Context of letters written by Paul Cameron

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Main page 19th Century Ante-bellum Life

Disease and Health

Paul Cameron wrote several letters describing the daily activities of various Cameron family plantation activities. The topics of health and disease appears in several of these letters. When Cameron wrote the letters in 1845 and 1846, people knew very little about diseases, particularly infectious disease. In the southern part of the United States where the Cameron family plantations were located, infectious diseases were a consistent problem. According to Molly Caldwell Crosby author of The American Plague: The Untold Story of Yellow Fever, the Epidemic that Shaped Our History, over 100,000 people died from yellow fever alone in the 18th and 19th century in America. It wasn't until 1881 that researchers discovered that yellow fever was carried by mosquitoes. National Public Radio ran an interesting storyon a Yellow Fever outbreak in Memphis Tennessee in 1878.

According to Guion Griffis Johnson's book, Ante-Bellum North Carolina: A Social History, malaria was called the curse of the South. The "pallid southerner" was often addressed in many traveling journals from the North. The chills and fever of malaria were common mostly during the autumn. The coastal regions were more prone to malaria due to close proximity to water but the piedmont region was also affected. In 1842,1844, and 1845, cases of fevers and chills increased. This increase continued the following two years leading to what the Fayetteville Observer called the Great Epidemic of 1846 and 1847. This explains the focus on sickness shown in Paul's letters written during these years. Additional information about Disease in Ante-bellum America

Interdependence

Paul Cameron's letters also discuss the interdependence that local plantation owners had with each other. In one of his letters Cameron highlights a need for 300 lbs of cotton that was fulfilled by one of his neighbors, at the family's Mobile, Alabama plantation. The reliance that Cameron showed on his neighbor to help his family's plantation out in a time of need, highlights the communal environment that existed between local plantation owners. This interdependence that plantation owner's showed for one another, helps historians to understand that plantations were not separate individual entities, but they often relied on each other during tough times.

This interdependence was probably not based solely on close relationships. During this time, North Carolinians were separated by several miles so many people remained very private and considerate of their own personal business. The interdependence shown between plantation owners was probably not based on a constant need to work together or a need to share resources. It was probably based more importantly on family connections and social networks. These social networks often had perks that led to business dealings, marriages, and thankfully, extra help, when needed.

The Overseer

Overseers played a critical role in plantation life. During the 1840’s, the time these letters were written, the Cameron’s employed several overseers on their various plantations. According to Jean Bradley Anderson, in her book, Piedmont Plantation, the Cameron’s overseers were primarily sons of area Yeomen. There were two families that prominently served as overseers on the Cameron’s plantations-the Leather’s and the Southerland’s. The longest serving overseer for the Cameron’s was Arthur Bobbitt who served the Cameron’s for 60 years on their Person county plantation. A family by the name of Cotheran from Person County was a also very devoted overseer to their lands. He stayed with the family over forty years. Through long associations between families, the Bennehans and Camerons and their overseers developed a sense of loyalty and gratitude towards one another. Several of the overseers stayed on with the Cameron’s at the end of the Civil War. Before and after the war, the Cameron's plantations could not operate without the work of an overseer (Anderson, 1985). Paul makes several references to the overseers in his letters and seems to have had respect for their opinions. T.

On many plantations non-whites served as overseers. According to William Wiethoff's book, Crafting the Overseer’s Image, overseers were white, black, Native American, and Mexican. He also asserted that overseers were referred to by several names, including drivers and stewards. Miss Irene Robertson states that some of the overseers on the plantation she lived on in South Carolina were black in her narrative located at http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/snhtml/snhome.html.

Plantation Agriculture

In Piedmont Plantation, Jean Anderson refers to Paul Cameron’s farming techniques as scientific. He experimented with different fertilizers and used crop rotation on the plantations. The land of the North Carolina plantation was especially hard to farm. It is often assumed that the main crop on plantations was cotton. However, the crops that the Cameron’s exported from the North Carolina plantation were wheat (which was particularly profitable) and tobacco.

During the time that some of these letters were written, Paul traveled with a caravan to a plantation his father had purchased in Greene County, Alabama. Paul worked with the overseer to set up the plantation. The main crop on this plantation was cotton. According to John Blassingame’s book, The Slave Community, the average amount of cotton picked per day by a Mississippi adult slave between 1825 and 1860 was between 130 and 150 pounds.

Hogs were the most profitable livestock for the Cameron’s. The profitability of hogs is evident from the stock and tool list provided in Anderson's book Piedmont Plantation. In Alabama alone, the Camerons had 160 hogs (Anderson, 1985). Cattle, horses, and mules made up the remainder of the livestock. December was the time of year that the hog killing happened. The rendering of the fat was overseen by the mistress of the plantation. Cordelia Thomas’s narrative describes the importance hog rendering to plantation life at http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/snhtml/snhome.html.

Women's Education

The story of Clay Dillard, daugther of a prominent businessman, plantation owner, and southern merchant describes her education in the Antebellum South as one that combines the value of learning with women's domestic responsibilities. Mainly daughters of wealthy men were educated and were given opportunities to attend seminary schools in the Antebellum South. Kathleen Johnson author of the article on Clay Dillard's life is evidence that wealthy southern women were given opportunities for education. Moreover, this education focused mainly on the values of Christianity.

Cite:

Johnson, K. (2004). Nineteenth-Century Reflections on Life, Love, and Loss in the Diary of Clay Dillard. North Carolina Historical Review, 81(2), 168-195.