Seven Gables

Seven Gables, an elegant residence constructed around 1800 by Josiah Vick, was owned by attorney Thomas Ruffin Gray by the time of the 1831 Southampton Insurrection. From a prominent Southampton County family, Gray had practiced law in Jerusalem, today's Courtland, since 1829. During the hearings following the insurrection, he served as a court-appointed lawyer for several of Nat Turner's followers, but not for Turner. Nevertheless, Gray took it upon himself to obtain Turner's confession, likely transcribing and editing the document in this house before it was read before the county court to ensure its accuracy. Six justices signed a document certifying that Turner acknowledged his confession to be full, free and voluntary. Gray then copyrighted and published the 24-page pamphlet, The Confessions of Nat Turner. Although Gray attested that he sought to create a clear and accurate record of the causes, events, and immediate aftermath of the insurrection, he was in financial distress and may have published the document solely for monetary gain. Even so, The Confessions of Nat Turner remains one of the most important primary source documents on the 1831 Southampton Insurrection.

Courtland, Virginia · United States