Uphill

A story of faith, family, and community Freedom-a word the former colonists were learning to ingest. Freedom-desired for years and fought for in recent years. To each white man, it probably had a different and special meaning. To the slaves, it meant nothing. To the common man trying to make a living from the soil, it seemed to make no difference. He soon learned freedom did not mean prosperity. Many were learning, however, it meant opportunity. Into this environ, Burwell and Martha Lee began their life together. Martha was several years younger than Burwell and had admired him most of her life. They were neighbors and attended the same parish. He soon began to reciprocate the attraction. The years of difference in age melted away. In a few years they were married. Martha was an only daughter with older brothers. Her father of modest means insisted she have a tutor to get a good education. She learned easily. Soon she read well and was good with numbers. Her tutor was an English gentleman who also taught her etiquette and good manners. With the help of friends later in life, she learned a good amount of the science of medicine, which she applied to minister to her neighbors, both white and black. Burwell had recently come home from the victory in Yorktown to Prince George, Virginia, after serving in the Continental Army. He was the son of a tobacco farmer who worked hard to make a living on the worn-out soil of eastern Virginia. His father gave him one hundred acres of land. With that, the patent for army service and Martha's dowry, the young Lees started what later became known as the American dream. The stories in this book bring together the relationship of the Lee family with their neighbors, both white and black, whose lives by necessity were conjoined.