Somerset Homecoming
by Dorothy Spruill Redford
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Description
In 1860, Somerset Place was one of the most successful plantations in North Carolina--and its owner one of the largest slaveholders in the state. More than 300 slaves worked the plantation's fields at the height of its prosperity; but nearly 125 years later, the only remembrance of their lives at Somerset, now a state historic site, was a lonely wooden sign marked "Site of Slave Quarters." Somerset Homecoming, first published in 1989, is the story of one woman's unflagging efforts to recover show more the history of her ancestors, slaves who had lived and worked at Somerset Place. Traveling down winding southern roads, through county courthouses and state archives, and onto the front porches of people willing to share tales handed down through generations, Dorothy Spruill Redford spent ten years tracing the lives of Somerset's slaves and their descendants. Her endeavors culminated in the joyous, nationally publicized homecoming she organized that brought together more than 2,000 descendants of the plantation's slaves and owners and marked the beginning of a campaign to turn Somerset Place into a remarkable resource for learning about the history of both African Americans and whites in the region. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
A very readable account of how a woman learned of her personal roots as well as the history of the slaves at Somerset Place. Somerset Place was one of the largest plantations in North Carolina and is now a State Historic Site within Pettigrew State Park in Creswell, North Carolina. We recently camped at the park and visited Somerset Place which piqued my interest. (Unfortunately, the vision the author had of the reconstruction of slave quarters on the property has not been completely fulfilled.)
A worthy contribution to our understanding of the lingering repercussion of slavery in today's society.
A worthy contribution to our understanding of the lingering repercussion of slavery in today's society.
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Author Information
4 Works 159 Members
Dorothy Spruill Redford is now executive director of North Carolina's Somerset Place State Historic Site in Creswell.
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, History, General Nonfiction, Biography & Memoir
- DDC/MDS
- 975.6 — History & geography History of North America Southeastern United States (South Atlantic states) North Carolina
- LCC
- F264 .S68 .R4 — Local History of the United States, Canada and Latin America United States local history North Carolina
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 151
- Popularity
- 216,176
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (4.11)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 4
- ASINs
- 3
