My great great grandmother, Winifred, was a slave in Eastern Kentucky. When she was 16, she was raped by the slavemaster's wayward son. In 1857, she bore a daughter, Maggie, who closely resembled the slavemaster's son. In pictures, Maggie appears caucasian. The slavemaster's family, distraught at the striking resemblence between Maggie and her father, emancipated both Winifred and Maggie c1860, giving them money to travel far away. Winifred and Maggie walked and caught coaches, traveling with a stove, and ended up in Pearsall County, TX. There, Winifred married and had several more children. In 1902, the family paused for a picture that sits on my wall today. Maggie, her husband James, and their children, lived on that farm until the end of WWI, when most moved to Santa Monica, California, where my family lives today. I used Census records, oral history, and pictures to put the story together.
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