Anglo-American Perspectives

Anglo-American perspectives are defined as documents created by white women and men which contain textual references to African-Americans and shed light on the lives and experiences of African-American women. Most of the sources included in this section pertains to slavery times from whence very few African-American voices exist. In many cases this means countless passing references and scattered documents buried deep in collections whose major focus is not the lives of African-Americans. Some of these records are not gender-detailed, but contain references to activities and communities likely to have included African-American women or which provide a context for the experiences of African-American women. Not included in this section are the multitude of Anglo-American sources that document theoretical and political attitudes towards slavery, emancipation, suffrage, or civil rights.

Although Anglo-American perspectives may often be the primary sources of documentation for black life in American during certain time periods, they should not be viewed as the primary perspective, nor as a singular point of view. The authors identified below are diarists, travelers, teachers, and merchants who provide valuable commentary on the religiosity, work and family life, and political activity of black women and men. They do so with varying degrees of bitterness, paternalism, and honesty.

Given the varied circumstances under which these sources were recorded, it is impossible to suggest a uniform approach to the collections. However, it is important that a researcher relying on this information be aware of the multi-layered assumptions from which that information comes. Anglo-American perspectives on African-American women generally consist of observations made from considerable distance. When using documents involving a shared experience between blacks and whites, it is imperative to recognize the existence of separate realities resulting from a complex system of social constructs and power relations which differ greatly between the two.

For example, a Mississippi slave owners' daughter writes in anger at the fact that her father's slaves are deserting the plantation. She repeatedly notes that slaves are being "persuaded off" the plantation by older slaves. One interpretation of her use of the term "persuased" is that the slaves would not otherwise be motivated to leave. From what sources does the daughter derive this perspective - from her family, newspaper articles, talking with the slaves themselves? While this journal provides valuable documentation of the desertion process, useful information can be derived only when the bias of the author is factored into the interpretation.

Jessie Daniel Ames Papers, 1902-1946. 1 Item. Tryon, North Carolina.

Photocopy of a history, or possibly preparatory notes for a work on the founding of the Woman's Division of the Commission on Interracial Cooperation in 1920 and a summary of its activities up to 1940. Included are the text of speeches made by Mary Washington, Charlotte Hawkins Brown and others; membership lists and some financial records.

William T. Bain Papers, 1850-1865. 89 Items. Raleigh, North Carolina.

Principally the family letters of a white slave owner and his wife and children to his daughter Mollie Bain Bitting in Germantown, North Carolina. The bulk of the collection deals with family business, however correspondence that discusses slavery provides information on the training of servants and the practice of "hiring out" female slaves for punishment.

Archibald Boyd Letters, 1841-1897. 46 Items. Lenox Castle, North Carolina.

Business correspondence of Boyd, a white landholder. Included are the letters from slave trader Samuel R. Browning reporting on the health of the slaves, the conditions of the market and the effect of a Cholera scare on his sales. One letter describes a woman who gave birth while being marched about by the trader.

George Bradley Letters, 1845-1868. 6 Items. Powhatan Co., Virginia.

Includes a letter dated January 10, 1868 relating to another white man's attempt to entice Martha, a cook in Bradley's service, into his own employment. In Bradley's repudiation he addresses the issue of employing blacks vs. whites as well as Martha's monthly contract which she was at liberty to break.

John Emory Bryant Papers, 1851-1907. 1,818 Items & 40 Volumes. Maine & Georgia.

Personal and political papers of Bryant, white member of the Radical Republican party during Reconstruction. He served in the 8th Maine Volunteers in the 1860s and while doing so described in his correspondence black religious practices, the organization of slaves during an owners absence and an expedition to "bring back" 800 ex-slaves in South Carolina. In 1865 he worked as an agent in the Freedmen's Bureau in Augusta, Georgia under General Saxton. His letterbook and his wife Emma Spaulding Bryant's journal for 1865 and 1866 reveal the chaotic conditions among the destitute ex-slaves who thronged into Augusta and the work of the agents connected to the Augusta Bureau. Included in the collection are a series of letters from Henry McNeal Turner, a black Republican who later became a Bishop in the African Methodist Church. Also included are the correspondence, letterbook and scrapbook of and William Anderson Pledger, a black Republican politician and educator. These sources are of use in providing context for the history of black women in this period.

Robert Carter Papers, 1772-1794. 18 Volumes. Westmoreland County, Virginia.

Letterbooks and accounts of Carter, prominent Virginia planter who owned and/or administered eighteen plantations in Virginia. By 1791 he owned about 2400 slaves whose labor, supplies and discipline he continually supervised. His records reveal a meticulous attention to his various businesses and disclose a great many details of the lives, training, and hiring of slaves as well as the management of overseers.

Cronly Family Papers, 1806-1944. 1,962 Items & 66 Volumes. Wilmington, North Carolina.

Personal and financial papers of the Cronley Family of Wilmington, North Carolina. Jane M. Cronley's short stories and memoirs are devoted in large part to her family's relationship with their slaves both before and after Emancipation. Also included are two small volumes dealing with the 1898 Wilmington race riot. They appear to have been written by Jane Cronley and are highly critical of the white residents of Wilmington. She condemns them as persecutors and murderers of innocent blacks.

Samuel Smith Downey Papers, 1762-1965. 3,276 Items & 3 Volumes. Granville County, N. C.

The papers of Samuel S. Downey concern his administration of the estate of John G. Smith and the many suits involving the estate, the management of plantations in Mississippi and North Carolina including correspondence and legal papers dealing with hiring slaves, and a record book of slave births and deaths. The record book (1828-1874) occasionally notes the cause of death and the number of children born to each mother.

Dromgoole & Robinson Papers, 1767-1974. 2,685 Items & 6 Volumes. Lawrenceville, Virginia.

Papers of George Coke Dromgoole and Richard B. Robinson, his partner in business. Dromgoole was a large planter and a prominent politician who served in both houses of the state legislature and was a Congressman between 1835-1847. The correspondence reflects and refers to the issues of plantation and slave management, and after the Civil War many letters to Dromgoole are from his land tenants concerning farming and financial arrangements. A daybook running from 1847-1869 includes the work records for slaves and freedmen.

Kate Foster Diary, 1863-1872. 1 Item & 1 Volume. Adams County, Mississippi.

Diary of the daughter of James Foster, plantation owner of Madison Parish, Louisiana. Approximately two-thirds of the entries date from the latter half of 1863 and concern the Civil War, the effect of the war on her home and on local blacks and Foster's opinion about the righteousness of the Southern cause. The diary provides rich illustration of the desertion on the part of slaves from the plantation, many of whom were women with children.

William Gibbons Jr. Papers, 1728-1803. 807 Items & 1 Volume. Savannah, Georgia.

Correspondence and financial papers of William Gibbons, wealthy rice planter and justice of the peace of Chatham County, Georgia. The bulk of the collection begins in the 1750s and describes life on some of the early large plantations in Georgia. They include continuing comments of the purchase, management and sale of slaves and the activities of plantation management in general.

Tyre Glen Papers, 1820-1889. 1,261 Items. Surrey County, North Carolina.

The collection contains letters and papers of Tyre Glen, planter, constable, general merchant and slave trader who entered the slave trading business in the early 1820s. The collection contains many receipts for slaves, and records of original cost and amounts slaves sold for, as well as money spent on maintenance. The correspondence reveals information on the slave trade business as well as on the character of a trader.

Edward L. Hartz Papers, 1861-1867. 392 Items. Pottsville, Pennsylvania.

Official military correspondence of United States Army Officer Edward L. Hartz including documents relating to a secret U. S. expedition to return dissatisfied black colonists from Haiti to the U. S. in 1864. A list of colonists gives information on gender and age.

Benjamin Sherwood Hedrick Papers, 1848-1893. 6,033 Items & 4 Volumes. Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Personal and business correspondence of Benjamin Sherwood Hedrick, professor of chemistry at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1854-56, and examiner in the Patent Office, Washington D. C., 1861-1886, who was expelled from the University for his attitude on slavery and was forced to leave the state in 1856. His wife, Mary Ellen Thompson, writes valuable letters describing the state of affairs in Chapel Hill, and the activities of various black women during Reconstruction. Throughout the collection are observations about black activity vis-a-vis politics, suffrage, the KKK, and the Republican Party.

Alice J. Cutright Kaine Papers, 1864-1947. 305 Items. Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Correspondence, writings, printed materials, and photographs chiefly concern Kaine's administrative work at the Tuskegee Institute (Tuskegee, Ala.) during the 1890s. During this time, she developed close relationships with both Booker T. Washington and his wife Margaret, as well as their children. Kaine's letters home describe Washington's management style and educational philosophy, her relationships with the Washington children, and the numerous trips into the homes and churches of the Tuskegee community. Also included are letters to Kaine after her return to Wisconsin from Margaret Washington ca. 1900 - 1910.

Key Family Papers, 1792-1856. 10 Items. Maryland.

Correspondence of the Key Family include notes on a 1849 legal case concerning the seizure in 1848 of 77 fugitive slaves on the Potomac River.

John Richardson Kilby Papers, 1755-1919. 39,489 Items & 19 Volumes. Suffolk, Virginia.

Business and personal papers of John Richardson Kilby (1819-1878) and Wilbur John Kilby (1850-1878), father and son lawyers of Suffolk, Virginia. There are numerous references in the correspondence to the work of the American Colonization Society, including attempts made to rouse interest in the Society among free blacks, and a letter from former slave Randall Kilby detailing the conditions and activities of J. R. Kilby's former slaves in Liberia. Letters also refer to the Negro Reformatory Association of Virginia, and a legal case concerning Harriet Whitehead, a white woman whose mind had become impaired during the Nat Turner Rebellion when all other members of her family were killed.

Julia Lord Loveland Papers, 1855-1965. 31 Items & 2 Volumes. Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

Included is a diary kept by Loveland on two trips south with her cousin to Richmond and Florida, 1855 & 1856. The Richmond trip is well documented and includes many references to the religious practices and general condition of blacks in Richmond.

William George Matton Papers, 1859-1887. 4 Items. High Point, North Carolina.

Papers of William George Matton, minister and presiding elder of the Northern [integrated] Methodist Episcopal Church in North Carolina, containing his memoirs (1866-1883) concerning his decision to come to the South as a preacher. He was immediately in conflict with the Southern [segregated] Methodist Episcopal Church as he taught and preached to black congregations. Throughout his memoirs he discusses relations with the Southern Methodists, relations between the white and black members of the church, and church sponsorship of schools for both white and black students, Bennett College at Greensboro (a black women's college) and North Carolina Seminary at High Point.

John Moore Mccalla Papers, 1785-1917. 1,813 Items & 40 Volumes. Lexington, Ky & Washington, DC.

Personal, business, financial, military and legal correspondence, letter books, journals, and clippings of John Moore McCalla, lawyer, politician, and brigadier general of the Kentucky Military. Included are letters from former slaves in Liberia on conditions there in 1834 and 1836, and a journal kept by Dr. John Moore McCalla Jr. during his 1860 trip to return a shipload of illegally transported Africans to Liberia under the auspices of the American Colonization Society. The journal notes the behaviors of the Waydah people on the ship, the presence of a "princess", and descriptions of Liberian officials and politics.

Benjamin Muse Papers, 1919-1973. 747 Items. Reston, Virginia.

Papers of Benjamin Muse, politician, journalist, experimental farmer, and civil rights activist. In 1959 Muse was given a post on the Southern Regional Council (formerly the Committee on Interracial Cooperation) and was director of their leadership project from 1959-1964. Included in the collection are fifteen speeches on the race question delivered in various places in the South. Also are drafts and notes on three of his books dealing with race relations: Virginia's Massive Resistance, Ten Years of Prelude, and The American Negro Revolution. Of particular interest is the "Memoranda," reports issued to the SRC on his conversations with Southern leaders and observations on race relations made during the five years he spent traveling through the South, when integration and the Civil Rights Movement were having their biggest impact. While predominantly conversations with white men, these reports provided detailed accounts of school desegregation, lunch counter sit-ins, and student activism throughout the south. As such they provide context for the lives of southern African-American women in the early 1960s.

Rankin-Parker Collection Ca. 1880. 3 Items. Ripley, Ohio.

The collection contains the autobiography of the Reverend John Rankin and the biography of John Parker, an ex-slave who Rankin worked with for the Underground Railroad. Rankin was active in the Garrisson Anti-Slavery movement and was mobbed for his views more than twenty times. John Parker was born into slavery and bought his freedom in 1845. Included is the story of Eliza's escape across the Ohio river, which was later supposedly used by Harriet Beecher Stowe in Uncle Tom's Cabin.

William W. Renwick Papers, 1792-1949. 2,393 Items And 12 Volumes. Newberry , South Carolina.

Includes correspondence concerning the evils of slavery (1821), the fear of a slave rebellion (1831), the murder of a master by his slave and slave religious instruction (1842), and a letter from John R. Lyon in 1853 tells of one of his runaway slaves hanging herself.

Mrs. Smith Diary, 1793. 1 Volume.

Journal of Mrs. Smith describing a voyage from Boston, Massachusetts to Savannah, Georgia. Once in Savannah, in the first third of the journal she makes numerous observations concerning the work and religion of slaves there. For example, she notes that slaves have a black religious leader, and that whites use black religious services for their own entertainment and curiosity.

William Smith Papers, 1785-1860. 327 Items. London, England.

Papers of William Smith, member of Parliament, relate chiefly to the movement in England to abolish slavery. The collection includes letters from William Wilberforce discussing resolutions and plans for the abolition of slavery, the Anti-Slavery Society, the Spanish slave trade and Jamaican slave laws. There are also letters from planters in Jamaica, St. Vincent, Bermuda, Nevis, Barbadoes and Berbice discussing the condition of slaves and slavery on the islands. Extensive printed and miscellaneous papers include research notes on the number of ships involved in the slave trade, the rate of death on slave ships, methods of obtaining slaves, eyewitness accounts of slave treatment, data on the "breeding vs importation" question, and runaway statistics from various islands.

Emma Juliana & John P. Smith Letterbook, 1843-1845. 1 Item. Pernambuco, Brazil.

Letters from Emma Julianna Gray Smith and John P. George Smith while on an expedition in Brazil to collect various specimens of animal, insect, and plant life. The letters give a descriptive account of Brazilian life: Emma's letters are very full and detailed, and comment extensively on black Brazilian life and culture.

Edward Telfair Papers, 1764-1831. 906 Items & 5 Volumes. Savannah, Georgia.

Papers of a merchant, governor of Georgia, and delegate to the Continental Congress. Telfair's mercantile firm dealt in slaves, among other things, and the correspondence includes discussion of the management of slaves, purchase and sale of slaves, runaway slaves, the mortality rate of slaves born on a plantation, the difficulty of selling closely related slaves, and the relations between whites and free blacks.

Ella Gertrude Clanton Thomas Diary, 1848-1889. 13 Volumes. Augusta, Georgia.

Journal of Thomas who lived with her husband on the Belmont plantation in Richmond County, Georgia, chronicles the family's rise and fall during the Civil War era. The Thomas owned 90 slaves and often went to a black church to hear black preachers, where Thomas especially interested in Sam Drayton. The diary comments on their attendance at slave weddings and revivals, reviews Uncle Tom's Cabin, and discusses the relationships of black women and white men. Of particular interest are two letters from former slave Carrie Carr to Thomas in the early 1900s.

Townsend Family Papers, 1635-1948. 2.4 Linear Feet. Windsor County, Connecticut.

Correspondence and journals of various members of the Townsend family. The collection includes the records of Bessie Meacham (1883-1970) a teacher in the South with the American Missionary Association. Meacham taught in a number of black schools in Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee from 1912 until ca. 1945 and was attuned to the political and social issues raised by being a white teacher in a black environment, in her journals she sporadically comments on her life as such. Also included are class photographs, pictures of her students' families and homes, and student activities.

Peter Wainwright Jr. Papers, 1767-1870. 290 Items. Boston, Massachusetts.

Correspondence and papers of Peter Wainwright Jr., banker and churchwarden. In 1812 he identifies himself as a slave driver and writes of how he punishes slaves, and of the education of a slave who wanted to learn to read.

Amber Arthun Warburton Papers, 1917-1976. 31,400 Items. Mcclean, Virginia.

Papers and records of Amber Arthun Warburton (1898-1976), teacher, librarian, New Deal administrator, Children's Bureau researcher and executive secretary and director of research for the Alliance for Guidance of Rural Youth. Her records include those kept while teaching economics at Spellman College in 1929 and include student autobiographies and surveys of standards of living in black districts of Atlanta.

Manchester Ward Weld Papers, 1847-Ca.1870. 1 Item & 1 Volume. New York, New York.

Volume contains a compendium of lawsuits and cases aired before agents of the Freeedmen's Bureau, 1865-1868. Disputes include wages and several involve the efforts of black men to recover their wives from white owners who refused to set them free. Also listed is the amount of rations given both to poor whites and ex-slaves.

Francis Cope Yarnall Papers, 1853-1861. 4 Items & 1 Volume. Wynndown, Overbrook, Penn.

Volume entitled "Letters on Slavery" of Francis Cope Yarnall, a businessman with interests in railroads, coal operations, and slate quarries. The work discusses the institution of slavery in the South and is followed by a series of letters between Yarnall and "Professor M" in which Yarnall attacks slavery and "M" defends it. Topics discussed include conditions and treatment of slaves, house servants, field hands, women gang leaders, and the role of female slaves as healers.