INFORMATION WANTED
BY A MOTHER CONCERNING HER CHILDREN.
Mrs. Elizabeth Williams, who now resides in Marysville, California, was formerly owned, together with her children, viz.: Lydia, William, Allen, and Parker, by one John Petty, who lived about six miles from the town of Woodbury, Franklin County, Tennessee. At that time she was the wife of Sandy Rucker, and was familiarly known as Betsy,—sometimes called Betsy Petty.
About twenty-five years ago, the mother was sold to Mr. Marshal Stroud, by whom, some twelve or fourteen years later, she was, for the second time, purchased by him, and taken to Arkansas. She has never seen the above named children since. Any information given concerning them, however, will be very gratefully received by one whose love for her children survives the bitterness and hardships of many long years spent in slavery.
Preachers in the neighborhood of Woodbury, Tennessee, are especially requested to make inquiry, and communicate any information they may deem valuable, either by letter, or through the columns of the "Recorder."
Source: A request for information about her children posted by Elizabeth Williams in The Christian Recorder (Philadelphia, PA), March 17, 1866 (Internet Archive)
Discussion Questions
- Citing specific textual evidence, what does the request placed by Elizabeth Williams tell you about the impact of slavery on African American families prior to emancipation?
- What vital service did publications like The Christian Recorder provide to formerly enslaved people such as Elizabeth Williams?
- How did Elizabeth Williams use this request to assert her freedom and agency, and what does this tell you about the goals of Black Americans in the post–Civil War United States?