In 1784, the Moss Family built their home Green Spring on their 540 acres of farmland. Most likely slave labor was involved in building the home. In 1795 John Moss wrote a deed of manumission (emancipation from slavery) for 14 slaves on Green Spring…
"George Mason enslaved at least 300 people, many of whom lived on his property on Mason Neck. We know the names of a few of these people such as James, who spent his days as George Mason’s valet, and Nell, who was a midwife and an enslaved house…
Records indicate that there were enslaved persons held at Mount Eagle. Bryan Fairfax, who died in 1802, left Mount Eagle and some of his enslaved people to his son Ferdinando. He listed the enslaved people by name in his bequest: “the slaves…
In the late 1600s the 22,000-acre Ravensworth Tract, located in what would become Fairfax County, was part of a large land grant in Northern Virginia. By 1782, 203 people were enslaved at Ravensworth. Through six generations, the enslaved people…
At the time of George Washington's death in 1799, more than 300 enslaved men, women, and children lived on his Mount Vernon plantation. Lives Bound Together provides fresh research on
this important topic, with brief biographies of 19 enslaved…
When George Washington was elected president, he reluctantly left his beloved Mount Vernon to serve in Philadelphia, the temporary seat of the nation’s capital. In setting up his household he took Tobias Lear, his celebrated secretary and eight…
When he was eleven years old, George Washington inherited ten human beings. His own life has been well chronicled, but the lives of the people he owned--the people who supported his plantation and were buried in unmarked graves there--have…
Enslaved people were kept in the jail and sold on the courthouse steps. The Historic Records Center in the courthouse has information including the court slavery index…
This painting depicts a man, woman, and child riding on a single horse. The man looks forward while the woman turns to look behind them. The scene is early morning light before sunrise. On the back of the painting is an inscription by the artist: “A…
The owners of Royal Oaks and Mount Gilead used enslaved labor. The Royal Oaks household also included a free African American well before the Civil War (1820). The Newgate Tavern used enslaved and convict labor. Throughout the antebellum period…
The owners of Royal Oaks and Mount Gilead used enslaved labor. The Royal Oaks household also included a free African American well before the Civil War (1820). The Newgate Tavern used enslaved and convict labor. Throughout the antebellum period…
In 1818, the estate of Charles Calvert Stuart, owner of Chantilly included 23 enslaved people. On December 31, 1854, Trolious Riley, Henry Riley, and Douglas Riley, and a man named Vincent, escaped from Chantilly farm in a bid for freedom. They were…
Ellanor C. Lawrence Park, owned and managed by the Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA), the park includes buildings and archaeological remains of a number of historic sites dating from the 18th and 19th centuries.
The park includes the farms of…
Eighteen enslaved people lived at Level Green just prior to the Civil War including Aunt Emily and her six small children, and Aunt Aggie and her adult children, sons Mahlon and Arthur, daughters Mariah and Martha, and six other adult children. After…
A large number of enslaved individuals resided at Sully that was built ca. 1794. Archaeology revealed the presence of three small buildings, which were interpreted as quarters to house enslaved individuals. On the basis of the archaeological…
Coates House Site. The Dutch Colonial Revival home was constructed circa 1935 for Lutie Lewis and Leslie Coates. The Coates family was prominent as farmers and landowners in the Black community and in the Chantilly Baptist Church since the 1870s. The…
The website was created to honor Black History Month. Included are lists of the enslaved and the slave holders and descriptions of families and communities.
The transatlantic slave trade involved the purchase by Europeans of enslaved men, women, and children from Africa and their transportation to the Americas, where they were sold for profit. Between 1517 and 1867, about 12.5 million Africans began the…
The slave ship was the means by which nearly 12.5 million enslaved Africans were transported from Africa to the Americas between 1500 and 1866 as part of the transatlantic slave trade. Slave ships ranged in size from the ten-ton Hesketh, which could…
