By Natalie Roy

Jackson and Orville were enslaved by Bushrod W. Hunter, a Lieutenant in the US Navy and the owner of the “Brookdale” estate, 400 acres of land that makes up today’s Ashton Heights, Lyon Park, and Arlington Heights neighborhoods. Bushrod oversaw a second estate, Abingdon (now National Airport). The plantation was owned by Bushrod’s brother Alexander Hunter, but upon his death in 1849, Bushrod’s son, also Alexander, inherited the property. Alexander was a minor so Bushrod legally operated Abingdon until Alexander turned 18 years old. From 1851–1859, tax records indicate that at various times, Bushrod Hunter enslaved between 18 and 36 people at his two estates. On the 1860 census, Bushrod enslaved 20 people.

Jackson, or Jack, was born around 1830 and grew up at Abingdon. On Alexander Hunter’s probate inventory, taken to tally his possessions at the time of his death, Jackson was listed as a 20-year-old enslaved man worth $450. Jackson labored at both the Brookdale and Abingdon estates. Bushrod Hunter’s diary entry of March 12, 1861, indicates that Jackson was farming at Brookdale that day. The entry read, “Started 3 two horse plows in the far field for oats. Jack finished sowing clover seed at Brookdale, 3 carts hauling manure.”

Orville was born around 1827. While little is known about his life, his appearance in an 1857 newspaper advertisement in the Alexandria Gazette provided invaluable information including his name, physical appearance, and relationships. The advertisement was placed by Bushrod who offered a $50 reward for the “apprehension of his servant man, Orville.” Orville had gone to visit his wife, “who lived with the widow of the late Mr. Towers but had not returned.” Research did not reveal where in the District of Columbia-Northern Virginia region Widow Towers lived. It was common for enslaved people to leave or temporarily “run away” from their place of enslavement to visit loved ones from whom they had been separated. In the body of the advertisement, Bushrod describes Orville’s appearance. [He] is a mulatto (not very bright) and about 30 years of age, short and stout, with a broad face and (I think) a scar on the forehead.” It’s unclear whether Orville was captured and forced to return to Bushrod Hunter’s estates. 

Thank you for helping honor the lives and contributions of Jackson and Orville. Memorializing the Enslaved in Arlington hopes you have gained a greater understanding of Arlington’s complicated past.