Zephaniah Kingsley - Fort George Island

Fort George Island

Kingsley and Anna moved to a plantation on Fort George Island at the mouth of the St. Johns River in 1814 and they remained there for 25 years. Anna and Kingsley's fourth and last child was born on Fort George Island in 1824. Kingsley furthermore provided for three younger women and fathered children with at least two of them, totaling nine in all. All three women were slaves he eventually freed named Flora Kingsley, Sarah Kingsley, who brought her son Micanopy; and Munsilna McGundo, who brought her daughter, Fatima. The Kingsley family was, according to historian Daniel Stowell, "complex at best". In his will, the only woman Kingsley named as his wife was Anna. Primary documentation by Kingsley is scarce, but historians consider Flora, Sarah, and McGundo as "lesser wives", or "co-wives" with Anna. Stowell suggests "concubines" is a more accurate description. Nonetheless, Kingsley lavished all his children with affection, attention, and luxury. They were educated with the best European teaching he could afford and he entertained visitors at his Fort George plantation with Anna sitting "at the head of the table" and "surrounded by healthy and handsome children" in a parlor decorated with portraits of African women.

The plantation featured a main house and a two-story structure with a kitchen on the ground floor and living quarters on the second called the "Ma'am Anna House", where Anna lived with her children, a custom among the Wolof people. The plantation produced oranges, sea island cotton, indigo, okra, and other vegetables. Approximately 60 slaves were managed under the task system: each slave had a quota of work to do per day. When they were finished, they were allowed to do what they wished. Some slaves had personal gardens which they were allowed to cultivate, and from which they sold vegetables. Thirty-two cabins were constructed for and by the slaves, made from tabby, which made them durable, insulated, and inexpensive although labor-intensive. The cabins were located about a quarter of a mile (400 m) from the main house, and slaves were allowed to padlock their cabins and build porches that faced away from the main house. Both of these features were unusual for slave quarters in antebellum America.