Emancipation was a sweeping change in the history of the South and the nation, liberating nearly four million enslaved human beings; yet the everyday details of freedom were lived by individual Blacks and Whites, in unique relationships, on the local level. These local lives and everyday details remind us that continuities persisted amidst change.

At Cherrydale, James C. Furman’s plantation just north of Greenville, most enslaved laborer demonstrated their freedom by moving from the premises and the authority of the Furman family. Some remained, however, including Abraham Sims, namesake of the Seeking Abraham report. Abraham Sims’ story highlights continuity and change in the age of emancipation.

These individuals were are among the 50 enslaved laborers at James C. Furman's plantation known as Cherrydale, a home that now overlooks Furman's campus. They include former enslaved laborer Abraham Sims, a servant often found in the background on photos of Cherrydale. Furman's Seeking Abraham Task Force has worked arduously to identify the names of enslaved laborers who helped build our institution, with identities as elusive as Abraham's blurred image as on the photographs on this page. The work continues here at Furman to further appreciate its complex history and profound indebtedness to these individuals.