I can only respond regarding South Carolina and my research has only gone up to 1840 (McCord, Statutes at Large of South Carolina, vol. 7):
whereas, the having of slaves taught to write, or suffering them to be employed in writing, may be attended with great inconveniences; Be it therefore enacted by the authority aforesaid, That all and every person and persons whatsoever, who shall hereafter teach, or cause any slave or slaves to be taught, to write, or shall use or employ any slave as a scribe in any manner of writing whatsoever, hereafter taught to write, every such person and persons, shall, for every such offence, forfeit the sum of one hundred pounds current money (1740, An Act for the Better Ordering and Governing Negroes and Other Slaves in this Province, Act 670, Section 45).
Best,
Mike
Michael Trinkley, Ph.D.
Director
Chicora Foundation, Inc.
PO Box 8664
Columbia, SC 29202-8664
803-787-6910
www.chicora.org
Please consider the environment before printing this email.
-----Original Message-----
From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Schuyler, Robert L
Sent: Thursday, August 24, 2017 2:14 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: contexts for slate pencils
Some historical questions:
(1) was it illegal to teach slaves to read/write in the colonial period,
(2) in the 19th century (if that is when such laws were passed) was it illegal in all Southern slave states or only in some, and
(3) has anyone studied how common it was for white people (planters, their wives, others) to actively break the law and teach slaves how to read (write)?
Robert L. Schuyler
University of Pennsylvania Museum
3260 South Street
Philadelphia, PA l9l04-6324
________________________________
From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Martha Zierden <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, August 24, 2017 2:01 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: contexts for slate pencils
Mike,
That's a great help - thanks! I've had another colleague tell me off-line that they were used in weaving, supporting your suggestion that their presence does not necessarily imply literacy. Others, as you see, have found them in contexts that were schools for enslaved children.
Thanks, everyone for your responses. I've passed them along to the interpreters. Once again archaeology provides some tantalizing data, with complicated interpretations.
Martha
On Thu, Aug 24, 2017 at 1:57 PM, Michael Trinkley <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
> Martha,
>
> We have found them in a variety of contexts (page numbers are
> references to our reports, which are on-line at
> http://www.chicora.org/
[http://www.chicora.org/images/archaeology-services.jpg]<http://www.chicora.org/>
Chicora Foundation:: SC Archaeology Consultants | Heritage ...<http://www.chicora.org/> www.chicora.org
www.chicora.org: Chicora Foundation specializes in heritage preservation and cultural resources protection. Offering research and public education programs for over ...
> researchseries.html as searchable pdf documents). I have not included
> items from main houses or clearly postbellum/freedmen settlements:
>
> Rouplemond =E2=80=93 slave settlement =E2=80=93 pg. 114, 132 Seabrook
> =E2=80=93 slave settlement =E2=80=93 pg. 109, 114, 117 Kiawah
> =E2=80=93 slave and trash =E2=80=93 pg. 302 Cotton Hope =E2=80=93
> slave settlements =E2=80=93 pg. 82, 132 Youghal =E2=80=93 slave
> settlement =E2=80=93 pg. 75 Tranquil Hall =E2=80=93 slave settlement
> =E2=80=93 pg. 94, 96 Shoolbred Old Settlement =E2=80=93 slave
> settlement, pg. 64, 67 Kendal =E2=80=93 kitchen =E2=80=93 pg. 312
>
> I think it was the Youghal report where we also made the observation
> that their presence doesn't necessarily infer literacy since they
> could have been for tasks such as counting or marking.
>
> Hope this is of some assistance.
>
> Best,
> Mike
>
> Michael Trinkley, Ph.D.
> Director
> Chicora Foundation, Inc.
> PO Box 8664
> Columbia, SC 29202-8664
> 803-787-6910
> www.chicora.org<http://www.chicora.org>
[http://www.chicora.org/images/archaeology-services.jpg]<http://www.chicora.org/>
Chicora Foundation:: SC Archaeology Consultants | Heritage ...<http://www.chicora.org/> www.chicora.org
www.chicora.org: Chicora Foundation specializes in heritage preservation and cultural resources protection. Offering research and public education programs for over ...
> =EF=81=90 Please consider the environment before printing this email.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
> Behalf Of Martha Zierden
> Sent: Thursday, August 24, 2017 11:06 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: contexts for slate pencils
>
> Good morning,
> Passing along a question from interpreter/exhibit design colleagues in
> Charleston, South Carolina. We are curious about the best/longest date
> range for slate pencils? Also, have folks found them in contexts that
> ar=
e
> clearly associated with enslaved residents? Has this been interpreted
> as evidence of literacy?
>
> Slate pencils are a common find here in Charleston, throughout the
> 19th century. Our urban contexts are almost always sites occupied by
> wealthy white merchant/planters and their resident slaves, so
> associating any artifacts with a particular group of people is problematic.
> Thanks for any insights
> Martha Zierden
>
> --
> Martha Zierden
> Curator of Historical Archaeology
>
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Martha Zierden
Curator of Historical Archaeology
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