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Jenny Maxwell

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New Exhibit Opens

Ever since she let us peek behind the scenes at the State Museum, skirt! has been doubly curious to see what curator Elaine Nichols is bringing to town. 

Today an exhibit called Finding Priscilla’s Children opens.  It reconstructs the family tree of a slave girl bought at auction by a South Carolina rice planter.

Elaine first saw the exhibit in New York.  It uses a document trail going back 256 years to recreate the story of Priscilla and her descendants.

Sold to planter Elias Ball, Priscilla died in slavery at 65, survived by 10 children.  This document trail has allowed her descendants to be reunited with their countrymen in Sierra Leone.

Edward Ball, a descendant of Elias Ball, started putting these pieces together while researching his own family tree.  Edward Ball has written, among other things, the book Slaves in the Family.  I’ve never read it, always wanted to, and hope to do so while this exhibit is up--which it will be through May.