Fairfield Foundation - Click on the circles to navigate
 
 
Fairfield Foundation - Click on the circles to navigate
Sara may have lived in a building like this.

Sarah was a slave from birth. Baptized at Abingdon Parish church on May 16th, 1731, she was born at Fairfield and lived there for her entire life. She was one of dozens of African Americans born into slavery at Fairfield during the 18th century. Though we know the names, and even the occuptions, of some, most of the information about slave life is written into the artifacts and buildings they left behind.

Sarah may have lived in the slave quarter archaeologists are currently excavating. This structure, or succession of different buildings, was located less than one hundred feet from the front of the manor house. Thos it may have been screened by fences, the slaves who lived here were intimately connected to the manor house and the Burwell family.

As a slave attached to the main house Sarah would have helped cook meals, laundered and repair clothes, and tend the animals and gardens. Some of her daily activities, like laundering or cooking, may have been overseen byte mistress of the house, or perhaps one of her daughters. Sarah may have mended clothes with implements found in the slave quarter cellar, including needles, pins, a thimble, and a pair of scissors. While gardening she may have used other tools the archaeologists found, such as a pitchfork and watering can.
Sarah, and the other slaves at Fairfield, clung to rich religious traditions and social customs that traveled with slaves from Africa to the American colonies. Despite the rigors of slave life, they cherished time off and were engaged in numerous activities. Items that were worn, carried, or stored in hidden places of their quarters often carried a special significance. Sarah may have strung beads made of glass, conch shells or cowrie shells into necklaces or other personal adornments. What did these items mean to Sarah? Archaeologists continue to search for more of these clues that help us learn how all of these men and women adapted to life in bondage.
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A personal item often associated with African slaves is the cowrie shell. This example had the back removed and may have been used in a necklace.
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Dug into the floor of the slave quarter was a small root cellar that served as both a cool and dry storage area as well as a space for personal items.
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Root cellars often contain the only evidence of a slave's personal belongings, including beads, buttons, various ceramics, tools, and sewing equipment.