Portrait of Rachel Kingsland Oakes donated to Kingsland Manor

Another special donation arrived in July 2021: a painting of Rachel Kingsland Oakes, a daughter of Joseph Kingsland I, the first Kingsland to live in the Manor. Rachel married Thomas Oakes in 1808. Thomas died young, leaving Rachel to raise their five children, ages 4 to 14, by herself. After their children were grown, she had a portrait of herself painted for each of them. Our painting was donated by descendants of John Oakes, Toni Oakes Marchick and David Kingsland Oakes.

This painting is of particular significance because we have a transcript of a letter that gives insight into the anti-slavery stance of Rachel and her in-laws. It is an 1820 letter from Thomas Oakes to the editor of The Evening Post. The background of the letter is as follows: Thomas was working at a job site in Pennsylvania and received a letter from Rachel. Her father had recently passed away, and she was concerned about the fate of a slave named Jack who had been "inherited" by her oldest brother, Joseph II. Her father had emancipated his other slaves prior to his death, but due to the location and date of Jack's birth, state laws required that he work 10 more years or pay $110 (the equivalent of $2645 today) for his freedom. In his letter, Thomas writes: "That abominable practice of slavery hath always oppressed my mind and have looked on it as the greatest sin, that any person holding slaves can commit." He says that he will pay for Jack's freedom, and he is sure that the husband of one of his sisters will share the cost with him. The transcript is embedded in a letter from Thomas and Rachel's son John to his nephew (their grandson). In the letter, John writes, ""So is it any wonder that your father and my brother Joseph and myself should have been strong Anti-Slavery. You see it was born in us."

We would like to restore the painting and the frame. If you are interested in contributing toward the cost of the restoration, please submit our donation form.