Book of Harriet: the Disambiguation of Five North Carolinian Siblings
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† Designated as an Exemplary Master’s Project for 2015-16 Book of Harriet: The Disambiguation of Five North Carolinian Siblings 1840-1941 Kim Smith Faculty Advisor: Margaret Sartor Center for Documentary Studies March 2016 This project was submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Graduate Liberal Studies Program in the Graduate School of Duke University. Copyright by Kim Smith 2016 ABSTRACT This paper is a work of creative nonfiction that adopts the first-person narrative voice of Harriet Smith (c. 1819-1873) in order to recount the biographies of her five children, all of whom were born slaves belonging to the Smiths, a prominent Orange County, North Carolina family. The four youngest siblings were simultaneously Smith slaves and Smith progeny who continued to live and work on the same plantation post-Emancipation as did many enslaved children who were fathered by their American owners. However, the interrelationships between Harriet, her children, and the Smiths were atypical of the era and region. Harriet’s four daughters were reared in the main plantation home by their white aunt, the very mistress whom they—and Harriet—served. History marginalized all of them until Harriet’s great-granddaughter, the Reverend Dr. Pauli Murray, published her 1956 familial memoir Proud Shoes: The Story of an American Family. Murray’s memoir chronicles the life of Harriet’s eldest daughter and the family into which she married with contextual mentions of Harriet, her other four children, and the people with whom they made families. Despite their collective historical significance in North Carolina’s Piedmont region, little scholarship exists regarding these individuals, their interrelated lives, and their remarkable life stories. Written to reflect Murray’s seminal example, this narrative spotlights Harriet and all five of her children, illuminates the many accomplishments of a disremembered family of color, and contextualizes their inimitable lives during a divisive yet transformative century. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ................................................................................................................................................. iii Table of Contents ................................................................................................................................... iv Table of Figures ................................................................................................................................... v Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................ vi Harriet’s Children and Grandchildren ..................................................................................................... vi INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 1 Thesis Statement ................................................................................................................................. 1 Goals and Challenges ........................................................................................................................... 2 Backstory ........................................................................................................................................... 12 Methodology and Sources ................................................................................................................. 16 Summary of Relevant Discoveries ...................................................................................................... 26 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 31 Chapter One: Prologue ..................................................................................................................... 37 Chapter Two: The Mother’s Name is Harriet ..................................................................................... 40 Chapter Three: Julius ...................................................................................................................... 51 Hillsborough ...................................................................................................................................... 51 Oakland ............................................................................................................................................. 60 Fannie ............................................................................................................................................... 64 Chapter Four: Cornelia ...................................................................................................................... 74 Fitzgerald........................................................................................................................................... 74 Durham ............................................................................................................................................. 79 Chapter Five: Emma ......................................................................................................................... 86 Abraham’s Bosom ............................................................................................................................. 86 Chapel Hill ......................................................................................................................................... 90 Emma Morphis Cemetery .................................................................................................................. 94 Chapter Six: Annette ........................................................................................................................ 105 Kirby ................................................................................................................................................ 105 Cole ................................................................................................................................................. 110 Chatham County Circles and Spirals ................................................................................................. 114 iv Chapter Seven: Laura .................................................................................................................... 119 Toole ............................................................................................................................................... 119 Charlotte ......................................................................................................................................... 123 Queen City Spectacle ....................................................................................................................... 127 Chapter Eight: Epilogue ................................................................................................................... 134 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................................ 141 TABLE OF FIGURES Figure 1: James Monroe Morphis (1872 — 1958) ................................................................................. 149 Figure 2: The Reverend E. H. Cole (1827 — 1900) ................................................................................ 150 Figure 3: Gray J. Toole (1847 — 1925) ................................................................................................. 151 Figure 4: Delia M. Toole (1869 — 1902) ............................................................................................... 152 Figure 5: Reverse of “Delia M. Toole” .................................................................................................. 153 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many are the people in my circle of support. Each is entwined within this narrative. To all I offer my gratitude and whisper Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ. To Dr. Donna Zapf who crafted my interdisciplinary feast, discreetly indicated which fork to use or when to disregard etiquette altogether, and guided me with grace while I savored every delectable morsel. To Dr. Kent Wicker who wielded literature, language, and syntax to enthuse twelve students from seven countries and five decades toward a more mindful view of our Selves in the World. To Margaret Sartor, my esteemed advisor and cherished friend, who taught by example, focused my asides, fostered my voice, and tendered dreaded criticism in an ingeniously palatable manner. To Professors Trudi Abel, Deborah Gold, Craufurd Goodwin, Paul Manos, Daniel McShea, Noah Pickus, Ann Marie Rasmussen, Jon Shaw, and Susan Thorne who shared their respective disciplines in myriad languages and locales, and welcomed creativity within the garden of Academe. To Dink Suddaby, for the first smile, the best directions, cheering, cheerfulness, and armchair stories. To Marialana Weitzel who brightened darkened corners and treasured our similar riches. To the Duke Graduate Liberal Studies family who keeps the front door open and the porch light on. To the countless librarians who made history more accessible, in particular those at Duke University, Durham County, Schlesinger Library, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and at Charlotte. To my parents, Donald and Dale Smith, who provided my first liberal arts education, read to me from womb to room, and navigated