Nat Turner's Bible Donated to Museum
A piece of Virginia's past is being preserved for the future. The Bible of Nat Turner will be on display at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African-American History and Culture. The prized possession was donated by a Virginia Beach family.
Turner, who lived in Southampton County, led the bloodiest slave uprising in American History in 1831. Turner was an intelligent, religious and driven man. In Nat Turner's Confessions, given before his execution, he claimed he heard and saw visions which led to the revolt. He also tells who he killed.
In Aug. of 1831, for 48 hours, Turner and a large group of other slaves and freed blacks killed 55 white men, women and children in Southampton County. They killed whomever they came across.
"She was on good terms with them and vice-versa," Maurice Person said of his great-grandmother, Lavinia Francis.
Francis credited her slaves for saving her life from Turner and his rebellion. When participants in the revolt knocked on the Francis' door, "some of the slaves or servants hid her in a closet and she wasn't killed and she survived," Person said.
In Turner's confession , which was dictated from his jail cell to a Southampton lawyer, it is unclear whether Turner was actually at the Francis home. In the confession, Turner said, " Knowing they would complete the work of death and pillage at Mr. Francis' before I could get there, I went to Mr. Peter Edwards', expecting to find them there, but they had been here also."
From this statement, it is not definitively known whether Turner himself was at the house, but other slaves who were part of the rebellion were.
After the revolt, Turner remained on the run until Oct. 1831 when a white farmer named Benjamin Phipps discovered him in a hole covered with fence rails. Turner had on him, at the time, his Holy Bible.
After Turner was tried, convicted and hanged, the bible was given to Person's father and remained with the family until 2010.
"It was inside of a glass in a dome on the piano and that's the first thing I remember about it," Person told WAVY.com.
What remains of the book is so fragile, it can only be read in the up-right position.
Person's step-daughter, Wendy Porter, contacted the Smithsonian Institute, and a curator immediately came to her home.
"He was stunned, and he said he hasn't been this happy since the birth of his child," Porter said.
The family gave the Smithsonian the Bible. Tests done by the institution now confirm the Bible is indeed Turner's.
"They investigated the paper, they did carbon dating on the paper, so it is as old as they say it was believed to be," Porter added.
Unfortunately, Turner's favorite book in the bible, "Revelation", which tells the battle between good and evil is missing.
Porter explained, "It has been loaned out several times, and not watched as closely as it should have been, and when it was returned, the book of Revelation with Turner's notes was missing in the back."
Porter has an idea who took it, but she won't say who, adding that she just wants the chapter returned.
On Wednesday, Feb. 22, a ground-breaking ceremony will be held for the Smithsonian's National Museum of African-American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. President Barack Obama will speak (this was last year).
It will be the only national museum in the United States devoted entirely to the documentation of African-American life, art, history and culture.
Source has photos and video and a dumbass comment. Can't wait for this to open! I still haven't made it to the MLK memorial. :(
Previously this month: Day One, Day Two, Day Three, Day Four, Day Five, Day Six, Day Seven, Day Eight, Day Nine, Day Ten, Day Eleven, Day Twelve, Day Thirteen, Day Fourteen, Day Fifteen.
A piece of Virginia's past is being preserved for the future. The Bible of Nat Turner will be on display at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African-American History and Culture. The prized possession was donated by a Virginia Beach family.
Turner, who lived in Southampton County, led the bloodiest slave uprising in American History in 1831. Turner was an intelligent, religious and driven man. In Nat Turner's Confessions, given before his execution, he claimed he heard and saw visions which led to the revolt. He also tells who he killed.
In Aug. of 1831, for 48 hours, Turner and a large group of other slaves and freed blacks killed 55 white men, women and children in Southampton County. They killed whomever they came across.
"She was on good terms with them and vice-versa," Maurice Person said of his great-grandmother, Lavinia Francis.
Francis credited her slaves for saving her life from Turner and his rebellion. When participants in the revolt knocked on the Francis' door, "some of the slaves or servants hid her in a closet and she wasn't killed and she survived," Person said.
In Turner's confession , which was dictated from his jail cell to a Southampton lawyer, it is unclear whether Turner was actually at the Francis home. In the confession, Turner said, " Knowing they would complete the work of death and pillage at Mr. Francis' before I could get there, I went to Mr. Peter Edwards', expecting to find them there, but they had been here also."
From this statement, it is not definitively known whether Turner himself was at the house, but other slaves who were part of the rebellion were.
After the revolt, Turner remained on the run until Oct. 1831 when a white farmer named Benjamin Phipps discovered him in a hole covered with fence rails. Turner had on him, at the time, his Holy Bible.
After Turner was tried, convicted and hanged, the bible was given to Person's father and remained with the family until 2010.
"It was inside of a glass in a dome on the piano and that's the first thing I remember about it," Person told WAVY.com.
What remains of the book is so fragile, it can only be read in the up-right position.
Person's step-daughter, Wendy Porter, contacted the Smithsonian Institute, and a curator immediately came to her home.
"He was stunned, and he said he hasn't been this happy since the birth of his child," Porter said.
The family gave the Smithsonian the Bible. Tests done by the institution now confirm the Bible is indeed Turner's.
"They investigated the paper, they did carbon dating on the paper, so it is as old as they say it was believed to be," Porter added.
Unfortunately, Turner's favorite book in the bible, "Revelation", which tells the battle between good and evil is missing.
Porter explained, "It has been loaned out several times, and not watched as closely as it should have been, and when it was returned, the book of Revelation with Turner's notes was missing in the back."
Porter has an idea who took it, but she won't say who, adding that she just wants the chapter returned.
It will be the only national museum in the United States devoted entirely to the documentation of African-American life, art, history and culture.
Source has photos and video and a dumbass comment. Can't wait for this to open! I still haven't made it to the MLK memorial. :(
Previously this month: Day One, Day Two, Day Three, Day Four, Day Five, Day Six, Day Seven, Day Eight, Day Nine, Day Ten, Day Eleven, Day Twelve, Day Thirteen, Day Fourteen, Day Fifteen.
underlankers 17th-Feb-2013 01:12 pm (UTC)