John Hubbard, later Gov. of Maine teachs at Dinwiddie Academy

A letter was recently sold on Ebay...
Poplar Grove Va, 28 Octr, a 25 cent rate, and is addressed to Mrs. Elizabeth Barrett, Dresden, Lincoln co., Maine, and is a lengthy three page letter written by Sarah Hubbard to her mother. The headline is Dinwiddie, Va, Oct. 26th, 1828.

Some abstracts:
"I did not inform you of Capt Wade's visiting us last June, yet I mentioned in letters so that you probably are not ignorant of his being here, which you well know could afford us no little gratification. I had for some time been waiting his arrival in Richmond or Petersburg, which was his calculation when he left us. I said if he then should return to Maine he would carry me home if I could leave, which would be a very favorable opportunity for me to embrace."
"The Dr took the trouble to send our servant boy to that place [City Point] to learn the certainty of it, but found him not there, but learned he was at Warwick, 6 miles from Richmond ..."
"Eliza & myself together with my little daughter started, rode on about 18 miles before the Dr overtook us, he rode with us to Petersburg where he was compelled to stop on business to select & purchase books."
"... one Physician was sent for, from Petersburg 12 miles only, his fee was 40 dollars, this with the other charges, board the loss of time expensive for him ..."
"Dr. Hubbard spent only a few hours with him in consequence of Mrs. Branch who lay & still lies very sick."
".... the Dr. haveing but 2 horses his buisness pushing him & the care of a sick negro patient at home & my child with me as mischieveous & noisey as possible the Capt unable to converse but very little & that in the greatest misery oweing to the deep salivation, & my blacks at home relardless of interest of any kind save their own, you will say I had sufficient to hurry me back, but on our way we had the good fortune not to break our necks or bones ... [writes about the Gigg upsetting] ..."
"It was oweing partly to carelessness & viewing a fine quantity of corn which the blacks were gathering, rode so near the fence that a rail or sta[??] run between the spokes and sent us out without any ceremony ..."
[on margin] "Mrs Branch she has the typhus fever. It is generaly healing."

The writer of this letter was the wife of John Hubbard. From an online biography:
"John Hubbard (March 22, 1794 – February 6, 1869) was the 18th Governor of Maine in the United States.
After his graduation he became Principal of the Academy at Hallowell, where he taught two years to earn money to pay the debts incurred in college. He then accepted a flattering offer to go to Dinwiddie County, Virginia, to teach an academy. Here he remained two years, and having decided to take medicine as a profession he entered the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, in 1820, receiving his diploma as Doctor of Medicine in 1822."

Prestwould Plantation, Mecklenburg County, VA

PRESTWOULD PLANTATION

Sir Peyton and Lady Jean Skipwith and their plantation offer a glimpse into the life of grace and elegance of the few in Virginia who owned most of the land. An appreciation of the plantation comes from the diligence of Lady Skipwith in writing about life in that time and her sense of the land and the people working there. Sir Peyton Skipwith, Baronet, was born in the United States where he acquired large tracts of land on the Roanoke River.His acquisitions were attributed to gambling, specifically, a three—day poker game with William Byrd III. The story is a reasonable legend, the gentlemen having not only card house son their properties, but card tables with special storage space for casks. Sir Peyton was married with children, but lost his wife in childbirth. He attended her family, the Millers, in England,and eventually married his sister-in-law, Jean, with whom here turned to Virginia. The remarkable Lady Jean, who had four children after the age of 40, managed the grounds of the plantation, established a 300-volume library in her home, and kept impeccable records of all of the activities and gardening. Her notes on the gardens of Williamsburg helped restorers plan the grounds. When Sir Peyton died, Lady Jean managed the over 10,000 acre plantation, including its ferry service across the Dan River on the banks of the property. Prestwould is unique in its use of native stone, since many homes at the time were constructed of materials shipped from Britain. Research indicates that Sir Peyton planned his home for thirty years, and may have completed the construction begun in 1794 by master builder Jacob Shelor. The house stands on a hill over looking the confluence of the Dan and Roanoke Rivers, now the reservoir, Buggs Island Lake. The copper-roofed house has a central hall and large rooms complete with the original wall-papers ordered by Lady Jean. Scalamandre provided wallpapers for the restoration, and the web site illustrates the incredible result. The wooden outbuildings include a school house, playroom, weaving room, office, ice house, dairy and smoke house, card house, and slave quarters. The plantation was like a medieval village surrounded by stone fences. Sir Peyton and Lady Jean’s graves in the plantation cemetery are engraved only with dates and the Skipwith family crest. The gardens of Prestwould include a giant oak believed to have been witness to meetings of the Occoneechee tribe. The tree, over 300 years old, along with Magnolia grandif lora, Buxus, pecan, and pear trees over 200 years old, frame garden plots set out by Lady Jean. As noted by E.F. Farrar and E. Hines in their book, Old Virginia Houses, Lady Jean “meticulously recorded everything that was planted, what seasons it flowered or produced, its description, and where she had obtained the plants or seeds.”Her journals are invaluable in restoration of Prestwould. Of interest is the early purchases of furniture from various Petersburg craftsmen, Samuel White and Joel Brown. The distance to this plantation in Mecklenburg County, VA off route I-85 from Petersburg, is about 85 miles, shows how much reach the early 18th century urban center of Petersburg had on its outlaying regions. Prestwould is open for afternoon tours until October 31.

Calendar of Virginia State Papers and Other Manuscripts: ... Preserved in ... By Virginia, William Pitt Palmer, Sherwin McRae, Raleigh Edward Colston, Henry W. Flournoy

Calendar of Virginia State Papers and Other Manuscripts: ... Preserved in ... By Virginia, William Pitt Palmer, Sherwin McRae, Raleigh Edward Colston, Henry W. Flournoy: ""

Forged Slave Passes & Certificates of Freedom

Extract of a letter from Petersburg, Virginia, dated August 19, 1785.

Some days ago it was discovered that a person unknown in this town was selling out Certificates of Freedom and Passes to the Slaves, and forging such people's names as were most likely to answer the purpose. By the activity and vigilance of some gentlemen in town, this dangerous villain was apprehended last night, about ten o'clock, in company with some slaves, and just as he had finished a pass for one of them. He was carried before a Magistrate, who committed him to prison for further trial. He at first called himself Joe Thompson, but says his name is Thompson Davis. When he was first apprehended, he entreated one of the gentlemen to shot him with the pistol he had in his hand, and discovered such a behaviour as thoroughly indicated that he suspected some other charge against him, besides the forgeries he had committed and upon tracing his conduct during the time he has been in this place, he is render still more suspicious, wherefore the following description is given of him. He is a native of Ireland, about 5 feet 4 inches high, stout made, sloops a little, short dark brown hair, a deep scar on the right side of his forehead, just below his hair, the right eye is a little remarkable, having the appearance of a film on it, appears to be about 38 years of age, says he is a baker by trade, and that he came last from Richmond, where he had been some time soliciting his pay as a dragoon in Col. Baylor's regiment.

Source: The Pennsylvania Packet, and Daily Advertiser, Wednesday, September 7, 1785.

Dinwiddie's Thomas Day noted in the 2007 NAACP Resolutions

The NAACP made a 2007 Resolution that noted the

Inaccuracies in the Depiction of Africans and African Americans in Social Studies Textbooks

and called for…

WHEREAS Strategic Initiative Nine- Enhancing Educational Excellence, Goal 2, states:

Examine a broad range of educational structures and practices with the objectives of advocating for educational equity and student achievement" and WHEREAS the practice of presenting and perpetuating the general perception of the Africans in school history texts as innately inferior as justification for slavery and the treatment of the freedmen following emancipation, does not advocate educational equity and student achievement of African-American students, and WHEREAS the omission of specific data in documents in today's school history textbooks disproving the statement of inferiority continues, and is a criminal assault upon the hearts, souls and minds of African-American students, and WHEREAS the omission of such data denies African-American students a knowledge of historical facts that would engender pride in their inheritance, and WHEREAS the skills of Africans brought to America with their forced entry upon America's shores are not given full credit in school history texts, and WHEREAS photographs, graphs, drawings, and other illustrations denoting the skills and abilities of slaves are omitted from school history texts, students are denied knowledge about the inventive and creative abilities of the Africans and their descendants in America during the Ante-bellum period in America, and WHEREAS school history texts glorify with many illustrations the product of slave labor, but not the unpaid laborers, describing it as "King Cotton" which made this country and countries abroad economically wealthy, and WHEREAS the many skills, arts, crafts, and creative abilities in music, (examples, Negro Spirituals and names of singers, like Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield, born a slave, a talented singer who performed for Queen Victoria) who were slaves and 'free people of color" are not written about nor illustrated with photographs, therefore, blatantly omitted from school history texts, and WHEREAS the service of Africans and African-Americans in each of America's wars is presented only in statistical numbers without quotes from documents attesting to the extent of their leadership and battlefield courage and a description of the dire and unsatisfactory conditions under which their service was rendered are omitted, and WHEREAS the service of fugitive slaves in the Revolutionary War and the Civil War is not described with sufficient credit in school history texts, even though their service earned for thousands, freedom, and WHEREAS the service of fugitive slaves, called contrabands in the Civil War, fled to Union lines and by their presence in thousands forced attention to their plight and fight for freedom, served as scouts, guides and spies, and at times saved entire Union regiments from Rebel forces, and WHEREAS, the contrabands enlisted when restrictions were lifted, also became like encyclopedias to Confederate territory with their knowledge of the topography of the land, its roads and bridges and with their eyes and ears gave reliable information to the Union unavailable from any other source, and with their strength and abilities gave service in non-combat tasks which freed soldiers to fight led the Union to victory, earned their freedom, and WHEREAS, blacks served in the United States Navy in great numbers, little space is given to this service in the Civil War. WHEREAS, persons in the racial likeness of Benjamin Bradley, a slave inventor, are included. Bradley, "at the age of sixteen, showed great mechanical skill and with pieces of steel and other materials constructed a working model of a steam engine and after the sale of his first steam engine, built an engine large enough to drive the first cutter of a sloop-of-war at the rate of sixteen knots an hour." (Katz, Eyewitness, The Negro in American History, 1967, pp.115-116), and THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that an active protest movement begin with the examination and evaluation of the school history textbooks of Scott Foresman, Houghton-Mifflin, Harcourt and other publishers for omissions, distortions, bias, and insufficient coverage of the contributions of Africans and African-Americans to America with emphasis upon the ante-bellum period, and that efforts are made to effect changes in the books, and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this committee demand that publishers' textbooks include the skills brought to America by Africans, and that the craftsmanship of persons the likes of Horace King, a slave bridge builder; Thomas Day, a free man of color and furniture maker,[1] and Gilbert Hunt, a slave carriage maker and blacksmith, and numerous others are included in their books, and if available, their photographs are included, and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the committee demand that the inventive ingenuity, and creative abilities of slaves and "free persons of color" be included in their books to the extent that the "inferiority perception" is entirely disproved with documentary evidence, and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, Norbert Rillieux whose invention revolutionized the production of sugar; slave Henry Blair, inventor of a seed planting machine; and Benjamin Banneker, an astronomer, mathematician and planner for the location of the Capitol and other federal buildings in the nation's capitol-- along with other inventors' biographical summaries are included in school history texts to further substantiate the fact that the black race is not an inferior race, and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the committee demand that textbooks admit the wrongs of slavery even though the proponents of freedom declared in documents that "all men were created equal..." and furthermore that both George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and each president prior to Abraham Lincoln owned slaves.

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that all students and especially, African-American students, will be able to read in their school history texts an accurate account of the contributions of African-Americans (in all fields of endeavor) to the settlement, growth and development of this country.

My footnote...
[1] In 1801 Thomas Day was born, in Dinwiddie County, Virginia, a free black, the son of John and Morning Day, also free blacks. His father John Day was a carpenter and cabinet-maker in Southside Virginia. Their relationship with the area Quakers, and others, within Dinwiddie County and Petersburg has as yet not been well researched. Thomas’ brother John would go on to Liberia, where he would lose his family due to sickness, and retain high governmental office there. Thomas Day would later become North Carolina’s largest furniture maker at Milton, NC., which afforded him to send his children to private school in the north. He died abt. 1860/61 and was buried at his home site in Milton, NC.

Pocahontas Museum a work of African-American Folk Art

Richard Stewart stands in front of his museum and looks at the small houses scattered around the area known as Pocahontas Island. Then he points toward Interstate 95, visible in the distance, and he shakes his head. "They drive by, 80 miles an hour, day after day," he says. "And they never know that all this history is right here, so close by."
Stewart does his part to let people know. In a region that's filled with African-American history, this small area - whose residents claim it is the oldest black community in the country - has a particularly interesting background, dating back 200 years as a neighborhood largely populated by freed slaves.
Stewart, at age 63, is a lifelong resident of Pocahontas Island, which is not really an island at all - more like a small peninsula almost entirely encircled by a bend in the Appomattox River.
About four years ago, Stewart - a retired civil servant - bought this small house for a little over $20,000 and decided to turn it into a museum dedicated to black history, with an emphasis on the local region but also covering a wide variety of related subjects. "But it's not just black history," he says. "This is a historic house without prejudice. It's about blacks and whites and Jews - it's our history."
The Richard Stewart-Pocahontas Museum does not fit the common preconception of a museum. Not from the outside (it's a small clapboard house on a rundown street), and not on the inside (which resembles a cluttered curio shop). Its truely a piece of African-American Folk Art in its being.
If you sit down with Stewart and listen to him tell the story of the area, of his family, of this museum, you'll be fascinated by what you learn. And if you let him take you from room to room, explaining the significance of the various photos, documents and artifacts, he will make American and African history come to life for you.
Some of it is sad, such as the material focusing on the legacy of slavery or the matter-of-fact newspaper coverage of lynchings. But other material in the museum focuses on black heroes, the Civil Rights movement, and the culture of several African nations. The museum's scope is broad, and its lack of strictly themed exhibits allows guests to wander and explore.
The museum sits across the street from a house that was used as a stopping point for the Underground Railroad. Slaves attempting to escape the South would stay there until they could be safely moved farther north - because Pocahontas Island was predominantly composed of free blacks, the escaping slaves were able to blend into the neighborhood during their stay.
The Underground Railroad house isn't open to the public, but Stewart can explain to you its significance and is one of the few in Petersburg who can tell you about the Keziah Affair, in which a schooner attempted to smuggle five slaves out of Petersburg in 1858.
Looking around the neighborhood, Stewart explains that there are fewer than 100 people still living on Pocahontas Island - mostly older people who have lived here their whole lives, many of them related to one another.
The neighborhood is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, but Stewart wonders how much longer it will be around. Eventually, he admits with a sigh of resignation, it most likely will be bought by developers and used to build new homes or businesses. But for now, Stewart works every day to keep the area's history alive.

Info: 804-861-8889. The Richard Stewart-Pocahontas Museum is open on weekdays, but its hours are irregular. If you're planning a visit, it's best to call ahead and arrange a tour.

Josiah Flagg's 1786 letter about Petersburg

Josiah Flagg wrote from Petersburg in 1786 to his “Dear Coz” as follows:

“This is the most dirty place I ever saw. Nine months of the year the mud is half leg deep, it is a very sickly place owning in great measure to its situation, the Streets are very Irregular, and not a Respectable Building in the Borough, it stands upon the River Appomattox, the water thereof is almost Stagnant as it is navigable for ships of 500 tons one hundred and twenty miles, the Vapors arising from it contaminate the air, with the most pestilential disorders. Agues and fevers of every kind prevail.
“What is the reason that so many merchants are induced to Established Houses there and sacrifice their health? Why their own private emolument. As it is in the heart of a rich County, where remittances may be easily made to their correspondents. The soil is peculiar to the culture of Tobacco, Rice, Corn &c. which are staple commodities. The Virginians as a people are given to luxury and dissipation of every kind, ad are supported in their extravagance by Africa’s sable sons, who they consign to the most Abject Slavery.
A young lady is not valued here for her accomplishments or personal charms, but for the number of Negroes and plantations she possesses, so that merit is out of question. I have not seen a handsome figure since I have been in the place, nor indeed one whose rusticity is wholly obliterated. As to the language, they have as many barbarisms as our most countrified market girls…”[1]

______________________

Josiah Flagg was born: 24 Jul 1763, Boston MA, the son of Josiah Flagg (1738-1795) and Elizabeth Hawke (1741-1816); died September 16, 1816; buried Cemetery of the Circular Church Charleston, Charleston County, South Carolina. Working as a miniaturist in Boston, 1783 and Baltimore, 1784, He was also a musician and practiced dentistry in Boston. He is credited with making in 1790 the first true dental chair, adding a headrest and an extended armrest to a Windsor chair. He apparently had some training in silversmithing with Paul Revere, especially its use in dentistry. A piece of silver with mark attributed to Josiah Flagg has been located in Cutten Collection indicating he may have worked as a silversmith at one time. Whether this is his mark or that of his son, is not known. Listed by other silver authorities. 3 What he did for work while in Petersburg in 1786 is unknown. He married Hannah Collins, about 1788.

[1] New Engaland Hist. & Gen. Register, Vol. 27, 1873, p. 251-2.