Rose and Charles Denard Daguerreotypes

Charles Denard

By Elizabeth Stafford

Rose and Charles Denard (the subject of two daguerreotypes found in the William L. Clements Library) had their portraits taken in about 1854. The couple was found to be living on the eastern shore of Maryland during this period, and they were free from slavery. In Roses’ photo (pictured left) we see a black woman staring with a straight face, right at the camera. She has her hair parted right down the middle, and it seems that her hair is either up, or cut short. She has on a nice floral print dress with a white or cream collar. The border of her photo is gold and has a fancy design on it.Charles Denard (pictured right) was a black man who also stared at the camera straight on in his daguerreotype. He is wearing a suit jacket, a striped vest, a collared shirt, a tie, and has a visible watch fob. He has a beard and a mustache, and his photo border is square and gold as well. 

To better understand the Denards daguerreotype photos, it is helpful to consider the lives of other free African Americans residing in slave-holding states. In his study of free black communities in Wilmington, North Carolina, historian Richard C. Rohrs found that some free African Americans were successful in the 1850s. Through analysis of work done by Theodore Hershberg, Rohrs establishes that free African Americans maintained stable jobs, including unskilled, semiskilled and skilled work, with a small percentage who held white-collar careers. Rohrs found that African Americans often had close relationships with white families, who often acted as “white protectors” (Rohrs 624) for black businesses in the event of racism in the workplace. They could hold important roles in the church, and were often vital to their own communities, as they provided work that the “local white population needed and would not or could not provide themselves”. Additionally, census data included in his article shows that racist laws did not drive out all free black people, for there was a spike in the free black population of Wilmington in 1850. This further supports the idea that free African Americans found homes within slave states, despite the fact that it was difficult. Even further, Rohrs makes it clear that some African Americans enjoyed a high standard of living, and are often left without credit for their hard work in climbing a social ladder that tried so hard to keep them on the bottom wrung. Rohrs’ article provides evidence that slave states and their constraining laws were unable to weed out African Americans, and their strength and resilience allowed some to defy the racism they faced. 

This article and its contents gives us context for the ways in which Rose and Charles Denard could have lived their own lives. In their daguerreotypes, the couple dresses in nice clothing. This fits the article’s descriptions of free African Americans in North Carolina, for many of them had jobs that provided them with a steady income. According to Rohrs, it would have been very possible for a black couple from North Carolina to be able to afford nice clothes and daguerreotypes. Additionally, the article by Rohrs emphasized the ways that free black and white individuals collaborated in the mid-1800’s. This is especially important because of the collection the Denard daguerreotypes were found in- The Crittenden Family Papers. The Crittendens were a white family with predicted ties to the Confederates, yet they are shockingly connected to the Denards. It is fascinating to consider the possibility of the Crittendons and the Denards sharing the relationship of the “white protector” that Rohrs mentioned! If this were the case, the Crittendons likely struggled with mental dissonance from helping the Denards while supporting the confederate side of the war. To make matters even more complicated, the Denard’s likely would have felt exposed and betrayed if they knew that many of the Crittendons continued to support slavery. Maybe this was a well-kept secret, or possibly the relationship was strained from the get-go. These examples further highlight the complex lives of free African Americans living in antebellum America. 

The daguerreotypes of Rose and Charles are a remarkable testament to the way that free African Americans lived in antebellum America. Because most historical sources focus on the suffering of free blacks before the abolition of slavery, many stories of successful free African Americans remain under the radar. Without reading against the grain of available sources and narratives of our past, the way that some black people in America really lived runs the risk of being misunderstood all together. The Denard daguerreotypes, as well as the Rohrs article, provide evidence that African Americans were resistant to the racism they faced, could find success within their communities, and were strong and determined, just as Rose and Charles seem in their daguerreotype photos.  

Citations

Rose Denard and Charles Denard, daguerrotype photographs, Crittenden Family papers, William L. Clements Library, Ann Arbor, Mich.

Richard C. Rohrs, “The Free Black Experience in Antebellum Wilmington, North Carolina: Refining Generalizations about Race Relations,” The Journal of Southern History Vol. 78, no. 3 (August 2012).