ANON0053
by Julia Munro
JUEL ID/KEY: P47533
Anon0053 (name unknown), adult female; a servant of faculty member Dr. Robert Maskell Patterson (P43634), who lived with his family (and female servant) in Pavilion V (PL8454) from 1828 onward. She is mentioned briefly in a February 5, 1830 report in the Chairman's Journals, which describes an attempted assault upon her by student Thomas G. Tucker (P23777). (Note: the Chairman at this time was "Chairman pro tempore" Jno. Tayloe Lomax (P43630); Dr. Patterson was not appointed Chairman until October 1830).
"A letter was received from Dr. Patterson stating that Mr. G. Tucker, student has broken into his house the night before after a female servant and complaining very much of the Outrage. Mr. Tucker was immediately sent for. He expressed great contrition for the affair of the former night, especially as regarded the violence done to the feelings of Dr. Patterson and family. The Chairman recommended Mr. Tucker to see Dr. Patterson, after having expressed his (the Chairman’s) abhorrence at his Conduct.
Dr. Patterson subsequently saw the Chairman and stated that Mr. Tucker had written to, and called upon him: that he apologized and expressed great sorrow at the feelings of Dr. P. and family having been outraged by him, but did not seem to be much impressed with the immorality of his conduct.
The Chairman read him a severe moral lecture, and reprimanded him in the strongest terms, stating that he would have made his punishment more severe, were he not anxious to save him from exposure."
Thomas G. Tucker
Unfortunately, there is no further mention of the incident and the female servant beyond this one entry. However, information about the student, "Mr. G. Tucker," can be gleaned from other university records contemporaneous to this reported assault. The "Catalogue of the University of Virginia" for the Sixth Session (1829-30) lists only one student by the last name Tucker: a Thomas G. Tucker, of Brunswick, Virginia. Later sessions do not have record of Thomas G. Tucker, which suggests he completed (or withdrew from) his studies. He is first mentioned in the "Catalogue for the Second Session (Commencing February 1826)," which means he was a student from 1826 to 1830 (Sessions Two through Six). He is the only "G. Tucker" listed in the Catalogues, the latter of which are also consistent in listing his being a resident of Brunswick County, Virginia, and his attending classes in Ancient Languages, Modern Languages, Math, and Natural Philosophy (of which Dr. Patterson taught). Tucker was also known to be the son of Col. John Tucker (P47203).
As is evident in the above report, although the attempted assault was upon the anonymous female servant, the report rather focuses on the great disrespect shown to Dr. Patterson. This is typical to reports of the time period, which focus on the owner, not the servant/slave: the latter of whom are described as less a person than an object of the owner. The injury to Dr. Patterson in this 1830 account is of particular focus, however, given Thomas G. Tucker's past history of misdemeanours while a student at the University of Virginia. Most directly relevant is the report of his disrespect to Dr. Blaettermann from July 18, 1828 (Board of Visitors Minutes).
PRIMARY SOURCE INFORMATION
1. References to the Individual in the JUEL Digitized Transcripts
(Links below are to JUEL's full-text digital transcripts of primary sources that refer to the individual. If no links display, this indicates that either the JUEL digitized texts have not yet been tagged with the individual's ID/Key, or, that no reference is made to the individual in any JUEL digitized texts, or, that the primary source has not yet been digitized).
- Chairman's Journals, February 5, 1830
- Board of Visitors Minutes, July 18, 1828
- Catalogue of the University of Virginia (Second through Sixth Sessions, 1826-30)
2. Library Call Numbers/Bibliographic Records