Reclaiming my Ancestor's Plantation
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My name is Rishonda, and the woman in the photo with former President Barack Obama was my great-grandmother, Virginia Henry Shelton. She was a sweet, gentle, beautiful woman, who was born on the grounds of Hickory Hill plantation in September of 1905. Her parents, Abram and Mary Henry, were sharecroppers, and her grandparents (my great-great-great grandparents, Hider and Caroline Jackson and Abram and Charlotte Henry) were enslaved at Hickory Hill.
In 2007, our family was granted access to tour the Hickory Hill plantation and the grounds. The Wickham family, who enslaved my ancestors, had declined significantly in fortunes by then, and the property was in serious disrepair. We were able to see the cabin where my great-grandmother learned to read and write (the cabin where she was born had since been torn down), as well as parts of the mansion and the family's orchard.
I can't describe the feeling of being on the land where so many of my own people once lived, loved, toiled and died. It was both heartbreaking and a strange sort of homecoming.
My ancestor's remains rest at Hickory Hill, and not just those who died in bondage. Mary Jackson Henry, who was born in the 1880s and died in the influenza pandemic of 1917 is buried there. She was the wife of my great-great grandfather, Abram Henry, who worked at the plantation dairy and was a Reverend at Providence Baptist Church. He died in 1934 and was buried in the plantation cemetery, alongside his parents, who were slaves. His daughter, my great-grandmother Virginia, passed away in 2014, but she lived to meet the first African-American president of the United States. My great-grandmother was a powerful influence in my life, and it is in her memory that I ask for your help to buy the home that my ancestor's built.
What will the money be used for?
The vast majority of the money will be used to purchase Hickory Hill Plantation and the grounds. We intend for Hickory Hill to become a place of learning and reflection, as well as a home for our family. Eventually, we hope to open the plantation to the public and to allow tours and even events.
*The above 1859 portrait is of an enslaved woman known as “Aunt Betsey," who served as nursemaid for four of Williams Carter Wickham’s children at his Hickory Hill plantation. According to my research, a slave woman name Betsey Henry was recorded in the "plantation diaries" of William F. Wickham in both September 1928 and January 1859. Henry was a common surname at the plantation, but it is possible this Betsey Henry was a ancestor or relative of my great-grandmother, Virginia Henry Shelton. She is said to have died a free woman in 1865, and is almost certainly buried at the slave cemetery. (Source: The Wickham family sold the painting to the Valentine Museum in 2010.)
The money will also be used to restore and create a memorial marker for The Hickory Hill Slave and African American Cemetery, located on the plantation grounds.
Additional Sources:
National Register of Historic Places
Hickory Hill Listing
Virginia Henry Shelton
Virginia Shelton
My Blog
My name is Rishonda, and the woman in the photo with former President Barack Obama was my great-grandmother, Virginia Henry Shelton. She was a sweet, gentle, beautiful woman, who was born on the grounds of Hickory Hill plantation in September of 1905. Her parents, Abram and Mary Henry, were sharecroppers, and her grandparents (my great-great-great grandparents, Hider and Caroline Jackson and Abram and Charlotte Henry) were enslaved at Hickory Hill.
In 2007, our family was granted access to tour the Hickory Hill plantation and the grounds. The Wickham family, who enslaved my ancestors, had declined significantly in fortunes by then, and the property was in serious disrepair. We were able to see the cabin where my great-grandmother learned to read and write (the cabin where she was born had since been torn down), as well as parts of the mansion and the family's orchard.
I can't describe the feeling of being on the land where so many of my own people once lived, loved, toiled and died. It was both heartbreaking and a strange sort of homecoming.
My ancestor's remains rest at Hickory Hill, and not just those who died in bondage. Mary Jackson Henry, who was born in the 1880s and died in the influenza pandemic of 1917 is buried there. She was the wife of my great-great grandfather, Abram Henry, who worked at the plantation dairy and was a Reverend at Providence Baptist Church. He died in 1934 and was buried in the plantation cemetery, alongside his parents, who were slaves. His daughter, my great-grandmother Virginia, passed away in 2014, but she lived to meet the first African-American president of the United States. My great-grandmother was a powerful influence in my life, and it is in her memory that I ask for your help to buy the home that my ancestor's built.
What will the money be used for?
The vast majority of the money will be used to purchase Hickory Hill Plantation and the grounds. We intend for Hickory Hill to become a place of learning and reflection, as well as a home for our family. Eventually, we hope to open the plantation to the public and to allow tours and even events.
*The above 1859 portrait is of an enslaved woman known as “Aunt Betsey," who served as nursemaid for four of Williams Carter Wickham’s children at his Hickory Hill plantation. According to my research, a slave woman name Betsey Henry was recorded in the "plantation diaries" of William F. Wickham in both September 1928 and January 1859. Henry was a common surname at the plantation, but it is possible this Betsey Henry was a ancestor or relative of my great-grandmother, Virginia Henry Shelton. She is said to have died a free woman in 1865, and is almost certainly buried at the slave cemetery. (Source: The Wickham family sold the painting to the Valentine Museum in 2010.)The money will also be used to restore and create a memorial marker for The Hickory Hill Slave and African American Cemetery, located on the plantation grounds.
Additional Sources:
National Register of Historic Places
Hickory Hill Listing
Virginia Henry Shelton
Virginia Shelton
My Blog
Organizer
Rishonda Anthony
Organizer
Bon Air, VA
