Page 39

“…Aledbaran or Antares.”

Clerke, A. M. (1995). A popular history of astronomy during the nineteenth century: By Agnes M. Clerke, p. 132.

“…driven by a big wind…”

Clerke, A. M. (1995). A popular history of astronomy during the nineteenth century: By Agnes M. Clerke, p. 132.

“…there were really two tails…”

The Adams Sentinel (Gettysburg, PA), November 2, 1835, p. 4.

“…it swung back and forth…”

Clerke, A. M. (1995). A popular history of astronomy during the nineteenth century: By Agnes M. Clerke, p. 133.

“…vanished near the sun.”

Clerke, A. M. (1995). A popular history of astronomy during the nineteenth century: By Agnes M. Clerke, p. 133.

“…Anarcha had been leased…”

This is an inference drawn from the fact that an “Anarcha” appears in Sims’s autobiography, enslaved by Charles Lucas in Mount Meigs, Alabama, where Sims established his first practice and contracted malaria. Although Sims does not explicitly state that the Anarcha he refers to in this part of the book is the same Anarcha upon whom he later performs experiments, several factors suggest they are one and the same. First, the ages match: Anarcha is described as a young girl in 1836 and as a seventeen-year-old nine years later, in 1845. Second, Anarcha was not a particularly popular name. Third, the fervor with which Sims describes Anarcha’s nursing abilities, in his own handwriting—which appears later in the book—suggests that Sims himself knew what it was like to be cared for by Anarcha. Last, Sims himself supplied the name of Anarcha, without noting that this was not the same young woman. By the time of the writing of his autobiography, Sims knew that Anarcha had not been cured, and that the romantic narrative of his career was hanging by a thread. What is most surprising is that the name appears in this portion of Sims’s autobiography at all. Had he finished the book and subjected it to an edit, I suspect he would have removed the name.

SIMS, J. Marion, (1885). The Story of my Life, ed. by H. Marion-Sims. D. Appleton & Co: New York, p. 171.

“…to Rose Hill…”

From a brief, unpublished portrait of Rose Hill written by A.T. Dreyspring dated September 30, 1932, p. 1. The copy I saw was held at the Alabama Department of Archives and History in Montgomery, Alabama. I placed Anarcha at the Rose Hill plantation, rather than the Bright Spot plantation of Lucas’s relative, Charles Lucas, who attended to Sims during his malaria, because Rose Hill was much larger, and this made it much more likely that they would need help to contend with epidemics.

“…perhaps fifteen hundred slaves…”

From a brief, unpublished portrait of Rose Hill written by A.T. Dreyspring dated September 30, 1932, p.1. The copy I saw was held at the Alabama Department of Archives and History in Montgomery, Alabama.

“…until the time came for her to get married…”

This is inferred from the fact that Anarcha was, in fact, on the Westcott plantation at the time of her first pregnancy, in 1844-45. In addition, Eliza Westcott was running the Westcott plantation on her own between 1828 and 1841, and leasing Anarcha away would have saved money on resources and earned money for her specialized labor. When she reached child-bearing age, she would have been much more valuable as a potential “breeder.”

“…first stop for the stage…”

From a document copied from the Birmingham Age-Herald, April 10, 1892. The document is titled “Murmur of the World,” unsigned, and is held at the Alabama Department of Archives and History in Montgomery, Alabama, p. 2.

“A row of oak trees…”

From a brief, unpublished portrait of Rose Hill written by A.T. Dreyspring dated September 30, 1932, p. 3. The copy I saw was held at the Alabama Department of Archives and History in Montgomery, Alabama.

“…for the house slaves…”

From a brief, unpublished portrait of Rose Hill written by A.T. Dreyspring dated September 30, 1932, p. 3. The copy I saw was held at the Alabama Department of Archives and History in Montgomery, Alabama.

“…worked for a white gardener…”

From a document copied from the Birmingham Age-Herald, April 10, 1892. The document is titled “Murmur of the World,” unsigned, and is held at the Alabama Department of Archives and History in Montgomery, Alabama, p. 3.

“…growing flowers…”

From a brief, unpublished portrait of Rose Hill written by A.T. Dreyspring dated September 30, 1932, p. 2. The copy I saw was held at the Alabama Department of Archives and History in Montgomery, Alabama.

“The lower quarters…”

The portraits of the Lucas properties I found gave no indication of how the Lucas field hands lived. My portrait of the Lucas plantation lower quarters is built from various descriptions in the slave narratives.

Narratives of Katherine Eppes, Cull Taylor, Frank Fikes, and Harriet McFarlin Payne.

Library of Congress. (2018). Slave narratives: A folk history of slavery in the U.S., Alabama Narratives, Vol. 1, pp. 119, 363; Arkansas Narratives, Vol. 2, p. 284, Vol. 5, p. 301.

“…for a time in the morning…”

Narrative of Charlie Williams.

Library of Congress. (2018). Slave narratives: A folk history of slavery in the U.S., Oklahoma Narratives, Vol. 1, pp. 334-35.