num_pages: 118
description: "Daisy Turner, born in Grafton, VT in 1883, was the daughter of formerly enslaved Alec and Sally Turner, who settled there in the years following the Civil War. In 1983 Vermont Folklife Center founder Jane Beck met the 100 year old Daisy and worked with her to record approximately 60 hours of interviews through which Daisy shared the epic saga of the her family. Beginning in West Africa, Daisy's account follows the abduction of her ancestor Alessi on the African coast to his enslavement on a Virginia plantation, her father's experiences growing up enslaved, his escape during the Civil War, joining up with the First NJ Cavalry, his post-war experiences in the south and New England, his eventual arrival in Grafton and purchase of the family homestead, "Journey's End." In addition to stories of her father's family, Daisy shared with Jane rich accounts of her own long life as well--from her childhood in Grafton, her adulthood living and working in Boston, and her eventual return to Grafton after her mother's death in 1923. Beginning in her childhood Daisy continually--and successfully--challenged the limits placed on her as a Black woman in New England during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, loudly asserting (even in court!) her rights and the rights of her family members. This volume collects four of Daisy Turner's family stories in comic form, two from the life of her father and two from her own life, drawn by cartoonists Marek Bennett, Liv Bordeleau, Joel Christian Gill and Lillie Harris. These accounts are linked by a fifth story created by Graton, VT native Ezra Veitch, based on a childhood encounter he and his friend Luca had with Daisy. The volume features a cover illustration by Robyn Smith, a forward by Gretchen Gerzina and an introduction by Julian Chambliss"--
language: English
title: Turner Family Stories: From Enslavement in Virginia to Freedom in Vermont
publisher: Vermont Folklife Center