Nance & Her Child (c. 1786)

Portrait by Abel Jackson, 2021

Like other who lived their lives in bondage, the information about Nance's life is scant. Everything we know about her and her three children is written by her enslavers. to understand her life, we must extrapolate based on what we know from accounts written by others.

Nance lived at the Alexander Homesite (now Charlotte Museum of History) until she left the property with Mary "Polly" Alexander at the time of Polly's marriage to Charlie Polk in 1786. Sometime between then and 1801, she had three children. They are unnamed, simply mentioned following their mother's name in Hezekiah Alexander's will. We do not know who fathered her children.

We can only speculate what her experience with enslavement may have been. We do not know what happened to her and her children after 1801. Did Nance and her three children remain with Charlie Polk until his death, or were they sold at some point?

Despite fear and uncertainty, she carved out a life for herself and her children. With this portrait, we acknowledge her humanity and the life she and her children lived here on this site.