Episode 4: Talk Some Little About You

Your Most Obedient & Humble Servant: A Women's History

Hannah Valentine to Eliza Valentine, November 1, 1837. In this week's letter, enslaved housekeeper Hannah Valentine writes to her daughter with family news and advice. I dig into a bit of the history of the unique situation of the Valentine family at Montcalm Plantation. Heads up, as this letter deals with the subject matter of slavery the podcast touches on some upsetting topics, including references to sexual violence, corporal punishment, and murder. It is also a story of perseverance and survival. Learn more about Hannah Valentine and the community at Abingdon Plantation in some of these sources: The Duke Library's Digitized Collection of Hannah Valentine and Lethe Jackson's Letters: https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/scriptorium/campbell/ Norma Taylor Mitchell, "Making the Most of Life's Opportunities," in Beyond Image and Convention : Explorations in Southern Women's History, edited by Janet L. Coryell, et al., University of Missouri Press, 1998. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uva/detail.action?docID=3570732. Gregory S. Schneider, "The Forced Absence of Slavery: Rare letters to a Virginia governor give voice to the faceless and forgotten," The Washington Post, September 13, 2017.