In Spite of Color: From Plantations to the White House

By Geraldine Phillips-Davis

The son of an English peasant, Levi Roundtree has risen from poverty to create Cypress Villa, a beautiful plantation outside of Charleston, South Carolina, in the days before the Civil War. He is a compassionate master and enjoys a firm friendship with one of his slaves, Marcus Stanley. Its a relationship that carries over to the next generation as Marcuss son and Levis son become best friends.

During the Civil War, the Yankees try to burn down the plantation with Levi inside. Risking his own life, Marcus saves Levi; as a result, Levi makes him a free man. This sets the stage for Marcus to strike out on his own, and he becomes prosperous and successful. But the two never forget their friendship.

Filled with vivid detail, In Spite of Color shows how friendship can transcend race, color, and time.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Sep 19, 2016
• ISBN: 9781512753257

Geraldine Phillips-Davis

Born in Fitzgerald, Georgia, Geraldine Phillips-Davis is a retired educator who also served as a columnist and feature story writer for the Miami Times. She earned a BA from Spelman College and a master’s degree from Barry University. She currently lives in Georgia.

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PART I

CHAPTER I

By the year 1839, during the era of the antebellum South, the name Levi Calvin Roundtree held a place of prominence among the plantation owners in South Carolina. Levi was a tall handsome man with a strong muscular body, a ruddy complexion and fiery red hair. The son of an English peasant, he amassed a fortune growing rice and transporting it to Europe. He also shipped rice up the Cooper River on barges to eastern states in America. Proud of his accomplishments, he tried to develop a lifestyle of the British aristocracy. He was known for hosting lavish parties. Despite his affluence, Levi was a man with strong religious convictions who respected the dignity of all men, including his slaves.

One Sunday after church, a friend asked, Levi, have you heard about the slaves running away from the Lancaster plantation?

No, I haven’t heard about that, Levi answered.

Well, last week five of the Lancaster slaves escaped by night. But they didn’t get very far. The posse and the hound dogs caught up with them about twenty miles away two days later. And I want to tell you, Lancaster taught them slaves a lesson. He had every one of them hung up and horsewhipped until they passed out.

I’m sorry to hear that, Levi said. I treat my slaves like people. That keeps them happy. They in turn work hard, and that keeps me happy. So you see, I don’t ever have that problem. Good day! He abruptly walked away.

That night when Levi went to bed, he reminisced about his early life. He could vividly recall himself as a young man, working on a ship that transported Africans from the West Coast of Africa to America. They were captured at gun point and sold on the auction block in Charleston to be used as slaves on the rice plantations. On one of those trips, his captain decided to go to Madagascar to do some shopping. Traveling along the coast, Levi discovered rice was the dominant crop along the coastal wetlands. He began to dream about having a rice farm of his own. That dream prompted him to start saving his money to purchase some land. From that day on, he saved almost every penny he earned, which wasn’t much.

It took Levi five years to save fifty dollars. That was when he decided it was time to invest in some land. He bought fifty acres of useless swampland along the Cooper River at one dollar per acre.

In 1841, Levi’s captain made another trip to Madagascar. While the captain was shopping at the open market along the streets, Levi browsed curiously among the people, not spending any of his hard-earned money.

Finally, he saw what he thought was a boy and his sister leave the market and walk down a rugged, dirt street. They were barefooted and apparently poor, since they had hardly anything in their basket. So as not to be noticed, Levi followed the teenagers from a safe distance. When he was far enough away not to attract the attention of the shoppers, he yelled, Stop!

The girl stopped, but the boy ran as fast as a rabbit. Levi knew he would never be able to catch him, so he shot his rifle into the air. The boy stopped and looked back. Levi held the gun to the girl’s head. The boy started screaming and crying.

Please don’t shoot her. She be my wife. She gon have my baby. I’m fourteen years old; she be twelve. Please don’t shoot her. Shoot me!

Come here, Levi said, beckoning to the boy. Come right now, or I will shoot her.

The boy started walking toward Levi with his hands stretched out.

Please don’t kill her, he kept pleading. When he was within a few feet of Levi, the boy said, I die for her and my unborn child. Shoot me, please.

Get down on your knees, Levi ordered.

The boy obediently got down on his knees. He kept his arms stretched out, pleading for mercy. Levi walked over to him.

Put your hands behind your back, he shouted.

The boy put his hands behind his back, and Levi started to tie his hands together.

The girl who had been standing by terrified and trembling, yelled, No! She put her hands over her eyes and screamed, No! No!

Levi turned and pointed his gun at her. She fell to her knees and cried. Levi tied her hands together too. Then, he told them to walk in front of him.

Levi went back to the open market and found his captain.

Captain, I want to buy these two Africans, he said. Whatever for? the captain asked.

I want to start my own plantation, Levi said proudly. You have to have land to start a plantation, young man.

I already bought fifty acres.

Are you serious? Do you really own fifty acres of land?

Yes, sir! I bought them with the money you paid me. I saved every penny you paid me except what I needed for food.

That’s remarkable, but you have to buy slaves at the auction block.

I want to buy these two now. I don’t want them to be put on the auction block. I will give you a promissory note against my land. That’s as good as money.

I think you’re crazy, Levi. That’s a risky bargain. I know, Sir, but that is what I want.

I like your guts, Levi. You’re a good worker. That’s the only reason I’m going to do this. You give me a promissory note and the two Africans are yours.

Thank you, Sir! Thank you, Sir! Levi said happily, jumping up and down.

Levi brought his two slaves to America. He named the boy Marcus and the girl Bessie.

I’m your master now, he told them. You must obey me at all times.

Yassuh, Massa, they answered and humbly bowed their heads.

Marcus and Bessie had grown up working on rice farms, so they knew exactly what to do. They worked hard clearing the land that first year. With Marcus’s help, Levi was able to clear ten acres of land. Then they planted rice and kept the field weeded.

At night Marcus always prayed, Lawd, please let da rice grow, so Massa Roundtree be pleased wid our work.

Amen, Bessie would say.

The crop produced more rice that year than Levi had expected. When they harvested the crop in the fall, Levi made enough money to pay the captain for his two slaves.

Now that Levi was a land owner, he married his sweetheart, Lucinda. She had long, brown hair and a thin, fragile body. She was the kind of woman who needed the help of a man for everything. Levi had to bring wood in the house every day, because she wasn’t strong enough to bring in the wood like other women. He had to draw water from the well so she could wash the clothes; she couldn’t carry a bucket of water. He had to open the jars of canned food because she had weak wrists, and do many other small chores each day, because of her fragileness. Levi didn’t mind, because he loved her so dearly.

Levi built a small house for Lucinda. Twelve months later, she gave birth to their first son, whom they named Levi Roundtree, Jr. Bessie’s little boy was six months old at that time. Two years later, Bessie had another boy, and Miss Lucinda had another baby boy too.

Lucinda’s father owned a hardware store in a small town in Georgia, and she had never had to work. However, she accepted her responsibilities as a slave owner’s wife and quickly learned to manage the house. The money she made from selling eggs and vegetables from her back yard garden kept food on the table every week. Once in a while she would kill a chicken, but most of the time, they ate the same as the slaves: corn mush and fatback. The family had to be frugal in other areas as well.

We have to sacrifice until things get better, Levi told her.

During the harvest season in 1853, Levi realized the Cooper River was rising to a dangerous level. If they didn’t get the rice out of the field before it flooded, they would lose everything.

We have to work harder, faster and longer, he told his slaves.

I’ll help, Lucinda told him when he got home. What about the baby? Levi asked.

He goes into the old covered wagon with Bessie’s baby, she said.

Lucinda voluntarily put her spinning wheel and kitchen stove behind her and went into the field to help with the crop. The four of them were able to harvest the rice and clear five more acres of land. They worked tirelessly every day until it was so dark they couldn’t see.

Miss Lucinda and Bessie would put their babies in baskets and leave them in the wagon at the end of the field under the tree. They covered the baskets with cheesecloth to keep flies and mosquitoes away. Then they put a sugared, wet sponge near the wagon to attract the ants away from the children. At the end of the day, they dropped the sponge loaded with ants into boiling hot water, to kill them.

The men cut the rice plants with a scythe, and the two women, working side by side, tied them in bundles. One day when they heard a baby crying, Lucinda immediately wiped her hands on her apron and started walking toward the covered wagon.

How do you know which baby is crying? Levi asked her.

My baby squeals when he’s hungry. Bessie’s baby bellows when he wants milk.

They all had a good laugh and went back to work.

Levi held a tight fist with the money while they struggled through the year. His thriftiness paid off in the end. That year, when he sold his rice, he made enough money to buy four male slaves at the auction in Charleston. He couldn’t afford to buy more slaves from Madagascar, since they were more expensive than those from West Africa.

Marcus, you will have to train these boys, Levi told him. They don’t know anything about rice farms.

Yassuh Massa, Marcus replied. I teach em everything I knows.

Good boy, Levi said as he slapped Marcus on his back.

That was the beginning of Levi Roundtree’s rise to the top of the financial echelon in the South. Levi continued to buy more land and more slaves every year.

CHAPTER II

Levi’s boys and Marcus’s boys were best friends. Levi’s boys would wait patiently for Marcus’s boys to finish tending the horses so they could play together every day. The six boys grew up real fast. One Christmas, Levi’s boys were anxious to try out their new guns. They went out to the stable where Marcus Jr. and Duke were feeding and grooming the horses. Sam was putting away the sheaths and hoes.

Hurry up! one of them said. We got something to show you.

Whut? Marcus Jr. asked.

Can’t tell you. I’ll show you, if you will hurry up and finish with the horses.

No rushing da work, Marcus Jr. said. We got to do things good so Massa Roundtree be happy.

"All right, as soon as you finish, come to the backyard.

We’ll be waiting for you."

The two boys finished grooming the horses with careful strokes. Then they walked toward the mansion.

When the Roundtree boys saw their friends coming, they ran to meet them.

Look, Levi Jr. said. This is what daddy gave me for Christmas.

Oh boy! Dat’s a huntin rifle! Dat’s a real huntin rifle! Marcus Jr. exclaimed.

Yeah. Let’s go hunting.

When?

Right now. You can shoot it too. Okay, let’s go!

Without permission, the six boys took off running toward the woods. They took turns shooting the rifle, and late that afternoon, before it got dark, they went home with two rabbits and eight birds.

We’ll divide them, Levi Jr. said. You all can have one of the rabbits and four of the birds.

Naw, it’s your rifle, Marcus Jr. said.

I know, but you killed both of the rabbits and six of the birds. It won’t be fair if I take all of them just because it’s my rifle.

Okay, whatever you say.

Besides, my daddy said we should always be friends, because your daddy helped him get his big plantation.

He was proud to be da one to help him. If ya’ll wants to be our friend, we be your friends.

All right, we’ll be friends forever, Levi Jr. said. Let’s seal it in blood.

Levi Jr. took out his pocket knife and closed his eyes.

Then he slit his hand slightly, and it started to bleed. Everybody do the same thing, he told them.

It might hurt, Theodore, his younger brother, said.

No, it won’t. It might sting a little, but it won’t really hurt. You go next, Marcus Jr., so Theodore can see that it doesn’t hurt.

Marcus slit his hand and muttered, It didn’t really hurt.

Duke was the next to slit his hand. It hurt, but he refused to cry.

Then Sam and Justin slit their hands.

See, I told you, Theodore. It doesn’t hurt. Go ahead now, do it, Levi Jr. told him.

Poor little Theodore closed his eyes and said, You do it for me, Levi Jr.

Ouch! he cried. That hurt. Then he opened his eyes. I’m bleeding, Levi Jr.! I’m going to bleed to death.

No you’re not. Don’t be a cry baby. Marcus Jr., Sam, Justin, and Duke slit their hands too. Now we will all mix our blood, Levi Jr. ordered. He put his bloody hand to Marcus Jr.’s hand and they rubbed each other’s hand, mixing their blood. The other boys followed the same routine. When the ritual was over, they joined hands, raised them in the air and screamed, Blood brothers forever! Blood brothers forever!

CHAPTER III

Levi Jr. finally got permission to go hunting with Marcus Jr. without their little brothers. They were very excited because it was the first time they had been permitted to go hunting alone.

They saddled their horses making sure the straps were tightly fastened. Then they mounted the horses and looked at each other momentarily and smiled.

Let’s go! Marcus yelled.

Lucinda had raised the kitchen shades so she and Levi could watch the young hunters gallop proudly across the plantation and then disappear into the woods.

They’ll make good hunting partners, Lucinda said. You’re right, he answered, but the most beautiful thing of all is, they’re good friends. Levi Jr. really needs a good friend.

I guess you’re right. The only time he sees boys his age is at school. They don’t play with him too much, because Levi is not very athletic. He admits he’s always the last one they pick for the team.

That’s unfortunate, Levi said. That boy has the best of everything, and he has good brains. He could be anything he wants to be, except an athlete. I’m sure he’s going to do well when he goes to college.

Yeah. He’ll probably make a good lawyer. He just hasn’t made up his mind what he wants to be yet.

Give him time. He will come around when he’s ready.

It was early in the morning, and the sun had not yet penetrated the thick foliage as the two boys rode deeper into the forest.

This is fun being out in the woods without your father, Levi Jr. said.

Yeah, kinda like we on some kind of adventure, Marcus Jr. responded.

That’s right! I just hope we don’t see any wolves out here in the forest! Levi Jr. exclaimed.

You got dat right. Didn’t come out heah to fight wolves! I come out heah to shoot a rabbit or a squirrel or sumpin like dat.

I’ll be frightened to death if I see a wolf.

Me too. Stop talking bout things like dat. Sh-h-h-h, Marcus Jr. said. I think I hear something.

The two boys aimed their rifles and stood real still. A bushy tailed squirrel darted in front of them, just as sunlight rays came peeping through the tall trees.

Bang! Bang! went the two guns, as each of the boys took a shot at the squirrel. Both of them missed the shot, and the squirrel went scampering away.

I’m glad we missed him, Levi Jr. admitted. Why? Marcus