Slavery and Freedom

Slavery and Freedom. Hands that worked this land. , Enslaved African Americans once lived and worked here at the country estate of Anthony and Rebecca Robinson, whose house still stands nearby. While their number varied over time, a dozen individuals are listed on an 1860 tax schedule. This multigenerational community - ranging in age from one to sixty - resided in two cabins that stood several yards to the northwest of this location., During the Civil War, the Confederate army requisitioned at least one male slave to labor in defense trenches. Others ran away from the estate, prompting the placement of newspaper ads offering costly rewards for their return. With war's end in April 1865, freedom arrived for those who remained behind. Nothing is known of their fate.,

"75 dollars reward will be paid for the delivery to me of John, my mother's carriage driver, who left our farm on the Grove road on Wednesday. The said negro is of a copper complexion, quite fat and is about 5 feet 2½ inches high, has a full suit of hair, and wears a moustache." , -Channing M. Robinson , Daily Dispatch (Richmond), May 16, 1864

, [Captions:] , Like this enslaved community photographed in Hanover County, Virginia, in 1862, African Americans owned by the Robinsons included men, women, and children. , Photo: Library of Congress, At least three newspaper notices regarding escaped slaves were published on behalf of Rebecca Robinson during the Civil War. Her carriage driver, John, described in an 1864 ad, may have been the same man listed on the purchase receipt for $1,740 the previous year. , Photo: Library of Congress, Two slave houses, listed on tax records for this site, appear on this 1865 map produced by a Union surveyor. The dwellings stood due west of Robinson House. One appears larger, perhaps incorporating the estate kitchen. The arrow designates the location of the mansion and cabins, then accessed from Grove Road by parallel driveways. , Photo: Library of Congress