It was just a simple family photograph from 1872, but take a closer look at the sister’s hand.

Through comparison with city records, documents of former slaves and tax archives, a name finally emerges: James Washington, owner of a small property in Richmond from 1873, lived there with his wife Mary and their five children.

The ages match. The little girl with the mark on her wrist is named Ruth.

From silent suffering to its transmission:
Archives prove that the Washington family was enslaved on a nearby plantation before the Civil War. Contemporary accounts describe particularly harsh “control methods,” especially against children, to prevent mothers from taking them to the fields.

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