Existing comment:
Seeing Family:
Many of the male slaves who lived here had families on George Washington's outlying farms or other plantations. The men visited them on Sundays, and sometimes on week nights. Owners complained that this after-work walking exhausted the men, but the visits strengthened family and community ties. "Slamin' Joe," who dug drainage ditches and wells on the Mansion House Farm, walked three miles to Washington's Dogue Run Farm to see his wife, Priscilla, and their six children. Their cabin is now interpreted at the Pioneer Farmer Site.
Working for Themselves:
George Washington's enslaved people could earn income by selling foods and goods, either to Washington himself or at the market in Alexandria. In addition to fish, duck, and game, men from the Mansion House Farm sold Washington goods like honey, melons, and brooms, purchasing in return special food and drink, such as wheat flour and rum. They may have grown produce themselves, or received it from their families on the outlying farms. |