The Quarters and the Fields: Slave Families in the Non-Cotton South

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments Researching and writing this book took me, all told, about five years. Along the way—as I developed a vague idea about American slave families and turned it into a book—I was fortunate enough to have ample support from family, colleagues, friends, and institutions. Without their help this book would never have gotten off the ground. I extend my thanks first and foremost to my family members in all three geographic clusters of the Atlantic world. My family in the United States— Fernando Pargas, Denise and Charlie Errico, Gabriel Pargas, Alexandra Pargas, Elizabeth (Nanny) McDermid—provided me with invaluable advice , encouragement, and luxurious accommodation during my research trips to northern Virginia and Washington. My family in Uruguay—Héctor and Ester (Tata & Abuelita) Pargas, Diana Pargas, Mariana Gesto, Daniela Gesto, Néstor Pargas, and little Lucia Pargas—has always been a lasting source of emotional support and generously provided me with a sunny and beautiful destination for several much-needed vacations. Finally, my family in the Netherlands—Peter Bos, Janny Bos, Maya Bos, and Marloes Bos— provided me with encouragement and support, without which I would have been unfit to perform my duties. At Leiden University Chris Quispel and Piet Emmer in particular believed in me and in my ideas long before I did. Both offered invaluable advice. For their support and wisdom I am infinitely grateful. My other colleagues at Leiden University also provided me with feedback, advice, coffee, and every now and again a free lunch, especially Filipa Ribeiro da Silva, Chris Nierstrasz, Jessica Roitman, Cátia Antunes, Hans Wilbrink, Jorrit van den Berk, Andreas Weber, Alicia Schrikker, Job Weststrate, Marijke Wissen -van Standen, Leonard Blussé, Henk Kern, Joost Augusteijn, Leo Lucassen , Peter Meel, Gert Oostindie, Eduard van der Bilt, and Adam Fairclough. x / Acknowledgments There are many others, too numerous to mention here, who also deserve my sincere thanks. My colleagues at Itinerario—Frans-Paul van der Putten, Alicia Schrikker, Annelieke Dirks, Gijs Kruijtzer, and Lincoln Paine—also provided me with invaluable editing experience and a welcome diversion from writing. I extend my warm thanks across the ocean to Professor Stanley Engerman at the University of Rochester for his advice and cooperation . My closest colleagues at Utrecht University—especially Jaap Verheul, Derek Rubin, and Rob Kroes—provided me with a pleasant environment in which to finish this book. Finally, my friends Alexander Hoorn and Johan Kwantes forced me on numerous occasions to get out of the office and relax for the sake of my own sanity. Several institutions provided me with financial assistance as well as helpful feedback on this manuscript, none more so than Leiden University , which funded most of my research trips to the United States, paid me a generous salary, and provided me with a pleasant workplace. The Leids Universitair Fonds (LUF) financed my research trip to Louisiana in the summer of 2006. The N. W. Posthumus Institute for Social and Economic History provided me with an excellent opportunity to present my research at various stages and offered me constructive criticism, most of which I have applied to the obvious improvement of this manuscript. Special thanks to Ben Gales for his advice and help. The Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin also provided me with a luxurious forum at which to present my research in the winter of 2006 and offered constructive criticism. The numerous institutions I visited in the United States gave me pleasant workplaces away from home, and their librarians and assistants were quite helpful and accommodating. Especially the staff at the Library of Congress and National Archives in Washington and at Louisiana State University’s Hill Memorial Library were particularly friendly and well informed, and they deserve special mention here. The editors and peer reviewers at the Journal of Family History and American Nineteenth Century History provided me with excellent comments and tips, as well as a platform for presenting earlier versions of some of the chapters in this book. Finally, the staff and editors at University Press of Florida have been extremely friendly, helpful, and accommodating during all stages of turning this manuscript into a book. I especially extend my warm thanks to Meredith Babb and Heather Turci; also to John David Smith (the series editor), Patterson Lamb (for the excellent copyediting), and the anonymous peer reviewers of my original manuscript. Acknowledgments / xi Most of all I thank my loving wife, Tamara, who has been a source of inspiration...