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Meet Hannah of Poplar Forest
          Cate's daughter, Hannah, was born at Monticello in 1770 and worked as a field hand and spinner. By 1811 she was serving as housekeeper at Poplar Forest and may have lived in the dependency wing of the main house. Hannah could read and write. She once wrote to her master:

   "November 15th, 1818

     Master I write you a few lines to let you know your house and furniture are all safe as I expect you will be glad to know I heard that you did not expect to come up this fall I was sorry to hear that you was so unwell you could not come it greive me many time but I hope as you have been so blessed in this that you considered it was god that done it and no other one we all ought to be thankful for what he has done for us...
​      Master I donot my ignorant letter will be much encouragement to you as know I am a poor ignorunt creature, this leaves us all well
                                       adieu, I am your
                                       humble servant
                                          Hannah  (1)

​          Mr. Jefferson kept this letter from Hannah, as he did all his letters.
 Hannah's  Billy
        Hannah had several children but the youngest was Billyborn in 1799. He was  often a troublemaker and a runaway. Mr. Jefferson called him "Hannah's Billy" in the Farm Book. The runaway Jame Hubbard was an uncle to Hannah's Billy.  

        At age thirteen Billy was sent to Monticello to learn a trade but just five years later he had already earned a bad reputation. By 1817, Mr. Jefferson removed him from the joinery to work as a cooper but even there he proved to be "so ungovernable and idle" that he was returned to Poplar Forest. His future work would be as a field hand. Mr. Jefferson wrote the overseer, Joel Yancey, at Poplar Forest:

                          " Hanah's Billy turns out to be so ungovernable and idle that I believe I shall send him back to Bedford, to go into the ground. he has been obliged to be taken from the cooper's shop & put under an overseer here, where however an additional man is not as much wanting as in Bedford." (2)





 Billy Attacks the Overseer
        At age twenty Billy attacked an overseer and ran off to Monticello to plead his case to Mr. Jefferson. He was sent back to Poplar Forest but his punishment,if any, is unknown. Mr. Yancey, the head overseer, wrote to Mr. Jefferson twice about the attack:

                "I was satisfied, there would be frost the next night, and you had about 30,000 Tob plants standing...and that we should have to  cutt Tob all day on Sunday, or lose it by the frost...the overseer met with Hanahs Billy in the Course of the day and ordered him to assist but he possitively refused a battle ensued, he bitt the overseer badly and made his excape, and has not made his appearance since probably he may go to Monticello to complain, as several others mean to do, for being compelld to work on Sunday. However by great exertion of the overseer and the rest of the hands, we secured every plant, before night that was worth saving..." ( 3 )

        A week later Mr. Jefferson received another letter regarding Hannah's Billy:

          "...Hanahs, Billy has not made his appearance yet but expect him to night if he started on monday as you expected, but I had rather not see him, if you could dispose of him any other way that would be agreeable to you, I had at one time great hopes of reclaiming him, but for the last 12 Mos I despair of making any thing of him, he is certainly the most consumate, bloody minded Vallain that I ever Saw of his age, and he becomes more & more daring as he increases in strength, Bowling says, that Billy commenced the attack on him, with a stone in each hand, and struck him several times...Billy...in the scuffle, got his thumb in his mouth and [bit] it severely and made his [escape] Hanah saw it all, and told me Billy had bite and struck the overseer...They run from here to you, and from you here, I Know of only one remedy..."(4 )





         A year and a half later, Mr. Yancey wrote again to complain - Billy and his gang were causing  mischief in the neighborhood:

      "Billy is still out, and have joined a gang of Runaways, and they are doing great mischief to the neighboring stock, considerable exertions have been made to take them but without success..."( 5)

       The next year Billy and two other slaves attacked another Poplar Forest overseer. This incident was much more serious.
Elizabeth Trist, a Jefferson family friend, wrote of the incident to her grandson:

      "We had the pleasure of seeing Jefferson Randolph last Sunday week his visit to this place was in consequence of an event which took place at Poplar Forest a mulatto attacked the overseer - knocked him down and wounded him in several places with a knife.
    "He would have bled to death but with the assistance of one of the Negroes and Hannah a Black woman who has the care of the House staunched the bleeding by holding the wounds together till they sent for a Doctor. He had eleven or twelve wounds and tho his face was horribly mutillated they entertain hopes of his recovery. They say that he was by no means a hard task master. I understand that there are 3 or 4 of them in the jail here and in the course of a month their fate will be decided." (6)




Another Attack
Billy's Punishment
         This time Billy was convicted of a crime in court.  The judge sentenced him to be burned on the hand and whipped. He and his companions were soon "sold south" to Louisiana.

    "The trial of Billy, Hercules, and Gavin took place at Bedford court on Monday last. Billy was found guilty of stabbing  & was sentenced to be burnt in the hand and whipped.  The other two were acquitted,there being no positive proof of a conspiracy. They were defended by Mr. Clark who was employed by me to defend them at the request of your grandson." (7  )
Queries
Queries...
How could Hannah have learned to read and write?

Did  Mr. Jefferson approve of her education?

What did "go into the ground" mean?


Why would Hannah "tell" on her own son?

What was Mr. Yancey's remedy?

What probably happened to Billy when he was sold?

Did he continue to run away?







Sources
​(1)  Hannah to Thomas Jefferson, November 15,1818, Founders Online.

(2) Thomas Jefferson to Joel Yancey, February 18, 1818, Founders Online.

(3) Joel Yancey to Thomas Jefferson,October 14, 1819, Founders Online.

(4) Joel Yancey to Thomas Jefferson, October 20, 1819, Founders Online.

(5) Joel Yancey to Thomas Jefferson, May 22, 1821, Founders Online.

(6)Elizabeth Trist to Nicholas Trist, November 28, 1822, Trist Papers, DLC.

(7) William Radford to Thomas Jefferson, December 26, 1822, Founders Online.
             Hannah's Billy
     "...so ungovernable and idle..."