Wickham House: Billy Green

Understanding Billy Green’s life as a father, enslaved worker and likely church-goer requires close attention. He and his family members are sporadically referenced in documents produced by the Wickham family. That is because like many enslaved people, archival references to Billy’s life are infrequent and fail to capture important milestones in his life.  

Billy’s birthday and location are unknown. Based on census records, we can estimate only that he was born between 1780-1800, likely in the United States. In 1790, nearly 300,000 people were enslaved in Virginia.  

Billy married Amy Green sometime prior to October 3, 1830. Billy may have been a member of the First Baptist Church and later First African Baptist Church. The document we have that establishes these facts is the 1830 Baptism record for Amy at First Baptist Church, in which she is referred to as Billy Green’s wife. This document is also the first one we know of that references Billy Green by name. Billy and Amy had a daughter named Nancy Green. She made them grandparents by 1839, when she had an infant.  

Billy’s inclusion by name in his wife’s baptism record suggests he may have been a member of the church. However, unlike Amy, who is mentioned in several church minutes, Billy does not appear in other First Baptist Church or First African Baptist Church records. First Baptist Church had both Black and white congregants until 1841, when Black members succeeded in forming the First African Baptist Church. At this time, all of First Baptist Church’s Black congregants became members of the new church, including Amy Green. If Billy was indeed Baptist like his wife, he would have joined her at First African Baptist Church, which was in walking distance from the Wickham House. 

We know that Amy and Nancy both served in nursing roles, but we do not know the details of the work Billy did for the Wickhams. Billy’s absence from the 1839 probate inventory taken after John Wickham’s death means that he may have been living with another Wickham family member or belonged to someone else at that time. We know the men enslaved by the Wickhams performed diverse tasks, including serving as coachmen, tending fires, running errands and helping cook or serve food.  

In a September 16, 1852 letter written by Bettina Wickham, a daughter of John and Elizabeth Wickham, she refers to Billy as “unkle Billy,” suggesting he likely labored in close proximity to the family. The use of the term “uncle” misrepresents the forced nature of Billy’s connection to Bettina. But it is useful in understanding Billy’s life, because it suggests he worked with the Wickham family more intimately than most of the people they enslaved. 

In that same letter, Bettina writes to her brother, “Please tell unkle Billy that Amy is looking quite smart again. She is able to go about her washing…I expect to write for her to Uncle Billy in a few days.” Amy was later institutionalized by the Wickhams at Eastern State Hospital for an unspecified “mental attack.” Clearly, Billy and Amy wished to communicate with one another, and Bettina expected that Billy wanted details about his wife. 

It is likely that Billy died a year or two after this letter, between September 29, 1853 and December 1854. September 29, 1853 is the last date in which we have a record referencing Billy – payment of his undetailed “expenses” from the estate of Bettina Wickham, who had recently died. Amy (released from Eastern State), Nancy, and Nancy’s child were sold to John Ballard sometime later – likely around the time Ballard purchased the Wickham House, which was deeded to him on December 9, 1854. The Green trio was later returned to the Wickhams for a refund.  

The fact that the Greens were sold without Billy does not definitively indicate that he had died. It is possible the Wickham family separated the Green family, which they did on other occasions. However, between Billy’s disappearance from the records, this sale, and the fact that he would probably have been between about 54 and 74 years old at the time of the sale, this is currently the best educated guess we have for his death. It is possible he died sometime later.  

This incomplete conclusion to Billy’s life is representative of the limits of telling the story of many enslaved people from archival documents alone. Oral histories, when available, are a powerful way of adding depth, love and nuance to a life that the written record renders incompletely. 

Consider this…

• Why don’t we know more about Billy Green’s story?
• What resources can we use to learn more about individuals who were enslaved in Richmond?

Sources

• 1830 Census 
• “First Baptist Church minute book 1825-1830,” (typed copy at Library of Virginia, Richmond VA). 
• “Inventory and Appraisement of personal property of John Wickham, deceased, in Richmond” (Transcript only – The Valentine, Richmond, 1839).
• Elizabeth Selden Maclurg Wickham, letter to Littleton Waller Tazwell Wickham (Virginia Museum of History and Culture Mss1W6326cFA2, Richmond, September 16, 1852). 
• William Watson, “Commissioner’s Report No.8 (Virginia Museum of History and Culture Mss1W6326cFA2 Box 3, Richmond, VA, 1855), 43. 
• “Deed” (Deed of sale of John Wickham’s Richmond house to John P. Ballard by Wickham’s executor William Fanning Wickham – Library of Virginia microfilm, Richmond, VA, 1854) 50. 
• William Fanning Wickham, Record/letter (Virginia Museum of History and Culture Mss1W6326cFA2, undated).