Customer Reviews

The Washingtons of Wessyngton Plantation: Stories of My Family's Journey to Freedom

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John F. Baker, Jr.'s magnificent account of the 200 year history of Wessyngton Plantation in Tennessee is one of the most significant books on U.S. history of the past decade. Meticulously researched and beautifully written, it is at once fascinating, compelling, enlightening and deeply moving. It is finally a work of magnificent hope. It is a celebration of the indomitable power of family connections and the rich inheritance of the generations of humankind.

Baker's thirty year research began with his discovery in Junior High School that the portrait of four slaves printed in his social studies textbook included two of his own great, great grandparents. He had discovered his lifework! In his early teens, his parents drove him to state archives and to the vast Wessyngton plantation where for 187 years the Washington family had run the largest tobacco plantation in America, largely with the labor of many generations of slaves and their free descendants. Remarkably, the Washington family had never sold a single slave from the Wessynton plantation operation, and so the African-American family life on the plantation was largely left intact for upwards of two centuries. Baker began by interviewing his elderly family members, and then pored over the treasure trove of Wessynton documents in the state archives. Ultimately his research branched out into participation in the archaeological digs of the original slave cabins on the plantation and into a vast DNA project involving hundreds of descendants of Wessyngton slaves. The result is the single most significant work on the history of slavery in the United States of the past decade.

Some additional thoughts:

1. One of the most remarkable aspects of Baker's work is the tone of his writing. He depicts both slaveowners and slaves with the same narrative respect, honesty and candor. He allows the facts to indict the institution, but never descends to acrimony and bitterness. The result is quite moving. He has succeeded in depicting the vast canvass of American slavery with equal understanding of its many complex parts and relationships. Baker is both a researcher and writer of the first rank, but also a man with a great heart!

2. The progress of Baker's research from essentially a family oral history project to his culminating and insightful understanding of both the archeaological picture and the stunning DNA research is marvelous. Thus, a piece of family history has burgeoned into almost a worldwide story, encompassing more than three centuries of history over four continents (if you include Asia, as some of the Wessyngton descendants were shown to have DNA markers from the Han Dynasty of China!) The DNA research shows that Wessyngton slaves came primarily from the Ibo and Yoruba peoples of Nigeria, and the Ewondo and Ga peoples of Cameroon and Ghana.

3. Above all, the power of this book is in its depiction of the deep and moving connectedness of people. To read of Baker's great, great Grandfather "Uncle Man" Washington singing his favorite song, "I've Just Come from the Fountain His Name is So Sweet," and to see the pictures of Wessyngton slave descendants gathered in throngs at the slave cemetery on the plantation in family reunions is one of the most moving experiences a devoted reader of history can experience!

Clearly, John F. Baker Jr. has completed a labor of love with the amazing history he has chronicled in THE WASHINGTONS OF WESSYNGTON PLANTATION but many readers may wonder what's in it for them, if biographies and autobiographies are not their usual choice. The answer would be an amazing view into history that reasonates because of the large collection of original images and text; such as the quote at the beginning of chapter nine from Andrew Jackson's favorite slave, "How would you like to be a slave?" "Page-turner" is not always a term we apply to non-fiction but that is what this book is, you start reading and the authentic quotes hold and haunt you. The text is told in plain straight-forward fashion which makes it even more dramatic because the reader experiences the real happenings, including tales of a suicide, the war, education, etc. If you love history, biographies, or autobiographies this is an absolute must. If you don't normally love this genre, this is the book to read. You will better understand our history and come away touched by this family.

This book is a mix. It traces the lives of plantation owners and slaves and their descendants over a period of 200 years. The author is clearly passionate about genealogy and has collected an amazing set of photographs and stories about his family and those of the plantation owners. He was fortunate enough to start his research early in life and has collected in person stories from many people who were born in the 1800s, giving him invaluable first hand recollections. The book is interesting in that it shows the stories of both the slave families and plantation owner families, and thus shows two sides of this history, all with photographs and backing documents.

The problem with this book is that it seems to have several audiences. At times, it is a book for a general audience, giving stories and context to paint a sense of the times and how the different parts of society fit together and adapted to the changes. At times it seems that it is a personal family story not meant for anyone except the immediate family -- for example information from told stories will include sections that don't have any general interest -- and lacking a family tree (which it should have) at points it is impossible to track the set of people being discussed. At other times it seems more like an encyclopedia, and there are large sections that are impossible to read (e.g., a sentence listing all of the occupations ... maybe 20 in all; a sentence enumerating a dozen or so diseases people had; a section with the 16 names of white families and 12 names of black families...); at other points it almost reads like a diary.

The book would benefit from an aggressive edit that would move the enumerations into tables or appendices, and that could take the breadth of first hand material, photographs, and research and make sure that they are always in context so that the book can maintain its general appeal. There is great raw material in here and some very interesting chapters, and the author has done a huge amount of work, but the book doesn't live up to its potential.

It is not often that a history book of any sort is so good that it floors me, especially family histories. I enjoy reading family histories and about the history of the South, so I already have a predisposition to enjoying those topics. "The Washingtons of Wessyngton Plantation," by John F. Baker, Jr. takes things to a new level. I literally read the book in one very long sitting due to being so draw in by this incredible work. As a history buff I am still marveling at the author's breadth of research, ability to bring to life so many people, and all the while maintaining a historian's objectivity. This book is one of the rare ones that I will read several times.

I will not repeat the product description of this book since the one provided by Amazon does a nice job of letting the reader know what is in store. What I will do is give an overall analysis of the various facets of a book of this nature.

First, the research. Baker did an enormous amount of research for this book. He draws from literally hundreds of interviews, family records, local and state records, oral histories, letters, diaries, speeches, and photographs. He also brings DNA testing into play that spans well over 250 years. I challenge anyone to show me a book about the life of slaves with more meticulous research than this one.

Second, the photographs. The photographs add significantly to the text. There are dozens of photographs, dating back to as early as the 1800s. Just looking at the photographs alone is incredibly interesting.

Third, the organization of the book. I do not envy the author's task of taking so much research and paring it down to around 400 pages. I am sure he could have written several large volumes from the material he gathered. Baker does an outstanding job of weaving the information into a compelling narrative that covers dozens of personalities in a large frame of time. This book is easy to follow and read as a result.

Fourth, does this book contribute to its field? Absolutely! Let's face it, while many family history books of this nature are well-written and interesting, they do not contribute anything new to the field. "The Washingtons of Wessyngton Plantation" is so well-researched and written that it adds much-needed illumination to a subject that is difficult to research.

Fifth, does the author show much bias? Incredibly, the answer is no. The objectivity of Baker in writing about his ancestors is uncanny. He does not judge the slaveholders of his ancestors or go into discussions about the unfair evils his ancestors endured. He also does not fall into the trap of hero worship of the people about who he writes. He is savvy enough to realize that he does not need to state the obvious to tell an amazing story. This book is the product of fine scholarship.

There is so much knowledge and understanding to be gained from reading this book that a review cannot do it justice. I cannot recommend it highly enough. Thank you, Mr. Baker, for this labor of love.

This is quite an interesting piece of research. When the author was in the seventh grade of school, there was a photograph in his social studies textbook of four former slaves. Shortly thereafter his grandmother came to visit and showed him a photograph. She asked him if he knew who these people were and he answered, "Those are the people in my textbook!" She then told him that they were his great-great-grandparents Emanuel and Hettie Washington, Emanuel's brother Allen, and his cousin Granville Washington. Thus began his 30-year quest to discover the history of his family. His family had been brought to Tennessee from Virginia by Joseph Washington, who proceeded to build an estate called Wessyington Plantation. Joseph Washington and his descendants bought a large number of slaves from the time they settled in Tennessee until the end of slavery in 1865 but they only sold two. The slaves families that were formed on Wessyngton remained intact and the Washington family kept detailed records of their slaves' activities, families, health, births and deaths. Between family legends, the tales told by the elderly descendants who remembered the stories told to them, the detailed Wessyngton records, and histories of other plantations and slaveholders of the region, Mr. Baker was able to knit together a most enjoyable history. I recommend this book to anyone who thinks it is difficult to trace their family's lineage.

This is an interesting book that describes the families of a large, well-documented Tennessee tobacco plantation.

The Washingtons, who were related to George Washington, seemed to have had some very unusual policies for that age. They tried to keep family units together and also encouraged the women slaves to remain productive while raising children. They used the task labor system, which reduced the need for white overseers and gave the slave more control over his time. He seems to try and let facts speak for themselves and not condemn the family for keeping slaves - remember at one point, it was the law of the land (as putrid an institution as it is) and also the `father of the country' (as did many founding families) kept slaves to run his estates. They also sold off very, very few slaves. The descriptions of the punishments for escapees or other `rule'-breakers are often left to the imagination as euphemisms are often used by the owners in letters to each other.

The author also states that the slaves were provided accommodations that were equal to (non-wealthy) whites of the era. Even so, that was not all that great, but does help to put things into perspective. If you only look at the photographs, the dwellings look pretty bad, but if you saw photos of regular (non-mansion) dwellings of whites of the era, they may not look very different. The black families and white families maintained close ties, even after emancipation. The flip side to this maintenance of family connections is that it can also lead to lingering resentments on both sides. In one passage, he states that the original slaves walked all the way there from Virginia and that was a hardship, over and above everything else. Undoubtedly, most of the owner's family walked there, too.

As their holdings increased, and war and emancipation neared, they had more discipline problems from their slaves. During the war, and especially after emancipation, there was a lot of trouble for the Washingtons and the (former) slaves and it was really difficult to tell the `good guys' from the `bad guys' as there were robbers and soldiers from both sides that tried to take anything they wanted. There were even altercations between different regiments of the Union Army over what the Washingtons did and did not do. From the problems the former slaves had - impressments by the army (just another form of slavery it must have seemed to some), theft of possessions, and dispersion of families, to the former owners - theft, harassment, injuries, and destruction of property; the time surrounding the war was very hard in everyone. Whenever people are held in slavery or peonage of one form or another, they may have a difficult time adjusting to the `real world' or freedom as they suddenly need to make a lot of decisions that had been made by someone else, so it is no surprise that the freed slaves had more trouble than they expected.

This work is a great preservation of the author's family history as well as of our shared history as Americans trying to heal the wounds of apartheid. As you get into the story, it becomes a real page-turner and it becomes hard to put down. A wonderful book for American History and because of the subject matter and complexity, high-school level and above readers.

John Baker's lifetime of research is readably presented. I have read hundreds of popular history books, and this one is in the top one per cent for a thorough, near first-person, diary and letter-based account of life in a given period. In this case, the time is from 1803 up to election day, 2008, and concerns slaves and their descendants on a Middle Tennessee plantation.
He does a masterful job of portraying both black and white residents in an unbiased manner. My background of Western Kentucky is geographically near his, but even if that were not true, I would appreciate this book. He has certainly put flesh on the bones of history with his broad research and riveting interviews. He definitely was the man in the right place and time to capture his data, and I appreciate it.

When John Baker was in junior high school, he found himself particularly drawn to a textbook photograph of two elderly slaves. Then he learned, when the photograph was reproduced in a newspaper somewhere and pointed out by other relatives, that this couple were his ancestors. This launched him on to an interesting and exciting search to find out more about his family.

Baker has done an amazing job of research, and he started at an inspiringly young age. I appreciate the work of love he has performed, the story he is telling, the family he represents, and his gift with words. He was able to interview family members who were at or near a century old, and to uncover incredible details. He collected data from interviews, pictures, and letters from family members, from researching the meticulously kept plantation records, speaking with the descendants of the Wessington family themselves, looking at old newspaper records, journals, accounts of the time, and more. He was even able to utilize DNA research, so the wealth of information here is rich and varied.

It was interesting to read of a slave-owning family who, atypically, only ever sold two slaves, assigned work by task, allowed mothers to stay with their children, did not put children and women to work in the fields, and who tried, by their lights, to be honorable.
It was baffling to read that at the same time, they refused to allow their slaves to attend worship services.

It was inspiring, and not at all surprising, to read how, even under these, for the times, 'benevolent' conditions, those enslaved still yearned for freedom, valued it, and maintained their own internal moral compass. It was was heartwarming to read of generations of families who, in spite of slavery, remained as intact as possible, husbands and fathers supporting their wives and children, working together to raise their children- not until decades after slavery ended did this begin to change.

It was helpful to read of other plantations, other conditions, and other families in the South at the same time, and compare and contrast the difference. The Wessingtons, and those they owned, were fortunate in that in one generation there was only a single surviving heir, so the families were not separated by the death of the head of household resulting in slaves being divided amongst multiple progeny, and the Wessington's were careful enough with their money that they never had to sell slaves off to recoup debts.

It was informative to read the Wessington family's complain during the Civil War of having their rights to transport their 'property' into the territories being the chief reason for secession (that 'property' was the humans they held in bondage).

There is, however, a little too much detail at times, lists of occupations, family names (difficult to follow or make sense of), crops, exports, imports, and so forth. At times, it reads like a novel, sometimes a scholarly work, and at other times it reads like a business inventory or an account book.

This book is perfect as it is for the following groups:
Those with any interest in genealogical research
Members of the Washington family
Those living in the area of Wessington Plantation
Those interested in every detail of the story

For most others, it's still an interesting story, but it could have benefited from some tighter editing, putting the lists in tables and charts in the back of the book, for instance, and putting lists of names in a family tree, or leaving out a few details, tightening up others.

Indeed this is some fine work, what I call a book of many historical books condensed and framed around descendants of Washington and Wessyngton.

WoW!

Moreso than the collection of historical accounts and stats, and the abundance of photos to support the work (astounding!), but it is the presentation that wins this work over. It's as if, and I'm almost sure the author did, painstakingly and meticulously pieced together the research done, letter by letter.

I honestly stopped trying to figure out who was related to who; when, where and how...but instead watched how America unfolded clear to present day, right before my eyes. It hardly will take DNA to see the Washingtons of Wessyngton Plantation isn't just about them. It's about All of Us!

Most times I fear picking up books like this one, thinking I'm going to get the lengthy hog-tied switch, but I took my chances, similar to the way the author was lured by the photo on the cover...to inspect further. I'm glad I did. Mr. Baker presented a truth I can live with, though too, I clearly see now why this part of history is not one many jump up and down to talk, or write about.

A Phenomenal Read.

For anyone interested in genealogy, history, or slavery, this book is a great read. I thoroughly enjoyed those aspects of the book. However, at times I found it very slow and hard to get through. It's not a book for reading on the beach. The book requires attention and thought. I am impressed with the amount of research that went into it. I would recommend this book be required reading for high school students studying this part of history.