In 1820, there were 103 enslaved people on the property who performed a range of tasks from tending the fields, to cooking, to blacksmithing, to woodworking, to masonry, to leather working, to milling, to weaving. The cook was considered one of the most valuable enslaved people on the property with the highest level of training, and enslaved children often helped in the kitchen by bringing in water and firewood.
When their eldest daughter, Ann, married Mr. Philip Williams, a lawyer from Woodstock, Virginia, Major and Mrs. Hite ensured that their daughter had the enslaved people they needed to set up their new homestead. In a letter written on 6 May 1826, Mrs. Hite asks whether the new bride and her husband will need help with their garden, and if so, she and Major Hite will send one of their male servants, despite the inconvenience to Belle Grove’s harvest.
In a follow-up letter written just a few days later, Mrs. Hite continues to go into detail about two of their unmarried enslaved men:
Daniel’s qualities you know, they say however that he is smart at work and he can be smart in the house and probably would with you as he would have other things to do to prevent idleness he did work a little in the garden under Hogin. Isaac too has worked in garden but has never been in the house, at any period in his life except for the last mentioned business. Isaac would I presume be the most valuable at present he has however a proud spirit and might not at all times be very manageable. Daniel is in his 17th year since January, you and your husband must make your choice, they are the only two that have not wives.
Mrs. Hite on 10 May 1826
These two letters from Mrs. Hite to her daughter are revealing, if not a little raw and shocking, too. While Mrs. Hite describes Isaac as having a proud spirit and not always being very manageable, she also seems unwilling to send married men away from the plantation (and arguably away from their families). In two letters she wrote in December of that same year, 1826, she talks about the enslaved families in such a way that she clearly saw them as close units who needed and relied on each other, but she was still their enslaver.
Tell Hannah that Daniel has got pretty well now but has been complaining very much since she went away. Evelina and her child are doing very well.
Mrs. Hite to her daughter, Ann Maury, on 21 December 1826
Anthony is very impatient for the return of his wife [Judah] as the children are very troublesome to him at night he complains that he can get no rest for them. I hope her coming will not subject you to any inconvenience. I should not have agreed to his going was it not for the children.
Mrs. Hite to her daughter, Ann Maury, on 30 December 1826
Did you know?
There has been a shift away from slave and slave owner/master to enslaved person and enslaver. Historians, scholars, and writers believe that slave is dehumanizing and unfair because the person didn’t have a choice – their enslaved life was forced on them. Using “enslaved” as an adjective (description) rather than a noun (object) helps reinforce that fact that one group of people – the enslavers – forced an enslaved life on another group of people – the enslaved. From here, we can then bring in the humanity of the enslaved person by adding who they actually were – man, woman, child, worker, and so forth. Similarly, the term slave owner implies that a person can own another person, which isn’t the case, so “enslaver” more accurately describes those who forcibly enslaved people.
What have we learned about Ann’s relationship with Belle Grove’s enslaved people?
Mrs. Hite’s maternal grandmother, Mary Stith (Dawson) Grymes, was deeded an enslaved woman, Mareeah, by Charles Carter of Corotoman, who was the grandson of Robert “King” Carter. In her will, Mary indicated that Mareeah would be freed upon Mary’s death with no obligation to serve her family. Mary also ensured that Mareeah’s children would be manumitted once they reached age 21. Her will also required that whomever owned Mareeah’s children had to educate them, teaching them how to read, which was ultimately outlawed in Virginia.
We’re unsure how Mrs. Hite’s upbringing affected her outlook on enslavement after her marriage to Major Hite, but what we do know is that she was an enslaver until her death in 1851.
As mistress of the plantation, Mrs. Hite oversaw and managed enslaved workers, controlling their tasks, like deciding meals and doling out ingredients, which were under lock and key. In one letter written to her eldest daughter, Mrs. Ann Maury Hite Williams, on 21 December 1826, Mrs. Hite wrote,
I have been engaged all day in cutting out the servant’s clothes which is very fatiguing to me now that I am getting old.
Mrs. Hite in a letter on 21 December 1826
Was Mrs. Hite’s family, the Maurys, enslavers?
New research on Belle Grove’s enslaved community indicates that Mrs. Hite brought enslaved people with her to Belle Grove after her marriage to Major Hite, but the details are still sparse. To learn more about the men, women, and children enslaved by the Maury women, read a newsletter published in February 2023 with the latest historical research that begins to demonstrate how legal tiffs and inheritance law impacted enslaved populations.
Who was Judah?
Isaac bought Judah, also referred to as Judy, from his cousin, Abraham Bowman. Judah was purchased with her two sons, Sam and George, and they came to Belle Grove around 1816. She had ten more children by 1836: four girls and six boys.
Judah was one of Belle Grove’s notable cooks. She passed away from a lung ailment when her youngest child, Jonathan, was just five weeks old.
During the last two weeks my Cook was dangerously ill with a complaint one of great suffering a violent pleurisy in the first instance terminating in an inflammation of the heart which was most distressing. She finally went under the disease on Saturday morning leaving 12 children; the youngest only five weeks old. I deplore her loss to her younger children more than my own inconvenience which is very considerable – but it is the will of him that can not err of course ‘it is wisest best.’ I shall endeavor to discharge the additional duties that devolve upon me to the best of my ability.
Mrs. Hite in a letter written on 5 April 1836
If you are interested in what Judah’s life may have been like, check out Brian C. Johnson’s historical fiction novel, Send Judah First, which leverages the facts and fills in the gaps with imagination.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
What do you make of Mrs. Hite talking about Judah’s death? What reaction do you have to her words?
Did Mrs. Hite include any enslaved people in her last will and testament?
Historians know that Mrs. Hite was given all of her husband’s enslaved people after he died:
Seventhly, to my wife Ann in lieu of her settlement and all other claims on my estate, I give and bequeath to her during her widowhood, my Belle Grove tract of land together with my mills and distillery, all my goods and chattels viz: all my slaves household and kitchen furniture, all my livestock of every description…
Major Isaac Hite Jr in his Last Will and Testament written on 31 October 1827
However, in Mrs. Hite’s Last Will and Testament, she only lists one enslaved person, John, who she requests choose his new master:
I request that my Negro man John may have the privilege of choosing a master
Mrs. Hite on 5 January 1851
It’s very possible that John was among the few enslaved people left under her supervision as her husband’s will requested that each of his sons receive two enslaved males and two enslaved females after they married or turned 18-years-old and that each of his daughters receive however many enslaved Mrs. Hite deemed “proper.”
After her death, Mrs. Hite’s inventory lists her enslaved men, women, and children: “Negro Jim (blacksmith) valued at $450, Elijah valued at $800, Sally (cook) valued at $175, Martha (Sally’s child) valued at $250.” Notice that John is not listed in her inventory, making him a true mystery.
Primary sources
To explore some of the primary sources that historians use to tell Mrs. Hite’s story, click any of the following links to open a new tab with the document.