In 1796, Joseph Washington, a distant relative of our first president, purchased sixty acres in Middle Tennessee for tobacco farming. Eventually covering 13,000 acres, Wessyngton Plantation would thrive off the blood, sweat and tears of hundreds of African Americans. Unlike other plantations only two slaves were ever sold from Wessyngton, resulting in several generations of enslaved family members living and laboring together.
As a child, Author John F. Baker Jr. was mysteriously drawn to a photo of Robertson County slaves in his middle school textbook. When his grandmother explained that he was looking at his great-grandparents, he became obsessed with their story. In 2008 his book "The Washington's of Wessyngton Plantation" was released. The culmination of more than thirty years of research, it details the lives of hundreds of his family members. Baker spent decades combing through countless family and state archives, researching birth and death records, and conducting dozens of interviews with relatives and historians.
Videographers JIM DeMARCO MATT EMIGH PAUL MOJONNIER ED JONES
Actors DARA TALIBAH MARCUS RILEY ALYSSA BURRUS EVAN SMALLEY GENE JONES JAMES RUDOLPH LATOYA GARDNER LEON BLANDIN MAX De'SIR MAYA ANTOINETTE RILEY QUINCIE SMALLEY TAMIKO ROBINSON
Voice Actors DENICE HICKS as “Jane Washington”
Senior Engineer DALE BAKER
Artist SUSIE THIEMONGE
Web Producer LINDA WEI
Promotions BRIAN O'NEILL
Still images Courtesy of JOHN BAKER, JR.
TENNESSEE STATE LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES
COLLECTION OF THE TENNESSEE STATE MUSEUM
Additional images Courtesy of LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Tennessee Civil War 150 is made possible in part by:
TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE, TENNESSEE CIVIL WAR NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA,
TENNESSEE CIVIL WAR SESQUICENTENNIAL COMMISSION, and FIRST TENNESSEE FOUNDATION
