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Lavinia Bell, A Story to Pass On (Part 1)

Born in Washington DC / Enslaved in Texas / Interviewed in Canada 1861 I was going over newspaper and magazine interviews, 1827-1863 in collection edited by John W. Blassingame. Lavinia Bell’s story is particularly touching in her determination to be free at all costs yet disturbing in the raw violence to which she was subjected. Born free in Washington she was stolen as an infant and enslaved in Galveston, Texas. As the property of William Whirl, his wife, Polly, taught Lavinia to be a performer, “taught to dance, sing, cackle like a hen, or crow like a rooster…” About the age of 13 or 14, she was sent to the cotton field an exposed to a different level of bondage. In the Galveston, Texas cotton field the Whirl's laboring slaves were exposed to the relentless sun naked, their hair shaved close to their heads, and receiving fifty lashes daily, whether they worked or not. Bell reported that “they were also compelled to go down on their knees, and ha

Lavinia Bell, A Story to Pass On (Part 2)

Born in Washington DC / Enslaved in Texas / Interviewed in Canada 1861 Recap, Lavinia Bell was born free, stolen as an infant from her parents in Washington and enslaved in Texas by the Whirl family. Trained to be a performer and probably viewed Polly Whirl (wife of the sadistic William, owner of the property in Galveston, Texas) as a maternal figure. After she becomes a teen Bell is forced into new labor, naked, like the other slaves, in the fields suffering unbelievable constant torture. Somehow she managed to bite off a part of Whirl’s nose. In response several of her teeth were hammered out. Her determination to escape continued and she managed to board a ship, hiding among some barrels. When she was discovered she spoke to the captain in gibberish. A passenger gave her a blanket because she was naked. She managed to get ashore in Louisiana and was recognized and pursued. To escape she jumped into a river of alligators, avoided attack and eventuall

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