Only 150 years ago, if you had enough money, you could purchase another human being. Can you even begin to comprehend that? I am not a fan of the modern trend of judging our ancestors according to today’s more enlightened standards, and I’ve always been proud of my great-great-great grandfather, a Confederate general important enough to be mentioned in some histories of the time and a real Southern gentleman according to many published contemporary accounts.
Even so, I definitely felt uncomfortable when my cousin Ward (he’s my second cousin thrice removed, to be precise, and we “met” while both of us were researching the General online) sent me the picture above earlier this week. It’s a picture of the General’s wife, Elizabeth Oliver Hagan, known as Bettie, and her “personal servant,” Cornelia. All evidence suggests that there was a loving bond between the two women: Cornelia is seated while Bettie stands; the hand on the shoulder bespeaks affection; and she was buried next to Bettie (although her grave is not marked).
But I still cannot wrap my head around the notion that barely 100 years before I was born people–nice people–my great-great-great grandparents–could seriously think it was acceptable to own other human beings and call them slaves. I know that people are still being enslaved today, but it isn’t legal; it isn’t acceptable; and it isn’t practiced by respected members of society.
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What I like to remember on September 11.
September 11: Remember the Love | Life in Every Limb
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Everyone who’s old enough to remember has a 9/11 story. Mine is probably fairly typical of those of us with no personal connection to the events, and I’ve never written about it because it feels t...
And now the post you've all been waiting for--a belated review of 2022 in 12 pictures!
12 in 2022: A Year in Pictures | Life in Every Limb
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Ten years ago, I joined a link up to post 12 pictures, one for each month of the previous year. When that link up ended, I found another one. Now that one no longer exists, but I’m still doing this ...
It's an annual tradition, very late, and it's a great way to learn more about me and my blog.
2022 in Review: Your Favorites, My Favorites | Life in Every Limb
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I present to you an annual tradition that is happening later and later: the best/favorite posts from the prior year, as picked by you (my readers) and me. YOUR favorites are simply the posts that got ...
Is a faith nurtured primarily by media slanted in one direction or the other likely to bear good fruit, like humility and love, or rotten fruit, like pride and hatred?
By Their Fruits | Life in Every Limb
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“By their fruits you will know them,” we read in the Gospel. “ . . .[E]very good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tre...
We are all called to evangelize but there are many ways to go about it!
A Tale of Three Evangelists | Life in Every Limb
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I have mentioned before that my favorite Gospel stories involve Peter, my favorite saint. I love Peter because he is relatable. He is human and makes mistakes, some bigger than others. Yet Jesus chose...
I have found it unsettling to read through my family wills and see people/slaves listed as property.
I was googling General Hagan yesterday and found that LSU’s Special Collections holds some of his papers, which include records of the buying and selling of slaves. I also read an account somewhere of an even earlier ancestor making one of his slaves wait on an Indian chief, which the slave found upsetting.
I’m sure in my family history there were slaves. It makes me cringe to think of a precious soul would be looked upon as chattel. I would think of myself as the General’s wife. I would choose as she to have a living relationship with a person of color. Would I “see” the color difference? What color is affection for another?
I’m sad for what happened in our country’s history. It is what it is. Did we learn our lesson. I pray we have. I will not let myself be held hostage for their sins but I pledge to awake my community to the needs of my brothers and sisters.
I fear we have not fully learned the lesson. I am still learning. Thanks for your thoughtful comment.