Harriet was an enslaved worker who lived and worked at Tuckahoe during the Allen period. She is thought to have been born sometime around 1853 to parents Ellen Anderson Smith and Ed Smith. Her siblings were Daniel, Jane, Dilsey, Jordan, Nancy, Wallace, and Andrew. Though not explicitly stated on any of the Allen records, it is likely that she worked in the fields with many of her siblings and father.
In 1915, the then owner of Tuckahoe (H. Coolidge) visited Harriet in her home not far from the plantation. She claimed that she was one of the last to be born into slavery before the Civil War and had a clear recollection of her life as a child growing up in the “second quarter from the kitchen” (the North Cabin which still stands along Plantation Street).
Harriet married a man named Dabney W. Wesley who was described by Harriet as “the ditcher”. Census dates for their marriage conflict and list it as being anywhere from 1867-1875. The couple had nine children together including Willie E (aka Ella W.), William Price, General D, Lucy G, and Charles.
Harriet passed away on April 7, 1926 at the age of 70. The record listed the cause of death as simply “old age”. Some of her family and possibly Harriet herself are thought to be buried at a church as short ways from Tuckahoe.
