"We know that Mabel is daring"
Mabel Middleton goes south to Mississippi in order to teach.
Themes: Achievement, Education, Racial Prejudice
Mabel Hall Middleton
Mabel Hall Pittman Middleton, writer and teacher, grew up in Lexington, Virginia. After serving in the Women’s Army Corps in World War II and graduating from Fisk University, she taught English in Mississippi. She obtained her doctorate from Southern Illinois University and chaired the English Department at Jackson State University. She was appointed to the Mississippi Humanities Council in 2000.
Dr. Middleton, who married and had three children, heard from her family of her connection to Monticello but did not hear of her ancestor Brown Colbert’s emigration to Liberia.
Interview Information
13 July 2003, Charlottesville, VA
Interviewee: Mabel Hall Middleton
Excerpts
"We always passed it down"
Mabel Middleton learns about her connection to Monticello.
"Here is how it goes"
Mabel Middleton recalls a letter from her aunt Ellen Bowyer Hance about the Colbert ancestry.
“I did hear talk about Liberia"
Mabel Middleton is asked, “Did you ever hear about your ancestors who went to Liberia?”
Themes: Oral History Transmission, Slavery
"A family of great dignity"
Mabel Middleton considers what is important about her family and recalls her aunt Ellen Bowyer Hance.
Theme: Family
Ancestry
- Elizabeth Hemings 1735–1807
- Betty Brown 1759–post 1831
- Brown Colbert 1785–1833
- Benjamin Colbert ca. 1809–1881
- Mabel Hall Middleton 1922–
Related People
- Brown Colbert descendant