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Hannah Valentine and Lethe Jackson were house slaves at Montcalm, the family home of David and Mary Campbell, located in Abingdon, Virginia. During the years David Campbell served as governor of Virginia (1837-1840), he and his family moved into the governor's mansion in Richmond, taking several of their slaves with them, but leaving Hannah and Lethe to care for the homestead. According to historian Norma Taylor Mitchell, young men wrote these letters for Hannah Valentine and Lethe Jackson to their mistresses and other slave family members. Even if not produced by their own hands, the letters provide a rare firsthand glimpse into the lives of slaves and their relationships with their owners. In the spring of 1840, the Campbells, including niece Virginia, returned to Abingdon. Virginia Campbell and Mary Burwell, a literate slave whom David Campbell had purchased in 1840, taught Hannah, Lethe, and the other house slaves to read and write at that time. |
