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“…Lorenzo and his daughter…”
The image of “Lorenzo” and “Anaky” comes from the 1870 Census Report for Virginia, which also indicates that “Elizabeth,” a daughter who would die in 1880, along with Delia and William and Oliver (Delia was not yet in King George, and William and Oliver had not yet been born when Anarcha first arrived at the Alto plantation). The 1880 census incorrectly identifies Elizabeth as a niece.
“…forty-five slaves…”
There a few fewer enslaved persons listed in the 1860 Slave Schedule for Charles Mason. However, Elizabeth Lee had access to a far greater range of sources.
Lee, E., The Last Hope: Lies, Truths and Legends of John Wilkes Booth’s 34-Hour Escape Through King George County, Virginia (2019), North Carolina: Lulu Press, p. 156.
“…eleven cabins…”
The 1860 Slave Schedule for King George County, entry for Charles Mason, available on Ancestry.com.
“…spaced out in the dense woods…”
It’s not clear where the quarters were situated on the Alto plantation. My speculation here is based on familiarity with the property and the roads that still exist. Local historian Elizabeth Lee showed me where the original plantation house likely stood, and I have inferred that the quarters would have been situated on land that was away from the main road, not on land that could be cultivated, and was headed in the direction of potable water. Additionally, this location is in the proximity of Anarcha’s gravesite. Maria Mason did, in fact, install a mill on the property, but not until after Anarcha had died.
“…Yankees had sneaked onto Alto…”
This is an account from a property close to Charles Mason’s Alto plantation.
“Recollections of the Civil War,” Nannie Brown Doherty, Northern Neck of Virginia Historical Magazine, Vol. 11, 1961, p. 3181.
“…their favorites…”
A number of enslaved people are mentioned in Mason family letters.
Letters from Maria Mason to Charles Mason Jr., January 8, 1865; May 22, 1865; and Charles Mason Sr. to Charles Mason, Jr., December 21, 1864, held in the possession of Angus Lamond of Lynchburg, Virginia. Mr. Lamond is a descendant of the Mason family.
“…particularly men…”
I came across references to a number of enslaved men who had both first names and last names.
An untitled contract of indenture signed by Charles Mason and several formerly enslaved men who agreed to work the land of the former Alto plantation. Retrieved from the website for the Freedmen’s Bureau records, associated with the National Museum of African American History & Culture.
“…his name was Lorenzo Jackson…”
An untitled contract of indenture signed by Charles Mason and several formerly enslaved men who agreed to work the land of the former Alto plantation. Retrieved from the website for the Freedmen’s Bureau records, associated with the National Museum of African American History & Culture.
“…Anaky or Annacay…”
See “…Lorenzo and his daughter…,” above.
“Anaky” as it was printed in the 1870 Census Report. “Annacay” in how Anarcha’s name appears on her gravestone, which is pictured and documented later in The Anarcha Quest. For “Anaka,” see “…a family whose valuation...,” above.
“…Uriah Inscoe…”
1860 Census Report for King George County, Virginia. The entry for Uriah Inscoe and his family appears immediately prior to the entry for Charles Mason, indicating that they were adjacent neighbors.