1861 May 1 Hopewell [Greene County, Alabama]

My Dear Master

As there has been several letters
writen to you from here I have
put off writing untill this time.
We are not all well at presant.
I have been very unwell for two
or three days but feels a little
better to day. Mr. L Powell has
also been very unwell he fell
over a stump in the yard the
other night and got his arm
knocked out of place, but he is
nearly well again. the woman Sally
that was sick when you went away
has not yet been restored to her
health but is now walking about.
The rest of of the people are very well.
Cain commenced chopping out cotton
yesterday. it looks very well what part
of it that i have seen. but they

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say that it has not borne up very
well in the same places. the corn they say
is doing very well. both here and
at New Hope. our potatoes are coming
up very well. we planted our first
Saturday evening. the garden seems to
be coming on very well. we have
but very few Tomatoes planted as yet
but I think that more will come
up after a while. we have had garden
peas ever since the first of April.
the cabbage is growing very fast.
the peas that you brought out are
planted in the garden and are
all up. Etter and her Baby are both
well. her Baby grows very fast.
We got a letter from Mr Powell
a few days ago. he was well but
he did not say what time that he
would be down. I saw Mr and
Mrs Borden last Sunday they were
very anxious to hear from you. their
family and master Joes are all well.

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mrs. Averys family is well I heard
that Miss Mary' is coming home.
we have preaching regularly at the
Chapel. Mr. Brame took dinner with
us the last time he preached at the
Chapel. The people thinks a great
deal of him. I will now bring my letter
to a close hoping soon to hear from
you. your servant
Lucy. Skipwith.

Genl. John. H. Cocke.

The slave Lucy Skipwith was entrusted by her master, John H. Cocke with the running of the household at his Alabama plantation from the 1840s through the Civil War. She wrote him regularly about events and daily life there. Cocke offered to send her to Liberia with other members of the Skipwith family but she stalled. At the plantation she used her influence to run a school for other slaves and protect them from sale and unjust punishment. After the war she continued her correspondence with Cocke but with a less subservient tone. See "Dear Master": letters of a slave family, edited by Randall M. Miller

MSS 640