The precise number of African people transported to North America as part of the slave trade is unknown, but estimates range from 6-10 million.
Once sold, these men, women and children ended up living and dying in obscurity. It is rare to be able to pick out the thread of one slave's life from this human tapestry and follow it down through history to the present day, even more unusual when that slave is a child.
Beginning Feb. 15, the story of one slave child's life and the family tree she founded will be the subject of a new exhibit, Finding Priscilla's Children, at the South Carolina State Museum.
In 1756, Priscilla, a 10-year-old girl from Sierra Leone, was sold at auction to Elias Ball, a wealthy rice planter in South Carolina.
Priscilla's story is told through a document trail that goes back 256 years beginning with her trip from Sierra Leone on the Rhode Island slave ship Hare and tracing her life on the Ball plantation. Dying in slavery at age 65, she was survived by 10 children. Edward Ball, a descendant of Elias Ball, discovered Priscilla's history while researching his own family tree. This discovery allowed the seventh generation of Priscilla's descendants to be reunited with her fellow countrymen in Sierra Leone.
"When I saw the exhibit at the New York Historical Society, I was struck by the fact that it was about a child," Curator of History Elaine Nichols said. "Since children are a part of all families, Priscilla's story has broad appeal as a personal story about connections and associations."
In conjunction with the exhibit, the State Museum will offer a genealogy workshop on Feb. 16 to guide African-Americans in researching their own personal family heritage. Noted genealogist and scholar, Alexia Helsley will conduct the workshop.
Finding Priscilla's Children can been seen at the State Museum Feb. 15 through May 11. For more information contact Nichols at 803-898-4953.