Belle Grove’s latest online exhibit tells remarkable story of freedom

Belle Grove has published its latest online exhibit at virtual.bellegrove.org, The Jackson Family: A Story of Resilience & The Enduring Love of Family. It tells the remarkable story of Emanuel Jackson, a free Black man from Frederick County, Virginia, and how he purchased the freedom of his children and grandchild, who the Hite family enslaved. Mr. Jackson resided in Pittsburgh, and his children joined him there. The exhibit uses historical documents, maps, and municipal records to show how the family grew and prospered.

Belle Grove first learned about this inspiring story through a single-digitized document in the Free at Last: Slavery in Pittsburgh in the 18th and 19th Centuries online exhibit created by the University of Pittsburgh Library. This document was the 1837 bill of sale between the executors of Major Isaac Hite Jr. of Belle Grove and Emanuel “Manual” Jackson for the $800 purchase of Jackson’s son, Emanuel, which is $27,400 in today’s currency.

Records from the Hite Family at Belle Grove noted that Jackson also purchased his son, Frank, and daughter, Betsy Ann. Family papers were donated to the Stewart Bell Jr. Archives at Handley Regional Library in recent years. Two letters outlined arrangements for purchasing Jackson’s enslaved son, Daniel, enslaved daughter-in-law, Matilda, and enslaved grandson, also named Emanuel. The Hites at Belle Grove enslaved more than 270 individuals, and very few obtained freedom in their lifetimes. In fact, the mother of Emanuel Jackson’s children, Hannah Thornton, is noted as being sold.

Belle Grove hired genealogist Amy Arner of Arner Research in Pittsburgh to learn more about the family’s life in Pennsylvania. She confirmed many of the Belle Grove researchers’ findings and located various local records about the family’s businesses, real estate holdings, military service, and subsequent generations.

The online exhibit, created by Digital Public Historian Jessica Pritchard-Ritter, uses all this research to tell the story of the family’s journey from enslavement to freedom. She says, “This exhibit starts to tell a powerful story and allows our audience to see how historians use these primary sources to piece together the past. It is historical detective work! This exhibit also exemplifies digital humanities’ impact, allowing historians to take local data and share it with a global audience. Finding Emanuel Jackson’s 1837 bill of sale would have been a needle in a haystack. Still, because the document was digitized, we could take that single document and research a far greater story that goes beyond Middletown and even Pittsburgh.”

The exhibit also includes suggested activities for students of all ages. Teachers and parents are encouraged to use the exhibit to teach about this historical era and how to do genealogy and historical research.

Virtual Belle Grove at virtual.bellegrove.org launched in 2021 to expand Belle Grove’s educational reach. “So many amazing people lived and worked at Belle Grove, and so many interesting things happened here. However, our physical space for exhibits is limited. Online exhibits are a great way to share this information and have it available for years to come.” To date, four online exhibits have been published. In addition to The Jackson Family, there are exhibits on Ann Hite, the second wife of Belle Grove’s owner Isaac Hite Jr.; Mary Briscoe Baldwin, the Hites’ granddaughter who had a pioneering career as a missionary and teacher; and Lucy Walker and Rebecca Cooley Gordon, two women who witnessed the Battle of Cedar Creek from Belle Grove. These exhibits are all designed to be classroom resources and include multiple educational activities.

In addition, virtual.bellegrove.org hosts links to Honoring the Enslaved Community at Belle Grove, a monthly newsletter that features individuals and families enslaved by the Hite family. Each issue discussed what is known about the person and their family, uplifting their humanity and individuality and highlighting how their story fits into the history of slavery in the Shenandoah Valley.

Belle Grove Plantation is currently closed for the winter but will reopen for daily tours on Saturday, March 18, 2023.

Belle Grove Plantation is a non-profit historic house museum, a National Trust for Historic Preservation site, and a partner in Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park. It is also in the National Park Service’s Underground Railroad Network to Freedom for the enslaved individuals who sought their freedom through self-emancipation. It is located off Route 11 at 336 Belle Grove Road, south of Middletown, Virginia. More information may be found at www.bellegrove.org.