Peggy Patterson Garland is the author of the book Never Pleasing to the World: A Man and His Slaves, which focuses on the life of Robert Carter III, an 18th century plantation owner who emancipated 500 enslaved people. Garland is an attorney who served two terms as Commonwealth's Attorney in Virginia. She lives in Westmoreland County, Virginia.
Q: Why did you decide to focus your book on the life of
Robert Carter III?
A: I admire him. He was a contemporary of Thomas
Jefferson and George Washington and the two Lee brothers who signed the
Declaration of Independence. Washington and the Lees were born in this
same small county where Carter lived.
And yet, Carter has never gotten much credit for setting in
motion the freeing of 500 slaves in 1791. He had an unusual relationship
with his slaves. And they are interesting people in their own right. Carter
was an intelligent, farsighted, and courageous man to do what he did in his
society in his time.
Q: Would you consider this book a novel or a blend of
history and fiction?
A: It is a novel based on historical fact.
Q: How did you research the book, and did you learn anything
that especially surprised you?
A: I researched by reading an incredible amount about the
time in history and the places where Carter went. I also visited most of the
places Carter went. I live in the county where his primary plantation was
located and I know many descendants of his and of his enslaved people who live
here today.
The library at Colonial Williamsburg, the Virginia
Historical Society, the Northern Neck of Virginia Historical Society, the
Westmoreland County (Virginia) library, as well as libraries in Savannah,
Georgia, and Annapolis, Maryland, were very helpful.
Colonial Williamsburg is an incredible treasure trove of
information about Virginia in Colonial times and the people who lived and made
history then and there.
I relied heavily on Carter’s letter books and writings and
biographies of his contemporaries. A very important source was the
doctoral thesis of John Randolph Barden done at Duke University, called
“Flushed with Notions of Freedom, the Growth and Emancipation of a Virginia
Slave Community.”
Q: What do you see as Robert Carter III's legacy today?
A: His manumission actually created a free black community
which began in 1791 and which has continued into the present. I think his story
is a part of the discussion of race which we are having in this country now.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I’m working on a memoir about my life as a female
“come-here,” practicing law and running for elected office in a small rural
county
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: The story of slavery in the United States is a lot more
multi-faceted than most people realize.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
As a family member of a few of the People Carter Freed I am seeking some assistance in having the State of Virginia made more aware of what Robert Carter did for our Families, Can someone please reach out to me please
ReplyDeleteAs a Carter ancestor of Robert III, I find this book so far in full agreement with other Historical books I have read on Landon, Robert III and Robert E. Lee's Daughters. Always wondered why I wrote a diary and now I know. Thank you Ms. Garland for writing this great book.
ReplyDeleteHi Deborah, I am a descendant of Hannah Spence(r), freed by Robert Carter. Thank you for the interview, bringing Peggy's book to my attention. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for letting me know, and you're very welcome.
Delete