The Black and White of It: Rural Tenant and African American Enslaved and Free Worker Life at the Rumsey/Polk Tenant/Prehistoric site
Author(s): Ilene B. Grossman-Bailey; Michael J. Gall; Adam Heinrich; Philip A. Hayden
Year: 2016
Summary
Rich and provocative data on 1740s to 1850s tenant occupations were revealed by Phase II and III archaeological investigations at Locus 1 of the Rumsey/Polk Tenant/Prehistoric site. Documentary research, the recovery of 42,996 historic artifacts, and the discovery of 622 features, provided a rare glimpse into the lives of free and enslaved African American workers and white tenants living side-by-side in the racially charged atmosphere of 18th- and 19th-century Delaware. Artifacts like wolf bones, fish remains, tobacco seeds, a pewter spoon, and a presidential campaign pipe, along with subfloor pits and cellars helped weave the story of the lives and experiences of white tenants and their African American workers on a tenant farm in the Chesapeake Watershed.
Cite this Record
The Black and White of It: Rural Tenant and African American Enslaved and Free Worker Life at the Rumsey/Polk Tenant/Prehistoric site. Ilene B. Grossman-Bailey, Michael J. Gall, Adam Heinrich, Philip A. Hayden. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, Washington, D.C. 2016 ( tDAR id: 434620)
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Keywords
General
African-American
•
Chesapeake
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Tenancy
Geographic Keywords
North America
•
United States of America
Temporal Keywords
1740s to 1850s
Spatial Coverage
min long: -129.199; min lat: 24.495 ; max long: -66.973; max lat: 49.359 ;
Individual & Institutional Roles
Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology
Record Identifiers
PaperId(s): 431