 12, 1846, p. 358.

“…boils all over her head…”

Transcription of a letter from Ann Fontaine Maury to Ann Maury, September 25, 1862, held in the Maury Family Collection at the Special Collections department of Alderman Library at the University of Virginia, in Charlottesville, Virginia.

“…the war that would free the slaves…”

Narrative of G.W. Pattillo.

Library of Congress. (2018). Slave narratives: A folk history of slavery in the U.S., Georgia Narratives, Vol. 3, p. 169.

G.W. Pattillo

“…remit or no remit…”

See “…it was a remit,” above.

“…even more polite with white folks.”

Narrative of Mary Anderson.

Library of Congress. (2018). Slave narratives: A folk history of slavery in the U.S., North Carolina Narratives, Vol. 1, p. 24.

“First one Lieutenant Maury resigned…”

See “…he resigned his commission…,” above.

“…and then the other…”

Both Maurys resigned on the same day, April 20, 1861.

United States. (1931). Register of officers of the Confederate States Navy, 1861-1865. Washington, D.C: G.P.O., p. 130.

“A new comet appeared…”

See “On April 4, 1861…” above.

“…many runaways now…”

Maury, B. H., & In Parmelee, A. M. (1938). The Confederate diary of Betty Herndon Maury: Daughter of Lieut. Commander M.F. Maury, 1861-1863. Washington: Privately printed, p. 75.

“…beacon of light.”

See “…feeling for moss…” and “The Seven Pointers…Ellen Yards…,” above.

There is no document that specifically states that Thatcher’s Comet served this purpose, but given the fact that the number of enslaved people escaping north increased dramatically at this time, I think it’s inevitable that the added light of the comet would have served as a beacon and directional indicator.

“Sometimes they stopped to rest…”

See “…deep in the woods…,” above.

There is no evidence that Anarcha’s cabin an Old Mansion became a stopping point for enslaved people escaping north—but it would have been perfectly suited for such a purpose.

“…Arena and Rhena…”

See “…Maury needed the money,” above.

I’ve compressed the dates here, slightly. I believe the “S.B.” indicates that both of these children were stillborn.

This is from original birth registers, or transcripts of registers, of Caroline County, held at the Library of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia. I am indebted to Char McCargo Bah for making the first discovery of some of these records.

“…Earl of Warrington…”

“Mary L. Booth: Biography and Phrenological Character,” American Phrenological Journal, May 1860, p. 71.

“…owned all of Shelter Island…”

FOLEY, T., Mary L. Booth: The Story of an Extraordinary 19th-Century Woman, CreateSpace Independent Publishing, 2018, p. 21.

“Booth was born…”

“Mary L. Booth: Biography and Phrenological Character,” American Phrenological Journal, May 1860, pp. 71-72.

“…the family money…”

FOLEY, T., Mary L. Booth: The Story of an Extraordinary 19th-Century Woman, CreateSpace Independent Publishing, 2018, p. 22.

“…her father was a schoolteacher…”

FOLEY, T., Mary L. Booth: The Story of an Extraordinary 19th-Century Woman, CreateSpace Independent Publishing, 2018, p. 25.

“…in a wool manufactory.”

“Mary L. Booth: Biography and Phrenological Character,” American Phrenological Journal, May 1860, p. 71.

“…able to recite poems…”

“Mary L. Booth: Biography and Phrenological Character,” American Phrenological Journal, May 1860, p. 71.