1850-1860

A Perpetual Cycle of Labor

Aerial view of fields and Lake Phelps — Aerial View of Fields Along Lake Phelps

• According to the Census of 1850, Josiah III owns the following livestock:

27 horses
28 mules
50 milk cows
30 oxen
56 other cattle
250 sheep
400 swine

He also has:

250 pounds of wool
700 barrels of peas and beans
600 barrels of sweet potatoes
15 barrels of Irish potatoes
1,500 pounds of butter
100 tons of hay
300 pounds of flax
$30,000 worth of Indian corn
$6,000 worth of wheat
288 enslaved people

His sawmill produces 50,000 feet of board timber.

• Josiah Collins maintains a daily record of tasks assigned to enslaved persons, who work the perpetual cycle of planting fields, tending, harvesting and storing crops, and preparing fields for replanting. Jobs differ for men and women, boys and girls, and children under ten. Working with a black crew leader, the youngest members of the enslaved community pick chintz bugs from plants and catch the plantation's supply of fish. Women and men are equally engaged in harvesting trees, hauling wood, building coal kilns, digging ditches, and killing hogs.

Black and White Photo of canal lined with trees — Canal at Somerset Place

• Peter and Elsie Littlejohn, along with fourteen other enslaved persons, are accused of attempting to poison the overseer, Joseph Newberry. Consequently, they are sold to a slave trader. The couple's son-in-law, blacksmith Diamond Reeves, tries to escape to freedom but is captured and returned to Somerset Place.