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Naomi "Omie" Wise was drowned by her lover in the waters of North Carolina's Deep River in 1807, and her murder has been remembered in ballad and story for well over two centuries. Mistakes, romanticization and misremembering have been injected into Naomi's biography over time, blurring the line between reality and fiction. The authors of this book, whose family has lived in the Deep River area since the 18th century, are descendants of many of the people who knew Naomi Wise or were involved in her murder investigation.
This is the story of a young woman betrayed and how her death gave way to the folk traditions by which she is remembered today. The book sheds light on the plight of impoverished women in early America and details the fascinating inner workings of the Piedmont North Carolina Quaker community that cared for Naomi in her final years and kept her memory alive.
List of contents
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Preface
Introduction
Chapter 1. The Quaker Community
Chapter 2. Naomi's Pregnancy
Chapter 3. Death and Discovery
Chapter 4. Escape to the Indiana Territory
Chapter 5. The Capture of Lewis
Chapter 6. The Trials: Murder and Escape
Chapter 7. Family Hardship
Chapter 8. Braxton Craven Revisited
Chapter 9. The Ballad Tradition
Chapter 10. Naomi's Legacy
Appendix A: Dramatis Personae
Appendix B: Transcribed Legal Documents
Appendix C: "A true acount of Nayomy Wise"
Appendix D: Naomi Wise, or the Victim
Appendix E: Naomi Wise Recordings and Discography
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the author
Hal E. Pugh is a historian and potter living in northern Randolph County, North Carolina. A graduate of Appalachian State University with a degree in anthropology, his research on Quaker history and ceramics has been published in The Southern Friend the journal of the North Carolina Friends Historical Society and Ceramics in America.Historian and potter Eleanor Minnock-Pugh is a graduate of Appalachian State University with a degree in education. Her research on Quaker history and ceramics has been published in Ceramics in America. She lives in northern Randolph County, North Carolina.
