Lucy Terry

I believe that we should include Lucy Terry in our class anthology because her perspective as a slave woman, who was forcibly removed from Africa differs from the other poets we have examined in class so far. She was born in West Africa in 1730 and was immediately forcibly brought to the United States and sold into slavery as an infant in Rhode Island. When she was five years old, she was sold to Ebenezer Wells in Massachusetts and he allowed her to be baptized. When she was 26, she married Abijah Prince from Curacao and he purchased her freedom. In 1785, a neighboring white family threatened her and her family, and the case was taken to the Supreme Court, where Terry became the first woman to ever address the court. On top of this already impressive biography, she was also a poet. Her most famous and only work, “Bars Fight” is a ballad about the attack of two white families by Native Americans in 1796, which is supposedly inspired by true events. This is surprising considering Terry herself was from a marginalized community and her poem seems to be siding with the white families over the Native Americans. After reading some scholarly articles, I believe this was probably because she became a devout Christian during her childhood and saw the Native Americans as less than because of their polytheism.

"Bars Fight" is her only poem, but I think it’s noteworthy because of both its content and how it was preserved. The poem was preserved orally until it was published in 1855, approximately 35 years after Terry’s death, in a book on the history of Massachusetts. Consequently, none of her contemporaries actually read the poem and it is possible that it was distorted with time. She is remembered as one of the best orators of all time, and it is likely she wasn’t actually literate. After the publication of the book on Massachusetts, her poem has circulated all over the country ever since. Many digital and physical archives hold her poem today and after a simple google search, different websites have the poem published on their pages. And many prominent archives dedicated to women and African Americans, like Girl Museum and Black Past, feature articles and exhibits about Terry. Overall, we should include Lucy Terry in our anthology because she brings a unique perspective and a voice worth listening to.

Poem:

https://www.berfrois.com/2011/12/bars-fight-lucy-terry/

Girl Museum:

https://www.girlmuseum.org/african-american-poets-lucy-terry/

Black Past:

https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/prince-lucy-terry-c-1732-1821/

Works Cited

Jackson, Gale. “Lucy Terry Prince 1724-1821 August.” Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies, vol. 13, no. 1, 1992, pp. 34–35. JSTOR, doi:10.2307/3346941. Accessed 21 Feb. 2020.

Katz, Bernard. “A Second Version of Lucy Terry's Early Ballad?” Negro History Bulletin, vol. 29, no. 8, 1966, pp. 183–184. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/44176226. Accessed 21 Feb. 2020.

“Lucy Terry Prince Composes Poem.” John Brown Speaks in Concord, www.massmoments.org/moment-details/lucy-terry-prince-composes-poem.html.

ECCO Sources

Acts and laws, passed by the General Court of Massachusetts: begun and held at Boston, in the county of Suffolk, on Wednesday the twenty-fifth day of May, anno domini, 1791. Printed by Thomas Adams, printer to the Honorable General Court, 1791. Eighteenth Century Collections Online, http://find.gale.com/ecco/infomark.do?&source=gale&docLevel=FASCIMILE&prodId=ECCO&userGroupName=umd_um&tabID=T001&docId=CB3332165061&type=multipage&contentSet=ECCOArticles&version=1.0. Accessed 12 Mar. 2020.

Ames, Nathaniel. An astronomical diary; or, almanack for the year of our Lord Christ 1767 ... Calculated for the meridian of Boston, New-England, lat. 42°25' north. ... By Nathaniel Ames. [Ten lines of verse]. Printed and sold by William M'Alpine in Marlborough-Street. Price, 2s. 8d. per dozen. Six coppers single, [1766?]. Eighteenth Century Collections Online, http://find.gale.com/ecco/infomark.do?&source=gale&docLevel=FASCIMILE&prodId=ECCO&userGroupName=umd_um&tabID=T001&docId=CB3330985988&type=multipage&contentSet=ECCOArticles&version=1.0. Accessed 12 Mar. 2020.

EBBO Sources

Bank of England. (1699). A list of the names of all the proprietors in the bank of england march 18. 1698. note, those marked **** are capable, by their stock, of being chosen governour, deputy-governour, or directors: *** deputy-governour or directors: ** directors: * have a vote, and no person more than one vote. at the ensuing election to be made; of governour and deputy-governour, on tuesday the 28th. and of directors on friday the 31st day of this month. together with an abstract of the by-law concerning elections, for the better direction of members in giving their votes London, s.n. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/2240928450?accountid=14696

Historical Newspapers Sources

Correspondence of the, B. S. (1859, May 10). The alien question in massachusetts--effect upon the republicans of the vote thereon--official advices from utah--adjustment of differences proposed removal of the mormons--mexico and england. The Sun (1837-1994) Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/533568574?accountid=14696

(search term: african slaves Massachusetts)