This site also has a photo gallery slide show, click on this site or cut and paste to see first hand. http://www.starexponent.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=CSE/MGArticle/CSE_MGArt icle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149189314887 ===================================================== New York based author and investigative journalist Scott Christianson is preparing to release a book about Charles Nalle and escaped slave from Stevensburg, and his dramatic rescue in New York with the help of Harriet Tubman. PART ONE Half brother, fully enslaved Descendants gathering this weekend to honor a past full of triumph, suffering among siblings Story by Allison Brophy Champion, Research assistance by Zann Miner Culpeper Star-Exponent Saturday, July 22, 2006 A three-part series examining the history of a family of slave owners and slaves in rural Stevensburg. STEVENSBURG - The story of Blucher Wellington Hansbrough and Charles Nalle is an antebellum account of master and slave. It is also an intriguing tale of two brothers - one white, the other not quite black - who shared a father. Blucher, a wealthy farmer in 19th-century Culpeper, would eventually own his half brother Charles, a mulatto born to a mulatto mother. But Charles would risk all for freedom after four decades in bondage - freedom from slavery and freedom to raise his own family. At a time when it was not unusual for slave owners to have relations with their female slaves, their lives and bloodlines became very much intertwined. In fact, Blucher would father eight children with his slave Lucinda Wormley, who was also very light-skinned. Not all masters were overtly cruel, however: History, to an extent, portrays Blucher as a kind man. Still, one can only imagine the circumstances surrounding slave women bearing the children of their masters. Noted Culpeper historian Clark “Bud” Hall supposed Blucher was kind because he could afford to be, but that he was also very much in charge. As for the slave, he or she had no rights. “Make no mistake about it, there was a master-slave relationship and the slave had no say in his condition,” Hall said. “If you view someone as your property, it’s your property to do with as you please.” Kind or not, Charles escaped from Cole’s Hill - Blucher’s vast plantation - in 1858, fleeing to Washington, D.C., and eventually making his way north to New York. But his master, who never had a talent for finances, would attempt to bring his brother back to Culpeper and back into slavery a year-and-a-half later. It would take former slave Harriet Tubman, the famous Underground Railroad conductor, and a band of abolitionists to win, and later purchase, Charles’s freedom once and for all. In the intervening time, life continued for both men with one tie that bound them - the importance, above all else, of family. Generations of family descended from Blucher and Charles will gather this weekend in Culpeper to celebrate and commemorate a rich history overflowing with triumph and inevitably, suffering. “Everybody wants to look back and see where they came from,” said descendant Eugene Triplett, 53, of Brandy Station. “One of the things I found interesting is how intertwined we all are.” Pharmacist and owner of the Wilderness Pharmacy in Locust Grove, Triplett recently walked the grounds of Cole’s Hill. He also got a look at genealogy from the white side of the family. “It said Blucher had three children,” said Triplett, who is black. “Well, history failed to tell that Blucher had a whole lot more children than just three. Being mixed is not something that just happened on its own, and history failed to realize it.” The story is an early piece of the history of these United States. _Intertwined_ (http://www.starexponent.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=CSE/MGArticle/CSE_MGArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149189314887) In 1812, Peter purchased the Cole's Hill estate, an almost 1,000-acre plantation located near the tiny farming village of Stevensburg, about five miles east of the town of Culpeper. _MORE >>_ (http://www.starexponent.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=CSE/MGArticle/CSE_MGArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149189314887) _White blood_ (http://www.starexponent.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=CSE/MGArticle/CSE_MGArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149189314899) Various newspaper accounts from 1860 - when Harriet Tubman helped Charles, a fugitive slave, to freedom in Troy, N.Y. - refer to Blucher as his brother. And then there was Charles's unmistakable physical appearance. _MORE >>_ (http://www.starexponent.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=CSE/MGArticle/CSE_MGArticl e&c=MGArticle&cid=1149189314899) _Off the grid_ (http://www.starexponent.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=CSE/MGArticle/CSE_MGArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149189314904) Genealogy by Anna Davis shows Blucher fathered eight children - from 1847 to 1870 - with Lucinda Wormley, a light-skinned black woman born into slavery around 1829. _MORE >>_ (http://www.starexponent.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=CSE/MGArticle/CSE_MGArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149189314904) _A slave's life and a flight to freedom_ (http://www.starexponent.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=CSE/MGArticle/CSE_MGArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149189314913) Around 1850, Charles married Catherine, known as "Kitty," a mulatto slave born on a nearby plantation around 1825. _MORE >>_ (http:///) _Family ties_ (http://www.starexponent.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=CSE/MGArticle/CSE_MGArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149189314917) Charles died a free man around 1875, and his children left quite a legacy, especially his first-born. _MORE >>_ (http://www.starexponent.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=CSE/MGArticle/CSE_MGArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149189314917) In tomorrow’s Star-Exponent, read more about Nalle’s amazing slave escape and how Hansbrough played host to one of the most famous American generals in the winter of 1863-64. Allison Brophy Champion can be reached at 825-0771 ext. 101 or [email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) ======================================= 1769 Peter Hansbrough born in Culpeper County 1790 Peter H. marries Frances Ann Hooe of King George County 1794 Lucy, a slave woman born (estimated) residence and ownership undetermined 1812 Peter Hansbrough of Cole’s Hill purchases property at Cole’s Hill 1814 Blucher Wellington Hansbrough born at Cole’s Hill, the youngest of nine children born to Peter and Frances 1820 Margaret Hansbrough, daughter of Peter and Frances marries George S. Thom (estimate) 1821 Charles (later to take the name Nalle) born to a slave woman named Lucy (residence and ownership undetermined) 1824 Lucy and four children including Charles are sold by Geo. S. Thom to Peter Hansbrough for $875 1825 Catherine (Kitty) Simms, later to marry Charles (Nalle) born, residence and ownership undetermined 1829 Lucinda (Wormley) born, residence and ownership undetermined 1831 Charles, age about 9 or 10, is sold by Peter H. to Blucher H. for $200 1838 Blucher H. marries Martinette Nalle 1839 Blucher purchases Cole’s Hill from Peter H. 1843 Peter H. dies 1843 George S. Thom dies 1847 Barn fire devastates Blucher financially; he sells 6 slaves 1850 Charles and Kitty marry, date estimated 1855 Kitty and 28 other slaves are emancipated by the final execution of Geo. Thom’s will. Virginia law disallows them from remaining in the state and they are sent to Pennsylvania. Later, Kitty will move to Wash. D.C. 1855 Kitty and others attempt to buy Charles’ freedom, raising $700, but they could not match Blucher’s asking price of $2,200 1856 John C. (Nalle) born in Culpeper to Charles and Kitty 1858 Blucher’s financial condition worsens and he determines to sell additional slaves including Charles. 1858 Charles escapes 1859 Mary (Nalle) born to Charles and Kitty in Wash D.C. 1860 Charles is turned in and arrested in Troy N.Y. under the Fugitive Slave Act. Harriet Tubman is involved with his rescue and subsequent purchase of his freedom from Blucher 1860 Census records Charles Nalle as a resident and coachman in Troy N.Y. 1860 Blucher gifts Lucinda and children Rose, Frank, Ned, Jinnie (Fannie) and an infant to his 16-year-old daughter Elizabeth B. Hansbrough 1862 Edward Nalle born in N.Y. to Charles and Kitty Nalle 1867 Katie Nalle born in N.Y. to Charles and Kitty Nalle 1867-‘75 Charles Nalle dies 1870 Census records the following families living in close proximity in Stevensburg: Blucher Hansbrough, Warner Maguinn married to Rose Hansbrough, daughter of Lucinda Wormley. Lucinda Wormley is also living one household away from Blucher and his wife. 1873 John C. Nalle, aged 17, begins his 53-year career as a public school educator in Washington, D.C. He attended school in Troy, N.Y. and studied at Howard and Columbia universities. 1880 Census records Blucher W. Hansbrough living in Stevensburg with family. 1880 Census records Catherine Nalle, widow, living in Wash. D.C. Her daughter, Mary, is also a school teacher. 1884 Culpeper Court documents reflect a sale by Blucher Hansbrough to J. Shotwell of his yet-to-be harvested wheat crop for settlement of an existing debt and the securing of supplies for the “comfort of his family.” 1885 John C. Nalle promoted to principal of Lincoln School. He will also serve as principal of Jones, Logan and Stevens schools. 1890 Wash. D.C. Directory records Catherine Nalle, widow of Charles, still living in the Nation’s Capitol on P Street. She would have been in her 70s. 1902 John C. Nalle named supervising principal of D.C.’s Division Ten. 1926 John C. Nalle retires from the D.C. Public School System. 1950 JC Nalle Elementary School dedicated in Washington, D.C. ================================================== Blucher Hansbrough was born in 1814 in Stevensburg, the youngest child of Peter and Frances Anne. Peter, born 1769, spent his early life in King George County, according to a family genealogy published in 1981 by John W. Hansborough. Peter was “a large investor in real estate,” the genealogy says, who moved to Culpeper County in his 20s. In 1812, Peter purchased the Cole’s Hill estate, an almost 1,000-acre plantation located near the tiny farming village of Stevensburg, about five miles east of the town of Culpeper. Peter of Cole's Hill, as he was known, possessed an immense landed estate and always traveled in a coach and four with out riders, the genealogy says. Up to the day of his death, he wore knee britches and a powdered wig. He was known as a veritable grandee. Peter was also known to have fathered children with a slave woman, Lucy. One of those children was Charles. In 1824, George S. Thom sold Lucy and her four children to Peter Hansbrough for $875, according to Culpeper County court records. The deed book described her “a yellow woman about 30 years old. Blucher would have been the half brother of Charles Nalle, said family historian Anna Davis, a retired teacher with the Philadelphia Public School System and resident of Valley Forge, Pa. And I would be the great-great-great granddaughter of Peter Hansbrough. She said this belief is based on a combination of oral history passed down by white and black family members, historical information and census records. There are really emotional and psychological implications there, added Davis, especially when one considers that Blucher rallied a lynch mob for the return of his slave, his half brother. Blucher was really hell-bent on getting him back.