Inspired by the Stolpersteine (stumbling stones) memorial project in Europe, the hand-decorated stones seen throughout our grounds are there to encourage reflection and conversation about the history and legacies of slavery in our community. The stones were painted by community members after learning about the individuals who Calvin Jones enslaved on his Wake forest Plantation from 1821 to 1832 at a community dinner on October 13, 2022. The dinner was held at the Wake Forest Historical Museum in partnership with Wake Forest Community Table, WFU’s Center for Research, Engagement & Collaboration in African American Life, and WFU’s Slavery, Race, and Memory Project. The image above will be posted on signs around the grounds to raise awareness about this project.

The stumbling stone project is just one way we working to better understand the history and legacies of slavery. In August 2022, the museum, in partnership with Wake Forest University, began the development of the Wake Forest Research Database. The research database will eventually be a publicly available resource for scholars, students, and community members. The first phase of the pilot project pulls together information about the people, places, and events associated with the Wake Forest Plantation from 1820 to 1832, a foundational period in the history of Wake Forest University and the Town of Wake Forest. The project builds off of similar initiatives like Enslaved.org and OnTheseGrounds.org.

Biographies of Those Enslaved at the Wake Forest Plantation

The museum used letters, journals, diaries, and legal documents to draft these biographies. For the most part, these profiles only document events that took place between 1820 and 1832, and much of the information comes from documents written by Calvin Jones and his family. These brief biographies do not represent the full complexity of these individuals’ lives, and we will edit and revise them as our research continues.

Much of this research was gathered by descendants. In the 1980s, Katie Brown Bennett began gathering information about the families enslaved by Calvin Jones as part of her own genealogical research. Bennett is a descendant of Lewis and Pherebee or Phebie Jones. The letters, like the one below, were gathered by Calvin Jones’s descendants, Jameson Miller Jones and Calvin N. Jones in the 1980s and 1990s. Many of the original letters are in the collections of the museum, UNC-Chapel Hill, and Tennessee State Library.

Amy

Amy was born in 1789. She probably spent much of her early life in Warren or Franklin Counties enslaved by William Williams. Amy became the legal property of Calvin Jones after his marriage to Williams’s daughter Temperance. In 1830, Jones documented that Amy and her infant daughter, Matilda, were at one of his mining operations in western North Carolina. Jones had transplanted her husband Ellick to the mines sometime around 1829, the same year Matilda was born. While there, Amy  purchased a pair of ducks to raise for meat or eggs. In 1832, Jones relocated Amy, Ellick, and Matilda to his Tennessee plantation. In Tennessee, Ellick and Amy had a son named Fenner. In 1837, Calvin Jones gave Amy to Thomas Jones as a wedding gift, but Ellick, Matilda, and Fenner remained with Calvin. After Jones’s death, Matilda and Fenner were allotted to Temperance.

Anthony

Born on August 17, 1820, Anthony was the son of Lydia. He became the legal property of Calvin Jones in 1821 after Jones married Temperance Williams in 1819. He was a young child when Jones moved him, his mother, and his brother William to Wake Forest in 1821. After Calvin Jones’s death in 1846, Antony was allotted to Temperance Jones and remained on the Joneses’ Tennessee plantation called Pontine.

Becky

Becky was born in January 1825. It is likely she was born on the Wake Forest plantation. In 1832, Calvin Jones relocated her to his Tennessee property.

Becky

Becky was born in 1806. Her mother was Grace. She likely spent much of her early life in Warren or Franklin Counties enslaved by William Williams. Becky became the legal property of Calvin Jones after his marriage to Williams’ daughter Temperance. By February 1820, she was living in Raleigh with Calvin and Temperance. Becky’s responsibilities included spinning cotton and polishing furniture and dishes. On more than one occasion, letters sent between Calvin and Temperance suggest that Becky challenged Temperance’s authority. In one instance, Becky stood up to Temperance after she reprimanded Grace. Becky had at least two children Ben and Grace. When Calvin Jones died in 1846, Becky and her children were allotted to his daughter Octavia Rowena and her husband Edwin Polk.

Ben

Ben, also known as Big Ben, was born in August 1798. His mother was Grace. Ben became the legal property of Calvin Jones after Jones married Temperance Williams in 1819. Around 1828, Jones ordered Ben and his brothers to work at his mining operations in western North Carolina under the supervision of his son Thomas. In March 1830, Ben escaped from Thomas and headed back to Wake Forest. Letters suggest that Ben remained in Wake Forest until June 1830 when he delivered a letter to Thomas from Calvin. Ben may have left his brothers to inform Calvin that several men had become sick from working in the mines. That summer, Ben became gravely ill from the hazardous mining work but eventually recovered. In 1832, Calvin Jones transplanted Ben to Tennessee. After Jones died in 1846, Ben remained with his wife Temperance at the Joneses’ Pontine plantation.

Ben

Ben, also known as Little Ben and Long Ben, was born on December 24 sometime between 1829 and 1932. He was the son of Becky. After Jones died in 1846, Ben was allotted to Jones’s daughter Octavia and her husband Edwin Polk.

Bristol

Bristol was likely born in February 1806 or 1809. His mother was Penny. Bristol became the legal property of Calvin Jones after Jones married Temperance Williams in 1819. However, Bristol likely remained on the plantation owned by Temperance’s father William Williams until the Joneses moved him to Wake Forest in 1821. Around 1828, Jones ordered Bristol to work at his mining operations in western North Carolina under the supervision of his son, Thomas. Jones relocated Bristol to his Tennessee plantation in 1832.

Buswell

Buswell’s date of birth and death are unknown. He likely became the legal property of Calvin Jones after Jones’s marriage to Temperance Williams in 1819. In 1832, Jones transplanted Buswell to his Tennessee plantation.

Buxton

Born in 1815, Buxton, also called Barton, was the son of Penny. He became the legal property of Calvin Jones after Jones married Temperance Williams in 1819. In 1821, Jones transplanted Buxton, age six, to Wake Forest. In 1832, Jones relocated Buxton to his Tennessee plantation. After Jones died in 1846, Buxton was allotted to Paul Tudor Jones.

Caroline

Caroline was born in 1832 at Wake Forest or Jones’s Tennessee plantation. It is unknown when he became the legal property of Calvin Jones. At age 14, she was bequeathed to Octavia Rowena Polk.

Charles

Charles was born in 1778. He probably spent much of his early life in Warren or Franklin Counties, enslaved by William Williams. Charles became the legal property of Calvin Jones after Jones married Williams’ daughter Temperance. Charles remained on Williams’s plantation until the Joneses moved him to Wake Forest in 1821. Charles often served as a messenger between Temperance and her family but he also performed manual labor at the Wake Forest plantation. Letters between Temperance and her father suggest that Charles’s wife was enslaved by Temperance’s sister-in-law, Harty. While the Joneses resided at Wake Forest, Charles could visit his wife at Harty’s residence. However, when the Joneses moved Charles to Tennessee in 1832 they separated him from his wife. Charles asked to be purchased by William Williams, but Williams refused the offer. Charles likely died sometime before 1837.

Cherry

Cherry was born on July 20, 1830, at the Wake Forest plantation. She was the daughter of Lewis and Pherebee. In 1832, Calvin Jones transplanted her to his Tennessee plantation. After Jones died in 1846, his son Paul Tudor Jones inherited Cherry. Paul Tudor’s brother, Montezuma, inherited Cherry’s parents and siblings. 

Eliza

Eliza’s date of birth and death are unknown. In 1832, Jones transplanted Eliza to his Tennessee plantation.

Ellick

Born in 1802, Ellick was the son of Penny. He became the legal property of Calvin Jones after he married Temperance Williams in 1819. In January 1821, Jones loaned Ellick to H. Terrell for $36 for an unknown period. Eventually, Jones moved Ellick to the Wake Forest plantation. Ellick and his wife Amy had a daughter named Matilda in 1829. Around that same time, Jones ordered Ellick to work at his mining operations in western North Carolina under the supervision of his son, Thomas. On July 6, 1830, Ellick injured his leg at the mines. Jones relocated Ellick, Amy, and Matilda to his Tennessee plantation. In Tennessee, Ellick and Amy had a son named Fenner. In 1837, Calvin Jones gave Amy to Thomas Jones as a wedding gift, but Ellick remained with Calvin. After Jones’s death, Matilda and Fenner remained with Temperance at the Joneses’ Tennessee plantation.

Ephraim

Ephraim was born in 1790. He probably spent much of his early life in Warren or Franklin County, enslaved by William Williams. He became the legal property of Calvin Jones after Jones married Williams’ daughter Temperance. Jones loaned Ephraim to Ed Alston for $35 sometime in January 1821. Eventually, Jones moved Ephraim to Wake Forest. In the spring of 1823, Ephraim accompanied Jones on a trip to Tennessee. During the trip, Ephraim cooked for Jones and his son Thomas. Jones wrote to Temperance that Ephraim was a good cook. In 1832, Calvin Jones transplanted Ephraim to his Tennessee plantation. After Jones died in 1846, Ephraim was allotted to Paul Tudor Jones. 

Fenner

Fenner was born on August 1, 1832. He was the son of Ellick and Amy. Fenner was the playmate of Calvin Jones’s son Paul Tudor Jones. After Jones died in 1846, Matilda and Fenner remained with Temperance.

Grace

Grace, also known as Black Grace, was born in 1782. She probably spent much of her early life in Warren County enslaved by William Williams. Grace became the legal property of Calvin Jones after his marriage to Williams’ daughter Temperance in 1819. Jones moved Grace to Wake Forest in 1821. Her primary responsibility at the Wake Forest plantation was to prepare meals for the Jones family. Katie Brown Bennett’s research documents that Temperance’s sisters were particularly fond of Grace and often inquired about her after the Jones family moved to Tennessee. After Jones died in 1846, Grace remained with Temperance. She died in 1848. 

Grace

Grace, also known as Yellow Grace, was born in Virginia in 1772. She probably spent much of her early life in Franklin County where William Williams enslaved her on his plantation named Vine Hill. Williams likely enslaved her older children at Apple Tree Mount in Warren County. Grace became the legal property of Calvin Jones after his marriage to Williams’s daughter Temperance Williams. However, Grace remained at Vine Hill until the Joneses moved her to Wake Forest in 1821. Much of what we know about Grace is based on the research of genealogist Katie Brown Bennett, a descendant of Grace. Bennett wrote about Grace in Soaking the Yule Log: Biographical Sketches of the Brown, Cheshire, Sain and Allied Families, 1749-1995 (1996). In February 1820, at the age of 48, Grace ran away for a period. A year later, the day before several enslaved laborers were hired out in January 1821, Grace ran away again. Grace probably hid in the woods for five weeks. At the time, she was likely three months pregnant with her son Henry who was born on July 12, 1821. Bennett’s research suggests that Grace’s oldest children might have been fathered by William Williams. Grace was the mother of Tamer (c. 1800-1827), Lydia (1800-1851), Jim (1802-1857), Lewis (1804-1894), Becky (1806-1877), Peggy (unknown), Phill (1811-after 1858), and Gray (1816-aft. 1880), Henry (1821-after 1860). At Wake Forest, Grace and her daughters managed household work, including washing, spinning, and weaving. Letters between Calvin and Temperance suggest that Temperance reprimanded Grace on more than one occasion. At least once Becky stood up to Temperance on behalf of her mother. When Jones died in 1846, Grace was bequeathed to Joneses’ daughter Octavia and was transplanted to her husband’s plantation. The date of Grace’s death is unknown, she lived at least to 1860.

Gray

Gray was born on March 7, 1816. He became the legal property of Calvin Jones after Jones married Temperance Williams in 1819. In 1821, Jones transplanted Gray to Wake Forest. Around 1829, Jones ordered Gray to work at his mining operations in western North Carolina under the supervision of Thomas Jones. In 1832, Jones relocated Gray to his Tennessee plantation. 

Green

Green’s date of birth and death are unknown. In 1832, Jones may have transplanted Green to his Tennessee plantation.

Hannah

Hannah was born in 1832. After Calvin Jones died in 1846, she was allotted to Temperance. 

Hardy

Hardy was born on the Wake Forest plantation in 1825. In 1832, Jones relocated Hardy to his Tennessee plantation. Little is known about Hardy after 1842. Jones may have sold him sometime between 1837 and 1842.

Henry

Henry was born to Grace on July 12, 1821. Henry was an infant when Calvin Jones transplanted him and his mother to the Wake Forest plantation. In 1832, Jones relocated Henry to his Tennessee plantation. After Jones died in 1846, Henry was allotted to Octavia and Edwin Polk. 

Israel

Israel was born on May 3, 1811. He became the legal property of Calvin Jones after Jones married Temperance Williams in 1819. However, Israel remained on Temperance’s father’s plantation until the Joneses moved him to Wake Forest in 1821. Israel frequently served as a messenger between the Jones and Williams families. On May 20, 1822, Israel delivered a letter written by Calvin Jones in Raleigh to his wife, Temperance, in Wake Forest. The contents of the letter included instructions for the plantation overseer. In 1832, Jones transplanted Israel to his Tennessee plantation.

Jackson

Jackson, the son of Lydia, was likely born on the Wake Forest plantation on February 10, 1824. In 1832, Calvin Jones moved Jackson to his Tennessee plantation. After Jones’s death, Jackson was allotted to Montezuma Jones.

Jackson

Jackson was born in 1804. He likely became the legal property of Calvin Jones after Jones married Temperance Williams in 1819. After Jones died in 1846, Jackson was allotted to Montezuma Jones. 

James

James’s date of birth is unknown. He likely became the legal property of Calvin Jones after Jones’s marriage to Temperance Williams in 1819. James died sometime before 1826.

Jane

Jane was likely born on the Wake Forest plantation in 1823. In 1832, Jones relocated her to his Tennessee plantation. Jane and her husband William had four children: George, Amy, William (Shepp), and Tom. After Jones died in 1846, William, Jane, and their children were allotted to Paul Tudor Jones. 

Jim

Jim was born in 1802. His mother was Grace. He became the legal property of Calvin Jones after Jones married Temperance Williams in 1819. In January 1821, Calvin Jones loaned Jim to Guilford Lewis for $45. Eventually, Jones moved Jim to Wake Forest. In 1832, Jones relocated Jim to his Tennessee plantation. After Jones died in 1846, Jim was allotted to Paul Tudor Jones at the age of 48.

Joe

Joe was born in September 1811. His mother was Grace. Joe became the legal property of Calvin Jones after Jones married Temperance Williams in 1819. Around 1828, Jones ordered Joe and his brothers Lewis and Ben to work at his mining operations in western North Carolina under the supervision of his son, Thomas. In June 1830, Joe had become extremely ill from working in the mines. Calvin Jones transplanted Joe to Tennessee in 1832. 

Julia

Julia was born on June 16, 1832. Her parents were Lewis and Pherebee. After Jones died in 1846, Julia and her parents were allotted to Montezuma Jones.

Lewis

Born around 1804, Lewis was the son of Grace and the husband of Pherebee. He became the legal property of Calvin Jones after Jones married Temperance Williams in 1819. According to Katie Brown Bennett’s family history, Soaking the Yule Log: Biographical Sketches of the Brown, Cheshire, Sain and Allied Families, 1749-1995 (1996), Lewis learned to read and write at a young age. Lewis was a craftsman, and in January 1821 Jones loaned Lewis to Lewis Bobbit for $40. At the Wake Forest plantation, Lewis ran the shop and performed metalwork and carpentry, including cabinet making. In June 1832, Calvin Jones ordered him to design and build a wagon for a trip to Tennessee. He was also a trusted agent and messenger of Jones, even dealing with businessmen on Jones’s behalf. Around 1828, Jones ordered Lewis and his brothers, Joe and Ben, to work at his mining operations in western North Carolina under the supervision of his son, Thomas. Lewis became very sick from working in the mines. Lewis and Pherebee had at least eleven children: Cherry, Julia, Frank, Major, Penny, Nancy, Isaiah, Tamer, Lucy, Israel, and Harriet. After Calvin Jones died in 1846, his son, Montezuma, inherited Lewis and Pherebee, who then transplanted them to Hickory Valley. Montezuma inherited all of their children, except their daughter, Cherry, and their daughter Lucy who was born. After emancipation in 1866, Lewis entered into a labor agreement with Montezuma. He died on February 17, 1894, at his home near Bolivar, Tennessee.

Little Frank

Born in 1807, Frank, also known as “Little Frank”, was the son of Penny. He became the legal property of Calvin Jones after he married Temperance Williams in 1819. In January 1821, Jones rented Frank to Jno. Bartholomew for $28. Around 1829, Jones ordered Frank to work at his mining operations in western North Carolina under the supervision of his son, Thomas. The Jones family relocated Little Frank to Tennessee in 1832.

Lydia

Lydia was likely born in February 1800. Her mother was Grace, and letters between Temperance Jones and her sister Margaret suggest that Temperance’s father William Williams, may have been her biological father. Lydia spent much of her childhood enslaved on plantations owned by Williams in Warren or Franklin County. On October 9, 1817, at the age of 17, Lydia gave birth to her first child, William. On August 17, 1820, her second son, Antony, was born. Lydia became the legal property of Calvin Jones after his marriage to Temperance Williams, and in 1821 Jones relocated her to Wake Forest. In Wake Forest, she had three more children: Jackson (February 10, 1824), Mary (January 10, 1827), and Rainey (May 1829). Lydia suffered an illness in March 1825. Lydia was likely pregnant with her son Timothy when Calvin Jones transplanted her to Tennessee in 1832. After Calvin Jones died in 1846, Lydia, Jackson, and Rainey were allotted to Montezuma Jones.

Lymus

Lymus’s date of birth is unknown. He became the legal property of Calvin Jones after Jones’s marriage to Temperance Williams in 1819. In January 1821, Jones rented Lymus to W. Fletcher for $46. A letter from William Williams to Calvin Joneson on March 29, 1826, suggested that Lymus may have run away after Jones ordered him to visit Williams. Jones moved Lymus to his Tennessee plantation in 1832. 

Major Asbury

Major Ashbury or Asbury was born on October 31, 1824. He was likely born on the Wake Forest plantation.

Mary

Mary was born on January 10 in 1825 or 1827 at the Wake Forest plantation. She was the daughter of Lydia. Calvin Jones transplanted Mary to Tennessee in 1832. After Jones died in 1846, Mary was allotted to Paul Tudor Jones and separated from her mother and siblings.

Matilda

Matilda was the daughter of Amy and Ellick. She was born in 1829 at the Wake Forest plantation or at one of­­ Calvin Jones’s mining operations in western North Carolina, where Jones had sent her father that same year. In 1832, Jones relocated Amy, Ellick, and Matilda to his Tennessee plantation. In 1837, Calvin Jones gave Amy to Thomas Jones as a wedding gift, but Ellick, Matilda, and her younger brother Fenner remained with Calvin. After Jones died in 1846, Matilda and her brother were allotted to Temperance.

Nancy

Nancy’s date of birth and death are unknown. She became the legal property of Calvin Jones after Jones’s marriage to Temperance Williams in 1819. In January 1821, Jones loaned Nancy to Gordon Cook for $16.50. Eventually, Jones relocated Nancy to Wake Forest. In 1832, Jones moved Nancy to Tennessee. 

Patty*

Patty’s date of birth and death are unknown. In 1832, Jones transplanted Patty to his Tennessee plantation.

Peggy

Peggy’s mother was Grace, but her date of birth is unknown. She became the legal property of Calvin Jones in 1819 after he married Temperance Williams. Temperance Jones likely supervised Peggy’s work on the Wake Forest plantation. In 1826, Jones sold Peggy and she was separated from her mother and siblings. 

Penny

Penny was born in 1772. Throughout her lifetime, Penny was transplanted at least three times. She probably spent much of her early life in Franklin County, where William Williams enslaved her and her children. Penny became the legal property of Calvin Jones after his marriage to Temperance Williams in 1819. However, she remained on Williams’ plantation until the Jones family moved her to Wake Forest in 1821. Penny had close ties to an enslaved man named Old Frank. He may have been her husband or brother. In 1832, Jones separated Penny and Frank after he failed to purchase Frank from Temperance’s father and relocated Penny and her children to Tennessee. Penny had at least nine children, Ellick, Bristol, Wiley, Little Frank, Barton, Tempy, Matilda, Cherry, and Julia. Penny died sometime before May 1842 after an extended illness.

Pherebee

Pherebee, also known as Phoebe or Phebie, was born around 1813. Her mother was Penny. She became the legal property of Calvin Jones in 1819 after he married Temperance Williams. The Joneses moved Pherebee to Wake Forest in 1821. According to Katie Brown Bennett’s family history, Yule Log: Biographical Sketches of the Brown, Cheshire, Sain and Allied Families, 1749-1995 (1996), Pherebee took care of Calvin and Temperance Jones’s children. Sometime before 1832, Pherebee married Lewis and they had at least eleven children: Cherry, Julia, Frank, Major, Penny, Nancy, Isaiah, Tamer, Lucy, Israel, and Harriet.  After Calvin Jones died in 1846, his son, Montezuma, inherited Pherebee and Lewis, who then transplanted them to Hickory Valley. Montezuma also inherited their children, except for their daughter Cherry. Pherebee was emancipated in 1866. Pherebee died less than a month after her husband in March 1894.

Phil Henry

Phil Henry was born on the Wake Forest plantation in 1826. In 1832, Jones relocated Phil Henry to his Tennessee plantation. After Jones died in 1846, Phil Henry was allotted to Jones’s daughter Octavia and her husband Edwin Polk. 

Phill

Phill was born in August 1807 or 11. He probably spent much of his early life in Warren or Franklin Counties, enslaved by William Williams. Charles became the legal property of Calvin Jones after Jones married Williams’ daughter Temperance.

Rainey

Rainey was born to Lydia in May 1829 at the Wake Forest plantation. She was less than five years old when Calvin Jones transplanted her to Tennessee in 1832. After Jones died in 1846, Rainey, her mother, and her brother were allotted to Jones’s son Montezuma.

Tempy

The daughter of Penny, Tempy was born in June 1819. Tempy likely remained on Temperance’s father’s plantation until the Joneses moved to Wake Forest in 1821. Jones relocated Tempy to his Tennessee plantation in 1832.

Timothy

Timothy was born in December 1832. His mother Lydia was likely pregnant with him when Calvin Jones transplanted her to Tennessee in 1832. After Jones died in 1846, Timothy was separated from his mother and bequeathed to Paul Tudor Jones.

Wiley

Wiley, also known as Willie, was born in 1807. His mother was Penny. Wiley became the legal property of Calvin Jones after Jones married Temperance Williams in 1819. However, he likely remained on Temperance’s father’s plantation until the Joneses moved him to Wake Forest in 1821. Jones relocated Wiley to his Tennessee plantation in 1832.

William

William was born on October 9, 1817. His mother was Lydia. He became the legal property of Calvin Jones after Jones’s marriage to Temperance Williams in 1819. Jones relocated him to Wake Forest in 1821. William and his wife Jane had four children. After Jones died in 1846, William, Jane, and their children were allotted to Paul Tudor Jones. 

*This biography is based on secondary research only.