Annotations

The following annotations to The Narrative of Bethany Veney: A Slave Woman were compiled in the fall 2000 by Crystal Ervin and C'Cora Thomas, first-year students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as a class project in Professor William L. Andrews's First-Year Seminar on Slavery and Freedom in African American Literature and Film. We welcome any corrections, additions, or suggested revisions of these annotations. Send feedback to docsouth@listserv.unc.edu.

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Introduction

Washington—George Washington (1732-1799), hero of the American Revolution and the first president of the United States.

Jefferson—Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), author of the Declaration of Independence and the third President of the United States.

Patrick Henry—Patrick Henry (1736-1799), American Revolutionary patriot famous for his 1775 "Give me liberty, or give me death" oration.

Newport—A seaport and summer resort in southeastern Rhode Island.

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Preface

"in fifteen out of thirty two States"—The eleven states of the Confederate States of America, plus the border states of Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri, and Delaware, were the fifteen slave states alluded to.

threescore years and ten—70 years, 1 score equaling 20 years.

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Page 7

Luray—a town in northern Virginia. Although Bethany Veney's birthdate is uncertain, she was probably born around 1812.

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Page 9

Jim Crow—A character in a minstrel performance.

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Page 15

Powell's Fort—a town near Front Royal in northern Virginia.

Camp meeting—A religious meeting held in a tent or in the open air.

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Page 18

Blue Ridge—a mountain range in western Virginia.

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Page 22

Staunton, Va.—a town in northwestern Virginia.

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Page 23

the Pass—a narrow route across a depression in a mountain barrier.

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Page 24

fodder—food for livestock.

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Page 27

Richmond—the state capitol in central Virginia.

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Page 29

Saviour—Jesus Christ.

Charlotteville—Charlottesville, a town in northwestern Virginia about 70 miles from Richmond.

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Page 30

bilious—sick, often suffering from trouble with the bile or liver.

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Page 31

the pike—a toll road or turnpike.

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Page 33

spur—a ridge projecting from the main body of a mountain.

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Page 34

God moves...—The first two lines of "Light Shining out of Darkness," a hymn by the English poet William Cowper (1731-1800).

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Page 35

smeltering-mill—A place where iron ore is heated to form metal.

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Page 37

John Brown—American abolitionist (1800-1859), leader of a raid at Harper's Ferry, Virginia, where he was hanged on Dec. 2, 1859.

War of Rebellion—The American Civil War (1861-1865).

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Page 39

Yankee—northern.

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Page 40

Worcester, Mass.—a town in central Massachusetts.

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Page 42

house of bondage—the South, the land of slavery. Exodus 13:3.

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Page 44

"A stranger and he took me in"—Matthew 24:35.

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Page 47

Rev. Erastus Spaulding (1806-1897)—A Methodist minister who headed churches in Worcester, Massachusetts.

"made an heir of God; and a joint heir with Christ"—Romans 8: 17.