Ashley's Sack

Cotton, thread. 

29 11/16 x 15 3/4 inches. 

Created: 1850's; embroidering added 1921

Discovered: Nashville, Tennessee, flea market, 2007

Time line by Mark Auslander

Slavery's Traces: In Search of Ashley's Sack

by Mark Auslander, Central Washington University, 2016

Link:

https://southernspaces.org/2016/slaverys-traces-search-ashleys-sack

 

Book

A renowned historian traces the life of a single object handed down through three generations of Black women to craft an extraordinary testament to people who are left out of the archives.

Link to read article in Smithsonian Magazine by Nora McGreevy, 2021:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-simple-cotton-sack-tells-epic-tale-loss-love-and-resilience-180978009/