Two women called Harriet on Good Hope


The 1817 slave register for John Tharp's Good Hope estate lists four individuals whose mothers were named as Harriet: Hannah (b. 1798), Joey (b. 1799), Matilda (b. 1802), Bess (b. 1807) and Quamina (m) (b. 1813).

Two women called Harriet were listed in the register, both born in Africa. One was estimated to be 34 (b. 1783) and the other 45 (b. 1772). 

The older Harriet would have been between 26 and 41 when these children were born, and the younger between 15 and 30. In theory, either woman could have been the mother of any or all of the children. 

However, a note in the 1817 register for John Tharp's Wales estate notes that a twenty-one-year-old enslaved man called Tommy Crew (b. 1796) had been freed in exchange for 'the negro woman Harriet in Good Hope estates return'. His brother, Ben Crew (b. 1787) had been freed on similar terms, in exchange for a 31-year-old woman from Africa. A 45-year-old woman seems a less likely substitute for a young man in his prime, making it more likely that Hannah (b. 1783) was new to the estate. If so, Hannah (b. 1772) must have been the mother of these children.

Possible children for Hannah are discussed in a post called 'Three women called Hannah on Good Hope'.


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