Bill Webb

Recollections

The following is a letter written in November 2007 by Bill Webb, 3rd great-grandson of Brown Colbert, to his family and friends about his experiences at last summer's [2007] Gathering.

I would like to share a wonderful experience I had at the Monticello Community Gathering. The gathering was for the descendants of the owners, slaves, artisans, indentured servants and all who had been a part of Thomas Jefferson's plantation. Approximately 240 people registered for this weekend of learning, sharing, and, perhaps, reconciliation.

My connection to the Monticello Community Gathering is my great-great-great-grandfather, Brown Colbert, who had been owned by Thomas Jefferson from 1785 to 1806. This connection was not known until my wife, Eva Kobus-Webb, located Brown Colbert on the website, Monticello Explorer, in 2006.

The Planning Committee had organized a weekend full of lectures, receptions, and times for sharing. A resource room was set up with pamphlets and related genealogical information. I displayed a family tree, a listing of the descendants of Brown Colbert, a partial listing of the passengers of the ship Roanoake, and a portrait of Brown Colbert's grandson, George Edmondson (1836-1922). My cousin, Marc Washington, Sr., added a copy of the Washington family tree.

On Friday evening, a reception was held on the lawn of Pavilion 8 at the University of Virginia. Bountiful hors d'oeuvres were served with a fine selection of wines from the local Virginia vineyards. It was a time for meeting and sharing with many of the attendees.

Saturday morning included a welcoming address by members of the Planning Committee, a greeting from the Mayor of Charlottesville, a keynote speaker, and a slide presentation on a day in the life of Thomas Jefferson at Monticello. Additionally, a representative from each family was asked to speak. I introduced Eva and Marc and made short comments on the life of Colbert Brown.

In the afternoon, we decided to visit Monticello. We located the slave cemetery and went to Mulberry Row. We were standing on the grounds where our ancestor had worked as a young man in the late 1700s. It is hard to describe the range of emotions I felt and still feel. Re-enactors were demonstrating jobs the slaves had performed. One area we visited was by the nailery. Thomas Jefferson's farmbook indicates that Brown had worked in the nailery. We mentioned that Marc and I were descendants of a slave who had worked there and were given a newly made nail as a memento.

On Saturday evening there was a reception on the lawn at Monticello and a private tour of the main house. Group and individual family pictures were taken on the portico of Monticello.

On Sunday morning, a Service of Remembrance was held at Tufton, a farm once owned by Jefferson near Monticello. This service combined Anglican, African griot, and a fiery Baptist sermon. Marc and I placed flowers on a wreath in memory of Colbert Brown. Additional floral tributes were placed honoring the spirits of the Colbert, Edmondson, Washington and Webb families. Marc honored his father, Felix I. Washington, and his grandmother, Pearl Dexter Johnson. One could feel the spirits of our
ancestors during the Service of Remembrance. Brunch was served following the service and there was time for saying goodbyes. There were several interviews—one with Ms. Lucia Stanton, the Project Director of Getting Word, the Monticello African-American Oral History Project, and another with Shannon Lanier, author of Thomas Jefferson's Children: The Story of One American Family.

I am still on a bitter-sweet high from the weekend. Bitter, because of my personal connection to slavery; it is so easy to "sweep it under the rug." Sweet, because everyone, young and old, black and white, from various backgrounds (and many descending from Elizabeth Hemings) were all celebrating the Monticello Community.

Before I close, I want to thank my wife, Eva, for the encouragement and all the research she has done over the past 30+ years, and my cousin, Marc Washington, Sr., for catching the genealogy "fever." Of course, the research continues and "our journeycontinues."

I will end with an excerpt from a poem Marc found in the library in Parkersburg, West Virginia:

The Story Teller

We are the chosen...
My feelings are in each family there is one who seems called to find the answers.
To put flesh on their bones and make them alive again,
to tell the family story and to feel that somehow they know and approve.
To me, doing genealogy is not a cold gathering of facts but,
instead, breathing life into all who have gone before.
We are the story tellers of the tribe.
All tribes have one.
We have been called as if it were in our genes.
Those who have gone before have cried out to us
to tell our story.
So we do.
I tell the story of my family.
It is up to one called in the next generation to answer the call.
And take their place in the long line of family storytellers.
That is why I do my family genealogy
and that is what calls those young and old to stand up
and put flesh on the bones.

— Unknown Author

Peace,
Bill Webb
November 2007