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Sally Cottrell Cole (c. 1800 – ) was an enslaved maid and seamstress who worked at
SALLY COTTRELL COLE, Enslaved at Monticello, Monticello.org
/ref> Key lived in Pavilion VI on the University of Virginia campus and Cottrell served as his wife's maid and nurse. The London-born Key became the school's first professor of mathematics in 1825. He immediately clashed with other faculty at the university and was described by Coolidge as "one of those Englishmen who have succeeded in making their nation hated in every part of the known world." Key's animus may have been fueled by his distaste for the presence of slavery on campus. Students were forbidden from bringing their own slaves, but there were numerous slaves belonging to faculty members or working for the university itself. Many of them were victims of physical and sexual abuse at the hands of the student body. Before his return to England in 1827, Key purchased Cottrell from Coolidge for $400. Key's intention was to free Cottrell, but Virginia law required
Monticello
Monticello ( ) was the primary plantation of Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, who began designing Monticello after inheriting land from his father at age 26. Located just outside Charlottesville, V ...
and the University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...
.
Life
Sally Cottrell was born into slavery sometime around the year 1800. It is believed that she lived atMonticello
Monticello ( ) was the primary plantation of Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, who began designing Monticello after inheriting land from his father at age 26. Located just outside Charlottesville, V ...
, the plantation home of US President Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...
from about the age of 13. It was during that time in 1809, that she began working as the maid of Ellen Wayles Randolph
Ellen Randolph Coolidge (October 1796 – April 21, 1876) was the granddaughter of Thomas Jefferson and daughter of Martha Jefferson Randolph and Thomas Mann Randolph. Coolidge had a close relationship with Jefferson, serving as an assistant unti ...
, Jefferson's granddaughter. In 1825, Ellen Randolph married Joseph Coolidge
Joseph Coolidge (1798–1879), who married Thomas Jefferson's granddaughter Ellen Wayles Randolph, was a partner of several trading companies, working most of his career overseas in the opium, silk, porcelain, and tea trades. He watched over his ...
, a Boston merchant. Randolph moved to Boston to live with Coolidge and her husband hired Cottrell out to Thomas Hewitt Key
Thomas Hewitt Key, FRS (20 March 179929 November 1875) was an English classical scholar.
Life
He was born in London and educated at St John's and Trinity Colleges, Cambridge, and graduated 19th wrangler in 1821. From 1825 to 1827 he was the ...
at the University of Virginia./ref> Key lived in Pavilion VI on the University of Virginia campus and Cottrell served as his wife's maid and nurse. The London-born Key became the school's first professor of mathematics in 1825. He immediately clashed with other faculty at the university and was described by Coolidge as "one of those Englishmen who have succeeded in making their nation hated in every part of the known world." Key's animus may have been fueled by his distaste for the presence of slavery on campus. Students were forbidden from bringing their own slaves, but there were numerous slaves belonging to faculty members or working for the university itself. Many of them were victims of physical and sexual abuse at the hands of the student body. Before his return to England in 1827, Key purchased Cottrell from Coolidge for $400. Key's intention was to free Cottrell, but Virginia law required
freed slaves
A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), emancipation (granted freedom a ...
to leave the state within a year or face re-enslavement. Key gave power of attorney
A power of attorney (POA) or letter of attorney is a written authorization to represent or act on another's behalf in private affairs (which may be financial or regarding health and welfare), business, or some other legal matter. The person auth ...
in this matter to University of Virginia law professor John A. G. Davis
John Anthony Gardner Davis (March 5, 1802, Middlesex County, Virginia – November 15, 1840, Charlottesville, Virginia) was a professor at the University of Virginia School of Law who was shot to death by a student of the university.
Early life ...
, and it fell into the hands of his son Eugene Davis when the elder Davis was shot and killed in a student riot
Student riots, college riots, or campus riots are riots precipitated by students, generally from a college, university, or other school. Student riots are often an aspect of student protests.
Reasons
As with riots in general, the causes are ...
in 1840. Cottrell appears to not have been legally freed, but lived and acted as a free woman. In 1850, when the status of a number of free blacks in Virginia was legally questioned, Cottrell testified that she was a slave belonging to Key. The court appears to have let the matter rest there, as she lived and worked in the Charlottesville
Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Cha ...
area the remainder of her life.
In 1841 she was baptized at the First Baptist Church in Charlottesville. In 1846, she married Reuben Cole, a free black man.
She died on February 17, 1875, and was buried in Maplewood Cemetery in Charlottesville.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Sally Cottrell Year of birth missing 1875 deaths People from Albemarle County, Virginia 19th-century American slaves History of slavery in Virginia People from Monticello