The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1915, Page 74

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74

Wilhelmina Hosband.

Midst tears and sorrows we laid to rest Wil-
helmina Hosband. Yes, grandma sleeps till the Lord
shall come and wake her on the last day. Our
sorrow, however, is not a hopeless one, for we shall
meet her again in the Fatherland above. For us
who are still in the flesh and who had her so long,
the separation was hard; but our loss is her gain.

Wilhelmina Hosband was the daughter of Wil-
liam and Dinah White. Mr. White was a free man.

Wilhelmina Hosband.

When he married, he was in the employ of Captain
DuMais, a sea-captain, whose ship was in the trade

- between New Orleans and Havre.

Wilhelmina was born in the Queen City of the

South. In those days New Orleans was the winter-

home of the rich planter. He lived in regal splendor
on his great plantation; a retinue of slaves answered
his every beck. When the winter came, the family
occupied the mansion ‘on Rue de Royal, Dauphin,
Burgundy, or some other prominent thoroughfare
of olden days. Wilhelmina saw much of the gay life
of the eltte of the Crescent City with its many
carnival balls and grand suppers. But we are not

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The Lutheran Pioneer.

interested in these. Hers was, indeed, a character
molded along lines that made her care little for the °
whimsical display of riches and baubles, which man
cannot take along when the summons comes from
on high. Throughout her early days she distin-
guished herself by ability, faithfulness, and sim-
plicity of heart. She was by nature inclined to
hospitality, ever ready to give wherever and when-
ever opportunity presented itself. If she could but
make you happy by a little gift, she was as much
delighted as the recipient himself.

Wilhelmina was born in the month of August,
1834, 81 years ago. Though born free, the papers
certifying that she was a freewoman are supposed
to have been destroyed by some member of the
DuMais family. Unable to prove that she was a free-
woman, both Wilhelmina and her brother were, in
the course of time, sold into slavery. ‘Thus she came
into the possession of a family named Fayé living
near Jeanerette, La., St. Mary’s Parish, on Bayou
Teche, the land of Evangeline, made famous by the
poet Longfellow. She remained in the Fayé family
until after the Day of Emancipation, January 1,
1863. Theoretically free through Lincoln’s procla-
mation, slaves, nevertheless, continued with their
families. Wilhelmina, some time in 1862,
married to Sandy Hosband, also a slave in the same
family. They had two children, William and Myles.

was

Cognizant of the fact that he was a freeman,
Sandy Hosband determined to strike out for him-

self. With his wife and two babies he left the Fayé
plantation. In the dim and distant future ‘the

life on the old plantation ’way down in Dixie would
be but a memory to be told and retold to generations
yet unborn.

Sandy and his little family had stepped into an
uncertain world. Bad as it was, there always had
been bread and butter on the old plantation down
on the beautiful Teche. But who wanted Sandy,
a. freed slave, now? Hunger and poverty stared him
in the face. At last the opportunity came. In an
army wagon he made his way to Berwick Bay, where
he enlisted in the Union army. By doing this,
Sandy expected to keep the wolf from the door.
Meanwhile Wilhelmina and the babies came on to
New Orleans.

The parting from wife and children was a very
pathetic one when they separated at Berwick Bay.
Sandy’s farewell words were: “Wife, take care of
my babies; I am going to fight till I set you all
free. If I live to come back, I will take you all
back to my old home in Salisbury, N. C.”