On View
Slavery and Freedom Gallery
Exhibition
Slavery and Freedom
Written by
Wayland Weaver, Eleanor, American, 1773 - 1855
Subject of
Turner, Nat, American, 1800 - 1831
Received by
Miller, Theodosia, American, 1799 - 1880
Miller, Jacob Frederick, American, 1792 - 1849
Date
January 6, 1832
Medium
ink on paper (fiber product)
Dimensions
H x W (Closed): 12 1/2 × 7 15/16 in. (31.7 × 20.1 cm)
Description
A letter from Eleanor Wayland Weaver in Madison County, Virginia, to her daughter Theodosia and son-in-law Jacob in Lewisburg, Ohio, sent January 6, 1832. The letter discusses Nat Turner's rebellion, writing:
[Dear Children you appeared to be very much alarmed about us respecting the Negroes rising we have no cause of alarm at present but how soon we can't say. all the mischief done was confined to one county in the lower part of this state the County of Southampton. There was about 67 persons old & young put to death by about eight or ten Negroes ring leaders & some few they forced to assit them. Say from 20 to thirty headed by a Negro preacher. All the murders was done in about 24 hours. They have all bin taken & put to death General Nat the preacher absconded & kept ou of the way for several weeks but he was at last taken & put to death. We hope our government wil ltake some steps to put down Negro preaching. It is those large assemblies of Negroes causes the mischief. However I wish we had not one in this country they are an unhappy race & renders all those that have them unhappy. However we have them & we must do the best we can with them.]
Letter is black script on single sheet of paper folded to be its own envelope. There are losses to the paper where the wax affixed the edges closed.
Place depicted
Madison County, Virginia, United States, North and Central America
Lewisburg, Preble County, Ohio, United States, North and Central America
Southampton County, Virginia, United States, North and Central America
Classification
Slavery and Freedom Objects
Documents and Manuscripts
Type
letters (correspondence)
Topic
Correspondence
Resistance
Slavery
Violence
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
Object number
2019.28.8
Restrictions & Rights
Public domain
Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5648c45d1-2e64-4f9a-8aa8-bbb0cebe378d

Cataloging is an ongoing process and we may update this record as we conduct additional research and review. If you have more information about this object, please contact us at NMAAHCDigiTeam@si.edu

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