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Size | 2 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 1000 items) |
Abstract | The John Welles Brainard, MAJ, AUS, Ret. Collection of Stafford Family Papers consists primarily of correspondence, 1855-1892, between white plantation owner Robert Stafford (1790-1877) of Cumberland Island, Ga., and white attorney Augustus Brandegee (1828-1904) of Connecticut. This correspondence pertains to the education, legal, and financial affairs of Stafford's children with Elizabeth "Zabette" Bernadey (circa 1822), a free woman of color, whom Stafford moved to Groton, Conn., in 1851, while he remained in Georgia, and Brandegee was engaged to oversee these affairs. The collection also contains published books about Cumberland Island, Ga. |
Creator | Stafford (Family : Stafford, Robert, 1790-1877) |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English |
Encoded by: Laura Smith, August 2017
Processed by Nicole Cvjetnicanin, Rebecca Stubbs, March 2019.
Since August 2017, we have added ethnic identities for individuals and families represented in collections. To determine ethnic identity, we rely on self-identification; other information supplied to the repository by collection creators or sources; public records, press accounts, and secondary sources; and contextual information in the collection materials. Omissions of ethnic identities in finding aids created or updated after August 2017 are an indication of insufficient information to make an educated guess or an individual’s preference for ethnicity to be excluded from description. When we have misidentified, please let us know at wilsonlibrary@email.unc.edu.
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Elizabeth "Zabette" Bernardey (circa 1822) was born a free woman of color on Cumberland Island, Ga., to French plantation owner Pierre Bernardey (1784-1827) and Marie-Jean, a Martinique woman of mixed race who was a member of Bernardey's household. Educated from a young age, Bernardey worked as a nurse in the household of local plantation owner Robert Stafford (1790-1877). Due to legal complexities of being a free woman of color, Bernardey was sold to and became the legal ward and property of Stafford in 1842. Bernardey and Stafford ultimately had six children together. In 1851, Stafford moved Barnardey and the children to Groton, Conn., while he remained in Georgia. While in Connecticut, the lawyer and politician Augustus Brandegee (1828-1904) oversaw the education, legal, and financial affairs of the Stafford children, including managing trusts for three daughters. Bernardey and the children remained in Connecticut through the end of the Civil War, while Stafford started a second family in Georgia.
Back to TopCorrespondence regarding the lives and financial trusts of the daughters of Robert Stafford (1790-1877) and Elizabeth "Zabette" Bernardey (ca 1822), both of Cumberland Island, Ga. Much of the correspondence is between the Staffords and their lawyer, Augustus Brandegee (1828-1904). Stafford moved Bernardey and their children to Groton, Conn., in 1851, while Stafford remained in Georgia. Brandegee, a Connecticut-based lawyer and politician, oversaw much of the household's financial and legal duties, including managing for the education and financial trusts of the daughters.
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Box 1-4
Box 1Box 2Box 3Box 4 |
Correspondence regarding the lives and financial trusts of the daughters of Robert Stafford and Elizabeth "Zabette" Bernardey |