NEWS OF DUKE HOMESTEAD
Spring 2016
Volume 38, Issue 1
GOLD LEAF
Inside this issue:
life was one she desired.
Childbirth was common for a woman like Artelia and usually safe. During her labor and deliv-ery, Artelia was most likely cared for by a network of women, like her mother or sisters, Caroline (a young enslaved girl Washington Duke purchased in 1855), and even female neighbors. It’s pos-sible that Artelia used a midwife’s services if they could afford one and if one was available. At this time, male doctors were increas-ingly present at births, but in this region of North Carolina for a farming family like the Dukes, it’s unlikely that they would have used a doctor. Whether she was attended by a midwife or by ‘amateurs,’ the birth attendants’ main job would have been to coach and comfort Artelia through the process.
Homebirth was usually only dangerous if complications arose. Childbirth was a time when women were acutely aware of their own mortality. Women knew that there were few effec-(Continued on page 4)
At Duke Homestead, we don’t usually talk about Artelia Roney Duke outside of her role as wife and mother. She is born, marries Washington Duke, has three children, dies and exits the story. Our research for a new upcom-ing event, Born at Duke Home-stead, has allowed us the oppor-tunity to understand what Ar-telia’s experience and signifi-cance was in the Duke home.
When it came to the role of wife and mother, mother may argua-bly have been the bigger role for Artelia. During the mid-19th cen-tury, women like Artelia Duke were prepared to devote 30+ years of their lives to child bear-ing. Fertile women could ex-pect to have their first child within a year or so of their mar-riage, and continue having chil-dren every 2-2 ½ years until menopause, death, or incapaci-ty due to poor health.
Artelia’s own life reflects this common pattern. She and Wash-ington were married in 1852, and their first child together, Mary, is born a year later. Sons Benjamin and James followed in 1855 and
1856 respectively. For a woman like Artelia this life of continuous-ly being pregnant, nursing, and mother would be normal. What we cannot say is if this normal
Artelia Roney Duke, the 19th Century Mother
1, 4
Upcoming Events, Financial Report
2
From the Site Manager’s Desk
3
Where are they now?
3
Artelia Roney Duke & 19th Century Motherhood, Volunteer Training Day
4
Rubber Duck Race, Family Outings
5
Rubber Duck Raffle Ticket
6
This portrait of Artelia was commis-sioned by her children to hang in the Artelia Roney Duke Building at Elon College in the early 1900s.
Artelia Roney Duke, the 19th Century Mother
By Jessica Shillingsford About GOLD LEAF
The Duke Homestead Education and History
Corporation publishes GOLD LEAF. The Corporation is a non-profit organization dedicated to the development of the Duke Homestead State Historic Site and Tobacco Museum. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Visit the website, dukehomestead.org , for more information. This newsletter is published semiannually and is available free of charge for digital subscribers. A paper copy can be received for $5.00 a year.
For more information, write:
Duke Homestead Education and History Corp.
2828 Duke Homestead Road
Durham, NC 27705
Or e-mail: duke@ncdcr.gov.
DHEHC President: Thomas Shaw
GOLD LEAF Editor: Julia Rogers
Printing: Sir Speedy
Financial Report
Mary Bell
Treasurer
The funds of the Duke Homestead Education and History Corporation as of April 1, 2015 are as fol-lows:
General Fund Savings $4,386.16
General Fund Checking $5,268.45
Scottrade Account: $45,623.30
Total Assets: $55,277.91
Page 2
Upcoming Events
Born at Duke Homestead April 29 - May 1
Duke Homestead was the birthplace of three individuals. We will partner with Murmurations Dance to offer you a view of the Duke home unlike any you’ve seen before. Performance times will be announced and tickets will go on sale soon.
Tickets are $15 plus tax per person, children under 12 are free of charge.
Artifact Care 101 June 2, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
The evening will start with an insider tour through the Tobacco Museum, followed by an exclusive viewing of Duke Homestead muse-um artifacts. You’ll learn the best ways to care for objects, and speak to our experts about how to take care of your artifacts.
Tickets go on sale May 1, 2016. Tickets cost $35 per person plus tax, limit 30 people.
Mythbusting Day June 25, All Day
We’re tackling persistent myths about “way back when” at Duke Homestead on June 25. Join us for a special tour between 10:00 am and 3:00 pm, and we’ll make you an expert on what’s not true about historic houses!
Free of Charge
Pork, Pickles, and Peanuts July 9, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Celebrate North Carolina’s food culture and history and this popular annual event.
Free of Charge
Find more information on all of our events at DukeHomestead.org. Page 3
VOLUME 38, ISSUE 1
From the Site Manager’s Desk
The fall and winter of 2015-16 have been busy and productive. We focused on tobacco heritage at our annual Harvest & Horn-worm Festival (September) and the NC State Fair in Raleigh (October). We successfully held another two nights of Christmas by Candlelight in December, sell-ing out each night. Meanwhile we have hosted field trips from Durham and Wake County schools and beyond, and planned for 2016. We have crafted an am-bitious events calendar this year, trying several new events and keeping a few tried and true favor-ites. (See our 2016 events at dukehomestead.org/events.)
2016 will be remembered as the year of the roof. In January the historic Duke house received a new cedar shake roof. This was an emergency repair, done be-cause we discovered that the old roof was leaking on the second floor. The house has been closed to visitors, but will reopen shortly pending a thorough cleaning and inspection. The Visitor Center Repair & Renovation project is moving forward as well, which will include a roof replacement for the entire Visitor Center/Tobacco Mu-seum building. This has been a critical need for several years, and this project has been in the works for nearly as long so we are thrilled that it will move forward
soon. Once contracts are finalized, we will set a construction schedule. In addition to the roof, we will re-ceive other upgrades to the Visitor Center lobby and facilities, though not the full scope of repairs that we had hoped for.
Unfortunately, the Visitor Center renovation and the Duke house roof will not address so many of our other costly needs. So, 2016 has also become the year of fundraising experimentation. Site staff and DHE&HC members are testing the waters with new ticketed events, grant applications, and unique fundraisers. But, I hope that these efforts become more than just fund-raising. These events are designed to generate revenue to support the site and offer exciting new ways to experience Duke Homestead and its history. I would encourage eve-ryone to participate in these new events where you will give a little and hopefully get a lot in return.
Last, but certainly not least, I am thrilled to say that Duke Homestead is fully staffed again. Julia Rogers, who worked as our Historic Inter-preter II for three years, was pro-moted in January into the position of Assistant Manager. Her replace-ment, Katie Vanhoy, began on April 1. Katie comes with a Master of Arts degree in Public History from NC State University, and experi-ence interpreting agricultural/North
Carolina history at Oak View Histor-ic Park and Mordecai Historic Park in Raleigh, especially to school children. With Andrew Long (our Maintenance Mechanic) that brings our full-time staff back to four, a team with creativity, energy, and passion.
We hope to see you soon!
Where Are They Now?
Former Site Manager, Jennifer Farley, received a promotion! She became the Western Region Manager for NC State Historic Sites in January 2015.
Former Assistant Site Manager, Mia Berg, took a new position as an Executive Assistant in the Duke University Hospital system.
Former Part-Timer, Percia Swift, now has a full time position as the Historic Interpreter I at Ben-nett Place. tive treatments by either doctors or midwives that could save them from deadly complications. Most people during this time knew of at least one woman who had died during childbirth.
Within the Duke home Artelia’s work as a mother would have been essential. Even with Caroline’s enslaved labor, Artelia would have likely been quite involved with her two older step-sons (Sidney and Brodie) as well as her own chil-dren. She probably would have strived to keep them safe, enter-tained, active, and constantly learning. And, she of course still would have done many chores around the house and farm.
Artelia’s role as a mother was not merely important in the Duke home. During the 19th century, white society at large valued white women’s identity as mothers. The mother was responsible for build-ing the basic unit of society - the family. It was the responsibility of the mother to pass along social (Continued from page 1)
ideals to her children, whether literally through “good breeding” or taught ideals of morality and vir-tue. Women’s responsibilities as nurturers and educators began during pregnancy and carried through the lives of their children. (This is quite a different meaning than “motherhood” for enslaved African Americans, who passed on their condition of bondage and all that it entailed to their children.)
For Artelia, motherhood might have been a source of both em-powerment and restriction. There was social significance to being the creator of good citizens, and she would have seen motherhood as a fulfillment of her duties to God. However, while women wielded power and influence as mothers, they were also bound to that role. They had little control over the number of children or the timing of pregnancies, and little room to develop an identity out-side of wife or mother. They were also physically bound to that role as they balanced pregnancy, nurs-ing, and parenting for decades at a time.
It’s easy for historians to gloss over this aspect of our female subjects’ lives, because few peo-ple wrote explicitly and honestly about their experiences with child-birth and motherhood. Here at Duke Homestead, we have to use other women’s experiences to fill the dates of the Duke family tree with stories. It is essential that we do this, because the tale of the Dukes’ rise to success would be incomplete without Artelia’s story.
Artelia’s story ends in 1858, at the age of 29. Artelia catches typhoid fever while caring for her 14-year-old step-son, Sidney. The two both die of the disease.
Join us on April 29th and 30th as we explore the experience of mothers in the 19th century during Born at Duke Homestead.
For more information, visit DukeHomestead.org.
Artelia cont.
Page 4
Volunteer Training Day on May 28th
On Saturday, May 28th we will be hosting a Volunteer Training Day from 10 am to 1 pm.
This is a day for any and all volunteers and anyone who is interested is becoming a volunteer!
The Volunteer Training Day will be an opportunity for everyone to go a little more in-depth into the history of Duke Homestead and talk about some strategies for interpreting that history to the public. There will be something for everyone, including time for discussion and workshopping – a perfect time to bring your questions and concerns about giving tours or staffing events. We’re planning on making this an interactive and fun day for everyone involved. Again it will run from 10 am to 1 pm with snacks to follow.
Please RSVP to this event (email duke@ncdcr.gov or call 919 477 5498) by May 15th so we can best plan for the number of attendees. Page 5
VOLUME 38, ISSUE 1
Chapel Hill-Carrboro Sunrise Rotary Club Rubber Duck Race
Duke Homestead is proud to be a community selling partner with the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Sunrise Rotary Club for their Rubber Duck Race. Tickets begin at just $10 and a portion of the proceeds go to our support group, the Duke Homestead Education and History Corporation.
Your ticket gives you a chance to win twenty great prizes including a $1,000 Gift Card from American Express, A retreat at the Umstead Hotel and Spa, a Beach Vacation, and so much more!
Get your raffle ticket today! Mail in the raffle ticket form on page 6.
Family Outings at Duke Homestead
Enjoy a morning out with your family that is full of fun and learning! Duke Homestead will provide free history-themed activities and crafts for kids and their families from 10 am to 12 pm on the 3rd Saturday of every month from May to October. Our first Family Outing is on May 21st, check out the full calendar below and learn more at DukeHomestead.org.
MAY 21ST - WHAT'S GROWING IN THE GARDEN
Spend the morning exploring a 19th century garden. Learn what kinds of foods a family would grow and why. Try your hand at planting a seed of your very own.
MAY 21 - WHAT'S GROWING IN THE GARDEN
JUNE 18 - GAME DAY
JULY 16 - FARM FOOD
AUGUST 20 - FARM BUGS
SEPTEMBER 17 - BACK TO SCHOOL
OCTOBER 15 - ARCHAEOLOGY GOLD LEAF
News of Duke Homestead.
Duke Homestead Education and History Corporation 2828 Duke Homestead Road Durham, NC 27705
Phone: 919-477-5498 Fax: 919-479-7092
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Please mail form with your check, cash, or credit card info to:
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Get your Rubber Duck Race Raffle Ticket Today!
Packages
Quantity
Price Per
Total
Rubber Ducky (1)
$10.00
Ducky Six Pack (6)
$50.00
Ducky Dozen (13)
$100.00
Ducky Flock (35)
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Ducky Herd (175)
$1,000.00
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