Episodes Nearest to September 3, 1838: 1 through 25 of 25
- Fredrick Douglass boards train for freedom
September 3, 1838
BALTIMORE, Maryland
African-Americans, Migration/Transportation, Race-Relations, SlaveryOn September 3, future abolitionist Fredrick Douglass successfully impersonated a sailor and gained access to a train ride toward freedom. Unlike most slaves, Douglass was literate and could therefore taste the pleasures of freedom. This desire was also augmented by his location in the upper south. While such a position eased some of the burdens of bondage,' it also increased one's...
- The Replacement Act
May 26, 1838 to December 4, 1838
LEON, Florida
Replacement ActNative Americans were an ancestry that was brutally mistreated by our first settlers. They were considered to be barbarians but truly America's first settlers were the barbarians. The selfish acts of the "Indian removal act" are a disgrace to what our country now stands for. It was put into effect May 26, 1830 and was an agreement that all Native American tribes would be removed from their...
- Issued For the Forcible Removal of Missouri's Mormon Population.
October, 1838
JEFFERSON, Missouri
Church/Religious-Activity, Crime/Violence, Migration/TransportationAs a result of increasing tensions and violence between Missouri Mormons and other populations, Governor Lilburn W. Boggs issued a decree calling for their removal, and , if necessary , extermination. People charged the Mormons to be blasphemous, and suspected a Mormon plot to take over the country. When the state of Missouri failed to protect their settlements, Mormon leaders such as Sidney Rigdon...
- The Value of the Extended Family
October 21, 1838
JASPER, Georgia
Church/Religious-Activity, Education, Migration/TransportationIn 1838 Iveson Lewis Brookes received a letter from his cousin, P.B. (signed with only initials) informing him that his nephew, P.B.'s son, might be moving to Augusta, Georgia for a job. Augusta was near the plantation Iveson was managing for his son in Jasper and Jones counties. We can tell from the letter that Iveson and P.B. were not particularly involved in each others' lives because...
- Snuff Dipping and Mint Juleps
July 13, 1838
WAKE, North Carolina
Health/Death, WomenWomen must be ladies first, opined The Raleigh Register. In the event of tea this afternoon, there was a young woman partaking in activities that had attained epidemic proportions in the Raleigh city area: which is the disgusting, and vulgar act of snuff dipping. An activity that had previously been specific to males in the community, appeared to have caught on with women once thought of as respectable...
- Potential for Profits
November 5, 1838
JEFFERSON, Florida
Economy, Migration/TransportationFinally, Daniel Wiggins decided to take a chance. After numerous invitations from an old Annapolis, acquaintance, Thomas Randal, the wheelwright and millwright from Maryland made the trip south to assess Jefferson, Leon, and Gadsden counties for himself. Wiggins needed a boat, a train, and a horse carriage to complete the 900 mile journey from Annapolis to Belmont, Randall's plantation just...
- A narrative of the adventures and escape from American Slavery of Moses Roper
1838
LANCASTER, South Carolina
African-Americans, Crime/Violence, Health/Death, Law, Migration/Transportation, Race-Relations, SlaveryMoses Roper was born in North Carolina, but after being sold several times, he ended up in South Carolina in Lancaster and also spent time in Cashaw County. Born a mulatto, he experienced both the advantages of being too white and also the disadvantages of being too black. For example, while slave traders attempted to sell him, he suffered because he was considered too white and spent time in horrible...
- Jonathan R. Davis Journey to Milledgeville, Georgia
1838
PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania
Arts/Leisure, Migration/TransportationBefore leaving for Milledgeville, Georgia, Jonathan R. Davis of Gadsden, South Carolina had to do some calculations. While planning for his trip he took out his 1838 edition of Mitchell's Traveller's Guide through the United States. The brown three by five inch book contained the mileage for all common stagecoach routes in the country as well as information on the few established...
- Yellow Fever Responsible for Christian Miltenberger's Success in 19th Century New Orleans
1838
ORLEANS, Louisiana
Health/Death, Migration/Transportation, Urban-Life/BoosterismSituated at the intersection of Royal and Dumaine Street in the heart of the New Orleans, the Miltenberger House still stands as a testimony to one immigrant's accumulation of wealth and to medical advancements in the South during the 19th century.
Little was known about yellow fever, especially ways to prevent or treat this disease. Almost annually, it seemed, the Gulf Coast and in...
- Branding
June 16, 1838
NORFOLK CITY, Virginia
African-Americans, Crime/Violence, Law, Migration/Transportation, Race-Relations, SlaveryUnder Virginia law, it was legal to brand slaves on the hand until 1838. Branding on the hand was particularly important as an effective way of ensuring the failure of any future attempt at escaping bondage. On June 16, 1838, The Colored American reported that the court of Norfolk Borough had removed those odious relics of the barbarous age, the shackles and staples by which the hand of the criminal...
- Federal Government Conducts Removal of Cherokee Indians
May 23, 1838
WAYNE, Tennessee
Health/Death, Migration/Transportation, Race-RelationsOn December 29, 1835, chieftain Major Ridge and his faction , only a minority of Cherokees - signed The Treaty of Removal, ceding all of their territory east of the Mississippi river for 5 million and pledging to move within two years. However, by the May 23rd, 1838 deadline, few Cherokees had actually evacuated. As a result, the United States Army forcibly removed the remaining Cherokees in what...
- The Great Fire of Charleston and its Cultural Awakening
April 27, 1838
CHARLESTON, South Carolina
Arts/Leisure, Church/Religious-Activity, Economy, Slavery, Urban-Life/BoosterismOn April 27, 1838, an enormous fire broke out in Charleston, South Carolina, around 9:00 pm. It raged until noon the next day, damaging over 1,000 buildings. It ruined many businesses, a new hotel, several churches, a new theater, and the entire market except for the fish section. Many houses were burnt to the ground. In efforts to put the fire out, all the water in the city pumps was used. In addition,...
- North Carolina Quakers Fight Against Slavery
January 17, 1839
ROWAN, North Carolina
African-Americans, Church/Religious-Activity, Migration/Transportation, Race-Relations, SlaveryThe Society of Friends, otherwise known as the Quakers, of North Carolina submitted a petition to the United States Senate concerning their position on slavery. The Quakers completed this petition during their annual meeting in November of 1838. The petition stated, "we entreat you to legislate for the termination of slavery in this state." Nathan Mendenhall signed the petition, and Senator J....
- Mortgaging Property
April 8, 1838
LAFOURCHE, Louisiana
Agriculture, Economy, SlaveryIn April of 1838, George Guion wrote to the Thibodeauxville Branch of Union Bank of Louisiana asking for a loan of 5,000 in addition to a 10,000 mortgage he already had from the bank on his plantation and slaves. Guion wrote that his plantation had increased in both size and productivity since his first application for a loan due to the fencing of his land, the erection of a cotton gin and a gristmill,...
- A Happy Band of Slaves
February 3, 1839
TERRITORY, Territory
African-Americans, Migration/Transportation, Race-Relations, SlaveryAn incident at the Wharf of Mr. McKinnie and Mr. Williams gave Frances Sheridan something to write critically about in his journal. Here he saw a settler arriving in Texas with a group of slaves. The large band of black enslaved men and women moved about without cares; they laughed and joke as they ate their biscuits. A man only identified as the entertainer of the group created comic relief when...
- Horrible experiences slaves endure in the 1800's
February 6, 1839
WASHINGTON, Virginia
Slavery, Slave Living ConditionsThe experience of slavery for men, women, and children was equally horrible. The amount of labor on the plantation farms was the same for both genders. The differences between the genders were the jobs appointed to them. Men were usually appointed jobs that included certain skill like carpentry and blacksmith. Women were usually working in the fields or as house servants. Accordening to Hallam, “For...
- Henry Clay Makes Speech to Congress Concerning Abolition
February 7, 1839
Washington City, District of Columbia
Race-Relations, SlaveryA Whig senator from Kentucky, Henry Clay's speech was discussed throughout the nation during the year. He received much criticism and praise for his confrontation of abolition. Whig politics at the time were very two-sided, having to span the boundary between free states and slave states. His speech to congress in February of 1839 gave his views on abolitionists and their pursuit.<br />He...
- Dissent Among Southern Evangelicals: To Secede or Not?
March 10, 1838
WAKE, North Carolina
Civil War, Government, ReligionT. Meredith did not know that in less than three decades he would be in minority opposition to secession. Editor of The Biblical Recorder and Southern Watchman, a weekly newspaper “devoted to religion, morality, literature, and general intelligence,” and circulated throughout North and South Carolina, he urged readers to follow Martin Luther’s example of seeking “strength elsewhere...
- Controversy Surrounding the Panic of 1837
February 14, 1838 to March 31, 1838
WARREN, Mississippi
Economy, Government, Law, Politics, Migration/TransportationJohn F. H. Claiborne, a Democrat from Natchez, Mississippi, was aghast to hear the news that rumors were circulating that he supported Henry Clay. He immediately wrote the Vicksburg Register a letter on February 14, 1838 to refute these claims. In his letter Claiborne enumerated the many ways that Clay had threatened the interests of his great state. He is the father of the tariff, Claiborne...
- Women In The Education Arena
November 9, 1837 to July 4, 1838
HAMPSHIRE, Massachusetts
Emma Willard, Mary Lyon, Northeast, Women's colleges, Female Seminaries, Education, WomenOn November 9th, 1837, Mrs. Pamela Burr wrote a letter to Mary Lyon, a leader of the women’s rights leader and educator, urging her to consider her two daughters for admission to Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts. The letter describes the qualifications of two young girls, Caroline and Mary Burr, in detail. Mrs. Burr says that she is not extremely wealthy but could pay tuition...
- The Duel
February 24, 1838 to March 16, 1838
WARREN, Mississippi
Crime/Violence, Law, PoliticsWilliam Graves and Jonathan Cilley were men of honor. Both were members of the twenty-fifth congress of the U.S. House of Representatives. Graves represented Kentucky, while Cilley was from Maine. The two men certainly were not enemies, so the nation was shocked when Graves killed his fellow congressman. The conflict arose when Graves delivered a letter to Cilley from Col. James Watson Webb, a newspaper...
- A Typical Monday for Mary Austin Holley
February 26, 1838
TERRITORY, Territory
Arts/Leisure, Education, Slavery, WomenIn her diary Mary Austin Holley jotted down the events of her afternoon with friends. She enjoyed pleasant conversation as well as the beautiful surroundings. She made note of the impressive collection of books, and in particular the various curiosities displayed throughout the parlor. Holley's friends, Mr. and Mrs. Wharton, boasted all sorts of fascinating relics, once owned by famous figures...
- William's Love Letter
February 15, 1838
FRANKLIN, Alabama
Migration/Transportation, WomenIt was only one day after Valentine's Day, 1838, and twenty-one year old William Byrd was missing his future wife, Mariah Hawkins Massie. Away at Lagrange College in Franklin County, Alabama, it is possible that William had not seen Mariah in quite some time. Possibly being wrapped up in the spirit of the holiday, William sat down to write Mariah a letter. Already betrothed, William pleasured...
- Establishment of Wake Forest College
January, 1838
WAKE, North Carolina
Church/Religious-Activity, EducationBaptist educators create the Wake Forest Manual Labor Institute in 1834. In 1838 it is rechartered as Wake Forest College and is moved to its current location. In this time period during the south, the three major evangelical sects , Baptists, Methodists and Presbyterians , founded various colleges; the purpose of these endeavors, as stated by the president of Emory College, was to be the...
- A Breach of Contract in Apprenticeship
January 10, 1838 to January 17, 1838
BERKELEY, Virginia
Economy, Race-RelationsWhen Robert Gregory, most likely a white man, entered into a contract with Michael Whissler, a young man most likely white, both thought they were getting a good deal. In return for Gregory giving Whissler six months of schooling, he would work for Gregory and learn the House Joiner's business. However, Whissler left town after one month. Then, on January 10, 1838, Robert Gregory ran an advertisement...