Black Masters: A Free Family of Color in the Old South

The book is generally about William "April" Ellison, born a slave but well treated, trained in mechanical skills and then freed as a young man. Because of this, the authors believe him to be the biracial son of the white planter Robert or William Ellison. Once freed, April officially had his name changed to William Ellison and moved to Statsburg, a wealthy suburb away from his previous owner. He slowly amassed a fair amount of wealth; although, unlike many of the more aristocratic planters of South Carolina, William "April" Ellison worked his own fields and, in his role as a mechanic, had to walk a fine line between independence and not overstepping the bounds permitted to a free person of color. His was the only family not considered white by his fellow South Carolinans who was able to sit in the church on the ground floor in the pews reserved for well-off whites and wealthy planters.

William Ellison's family interacted with and married into some of the better off free families of color in Charleston. He became a member of the BROWN FELLOWSHIP and FRIENDLY MORALIST SOCIETIES which was generally limited to biracial persons (in fact, one biracial person was expelled from one of the societies because he maintained close ties to free persons who appear to have been of pure African-American heritage, leading the society to decide he was socially a black rather than a biracial person). FPCs who were apparently of pure African ancestry also had their own societies (and owned slaves) as, of course, did persons considered to be of pure European ancestry.

Much of the book focuses on the curious position of biracial persons in South Carolina: many wealthy whites wanted to re-enslave free blacks (which, in their minds, included anyone of African extraction) while many poor whites wanted to prevent anyone of African ancestry (free or enslaved) from being able to hold any skilled positions (thus effectively opening many areas employment to themselves). In the wake of the slave rebellion led by the well-off free black named Denmark Vessy, these views gained much support and many laws on education and etc were temporarily enforced with enthusiasm, only to be narrowly defeated.

The Ellisons supported the Democratic Party and the Confederacy, even though William's sons were not allowed to enlist in the military. William's grandson, who (according to the authors)had noticable "black" features also attempted to enlist and was accepted even though the officers knew his family and ancestry - apparently the question as to whether or not he was black never came up! During the Civil War, Wisdom Hall and the other dwellings on the Ellison estate barely avoided being destroyed, but the Ellisons began to lose their wealth and as their old white friends died or moved away, the family began to be considered, even by their neighbors, as simply another black family.


What I think   May 1, 2000
 7 out of 7 found this review helpful

A great read. I am a history major and was very pleased with the content of this book. It makes it known that there are exceptions to all popular history. If you like the comfort of being told the generic old history of the South than I do not suggest this work. It is as provocative as it is interesting. It also an enjoyable read following the modern trend of being understandable and fun yet informative at the same time.


Surprise!   July 5, 1999
 5 out of 7 found this review helpful

I bought this book because the title went against my assumptions of race relations. It was a completely different perspective of slavery and the South. Very interesting.


Excellent book, but surprising...   May 4, 1999
 3 out of 7 found this review helpful

I really enjoyed this book that I selected mainly because the subject was provocative. Inside I was very surprised to see how far and how deeply bigotry had been ingrained in the old South. A good read, but don't read it if you are very racially sensitive.