Mary
Emily
GettingStarted
IsoonfoundabookcalledFugitivesofthePearl. Itwaswrittenin1930byJohnH.Paynter.Hewasadistantrelativeofthe Edmonsons.
Next,IfoundabookbyDanielDrayton. HewasacaptainonthePearl. TherewasalsoabookaboutslaverybyHarrietBeecherStowe.IthadachapterontheEdmonsonsandthePearl. Yearslater,StowewroteUncleTom’sCabin,ananti‑slavery novel.
Manyoftheseimportantworkshavebeenpreservedforustoread. Eachofthesesourcesgavemeanaccountofwhathappened.But,Iwantedtofind outmore details. Ilookedatcensusrecordsthattrackpopulation changes.
Ilookedatotherhistoricaldocuments,likeshippassengerlists,courtcases,newspaperarticles,andmore. Thesematerialsarecalledprimary sources.
Fromlanddeeds,Ilearnedthatthegirls’father,PaulEdmonson,wasafreeman. Heowneda40‑acrefarmnorthofWashington,D.C.Hewasfreedwhenhisownerdiedin 1821.
RecreatingthePast
Icheckedtheagriculturalcensusof1850. Ittoldmeaboutthefamilyfarm. Theyhadfruittreesandgrewgrains. Therewerehorses,cows,andpigs. Itsoundedlikeawonderfulplacetogrowup. Butbyage13,thechildrenwereworkinginotherpeople’shomes. Themoneythattheyearnedwenttotheir owner.
Theyhadtoworkbecausetheywereslaves. Theywereslavesbecausetheirmotherwasaslave.Thatwasthelawinallslavestates.CourtrecordsshowedthatPaul’swife,Amelia,wasenslaved. So,herchildrenwere, too.
Abolitionistnewspapersalsohelpedwithmyresearch. Anabolitionistwasapersonwhobelievedthatslaveryshouldbeended. IfoundthesehistoricalnewspapersattheLibraryofCongress. AttheNationalArchives, IfoundrecordsfromashipboundforNewOrleans. ItwascalledtheUnion. TheEdmonsonswerelistedas passengers.