Book review Davies Shelby County, Tennessee American History
excerpt: The Realms of Oblivion: An Excavation of the Davies Manor Historic Site’s Omitted Stories by Andrew C. Ross is an ambitious effort to rewrite local history through a detailed, well-researched exploration of the slaveholding Davies family of Shelby County, Tennessee. Ross states that his goal is to offer a “corrective history of the Davieses themselves” and it is certainly one he achieves (xxvi). In the preface, he lays out in detail how the Davies family history has been presented at Davies Manor (a historic house museum), by organizations such as the Daughters of the American Revolution, and in the publications and preservation work of Ellen Davies-Rodgers, a Davies descendant. The rest of the text demonstrates how these representations are, or are not, reflected in the historical record. Through four parts divided by time periods (1700–1842; 1843–60; 1861–65; 1865–93), Ross traces the physical movements, careers, religious shifts, and interpersonal dynamics of...
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Review of: The Realms of Oblivion: An Excavation of the Davies Manor Historic Site's Omitted Stories by Andrew C. Ross