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…
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…
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…
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…
The number of enslaved people in Virginia on the eve of the Civil War is detailed in this map based on the U.S. Census figures of 1860, which was the last official count of enslaved African Americans in the United States. The map, created by the…
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…
George Mason held men, women, and children in bondage until the end of his life. . . And yet, Mason’s writings reveal his intense dislike of the institution of slavery. He was outspoken and consistent in his disapproval.
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…
The article discusses the challenges in locating the burials of the enslaved. The locations of burials of enslaved people at Mount Vernon, Loudoun County, the University of Virginia property, etc. are described. The author provides insight into the…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
A selection of runaway slave advertisements from the Virginia Gazette and the Maryland Gazette between the years 1745 -1775 are included on line. Advertisements usually include a description of the enslaved, the reward offered, and the name of the…
William Gooding operated a tavern on Little River Turnpike just west of the Little River United Church of Christ. He enslaved over twenty people. Some of the enslaved are believed to be buried near the church property.
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…
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…
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.
