MASTER GEORGE S PEOPLE GEORGE WASHINGTON HIS SLAVES AND HIS REVOLUTIONARY TRANSFORMATION BY MARFE FERGUSON DELANO WITH MOUNT VERNON PHOTOGRAPHY BY LORI EPSTEIN F1 H 2 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC WASHINGTON D
The Slave Memorial at Mount ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Vernon was designed and built any thanks to Mary a good neighbor who also happens to be a research V Thompson in 1983 by Howard Univer sity architecture students The historian at Mount Vernon for generously sharing her own research and for her expert granite column sits on top of review of this book Thanks also to Mount Vernon's Jim Rees Jamie Bosket Joan Stahl three circles engraved with the and especially to Melissa wood for coordinating our photo shoots at the estate Very swords faith hope and love It special thanks to Caroline Christensen Nicolette Christensen Amaris Makena Greene is adjacent to a 1929 Mount and Atira Maisha Greene young students who make their debut as historical interpreters in this Vernon Ladies Association market noting the site of the book They were a joy to work with as were Mount Vernon's stellar staff interpreters Azie Mira slave burial ground About 75 Dungey Mary Wiseman Peter Curtis Jonathan Douglass and Tom Plott individuals are buried here I am grateful to Professor Edna Greene Medford of Howard University for her expert review but no grave markers survive 1 of this book to zSun nee Matema for her moving endnote and to Ruth Williams for our tete a to identify them A ceremony honoring the enslaved people I téces I thank my writing group Jackie Marty Suzy Moira Liz Madelyn Anamaria Martha who once lived and worked at Carla Anna and Wendy for their input on early drafts of several chapters My research got Mount Vernon takes place at under way during a residential fellowship at the Virginia Center for Creative Arts which was the site every year with Black I underwritten in part by the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation My deep appreciation women United for Action goes to both organizations And to my amazingly talented and creative National Geographic col leagues Jennifer Emmett Lori Epstein and Jim Hiscott I thank you for your belief in this book and in me
Co CONTENTS a CAPTER AP A Short Lived Childhood 11 Sidebar Frank Lee 15 a CHAPTER 2 as Building a Plantation 17 Sidebar Davy 28 CHAPTER 3 Private Lives 25 Sidebar Hercules 31 a CHAPTER 4 AS Resistance and Control Be Sidebar Charlotte 39 a CHAPTER 5 as A Change of Heart 41 Sidebar William Lee 47 CHAPTER 6 Liberty at Last 49 Sidebar Christopher Sheels 53 Epilogue 54 Endnote by ZSun nee Matema 56 Chronology 67 Bibliography Sources 58 Index 60
