"I am an invisible man. No, I am not a spook like those who haunted Edgar Allan Poe; nor am I one of your Hollywood-movie ectoplasms. I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids--and I might even be said to possess a mind. I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me."

- Ralph Ellison's "Invisible Man"

Documents + Articles

List of Slaves owned by John Augustine, page 1 This is a two-page list of slaves owned by John Augustine, the master of Venus. The document is dated March 1783. Venus was a housemaid on the Bushfield Plantation and her mother, Jenny,... -	Cover, Harper's Weekly Cover drawing from Harper's Weekly, 1884 -	Page 2 List of Slaves by J. A. Washington, 1783 Venus and her mother (Jenny) names appear below. MLV put in the writing next to the names. Data from the MVLA. -	The Pittsburgh Courier Sat May 20 1967 -
Property of West Ford *West Ford was willed 160 acres of land adjoining Mount Vernon in 1829, making him the richest black man in Virgina at that time. He later sold his land and purchased... -	The Pittsburgh Courier Sat Aug 19 1961 Article stating that West Ford was known as the Negro son of George Washington. -	Slave Cemetery Burial Records, page 1 This page lists the names and other information about the Mount Vernon burial grounds of the enslaved servants. The Ford family's oral history states that West Ford was placed in the old... -	Know Your History News paper article from the Pittsburgh Courier* Newspaper describing West Ford as the Negro son of George Washington, 1940.* -
Slave Cemetery Burial Records, page 2 This page of burial records comes from 1929 minutes p. 46 about the graveyard which was used by General Washington for his enslaved at Mount Vernon. It delves into how the markers were worn and... -	Newspaper Article on Maj. George Ford Title: From Mount Vernon to Springfield, Illinois Register,* 1937.* -	Major Ford obit Major George Ford's Obituary. He died at the age of 91 in 1939 and was the last living member of the original 10th Calvary known as the Buffalo Soliders. His body was interred at Camp... -	Slave Cemetery Burial Records, page 3 Entry from Mount Vernon records on slave burials that George Ford visited the plantation in 1929 when two workers were placing the memorial tablet. The workers stated that Ford told them... -
Major Ford obit (cont) -	Slave Cemetery Burial Records, page 4 This is a continuing entry from page 3. It states that George Ford told the two workers at the slave cemetery where the tablet was laid that the burying ground used to have a rail fence around... -	Major Ford's Enlistment Info. Form detailing the enlistment of Major George Ford. U.S., 10th Cavalry, Returns from Regulary Army Cavalry Regiments 1866-1916. -	Article, Washington Post Title: Tracing the Washington Blood, by Elizabeth Wagner, February 1967. -
Enlistment Document 10th Cavalry Copy of Major Ford's enlistment contract when he joined the 10th Cavalry. -	Article, Washington Post Title: Register of Freed Slaves Bares Fairfax County Roots, by Thomas Grubisich, Washington Post Staff Writer, February 8, 1977. -	Reinlistment into the 10 Calvary Major George Ford did two tours with the 10th Calvary. This document shows his reinlistment on September 11, 1872. -	Article, Fairfax Chronicles Newspaper article about West Ford from the Fairfax Chronicles, 1986, by Donald Sweig. -