The Realms of Oblivion , livre ebook

Winner of the Tennessee History Book Award (Tennessee Historical Society and Tennessee Historical Commission), 2024The Realms of Oblivion explores the complexities involved in reconciling competing versions of history, channeled through Davies Manor, a historic site near Memphis that once centered a wealthy slave-owning family’s sprawling cotton plantation. Interrogating the forces of memorialization that often go unquestioned in the stories we believe about ourselves and our communities, this book simultaneously tells an informative and engrossing bottom-up history—of the Davies family, of the Black families they enslaved and exploited across generations, and of Memphis and Shelby County—while challenging readers to consider just what upholds the survival of that history into the present day. Written in an engaging and critical style, The Realms of Oblivion is grounded in a rich source base, ranging from nineteenth-century legal records to the personal papers of the Davies family to twentieth-century African American oral histories. Author Andrew C. Ross uses these sources to unearth the stark contrast between the version of Davies Manor’s history that was built out of nostalgia, and the version that records have proven to actually be true. As a result, Ross illuminates the ongoing need for a deep and honest reckoning with the history of the South and of the United States, on the part of both individuals and community institutions such as local historic sites and small museums.Preface Introduction: Omitted in Mass Part I: 1700–1842 1. The Southside 2. God, Grace and Child, and Wonder 3. Laborers in God’s Vineyard 4. A Mother and Grandmother of All the Others 5. Blood on the Fence, Blood on the Ground Part II: 1843–1860 6. Garden Spot of the World 7. Storm Clouds 8. Morning Sun 9. The Time for Moderation Has Passed Part III: 1861–1865 10. Goodbye Pa 11. Disposed of as Follows 12. His Erring Children 13. No-Man’s-Land 14. Honorable Mention 15. Oh for a Better State of Things!!! Part IV: 1865–1893 16. There Is Danger of Much Trouble 17. A Relic of the Old Barbarism 18. A Terrible State of Frenzy 19. Yearning for the “Days of Yore” 20. A Promising and Pleasant Little Village Epilogue: You Can’t Tell All the Good Parts Unless You Bring in Some of That Bad Part Profiles of Enslaved People, 1773–1865 Davies Family Tree Notes Index