Solomon Travis

Nancy Drew was born enslaved in 1835 to Claiborne and Annie Drew. In 1853, Nancy married Sam Cooke. By 1859, she was working as a domestic servant at Bacon’s Castle. Like many enslaved women, Nancy may have been forced into a relationship with her enslaver, John Henry Hankins, even though she was already married. Around 1859 she gave birth to Hankins’ son, Solomon Travis. Nancy’s mother, Annie, helped her raise the baby.

During the Civil War (1861-1865), Nancy’s role at Bacon’s Castle changed. After the Battle of Hampton Roads in March 1862, John Hankins and his wife, Louisiana, decided to send their teenage daughter, Virginia, out of harm’s way. They sent Nancy with her as a traveling companion and lady’s maid. The two young women made their way to Mecklenburg County to stay with the Alexander family at their plantation, Park Forest.

While she was in Mecklenburg, Nancy and a fellow enslaved servant, Susan, corresponded often. Although neither Susan nor Nancy could read or write, members of the Hankins family would take dictation from Susan to help her send messages to Nancy. Virginia likely wrote Nancy’s letters to Susan. These letters would usually be “written over,” or rewritten, by the Hankinses to limit the flow of information between the two women.

The Hankins family, like many enslavers, tried to stifle news of people self-emancipating, but by 1864, so many people were seeking freedom behind Union lines that controlling the narrative was no longer possible. Instead, they began hiring out enslaved people to get as much money for their labor as possible before slavery inevitably came to an end. Nancy appears to have been hired out in Petersburg from December 1864 until the end of the war.

After gaining her freedom in 1865, Nancy returned to live with her husband, Sam, in Surry. Tragically, he died within a few years. Nancy then married Prince Drew, and the couple moved to what is now Newport News, where they became respected members of the community. Nancy’s son Solomon Travis lived nearby and as an adult he dedicated himself to his community, working to provide aid to families in need.