What do you notice? What do you wonder?
I noticed that the ad projects that there were incidents of loved ones from both families of Harris and Brooks. I also noticed that both Harris and Brooks were former slaves and had came from the same plantation originated in Fresno. There were separated by sale on 1859 in Louisiana. They were also already planning on getting remarried after their tragic split. I wonder how quick they decided to get married because it states that after losing a loved one, they came to a quick decision on being together for the rest of their lives. I also wonder how difficult it was to hold that commitment after not being able to see each other for a long period of time.
Time/Place:
This ad was published on July 1904. The events have occurred in Fresno County, Chicago, Louisiana and Tennessee. In the ad, it states that Harris and Brooks were from the same plantation which took place in Fresno. Within the transcript, In Fresno, on July 22nd, Harris and Brooks met each other once again. They decided to be life-long partners after being separated. They decided to live on an old plantation that was in the state of Louisiana. Harris was sold around 1859 to a plantar that have lived in Tennessee.
Implications/Conclusions:
During this time era, people were still being put into slavery and have been separated from their families. Former slaves still experienced hardships. Overall, Harris and Brooks were completely decided on remarrying each other after being split apart for forty five years. They have been married in the past. In module 2, there were some similarities that related towards this topic. In Jourdan Anderson’s letter, he writes to his former enslaver. He explains how he has been separated from his daughters and that he hopes they are in safe hands. There has been an absent gap between them and that is how it related to this topic.
Discussion Question:
How would you feel if you ran into someone you loved after 45 years has passed by?
If you were to be in Harris and Brook’s situation, would you consider remarrying after that long period of time?
Wow after 45yrs.... not to sound selfish or anything but I myself feel like so much would have changed, but if I was still in love with this person and I had not already moved on with my life then yes I would remarry. I just watch the movie about Harriet Tubman and just ONE year after she left her husband had remarried and had a child on the way :/
This is a really interesting story and it's both happy and sad at the same time. Two people who have loved each other have been split up for all their lives because of slavery. It is nice that they found each other and still loved each other after so long, but how many didn't find each other.
I found your story and the ad you found incredibly interesting! I believe that there is definitely a reason the two of them rediscovered each other after so many decades passed and for that point alone I feel it would be a missed opportunity to not pursue that love again. I believe that because both parties never stopped searching and did not give up that it is clear they both had an important reason.
This really seems a great story! Who would have known they will meet each other after 45 years and get married. I read another ad that one of our classmates wrote about and asking if we would search for a family member even if it had been 40 years. This really gives hope and tells us not to give up. In my opinion, if I meet someone after that long, I'm not so sure, to be honest. I feel I need to be in a real situation in order to decide.
Wow, what an interesting story. I can't believe even after 45 years that they got married, after so long apart. It really is quite heartwarming. Personally, I don't know what I would do. I feel like personally, I would wait, but I'm really not sure, considering the circumstances at the time were very different from what they are today.
This is a really nice one! It is definitely a remarkable story and their decision to marry each other after a 45 year separation is definitely a testament to how hard it must have been when they were forcibly separated while enslaved. There are a lot of interesting pieces of context in this article--George Harris was an "early pioneer" in Fresno, and both of them had a lot of children. The last line about the family being raised "in old plantation style" is kind of bizarre, but it reminds me of some of the other articles featured in the forum, where a heartwarming story is presented, but the description is also racialized.