On July 3, 1855, a child named Wallace was born here at Tuckahoe.  His mother was recorded as Ellen who was the cook.  Ellen Smith (previously Ellen Anderson) had been enslaved under the Wight family and had five children prior to 1850 when Joseph Allen purchased both the land and the ... READ the POST

6/14/2022 Manumission in Virginia has had a complicated past.  Manumission is defined as the voluntary act of a master freeing a slave through his will or deed.  At certain times, this act was illegal in Virginia.  At other times, it was allowed but could still be a very difficult ... READ the POST

Mothers:  the women who nurture us and support us and literally bring us into this world.  Here at Tuckahoe, we love our mothers and in honor of Mother’s Day, we’d like to share some of the stories of some of the mothers who have lived here over the years.     Some of us may have heard of the ... READ the POST

Pictured here with some of her family is a woman named Harriet Smith.  Harriet claimed that she was among the last to be born into slavery at Tuckahoe during the Allen period of ownership.  She is thought to have been born in June of 1853 to parents Ellen Anderson Smith and Ed ... READ the POST

One hundred and sixty-six years ago today, Joseph Allen wrote out an account of the enslaved workers here at Tuckahoe.  Lists like this and other farm records help give us clues as to what life was like on the property during this time.   The Allen family had purchased Tuckahoe ... READ the POST

Our research effort to illuminate the whole history of Tuckahoe over the last year and a half has led us from microfilm at local libraries to historical society records to online newspaper ads. Surprisingly, some of the most interesting documents have been found right here in our collection at ... READ the POST