Enslavement at Woodberry Forest
The 53 enslaved individuals at Woodberry Forest Plantation worked across every part of daily life on the property. In the fields, they managed livestock including cows, oxen, horses, sheep, and hogs, harvested crops like corn, wheat, and hay, and maintained the land across every season. The tools listed in the 1843 inventory, including scythes, plows, axes, and hoes, tell us that fieldwork was constant, physical, and demanding. This was a full plantation economy, and it ran entirely on their labor.
Inside The Residence, a different kind of work was required. The inventory lists wine glasses, silver spoons, fine dinnerware, damask tablecloths, and a riding carriage, all pointing to a household that entertained regularly and expected its domestic spaces to be immaculate. The enslaved cooked meals, cleaned rooms, did laundry, and served guests at the table. Looms, flax, and spinning wheels suggest that textile production was also part of their daily responsibilities, alongside skilled trades like blacksmithing and woodworking.
Beyond the work itself, the inventory gives us glimpses of the people behind the labor. Names appear in clusters that reveal family units, mothers listed alongside their children, elderly couples recorded together. Simon and Betty, described as too old to work, were valued at nothing after a lifetime of service. Lauretta and her child, Albert, Jiney and her child, Willis, and Caty and her children. These were not just entries on a list. They were families, living and working on this land, whose full stories stretched far beyond anything a legal document could capture.
First Recorded Names of Enslaved Individuals
The following names were gathered through historical inventories, wills, estate documents, and early stages of research conducted with assistance from The Montpelier Foundation. Reading reflects original historical records.
Jayden: Given by Father James Madison Sr.
Abraham
Margaret
Henry
Given by Mother Nancy Madison
Through a will of Nancy Madison that reportedly allowed enslaved individuals to choose their next enslaver
Joshua
Edmund
Frank
Reuben
Simon
Betty
Milly
Phoebe
Daniel
Given by Brother Francis Madison
Abner
Violet
Daniel
Likely Given by Brother James Madison
Ailsey Payne
Names and Monetary Values from the 1843 Inventory (Death of W. Madison)
Abraham - $475
Adam - $125
Aggy - $125
Aisly (Possibly Aisley Payne) - $375
Anthony - $150
Betty, Wife to Simon - Unknown Value
Books - $475
Caty - $300
Cesar - $275
Clary - $125
Daniel - $287
Dangerfield - $225
Edmund - $492
Edmund (x2) - $300
Elizabeth - $350
Eliza - $200
Ellick - $425
Ellen - $200
Fanny - $225
Frank - $625
Gabriel - $250
Gilbert - $350
Henry - $25
James - $75
James (x2) - $200
Jiney, Mother of Willis - $450
John - $175
Joe - $125
Lauretta & Her Child, Albert - $450
Lewis - $500
Loise & Her Child - $150
Mary - $200
Milley - $237
Pamela - $250
Patty - $237.50
Peter - $75
Peter (x2) - $450
Phillis - $150
Phill - $387
Reuben - $225
Reuben (x2) - $500
Sally - $200
Sam - $325
Sandy - $350
Sarah - $300
Sollomon - $125
Suckey - $400
Tanner - $200
Thom - $350
William - $437
Willis - $465
Historical Evidence & Documentation
1843 Inventory of William Madison
The 1843 Inventory When William Taylor Madison died in 1843, the law required that every piece of property he owned be documented and assigned a dollar value, resulting in a record that listed furniture, livestock, farming tools, and the 53 men, women, and children he enslaved side by side on the same page.
1843 Will of William Madison
The Will of William Madison Dated July 16, 1843, William Madison's last will and testament determined what would happen to his property after his death, including the distribution of the 53 enslaved individuals among his children and grandchildren, dividing them into four groups much like any other possession.
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