The following annotations to The Narrative of Lunsford Lane, Formerly of Raleigh, N.C. Embracing an Account of His Early Life, the Redemption by Purchase of Himself and Family from Slavery, and His Banishment from the Place of His Birth for the Crime of Wearing a Colored Skin. Published by Himself were compiled in the fall 2000 by Robin Hunter and Brooke Lee, first-year students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as a class project in Professor William L. Andrews's First-Year Seminar on Slavery and Freedom in African American Literature and Film. We welcome any corrections, additions, or suggested revisions of these annotations. Send feedback to docsouth@listserv.unc.edu.
Page 5
Mr. Sherwood Haywood—Sherwood Haywood (1762 - 1829) served as clerk of the North Carolina State Senate from January 4, 1786 to December 24, 1798. He worked as an agent for Bank of Newburn in Raleigh.
my father—Lunsford Lane's father Edward belonged to one of Sherwood Haywood's brothers.
rod—One rod equals 16.5 feet, or 5.029 meters.
Page 8
Fayetteville—Fayetteville is located in Cumberland County, North Carolina.
Mr. Bennahan—Richard Bennehan (1743 - 1825) was a merchant, planter, and builder in 1799 of a house that became Stagville plantation, which covered over 4,000 acres in 1800.
Orange County—In the central Piedmont area of North Carolina.
Page 9
sold them at fifteen cents—A North Carolina statute passed in 1788 required that a slave possess written permission from his master for each act of trading. This was due to the concern that trading would encourage slaves to steal from their masters in order to trade. In 1826, the legislature created a specific list of articles that a slave could not sell without written permission. These included cotton, tobacco, corn, pork, farming utensils, meal, and liquor.
Page 10
tobacconist—A tobacconist is a dealer in tobacco, especially in retail.
Thomas Devereaux Esq.—Thomas Pollock Devereux (1793 - 1869), owner of several large plantations in North Carolina, served as U.S. attorney for the District of North Carolina as well as a justice of the peace and presiding justice of the Halifax, North Carolina, County Court.
Page 13
piazza—An arcaded and roofed gallery, veranda, or porch.
Page 14
widow—Eleanor Hawkins Haywood.
Page 15
Salisbury—Salisbury is in Rowan County, in central North Carolina.
Chapel Hill—Chapel Hill is in Orange County, North Carolina.
Page 16
laws—A North Carolina statute passed in 1715 permitted a master to liberate a slave as a reward for faithful service. In 1830 the state established a new procedure for freeing slaves, requiring a master to submit a petition including the slave's name, sex, and age to the superior courts of the state. In addition to giving notice to the county courthouse and the State Gazette six weeks in advance, a master was also obliged to post a bond of $1,000 that would be forfeited if the slave did not behave "honestly and correctly" while he remained in the state. In 1741, the state legislature allowed a master to legally emancipate a slave in North Carolina, but required him or her to prove to the county court that the slave had performed "meritorious services."
Page 19
hie—to hasten.
Page 21
"Servants be obedient to your masters."—Ephesians 6:5.
"He that knoweth his master's will and doeth it not, shall be beaten with many stripes."—Luke 12:48.
"This is hard saying, who can bear it?"—John 6:60.
Page 25
Law of the State—This act was passed in 1715.
Page 26
Governor of the State—Edward Bishop Dudley (1789 -1855), a leader in the formation of the Whig party in North Carolina and a two-term governor of the state from 1836 to 1840.
Page 27
G. W. Haywood, Esq.—George Washington Haywood (1802-1890) was a lawyer in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Page 29
shews—English variant of "shows."
Page 30
Charles Manly—Governor of North Carolina from 1849-1851.
Wm. Hill—North Carolina Secretary of State in 1812.
Wm. Peace—Director of the Bank of North Carolina and one of the founders of what is now Peace College in Raleigh.
Jos. Peace—Brother and business partner of William Peace.
Wm. M'Pheeters—Minister of the First Presbyterian Church in Raleigh and principal of the Raleigh Academy.
Wm. Boylan—Journalist, planter, and president of the Raleigh and Gaston Railroad.
Fabius J. Haywood—A Raleigh physician and surgeon.
D.W. Stone—A North Carolina governor and congressman.
T. Meredith—Minister and editor, Thomas Meredith was one of the fourteen founders of the North Carolina Baptist State Convention in 1830. Meredith College in Raleigh was named after him.
A.J. Battle—Amos Johnston Battle, pastor of the Baptist Church in Raleigh.
Drury Lacy—Presbyterian minister in Raleigh.
Will. Peck—President of the Raleigh Society around 1840.
Hugh M'Queen—Politician and Attorney General of North Carolina from 1840-1842.
C.L. Hinton—Charles Lewis Hinton, planter, legislator, and state treasurer.
Page 32
Issac Hunter—A planter who maintained extensive landholdings in Wake County near Crabtree Creek.
Judge Badger—George Edmund Badger, a superior court judge and a U.S. senator from North Carolina.
Mr. Harrison—William Henry Harrison (1773-1841) was elected President of the United States in 1840 and died after one month in office.
President Tyler—Harrison's Vice-President, John Tyler (1790-1852) succeeded William Henry Harrison as president of the United States in 1841.
Page 34
Weston R. Gales—Weston Raleigh Gales, editor and publisher of the Raleigh Register.
C. Dewey—Charles Dewey, banker and eventual president of the Raleigh National Bank
Page 35
the Governor—John Motley Morehead, two-term governor of the state from 1840 to 1844.
Page 37
guaranty—an agreement by which a person assumes the responsibility of paying or fulfilling another person's debts or obligations.
Page 38
mobocratic—"mobocracy"- a condition in which the lower classes of a nation control public affairs without respect to law, precedents, or vested rights.
Page 44
Common—tract of land belonging to or used by a community as a whole.
Return to North American Slave Narratives Home Page
Return to The North Carolina Experience Home Page
Return to Documenting the American South Home Page