Elisa Greenwell

Elisa Greenwell was a runaway from the residence of William Edelan of Leonardtown, Maryland in 1859.

Photograph is a 6th plate ambrotype sold to the National Museum of African American History and Culture which opened September 2016 in Washington DC., for $37,500.

According to a professional genealogical researcher, Elisa (or Eliza) Greenwell was born enslaved in 1830 in Saint Mary's County, Maryland on the William and Elizabeth Greenwell plantation. The date is based on the 1850 and 1860 slave schedules for the State. It is probable that Elisa became a house servant for Elizabeth Greenwell. At some point she was sold to William Edelen of Leonardtown, Maryland along with John and James Greenwell (possibly husband and son). William Edelen was a slaveholder with 45 slaves on his tobacco plantation in 1860. It is believed that Elisa Greenwell became a household servant once again to Ellen Edelen, wife of William.

How Elisa came to be photographed in Philadelphia in 1859 is open to speculation. It would be a logical place for her to run, having a large free black population as well as being a thriving Underground Railroad hub. William Edelen was a physician as well as tobacco grower. He might have taken Elisa to Philadelphia, but that is doubtful. It seems more likely that Elisa simply ran away, and was somehow returned to Edelen, because the slave schedule for 1860 shows that she is a servant to Mrs. Edelen. The records show that she ran away again on March 20, 1863 according to the 1867 Slave Statistics. John Greenwell escaped and joined the United States Colored Troops (USCT) a few days later on March 24, 1863.

One longs to know the rest of her story, and that imagination factor is a primary reason why a vintage photograph like this comes to realize such an extraordinary auction result.

Source: swanngalleries