Michelle Mehrtens at Smithsonian Magazine:
In 1841, Adam Francis Plummer decided to keep a diary. Born into enslavement in 1819, he labored primarily at Riversdale House, a plantation owned by the Calvert family in Prince George’s County, Maryland. It was there that a Black preacher named John Bowser taught him to read and write, a decision that would have likely cost them dearly if discovered.
Plummer diligently journaled for more than 60 years, recording everything: birth dates, death dates, lists of household goods, debts owed and paid.
When his wife, Emily Saunders Arnold Plummer, and their eight children were sold to a plantation in Howard County, dozens of miles north, Plummer tried fruitlessly to locate their whereabouts. After several months, his wife contacted him. Plummer followed up with letters and stayed apprised of his family’s movements.
More here.
Enjoying the content on 3QD? Help keep us going by donating now.