Dear Ellen Bee

by Mary E. Lyons & Muriel M. Branch

 

From Horn Book
This fictionalized, meticulously referenced story is based on the lives of two Richmond, Virginia, women who collaborated to gather military intelligence for the Union forces: Elizabeth Van Lew, abolitionist daughter of a wealthy industrialist, and Mary Elizabeth Bowser, her freed slave. Complex and satisfying, the volume includes period documents that add a feeling of authenticity. Copyright © 2001 The Horn Book, Inc. All rights reserved.

General Information

http://www.lyonsdenbooks.com/html/ellenbee.htm Extension activities

http://www.lyonsdenbooks.com/html/aboutmel.htm About the author

http://www.germantown.k12.il.us/html/bluegray.html Civil War info

 

Specific Topics

**Political Figures**

ABRAHAM LINCOLN, President of the Union

"...she let him come in the parlor long enough to tell us the news--Abraham Lincoln has been elected president of the United States! Wilson says that with Lincoln in charge, we might see the end of slavery one day." (p. 46) The following websites will give you more insight into the life and times of this celebrated President.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/al16.html Abraham Lincoln bio

http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/ A timeline and pictures of Abraham Lincoln’s life

http://www.berwickacademy.org/lincoln/lincoln.htm The Life of Abraham Lincoln: An Illustrated Timeline for Young Readers

http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Venue/5217/lincoln.html Lots of good info about Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War

JEFFERSON DAVIS, President of the Confederacy

"My friend reports that President Davis and his wife need an upstairs serving girl.Someone to mind their chidlren, dust, lay the fires, that sort of thing. A slave, of course, is preferred. But think of it! The information you could pass along, the lives you might save!" (p. 94) Click on this website to learn more about this man.

http://ngeorgia.com/people/davisj.html Jefferson Davis

 

**Slavery**

On page 4, Liza's journal entry lets us know that she is a free Negro. "Mama said, ' I thought our separating days was over four years ago, back when Miz Van Lew bought you and me from old man Lorton so we could live here with your daddy." Although Liza and her parents were free, many were still slaves throughout the Civil War. Slavery is a major focus of this book.  The following links will provide you with lots of information about this practice and the famous people that pushed for and against its ideals.

http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/african/influ.html Influence of Prominent Abolitionists

http://afgen.com/slave1.html The Abolitionist

http://www.history.rochester.edu/class/douglass/home.html A biography of Frederick Douglass

http://www.johnbrown.org/toc.htm John Brown

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USASdouglass.htm Frederick Douglass

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h2950.html William Lloyd Garrison--photo

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p1561.html William Lloyd Garrison

http://www.nps.gov/boaf/garris~1.htm William Lloyd Garrison

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USASgarrison.htm Garrison bio

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USASauctions.htm Slave auctions

http://people.ucsc.edu/~elbarto/page7.html Slave auctions

http://library.thinkquest.org/J002047F/slave_laws_and_auctions.htm?tqskip1=1&tqtime=1111 Slave auctions

http://home.clara.net/hetha/Slave_Trade/slave_auction.htm Slave auction

http://www.dixienet.org/spatriot/lastwrds.html Edmund Ruffin’s last words

http://www.tulane.edu/~latner/Ruffin.html Edmund Ruffin bio

 

**Important Legislation**

On page 29, Miss Bet's letter to Liza mentions the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 & the Dred Scott decision. Later, on page 95, Liza tells Miss Bet that "on January first, the Emancipation Proclamation takes effect." These three decisions were very important in the timeline of slavery legalism. Find out more baout each one at the following links.

http://www.ghg.net/hollaway/civil/civil9.htm Fugitive Slave Act of 1850

http://www.nps.gov/jeff/ocv-dscottd.htm Dred Scott decision

http://library.wustl.edu/vlib/dredscott/ The Dred Scott Case

http://www.tbwt.com/interaction/lincoln/html/1.htm Timeline leading up to the Emancipation Proclamation

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/alhtml/almss/dep001.html Draft of Emancipation Proclamation by President Lincoln

http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/emancipa.htm The Emancipation Proclamation

 

**Healing Waters**

On page 35, Miss Bet's journal entry is written from White Sulphur Springs, Virginia.  In it she writes, "two thousand people have come to take the waters..." Some bodies of water were (and still are) believed to have healing powers. These links will give you more information about some of them.

http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~vfcrook/springs/heath1.htm “A Visit to the Virginia Springs”

http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~vfcrook/springs/ The Springs of Virginia and West Virginia

http://www.deadsea-health.org/ The Dead Sea

http://www.gwu.edu/~erpapers/abouteleanor/q-and-a/glossary/little-white-house.htm Warm Springs, Georgia and President Roosevelt

 

**The Van Lew Family**

Elizabeth Van Lew really lived from 1818-1900.  In fact, Miss Bet and Liza were both real people. While Dear Ellen Bee is a fictional story, "it is based on real characters and events inspired by existing historical documents." (p. 156) These website links will give you more information about the Van Lew family--including a picture of the real Miss Bet! Take a look!

http://www.nps.gov/malw/vanlew.htm Elizabeth Van Lew bio & picture

http://womenshistory.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.mdgorman.com/van%5Flew%5Fhouse.htm Van Lew house pictures

 

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