Locating Slavery's Legacies @ Sewanee: The University of the South

Memorial Artwork

Visual Work of Art

Enslaver

"The Homestead" at Monticello, on Lake Monticello in Winnsboro, Fairfield County, SC. Slave plantation and childhood home of James Clement Furman's wives, Harriet Davis and, after Harriet's death, her sister, Mary Glenn Davis.

Painting of "The Homestead at Monticello"

James Clement Furman's wife, Mary Glenn Davis Furman, came from a family that owned a large slave plantation in Winnsboro, S.C. Between 1857 and 1860, the Furmans remodeled their home in Greenville, adding four rooms, a front porch, four Greek revival columns and a three-bay portico, to make it resemble Mary's childhood home. By 1860, they had renamed the home "Cherrydale." The painting, which now hangs in Cherrydale, is of Mary's childhood home. The picture shows a bucolic and peaceful scene, without any of the people who were enslaved at her family's plantation.

The painting shows a white home with Greek revival columns, a front porch and two chimneys. In front of the home are shown an Angora goat and Braman cattle, which Mary Glenn Davis Furman's brother reportedly brought back from the Middle East. The painting shows the home and surroundings circa 1850.

Margaret Tolar Davis

1911

1820-1865: Slavery, Anti-Slavery, and Civil War

Cherrydale Alumni House

Furman University; Greenville, South Carolina

Dr. Judith Bainbridge and Thomas Coker, "Cherrydale and James Clement Furman" (available at Cherrydale Alumni House).

Provides detailed history of Cherrydale, biographical history of James C. Furman and describes renovation of house to add rooms, porch and Greek Revival style columns.

Dr. Brandon Inabinet, "Cherrydale Alumni House: Seeking Abraham at Furman University," accessed on April 5, 2024.

The article includes information about Cherrydale's history, Mary Glenn Davis Furman's role in the renovation of Cherrydale and information about her family's wealth and role in enslaving people

March 18, 2024 email from Doris Childress to Nashieli Marcano and Melissa Nichols.

Described provenance of painting and identified painter and year painted.