My thanks to Mr.Brooks and Ms. Little.
The enslaved at the College did have, apparently, some economic independence. Lemon sold produce to the College and was famous for his oyster dinners; and the Bursar’s books show payments for beef, mutton, hops, etc. from the College's Nottoway Plantation, presumably to the the enslaved there for what they raised on their own time. So, yes, I think an enslaved man could have money to loan.
I’m sure the man I’m interested in was enslaved by the College. And it did occur to me that perhaps he was hiring out his wife or a daughter. But then I wondered….. wouldn’t his daughter have been enslaved by the College too as his child as a matter of course? And his wife—if enslaved by someone else, she wouldn’t be available…. perhaps, though, she was a free Black?
Lacking any evidence at all of an enslaved person enslaving others, I now think that is out of the question.
Partly my query was driven by some free Blacks enslaving other Blacks, including one local example I recalled from some years ago (there must be a story here, of a Black woman leaving France to move to Virginia, but what it is I don’t know):
I
Parsons, Zizzy, 158<https://libraries.wm.edu/um/archive/bucktrout/cf.swem.wm.edu/exhibits/bucktrout/display.cfm_target=0169.html>; born c1748, France; free black; came to Williamsburg c1770; Roman Catholic Church member in France; owned Richard Crump House 1822-47; owned several slaves, 2 horses & a gig; died Nov. 24, 1859, Williamsburg
https://libraries.wm.edu/um/archive/bucktrout/cf.swem.wm.edu/exhibits/bucktrout/name-index.cfm.html
As always, I am grateful for the wisdom and knowledge of the List.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Terry L.. Meyers, Chancellor Professor of English, Emeritus<http://wmpeople.wm.edu/site/page/tlmeye/>, The College of William and Mary, in Virginia, Williamsburg 23187
Plant 8 trees for $<https://edenprojects.org>1 Or save several trees for free<http://www.ecologyfund.com/ecology/_ecology.html> Or use the browser Ecosia<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecosia>
————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Have we got a college? Have we got a football team?....Well, we can't afford both. Tomorrow we start tearing down the college. --Groucho Marx, in "Horse Feathers."
______________________________________
To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at
https://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html
This list is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
|
