Bellamy Mansion & Slave Quarters Pamphlet

the Bellamy Mansion & Slave Quarters Antebellum Origins The Bellamy compound was built by a combination of free black and enslaved laborers between 1859 and 1861 under the direction of northern-born architect, James F. Post, and draftsman, Rufus Bunnell. It was the town home of Dr. John D. Bellamy, his wife Eliza Harriss Bellamy, and their large family, which included eight children by the summer of 1861. Nine enslaved domestic workers lived in the brick slave quarters and original brick carriage house. Dr. Bellamy, a native of South Carolina, was not only a medical doctor but also a “merchant” who invested in banks and railroads. He also owned a produce plantation Brunswick Co. worked by over 80 enslaved men, women, and children DR. JOHN D. BELLAMY along with a turpentine and tar enterprise in Columbus (1817-1896) ELIZA HARRISS BELLAMY Co. manned by 24 enslaved men. (1821-1907) THREE GENERATIONS OF BELLAMYS POSED IN FRONT OF THE MANSION CIRCA 1873. THIS IS THE FIRST PHOTOGRAPH OF THE HOUSE. The Civil War & Beyond During a yellow fever outbreak in Wilmington in 1862, the The Bellamy Mansion Museum opened its doors Bellamy family fled inland to Robeson County where they remained as a stewardship property of Preservation North for most of the American Civil War. During their absence, the Carolina in 1994 following a multi-year restoration Bellamys’ enslaved cook Sarah oversaw the compound, and in the project that took the mansion back to its spring of 1865 the Union army commandeered the mansion as its original 1861 appearance. The brick carriage headquarters. Among its residents during this occupation was Union Brigadier General Joseph Hawley. Dr. Bellamy reclaimed the site in house, rebuilt in 2001, serves as a visitors’ the fall of 1865 after obtaining a presidential pardon from President center, and the original urban slave quarters Andrew Johnson. Bellamys continually occupied the mansion after underwent a complete restoration in 2014. the Civil War until the death of John and Eliza’s middle child, Ellen PLASTERER WILLIAM B. GOULD (1837-1923) AND Much more than a traditional house museum, CARPENTER HENRY TAYLOR (1823-1891). BOTH D. Bellamy, in 1946. Renters and paid servants occupied the slave the Bellamy Mansion Museum is a community WORKED ON THE MANSION BETWEEN 1859-1861. quarters building through the 1930s. hub where visitors and locals can experience Wilmington’s rich histor y. A Site Saved The museum offers daily After Ellen’s death, the mansion and slave quarters building remained THESE KIOSKS WERE MADE POSSIBLE BY tours as well as a mostly vacant for decades. Several of Dr. Bellamy’s great-grandchildren, A GRANT FROM THE variety of special events, including Hugh MacRae II and Lillian Bellamy Boney, rallied to save the site. WOMEN’S IMPACT NETWORK OF NEW lectures, and exhibitions. Their efforts stalled after an arson attempt in 1972 devastated the main HANOVER COUNTY. levels of the mansion. In 1989, the Bellamy heirs donated the property to Preservation North Carolina which restored the site and operates it as a Preservation museum to this day. North Carolina the Bellamy Mansion & Slave Quarters First On Site The slave quarters building was the first completed on site. Dr. John D. Bellamy was required by law to feed, clothe, and shelter any enslaved workers he contracted, or “hired out,” to help construct the mansion. Between 1859 and early 1861, enslaved carpenters, plasterers, mason, and other artisans were likely the only inhabitants of this building. When the Bellamy family moved into the completed mansion in February of 1861, their enslaved domestic workers moved into the slave quarters. AN UPSTAIRS SLEEPING CHAMBER BEFORE RESTORATION AND AFTER. THE BUILDING WAS INHABITED BY BLACK RENTERS AND SERVANTS THROUGH THE LATE 1930S. 1860 WILMINGTON SLAVE CENSUS FOR JOHN D. BELLAMY WHICH LISTED NINE INDIVIDUALS WHO RANGED IN AGE FROM A 45-YEAR-OLD WOMAN TO A 1-YEAR-OLD GIRL. IN 1860 JOHN D. A PHOTOGRAPH OF THE SLAVE QUARTERS TAKEN IN 1972. BELLAMY OWNED 115 ENSLAVED WORKERS SPREAD ACROSS THREE NC COUNTIES. The two-story brick building at the northeast corner Female Dormitory of the lot is the original slave quarters, constructed The building’s first floor includes one sleeping chamber along with a by free and enslaved laborers in 1859. laundry room and two privies. The second floor includes three additional While this type of building is now rare, it was sleeping chambers. typical for slave quarters in cities throughout In 1861, the occupants included Rosella Bellamy, Harriett and Charlotte Potter, and Mary Ann Nixon, as well as Sarah, Joan, Caroline, and an unnamed 1-year-old girl. The enslaved coachman and the United States. A two-story brick building butler, Guy Nixon, may have slept in the original carriage house. that is one room deep was common, but most Sarah was the cook and housekeeper. Rosella was the laundress while Joan was the nanny for the Bellamy slave quarters buildings were converted for children. Teenaged Mary Ann likely helped the older enslaved women. Caroline, Joan’s young daughter, was Mrs. other uses after the Civil War or let fall into disrepair Bellamy’s “maid.” Harriett and Charlotte were likely Rosella’s children. and eventually demolished. The original slave quarters building at the Bellamy site underwent a A Space for Work multi-year restoration which was finished in 2014. The enslaved women and girls were awakened by the market house bell daily at 5 am, and their tasks immediately began. Sarah went into the mansion’s THESE KIOSKS WERE kitchen, Mary Ann likely retrieved the Bellamys’ chamber pots from the mansion MADE POSSIBLE BY A GRANT FROM THE and emptied them in the privies, and Rosella began stoking the fires in the WOMEN’S IMPACT laundry room. Rosella spent almost all of her waking time taking care of the NETWORK OF NEW laundry for everyone on site. After emancipation, the only former enslaved HANOVER COUNTY. worker sto remain with the Bellamy family as a paid servant was Mary Ann. She was a 24-year-old “house servant” for the Bellamys and still lived in the slave Preservation quarters building in 1870. North Carolina.

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