Slaves in the Family

Slaves in the Family chronicles Edward Ball's investigation into his family's history as major plantation and slave owners in South Carolina. Ball draws from extensive plantation records and documents to reconstruct the interconnected lives of his white ancestors and the people they enslaved. Through interviews and research, Ball traces the descendants of both the enslaved families and his own family across generations. The narrative follows multiple family lines, including those of mixed-race children born on the plantations, as they spread across America in the decades after emancipation. The book represents both a family memoir and a work of historical research, combining archival investigation with first-person accounts from living descendants. The scope spans from the arrival of Ball's ancestors in America through the present day, documenting the economic and social realities of plantation life. This examination of slavery's legacy explores questions of responsibility, memory, and the complex bonds between families shaped by a shared but divided past. The work stands as a contribution to understanding how historical trauma continues to influence contemporary American society.

Readers appreciate Ball's thorough research and personal confrontation with his family's slaveholding past. Many note his direct approach to uncomfortable truths and the detailed historical documentation he provides. Multiple reviews mention the impact of Ball meeting descendants of people his ancestors enslaved. Common criticisms include pacing issues in the middle sections and Ball's occasional focus on himself rather than the enslaved people's stories. Some readers find the writing style dry or academic at times. What readers liked: - Extensive primary source documentation - Inclusion of oral histories - Clear acknowledgment of family responsibility What readers disliked: - Sections that drag with genealogical details - Author's self-reflection passages - Limited perspectives from enslaved families Ratings: Goodreads: 4.0/5 (2,800+ ratings) Amazon: 4.4/5 (180+ ratings) Representative review: "Ball does the hard work of facing his family's past without flinching, though at times the narrative gets bogged down in details." - Goodreads reviewer

The Known World by Edward P. Jones Chronicles a complex society of Black slaveholders in antebellum Virginia, illuminating the tangled relationships between race, power, and ownership in American slavery.

Somerset Homecoming by Dorothy Spruill Redford Documents the author's research into her enslaved ancestors at Somerset Plantation in North Carolina and her work organizing reunions between descendants of enslaved people and plantation owners.

The Hemingses of Monticello by Annette Gordon-Reed Traces the multi-generational story of an enslaved family at Thomas Jefferson's plantation through meticulous historical documentation and family records.

My Southern Family by Gail Lumet Buckley Follows the intertwined histories of the author's Black and white ancestors from slavery through the Civil Rights era in Georgia.

Black Masters by Michael P. Johnson and James L. Roark Examines the story of William Ellison, a freed slave who became a slave owner in South Carolina, revealing the complexities of race and class in the antebellum South.

🔍 The book won the 1998 National Book Award for Nonfiction and sparked important conversations about confronting family histories tied to slavery 📜 Ball's ancestors owned nearly 4,000 enslaved people across 25 rice plantations in South Carolina between 1698 and 1865 👥 The author spent seven years researching and personally met with over 100 descendants of people enslaved by his family 🌍 The Ball plantations were specifically focused on rice cultivation, utilizing the specialized knowledge and skills that many enslaved people brought from West Africa's rice-growing regions 🤝 Following the book's publication, Ball helped establish reunion meetings between descendants of enslaved people and descendants of enslavers from his family's plantations