Nancy Hall at Magnolia Mound Plantation - Alfie Kerr

Nancy Hall was the mother of twelve children, who was held as a slave here on Magnolia Mound, a cotton plantation in East Baton Rouge. She undertook an interview after she escaped, however it was vague and many of the details were omitted. This may have been because the interview was taken in 1935, an extremely distressing period for people of color in the South due to the aggressive enforcement of Jim Crow. As a result of the development in technology and the progress made by Civil Rights Movement, it is now possible to reconstruct Nancy’s life as a slave. The hope is to encourage us to remember slaves as people, not as property. Nancy's life was just as important than any other on the plantation, therefore, this reconstruction aims to bring her story to the forefront of any conversation regarding Magnolia Mound.

When Nancy was three years old, she became the property of George Otis Hall after he purchased the plantation for 79,710 dollars. This purchase also included all the property that was upon Magnolia Mound, resulting in Hall obtaining the lives of 52 people held in bondage. One of which was the mother of Nancy, Sarah, who gave birth to her when she was 18. Within 11 years, Hall purchased the lives of 27 more people, meaning 79 people were working his plantation when he left for Europe.

Hall and his family left the plantation to Europe in 1860 when tensions were rising pre-civil war. Due to this, Nancy and the other slaves were left under the responsibility of the overseer/caretaker, W.J. Pierce. As a field hand Nancy worked ‘sun to sun’ and highlighted in her account that Pierce was especially cruel. Pierce would often torture the slaves for fun and make them dance for his enjoyment. As well as this, Nancy was deprived of an education. This was because Hall would never let his slaves learn to read or write out of fear of them getting ‘too smart.’ However, Nancy and the other slaves wanted an education as much as everyone else did. Hence why they strived to learn some of these skills from slaves who visited from more ‘fortunate plantations,’ even with the threat of being tortured.

While under the supervision of Pierce, Nancy and the other slaves were illegally held in bondage. This was because while Hall was away in 1862, Baton Rouge came under Union control. Technically, it meant that the slaves on this plantation were now meant to be free. However, in reality, Nancy made it clear that she and the other slaves were unaware of this, explaining that she ‘really did not know’ that she was free until she ‘moved from LA.’ It shows how little slavery concerned the Union as they allowed the caretaker to continue his operations. Their unwillingness to intervene meant Nancy, with the other slaves, remained working on the planation nearly 30 years after they were given their 'freedom.' Hall was impressed that his slaves 'decided' to remain at Magnolia Mound and that ‘only one’ slave ‘had been induced to leave’ by the Union. He also mentions that the slaves ‘did all they could to save the property’ and that they were ‘very miserable and express their regret for the good old times when they were as happy as they would desire.’ This speech from Mr Hall both confirms what Nancy said and highlights how slave owners were delusional, as they convinced themselves that slaves wanted to be in bondage.

At some time in the 1890’s Nancy escaped Magnolia Mound. Upon her realization that she was in fact free she moved to Texas and lived there with her son and his family. However, she was never reunited with the family who remained on the plantation. Nancy was not just a slave, but a mother who never had the luxury of seeing the children she lost on Magnolia Mound again.

Citations:

· United States Census (Slave Schedule), Louisiana, East Baton Rouge,1850.

· United States Census (Slave Schedule), Louisiana, East Baton Rouge,1860.

· Conventional Mortgage Book A, 1849, Page 316, Case 309, Clerk of Court Office, East Baton Rouge City Hall.

· Nancy Hall, 1844-65, Folder 43, Box 1, John B. Cade Slave Narratives Archives, Manuscripts and Rare Books Department, John B. Cade Library, Southern University and A&M College.

· George O. Hall, “For Sale or to Lease,” Baton Rouge Tri-Weekly Gazette and Comet, February 6th, 1866, page 4.

· George O. Hall, Letter to George Hall, August 2nd, 1862, Folder 1-9, Box 1, Series I. Hall family correspondence 1856-1900, Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections, Louisiana State university Hill Memorial Library Special Collections.

· W.J. Pierce, Letter to George O. Hall, January 15th, 1865, Folder 1-9, Box 1, Series I. Hall family correspondence 1856-1900, Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections, Louisiana State university Hill Memorial Library Special Collections.

· George O. Hall, Letter to Emma Hall, January 19th, 1865, Folder 1-9, Box 1, Series I. Hall family correspondence 1856-1900, Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections, Louisiana State university Hill Memorial Library Special Collections.

· George O. Hall, Letter to Mathilde Hall, February 3rd 1866, Folder 1-9, Box 1, Series I. Hall family correspondence 1856-1900, Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections, Louisiana State university Hill Memorial Library Special Collections.

· Lois Elmer Bannon, Lois E. Bannon research papers, Folder 1, Box 1, Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections, Louisiana State university Hill Memorial Library Special Collections.