Episode 122 Henrietta Wood and Elizabeth Key

Southern Mysteries Podcast

Shannon Ballard

True Crime, Society & Culture, History

4.8 • 918 Ratings

🗓️ 27 February 2023

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

There are lesser known stories of enslaved men and women who fought for their freedom in court. Elizabeth Key was at the center of one of the most important colonial court cases involving slavery. Henrietta Wood made history when she sued the man who kidnapped and enslaved her. Want more Southern Mysteries? Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries Connect Website: southernmysteries.comFacebook: Southern Mysteries PodcastTwitter: @southernpod_Instagram: @shannonballard_Email: [email protected] Episode Sources Elizabeth Key. Women in History. Accessed January 10,2023 Elizabeth Key. Library of Virginia. Accessed January 13, 2023Elizabeth Key and Her History-Changing Lawsuit. ThoughtCo. Accessed January 14, 2023 The Case of Elizabeth Key, 1655/1656 Northumberland County Record Books, 1652-1658, fols. 66-67, 85; 1658-1660, fol. 28; Northumberland County Order Book, 1652-1665, fols. 40, 46, 49. University of Chicago Taunya Lovell Banks, "Dangerous Woman: Elizabeth Key's Freedom Suit - Subjecthood and Racialized Identity in Seventeenth Century Colonial Virginia", 41 Akron Law Review 799 (2008), Digital Commons Law, University of Maryland. Sweet Taste of Liberty Open Source Notebook. Caleb McDaniel. Accessed January 14, 2023 In 1870, Henrietta Wood Sued for Reparations—and Won. Smithsonian Magazine. Accessed February 1, 2023 Episode Music Magic Forest by Sir Cubworth Licensed under a Creative Commons; Theme Song “Dark & Troubled” by Pantherburn. Special thanks to Phillip St Ours for permission for use

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey there, it's Shannon Ballard. I want to say a special thanks to the people who helped make this independent
0:05.7	podcast possible. My Southern Mysteries patrons, including my newest patrons, leave from Willow Spring, North Carolina, and Sandy, Nancy,
0:15.8	Kylie, and Lewis. They're all listening and supporting the show from
0:19.6	mysterious locations. When you join Southern Mysteries on Patreon, you can hear ad-free episodes, the Southern Mysteries Archive of
0:28.9	more than 60 episodes, previously released bonus episodes for patrons,
0:34.2	plus the new monthly patron exclusive podcast,
0:38.0	audacious, Tales of American Crime.
0:41.0	You can sign up now and start listening at Patreon.com slash Southern Mysteries. There are lesser known moments in US history connected to enslaved men and women who fought for their freedom in courts.
1:05.4	Elizabeth Key was at the center of one of the most important colonial cases involving
1:10.3	slavery.
1:11.6	Born of an enslaved woman and a white man in Virginia, Elizabeth sued for her freedom.
1:18.0	Henrietta Wood was born enslaved.
1:21.0	In the 1840s, she was manumated by a Kentucky woman whose family later planned
1:27.2	Henrietta's kidnapping, which led to Henrietta being sold to slave traders. In the 1870s, Henrietta Wood sued her
1:36.6	kidnapper. Welcome to Southern Mysteries, exploring history and mysteries of the American South. I'm your
1:45.4	host Shannon Ballard. This is the story of Elizabeth Key and Henrietta Wood.
2:02.0	Elizabeth Key played an important role in colonial Virginia history. Her pursuit of freedom and justice set in motion
2:06.9	changes to the legal system. Laws that would help define slavery in 17th century Virginia and in the decades that followed.
2:17.2	Elizabeth Key was born in Warwick County, Virginia in 1630.
2:22.0	Surviving documents don't record her mother's name,
2:25.0	but we know she was an enslaved woman
2:28.0	who had a relationship with English planter, Thomas Key.
	...

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