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Size | 1 item |
Abstract | The collection is a letter dated 25 January 1850 about Betsy an enslaved African American child. In the letter to her husband white Virginia politician and railroad executive Whitmell P. Tunstall (1810-1854), in Richmond, Va., white Virginian Mary M. Tunstall (1821-1888) in Danville, Va., acknowledges the arrival of her husband's "present" of an enslaved child named Betsy. Tunstall comments on Betsy having the "right color" skin and sewing skills and on Betsy's suitability for working in the home from the perspective of her enslaver. In the letter, Tunstall also mentions Betsy's previous enslaver, Betty Mead, and another enslaved women named Chloe with whom Betsy will work in the Tunstall house. |
Creator | Tunstall, Mary. |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English |
Processed by: Jodi Berkowitz, January 2006
Encoded by: Jodi Berkowitz, January 2006
Updated by: Jodi Berkowitz, December 2015
Edited by: Laura Hart, September 2019
This collection was originally mistitled "Turnstall Family Letter" and later titled "Tunstall Family Letter."
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According to the letter, Betsy was enslaved by Whitmell P. Tunstall and Mary M. Tunstall of Danville, Va., in January 1850. At that time, an enslaved woman named Chloe was in the Tunstall household. Betsy's previous enslaver was named Betty Mead, who was likely a resident of Pittsylvania County, Va., or the surrounding area. In the 1850 Federal Census Slave Schedule for Pittsylvania County, Va., enumerated on 10 November 1850, Whitmell P. Tunstall is listed as the owner of four people.
Whitmell P. (Pugh) Tunstall was born in Pittsylvania County, Va. He was educated at Danville Academy and the University of North Carolina. Tunstall served in the Virginia General Assembly in both houses. He was a delegate in the House of Delegates from 1836 to 1841, a senator in the State Senate in 1841 and 1842, and a delegate again from 1845 to 1848. Tunstall was a proponent of railroads and in 1838 introduced a bill to charter the Richmond and Danville (R&D) Railroad. A charter was granted for the R&D Railroad in 1847. He was married to Mary Tunstall, and they had a daughter, Mary Ellen. Whitmell P. Tunstall died in 1854 of typhoid fever, two years prior to the railroad's completion.
Back to TopThe collection is a letter dated 25 January 1850 about Betsy an enslaved African American child. In the letter to her husband white Virginia politician and railroad executive Whitmell P. Tunstall (1810-1854), in Richmond, Va., white Virginian Mary M. Tunstall (1821-1888) in Danville, Va., acknowledges the arrival of her husband's "present" of an enslaved child named Betsy. Tunstall comments on Betsy having the "right color" skin and sewing skills and on Betsy's suitability for working in the home from the perspective of her enslaver. In the letter, Tunstall also mentions Betsy's previous enslaver, Betty Mead, and another enslaved women named Chloe with whom Betsy will work in the Tunstall house.
Back to TopFolder 1 |
Letter |