Remembering Suwannee: Black history in Suwannee County, Part 2

Eric Musgrove Contributor This week, we will continue our discussion of Black history in Suwannee County, a history that has spanned nearly five centuries. Slavery had become a part of American culture well before Suwannee County was established in 1858. The first Africans had arrived in the land that became the United States in 1619 as either indentured servants and/or slaves (the record is unclear as to the exact nature of their servitude). They joined many white men and women who served their masters for a certain number of years (usually between three and seven) to pay off the debt of coming to the Americas, and then were freed. In fact, one of my own Musgrove ancestors was a 16-year-