Page 346

“…burdock root…”

Narrative of Mamie Hanbery.

Library of Congress. (2018). Slave narratives: A folk history of slavery in the U.S., Kentucky Narratives, Vol. 1, p. 90.

Mamie Hanbery

“…mullein…”

Narratives of Harriet Collins and Herny Barnes.

Library of Congress. (2018). Slave narratives: A folk history of slavery in the U.S., Texas Narratives, Vol. 1, p. 244; Alabama Narratives, Vol. 1, p. 21.

“…pokeweed.”

Narrative of Gus Smith.

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

Gus Smith

“…even though it was flyspecked…”

See “…a prominent old portrait…,” above.

I am imagining Anarcha’s time inside the Mason home, but direct accounts (see “…Anarcha was of little value…,” above) suggest that she was quite familiar to Charles Mason.

Shackelford, G. G., & Monticello Association of the descendants of Thomas Jefferson. (1984). Collected papers of the Monticello Association of the descendants of Thomas Jefferson. Charlottesville, Virginia: Monticello Association, p. 85.

“…piece of rock candy medicine…”

See “…a brass warming pan…,” above.

“She met the four children…”

The 1860 Census for Charles Mason’s family provides the children’s ages from several years earlier.

“Rannie”—Letter from Maria Mason to Charles Mason, date unreadable, but most certainly mid-1863, not long after the Mason home burned.

“Lucy”—Letter from Maria Mason to Charles Mason, Jr., April 19, probably 1864.

“Jack,” “Ranny”—Letter from Lucy Mason to Charles Mason, Jr., June 10, 1867.

All of these letters are in the possession of Angus Lamond, of Lynchburg, Virginia. Mr. Lamond is a descendant of the Mason family.

“…croquet was the most exciting game.”

Letter from Lucy Mason to Charles Mason, Jr., June 10, 1867, in the possession of Angus Lamond, of Lynchburg, Virginia. Mr. Lamond is a descendant of the Mason family.

“…liked Lorenzo very much.”

I am making this inference from the fact that “Jack”—John E. Mason—appeared many years later on the will of Lorenzo Jackson, which is held at the probate office of King George County, in King George, Virginia.

“…Wilson was six and sickly…”

As is documented below, Wilson dies in 1866.

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. 155.

“…any more white children…”

See “…Maria Caroline…” and “…Harriet succumbed…,” above.

“…buying all of the lieutenant colonel’s land and slaves…”

See “On December 16, 1862…,” above.

The deed between William L. Maury and James T. White, his brother-in-law, was signed in Richmond and is held at the Central Rappahannock Heritage Center in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

“…he had an agreement with James T. White.”

There is ambiguity to who was enslaving Anarcha at this point—and to the moment of emancipation. Charles Mason wrote to James T. White in December of 1864 to ask after “the wishes of Anky’s owners” (as appears in the printed book). He appears to be unaware that William L. Maury had sold out completely to his brother-in-law in 1862. I suspect that this was a deal brokered to protect Maury’s property rather than to intend to actually sell everything to his relative—but Mason would have had no reason to be aware of that subtlety.

Letter from Charles Mason to James T. White, Old Mansion, December 11, 1864, held in the Maury Family materials at the Special Collections department of the Swem Library at William and Mary College in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Maury, A. (1941). Intimate Virginiana; a century of Maury travels by land and sea. Richmond, Va: Dietz Press, p. 293.

“…sickly with her limp and her cough…”

See “…could tell from her cough…,” above.

“…nothing she had tried…”

Narratives of John F. Van Hook, Taby Jones, Lillian Clarke, and Allen Sims.

Library of Congress. (2018). Slave narratives: A folk history of slavery in the U.S., Georgia Narratives, Vol. 4, p. 95 (Van Hook); Alabama Narratives, Vol. 1, p. 343 (Sims).

Perdue, C. L., Barden, T. E., & Phillips, R. K. (1997). Weevils in the wheat: Interviews with Virginia ex-slaves. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, p. 73 (Clarke).

Rawick, G. P., Hillegas, J., & Lawrence, K. (1978). The American slave: A composite autobiography: supplement, series 2. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Pub, Vol. 6, Texas, p. 2150 (Jones).