Enslaved Individuals: Emily Jane

Emily Jane, b. abt. 1850

Documented History

Emily Jane, who was born about 1850, was a resident of Page County, Virginia, in 1857; she is listed as one of ten enslaved individuals in an inventory of the estate of Benjamin Sedwick taken on 1 July of that year. Virginia Chancery Court records related to the 1859 divorce petition of Sedwick’s daughter Elizabeth Cullers establish that Emily Jane, who is described as being about nine in August of 1859, went to the Cullers household along with a man named Alexander when the estate was settled. Both she and Alexander lived in the Cullers household in Shenandoah County, Virginia from 1857 until at least 1859. The farm was located in the Massanutten mountains, approximately twenty miles from the Sedwick farm; Alexander and Emily Jane appear to have been the only people enslaved in the Cullers household during this period.

The complaint, response, and depositions preserved in the divorce case provide details about Emily Jane’s health, household duties, and sleeping arrangements between 1857 and 1859. Her health is discussed in detail in Elizabeth Cullers’ complaint and in Cullers’ doctor’s deposition; both indicate that she was afflicted with scrofula, and the doctor states specifically that she had multiple tumors on her neck as well as a swelling in her groin. He also mentions that she had frequent sudden bouts of diarrhea, which he attributed to the swelling in her groin.

Several depositions discuss Emily Jane’s household duties. They document that she worked in the kitchen, probably under the direction of one of Daniel Cullers’ daughters, helping with food preparation as well as fetching wood and water. Some also document tasks related to Elizabeth Cullers’ care as she became increasingly disabled by rheumatism, taking care of her personal needs and transmitting requests to the other members of the household. Perhaps because of these duties, she slept under Elizabeth Cullers’ bed.

The depositions taken in the case also suggest that Emily Jane would likely have been witness to and possibly directly affected by acrimony between Elizabeth Cullers, her husband Daniel, and his teenage children. Among the disputes that are recorded are questions of how work should be allocated in the household and on the farm, who had authority over the enslaved people living in the household, and Elizabeth’s need for care. The depositions also suggest that Daniel Cullers and his daughters were skeptical of the value of Emily Jane’s contributions to the household, so it is possible she was also present for conversations that were dismissive of her worth. Because of her sleeping arrangements, it is also possible that she was forced to witness the sexual tensions between the Cullers described in the deposition of one of Elizabeth Cullers’ daughters.

It is unclear what happened to Emily Jane after the Cullers parted ways. Neither Elizabeth nor Daniel Cullers is listed as a slaveholder on the 1860 slave schedule of the U. S. census.

Speculations

Emily Jane’s name may reflect that she is related to Jane.