TO THE EDITOR:

Recently a gentleman rushed into "Talk of the Town" because he was excited to see two portraits that were hanging in our front window. They are renderings of an African American man and one of a woman. At the time, we only knew the titles of the portraits as "Grandfather" and "Grandmother."

The gentleman explained that he was a historian visiting town and he recognized the images to be of Anthony Johnson and his wife Mary. He said that Anthony was born around 1600 and was one of the first indentured servants (a servant contracted to work for a set amount of time) in America.

This tidbit of information prompted me to do a Google search to find out more information on the couple. I was amazed by the wealth of information available on Anthony

and his wife. Anthony arrived in Virginia in 1621 where he went to work on a tobacco plantation. It was there that he met his wife Mary and the couple had four children. After twelve years of service, Anthony bought his family's way out of bondage. They acquired land of their own and by the 1650s their estate had grown to 250 acres.

Court records show that Anthony even owned at least one slave who was stolen by a neighboring white farmer. Anthony sued in court and won back possession of the slave.

Records indicate that Anthony Johnson lived a very long life and had the respect of his community.

I just thought this man's life and journey was fascinating and am passing it along. I will forever be thankful for my unexpected history lesson and hope that it will give benefit to someone else.

ROBERT GEIGER