Cherry Turner facts for kids
Nat Turner (October 2, 1800 – November 11, 1831) was an enslaved Black carpenter and preacher who led a four-day rebellion of both enslaved and free Black people in Southampton County, Virginia in August 1831.
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Early life
In the year 1831, Cherry was believed to be about 10 years old. She was younger than Nat. Cherry lived at Turner's plantation from about 1821 to 1823.
Marriage and children
It is largely speculated that Nat and Cherry met and were married at Samuel Turner's plantation in the early 1820s, although historians still dispute who exactly Nat Turner's wife was. Furthering the issue, claims about Nat Turner are difficult to verify.
It is widely believed that Cherry did have children, but it is undetermined how many. Historians vary anywhere between believing she had 1 to 3 children. The most widely held belief is that the pair had 2 or 3 children - 1 daughter and 1 or 2 sons. Historians believe one of their children was a slave boy named Riddick.
Giles Reese Plantation
After Samuel Turner died in 1823, Cherry and Nat were separated. Nat was sold to Thomas Moore. while Cherry and her children were sold to Giles Reese.
Nat Turner's Rebellion
During Nat Turner's rebellion, the rebels avoided Giles Reese plantation, even though it was in route, likely because Nat wanted to keep Cherry and the children safe. Regardless, while authorities were in search of Nat, they went looking for Cherry as well. On September 26, 1831, the Richmond Constitutional Whig published a story after the raiding of Reese' plantation stating that, "in [his] possession, some papers given up by his wife, under the lash." The Authentic and Impartial Narrative also publish that same year saying that journal entries belonging to Nat were "in her possession after Nat's escape."
In his book Nat Turner: Slave Revolt Leader author Terry Bisson writes "[Nat] trusted [Cherry] with his most secret plans and papers.
Legacy
- In 2002, scholar Molefi Kete Asante listed Nat Turner as one of the 100 Greatest African Americans.
- In 2009, in Newark, New Jersey, the largest city-owned park was named Nat Turner Park. The facility cost $12 million to construct.
- In 2012, the small Bible that belonged to Turner was donated to the National Museum of African American History and Culture by the Person family of Southampton County, Virginia.
- In 2017, it was announced that Turner was to be honored with others with an Emancipation and Freedom Monument in Richmond, Virginia. Created by Thomas Jay Warren, the state-funded bronze sculpture was dedicated in September 2021.
- Nat Turner's Rebellion is celebrated as part of Black August.
- In the post-9/11 era, Nat Turner's legacy has been reinterpreted to distance him from the radicalized image of the "terrorist" in U.S. discourse, with Kyle Baker's graphic novel Nat Turner (2005–2007) depicting him as a Christ-like martyr rather than a religious extremist
Cherry was not mentioned in Nat Turner's confession to lawyer Thomas Ruffin Gray.
See also
In Spanish: Nat Turner para niños
