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THE CALHOUN, KY NARRATIVES By: Rachel, Bridget, Alyssa, and Amanda. Characters. Josephine Hall- 26 years old Isaac Hall- 8 years old William Douglass- 47 years old Elijah Walker- 32 years old Lucy Walker- 22 years old Jamie Walker- 5 years old. PHASE ONE: CAPTIVITY. Slave Auction.
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THE CALHOUN, KY NARRATIVESBy: Rachel, Bridget, Alyssa, and Amanda
Characters • Josephine Hall- 26 years old • Isaac Hall- 8 years old • William Douglass- 47 years old • Elijah Walker- 32 years old • Lucy Walker- 22 years old • Jamie Walker- 5 years old
Slave Auction • Took place in Morgantown, KY in August, 1855 • Dehumanizing, invasive examinations of the slaves. • Josephine and Isaac were bought by Elijah Walker. • William is also bought by Elijah. • Elijah also bought ten other field hands.
Josephine: House Slave • Worked under Lucy, the mistress of the plantation • Cleaned, cooked, took care of Jamie, Lucy and Elijah's son, did the laundry, did the housework, knit • Under high scrutiny and dealt with a lot of frustration from Lucy
Isaac: Playmate • Appointed as playmate for Jamie • Keeps him company, plays games with him • Given to Jamie as personal slave • Wasn't allowed to learn how to read and write with Jamie
William: Blacksmith • Worked as a blacksmith • Had a higher position among the slaves because of his skill • Took pride in his work • Helped build furniture for the slave quarters in his spare time
The Wedding of Lucretia and SolomonSix Months After Arriving on the Walker Farm • Had no legal standing • Was preformed outside their slave quarters on Sunday night with a Bible that they had smuggled in • William preformed the ceremony • "Jumping the broom": signified that they were truly married • Small, quiet reception in the slave quarters afterwards- Josephine and William meet here and get to know each other, Isaac gets to play with the other children
William and JosephineWhile Dancing • "Tha's a might fine chile there, ma'am," • "Thank you, suh. T'what do I owe the pleausuh?" • "I'm William, from the smithin' shop. What can I call you?" • "My name's Josephine. I work up in the big house over yonder." • "What's the boy's name?" • "He's Isaac. He's workin' up to go out on the field soon, but for now he's up in the house with me."
(continued) • "Dat's a hard life, out on the fields. I had a son about that age back in South Carolina. His name was Benjamin." • "Sorry, 'was' named Benjamin?" • "Boy put rocks in his cotton bag once. Not a pretty sight what come of it, mass'a brought the whip. He didn't fare all too well afta...died from a fever."
Three Years Later (1858) • Isaac is now working in the fields at age eleven • Hard for him to adjust to the long hours and the hard labor after working as a playmate • Lucy has had the baby (a three year old girl named Sarah) • Josephine has more responsibilities around the house, but her and Lucy have grown rather close
The Overseer • Mr. Severe was the overseer on the Walker plantation • He noticed that Isaac wasn't picking enough cotton and whipped him often • All the slaves hated him and Lucy thought he was barbaric because he whipped the slaves every morning as they left the slave quarters • William saw the aftermath of the whipping and resolved to get Isaac off of the plantation before he died like his son Benjamin
William and Isaac's EscapeOne Year Later (1859) • Elijah went into town on business for the weekend and Lucy and Josephine were busy taking care of Sarah • William and Isaac slip away into the woods under the cover of night to travel north to freedom • Josephine was unable to go with them but she was willing to remain a slave knowing that her son had a chance at freedom
(continued) • William and Isaac travel by the North Star until they find a house that is part of the Underground Railroad • They are provided with help from others on the Underground Railroad until they reach the free state of Indiana
Josephine • When the master returned he was infuriated at the fact that two of his slaves had escaped during his absence. • Knowing that Isaac was her son, Elijah kicked her out of the house and forced her to become a field slave, much to Lucy's dismay • Josephine worked in the fields until 1865, when she was freed after the Civil War
William and Isaac Freed • At first they have no money, no home, and they have to steal food to survive. • William eventually gets a job as a blacksmith in Rising Sun, Indiana • Isaac learns the trade of black smithing from William • They help other escaped slaves by becoming a part of the Underground Railroad • They did this up to and during the Civil War, since Isaac was to young to fight and William was too old
Josephine • Josephine never reunited with William or Isaac and never knew what became of them. • She found her husband, Jack, and they had two more children by the names of the William and Meredith. • They lived in poverty for many years but eventually built and settled in a small log cabin in Georgia
Works Cited • http://www.gwu.edu/~folklife/bighouse/panel19.html • http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=2205 • http://www.startum.com/slaveweddings.htm • http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/wpa/anderso1.html • http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/wpa/reynold1.html • http://www.gutenberg.org/files/23/23-h/23-h.htm • http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/wpa/crocket1.html