I have followed, tracked, recorded and accounted for over 600 individuals who at one time or another were enslaved by this large family. I have recorded thousands of pieces of data on them, I have reconstructed their families, I have followed them across the country and back through time. Part of me knows those people.
So, finally getting to see Chatham was a bit of an emotional experience for me. So much had happened there. So many people born there, died there, served there...
I had heard many good things about the current NPS staff and their work at Chatham. But, the volunteers knew their stuff! They talked enthusiastically & appropriately about slavery at Chatham. And, they wanted to know more. They wanted to solve it's mystery at their site.
I look forward to their findings.
A tiny visitor:
Maddy McCoy
Fairfax County, Virginia
Slavery Inventory Database