Enslaved Community

Point of Honor was once home to a large community of enslaved men, women, and children. They lived and worked there for nearly a century, from 1775 to 1865. Their contributions are integral to the history of the site—and to the museum we operate today.

Early Years

Enslaved people of African descent have been present on the land of Point of Honor since the first white settlers arrived in Central Virginia in the mid 18th century. The Lynch family, along with six enslaved individuals, were the first to colonize the area near Blackwater Creek. They built a homestead and raised livestock, but the location of the house and outbuildings is unknown.

In 1805 Dr. George Cabell purchased over 700 acres of land along the James River and Blackwater Creek, which he named “Point of Honor.” Tax inventories from 1815, the year the main house was completed, show a total of 30 people enslaved by the Cabell family. The actual number is higher due to the exclusion of children under nine years of age on the tax rolls. By comparison, the largest enslaver in Campbell County in 1815, David Ross, owned 180 slaves.

Point of Honor’s enslaved community likely made the bricks for the exterior of the main house and dependencies, farmed the land, and operated the batteaux that took Dr. Cabell’s tobacco crop to Richmond. Dr. Cabell also owned a metalworking shop in town on Court Street, which was probably operated by one or two enslaved blacksmiths.

When William Lewis Cabell took over ownership of Point of Honor in 1826, there were more than 48 enslaved people living and working on the plantation. Cabell may have also rented or “hired in” additional slaves to work at Point of Honor.

Slavery in Lynchburg

During the 19th century, Lynchburg was home to a thriving economy based primarily on tobacco. Enslaved men, women, and children worked in tobacco fields, warehouses, and factories, as well as in homes across the city. By 1830, almost half of the town’s population was Black, either enslaved or free. Tobacco was not the only industry taking advantage of free labor; mills, manufacturing, construction, and foundries all were part of the vast slave economy.

Lynchburg had a “decentralized” slave market, which meant auctions took place all over the city. By 1860, nearly 74% of the white households within the city either owned or rented slaves. Renting allowed them to create contracts for a specific amount of time or for a job without having to pay the expenses or taxes associated with being an enslaver. The counties surrounding Lynchburg had different ratios; fewer families owned enslaved people, but the few who did were more prolific in the buying and selling of humans.

Slave Laws

Every enslaved and free person of color in Lynchburg was uniquely burdened by Virginia’s legal code, which became increasingly restrictive and repressive over time. Slavery was distinctly separated from indentured servitude by an act passed in 1661. In the following year the General Assembly made slavery hereditary: children born to slave mothers were considered property, and people of African descent had little hope of one day being free.

After 1723, enslaved people were not allowed to bear arms or carry anything that could be interpreted as a weapon for fear of revolts or insurrections. Following Nat Turner’s Rebellion in 1831, Virginia laws prohibited slaves from gathering in groups for events like church services or funerals without white supervisors. Although the education of slaves was not outright illegal, any gathering of Black, Indigenous, or multi-racial people for the purpose of teaching them to read or write was specifically prohibited after 1819.

Every attempt was made to reduce the number of slave manumissions and free people of color living in Virginia. Enslavers had to get permission from the state legislature to manumit any person of color prior to 1782. After 1806, manumitted slaves were forced to leave the state within one year or face the possibility of being returned to bondage unless specifically exempted by the state legislature or a local court.

Daily Life

We know very little about the enslaved people who resided on the Point of Honor land before the Civil War. We only know a few of their names, and the exact locations of their dwellings remain unknown. However, other accounts of slavery from the area or from the same period can give us glimpses into what their daily lives were like.

Most enslaved people had large families, with some members separated or sold to different plantations or households. Normative family structures were destroyed by the slave trade, and many individuals had to find comfort and connection with fellow slaves who were not related by blood. They often created strong “blended” communities to provide support and stability for one another.

Many skills and crafts, like making lye soap from oak ashes, skinning and processing meat, and using a spinning wheel, were passed down from one generation to the next. These skills included chores that were not only necessary to provide for the enslaver’s family, but also crucial for their own family’s survival. Music was passed down as well, and included singing and playing instruments, which helped the work days pass. Music was also enjoyed at the end of the day when many slaves could relax in their cabins.

Enslaved communities were able to survive because of their shared experiences. Weddings, weekly church services, and holidays offered brief moments of relief and allowed for relationships to form with new friends. Funerals could be occasions to reunite with physically distant family and connect to deeper cultural traditions. Jokes, superstitions, tips for gardening and childcare, storytelling, and recipes were all normal experiences of enslaved men, women, and children.

Daniel Period, 1830–1848

The lives of the enslaved at Point of Honor probably did not change when the Daniel family took over the property in 1830. This is the period from which we have the most documentation about the slave community living on the property, thanks to the 1839 will of Judge William Daniel, Sr., and a large collection of Daniel family correspondence.

During the 1830’s and 1840’s there were about 50 people held in bondage at Point of Honor, and most of them were farmers. Daniel, Sr., also owned a plantation in Cumberland County with an additional 30 people held in slavery there. Even though the Daniels owned more slaves than the Cabells, the size of the property they owned was much smaller. The Daniel family began selling off plots of land that were once part of the original plantation. It was during this time period that the neighborhood known as “Daniel’s Hill” began to develop.

After Judge Daniel’s death in 1839, the enslaved people were divided among his adult children along with the rest of his property. Through legal records we know some of their names, although most remain unidentified. Davy and Eliza were kept together, along with their five children. Richard and Amy were also kept with their children, but less is known about the familial relationships of Shadrach and Hannibal. Other Daniel period slaves include Hally, Celia, Milly, Rachael, Sally, Tom, “Little Bet,” Moody, John, Charlotte, Maria, and Jenny.

Plantation Work

On a typical Southern plantation, enslaved laborers were relied on for all functions of domestic life, including cooking, cleaning, washing clothes, delivering messages, and nursing the children. Their duties brought them in close proximity to the white family, which had distinct advantages and disadvantages. It often meant they were fed more food, dressed in finer clothing, and better informed about news and the wider world. Some even earned roles of considerable trust and responsibility in the household. However, it also meant they typically received less time off and were more separated from their own families and communities. Domestic female workers were in especially vulnerable positions. With limited choices and no legal rights, many enslaved women were physically and sexually abused by their enslavers.

Field workers and gardeners were crucial to the daily operation and survival of a plantation. They grew and harvested the crops (both for consumption and for market), processed the meat and animal products, and acted as blacksmiths, masons, well diggers, millers, and beekeepers. Point of Honor grew wheat, corn, and tobacco as cash crops, and there were a number of smaller, private gardens on the property. Enslaved people survived on meager rations, but usually supplemented their diets with crops and livestock raised in their own gardens. Their dwellings were small and poorly ventilated, furnished with simple implements for cooking and serving food. Their clothing was made of course linen or wool, and not all enslaved people had shoes. One benefit of living in slave dwellings or quarters was the comradery found with other enslaved men and women.

Late Antebellum Period

We know very few details about the Payne and Langhorne families who owned Point of Honor in the 1850’s, although it is almost certain they held people in bondage. Given the reduced size of the property, there were likely more domestic laborers than farm workers. The only known portrait of an enslaved person from Lynchburg made before Emancipation is a photograph of Mary Brice (or Bryce), who lived and worked at Point of Honor during this period. Brice’s daguerreotype, taken by local photographer Peter E. Gibbs around 1853, is now in the collection of the Library of Congress.

The Owen family who took over the property in 1862 were the last enslavers to occupy the home. By this time the property had greatly diminished in size and was no longer the sprawling plantation that stretched all the way to the Rivermont area. Point of Honor had become one of several small farms that covered Daniel’s Hill. The “mistress” of the house was Narcissa Chisholm Owen, whose 1907 memoirs address her life at Point of Honor. She mentions a few of the enslaved people there, including Wirt Robertson (“our dining-room man”), Humphrey Shelton, Westley Lucas, and his half brother James Waller, who were both gardeners. Waller and his wife Milly tried to leave Point of Honor after the Civil War ended, but, according to Narcissa Owen, she talked them out of leaving by agreeing to pay them wages.

Freedom

Unfortunately very little is known about Point of Honor’s former slaves after Emancipation in 1865. Some probably left the area for better economic opportunities or to rejoin family, while others remained in the Daniel’s Hill neighborhood for generations.

Several families stayed in Lynchburg and continued to work for their former enslavers. Humphrey Shelton retired, but lived at Point of Honor until his death in 1867. Wesley Lucas (or Wesley Owen) was a domestic and office servant for Drs. William and Robert Owen through the 1890’s. He died in Lynchburg in 1902. James Waller stayed on as gardener for Narcissa and Robert Owen until 1870, when they moved to Norfolk, Virginia. Waller then worked as a local railroad office laborer and janitor before his death in 1907.

Despite the substantial transformation of the Cabell-era plantation, Point of Honor has endured for more than two centuries. It remains one of the places most deeply connected to slavery in the city of Lynchburg. Point of Honor is a place where we remember Lynchburg’s enslaved residents, learn about their experiences, and, in doing so, better understand our community today.

Further Study

To learn more about the history of enslavement in Lynchburg, please visit us at Point of Honor, the Lynchburg Museum, or browse our Digital Resources page.