I have listened to some of the Voices from the days of slavery on the Library of Congress webpage. (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/voices/vfssp.html#FountainHughes.html)
In the past they have only been clips, maybe 1 minute or so. I can’t listen to more than one per day. This evening I have now heard the full interview from Fountain Hughes. He was a slave in the Charlottesville area and after he became free he moved to Baltimore. As I tear up listening to it I realized that this gentleman was a slave, he was owned by someone, he was a piece of property, not a human. He shares that his mother and father were slaves of the Burnley family and his grandfather was owned by Thomas Jefferson. His interview took place when he was 101. He tells a bit about life, which we all need to take heed and then comments on slavery. One of the attendees is researching the Burnley family in my area, I am sure there is a connection. I can’t wait to contact her.
This is worth listening too, please give Mr. Fountain Hughes your attention for a few minutes. Hear his voice, hear his story and I encourage you to do more to share your ancestors stories. This type of information needs to be told. Just click on the link below.
Fountain Hughes, circa 1952. Photograph courtesy of The Jeffersonian newspaper, Towson, Maryland.
http://memory.loc.gov/service/afc/afc9999001/9990a.mp3
