Conducting historical research on the lives of enslaved men, women, and children is far from straightforward. Historians often find themselves down rabbit holes that lead to nowhere, assuming there are even enough breadcrumbs to explore anything at all.
Some enslavers, like Major Isaac Hite Jr. of Belle Grove Plantation, kept meticulous records, which allows historians to follow leads, place these leads into greater historical context, and apply historical thinking to cobble together stories.
Who was Abba?
Start by reading about Abba’s life in the 2-page biography Bleu talks about in the play.
| Knowledge Check |
|---|
| 1. Who enslaved Abba, and where did they live? |
| 2. What do we know about Abba’s family? |
| 3. What do historians think Abba’s main responsibility was as an enslaved woman at Belle Grove Plantation? |
Two whole pages documenting her seven decades of life. No one’s life should only take up two pages to tell.
Bleu from “When A Trumpet Cries”
Historians at Belle Grove have combed through private and public records, newspaper clippings, and other primary sources to cobble together a better understanding Abba – her childhood, her adulthood, her motherhood, her humanity.
1769
Abba is born.
Location, unknown.
Parents, unknown.
Siblings, unknown.
1775
Credit: Library of Congress
Abba is forced to move to move to South Carolina with Jacob Hite, her enslaver.
At the end of 1775, Jacob Hite moved all of the men, women, and children he enslaved, as well as his own family, to the South Carolina frontier where he finished building their home on Old Indian Boundary Line Road. The Hites were the second permanent resident family in what would become Greenville, South Carolina.
July 1-2, 1776
Jacob Hite’s South Carolina homestead is attacked by Cherokee American Indians.
Jacob Hite’s family and homestead were attacked in a guerilla-style raid where most of his family was killed and his home burned. The Hite enslaved people were captured by the Cherokee and taken away as war booty to work on their farms. While Abba may have remained with her parents while enslaved by the Cherokee, escape was not possible from her second enslavement.
1790
Abba is traded to Major Isaac Hite Jr.
At some point between 1787-1790, Jacob Hite’s son, George Hite, recovered Abba from the Cherokee, but he traded her shortly thereafter to his cousin, Major Isaac Hite Jr. of Belle Grove Plantation in Middletown, Virginia. The trade included Abba’s two children, Harry and Hannah, as well as her husband, Frank Thornton.