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Addy Turner (1796- 1856) Addy was
born in Angola, Africa and was taken at the tender age of two to live and be
slave in Madisonville. Although Addy’s birth year is known, the exact date
isn’t. This was very common for slaves. Addy also didn’t know her real name
or her parents. When she was taken from her parents, her new master renamed her.
Addy was sent to a slave breaker in Georgia when she was thirteen years old. While she was there, the slave breaker's wife taught Addy and many of the other slaves how to read and write. She did this out of sorrow for the children. One and a half years later, Addy was released to her master and sent back to Madisonville to work. The plantation that she worked on was called Madisonville country plantation. At the plantation they grew many different typed of vegetables. Addy main job was to work in the field harvesting all of the vegetables. When Addy got older and was no longer able to work in the fields she was "upgraded" to being a house slave and there her main job was to watch after the masters youngest daughter.
Soon after
Addy was married to another slave. One year later they had their first child
named Nellie. She was a healthy baby and Addy loved her very much. When Nellie
was three, Addy and her husband, Joseph had their second child, a boy named James. Soon after James was born Addy and Joseph tried to have a
third child. They had another little girl whose name was Mattie, but she was
sickly and died three weeks later.
The death of Mattie only strengthened Addy's faith in the
bible and she began to
teach other slave children including her own to read and write. By the
end of her life Addy had read the whole bible.
Addy was very pretty. She had green eyes and was very small. Addy had long hair that she wore in braids and was always very clean. Addy was also nice, caring, independent, quiet, curious and a very good teache