A Material Cultural Approach to Childhood in Antebellum and Postbellum Gulf Coast Plantation Societies

The brick cabins of the Magnolia Plantation Quarters in Derry, Louisiana, were occupied continuously from the early to mid 1840’s through the late 1960’s where 7.5 of the brick cabins stand today. In contrast the cabins at the Levi Jordan Plantation in Brazoria County, Texas were occupied from the early to mid 1840s only until the late 1880s when archaeological evidence indicates that they were abandoned and left to decay. The investigation by Kenneth Brown of both sites yielded historical, oral and archaeological evidence of both antebellum and postbellum tenant communities. The research presented in this thesis examines the enslaved and tenant children of these communities using historical evidence and the material record they left behind, including toys and school related artifacts. In previous studies, children have often been treated as a minor component of an overall research project. This study attempts to place the focus directly on the children by asking questions specific to them.