Thomas Day was born about 1801 in Virginia to a free black mother. To his fortunate birth (black children's legal status being defined by their mothers'), Day added initiative and artistic vision--and a bold determination to carve out a life little constrained by white supremacy.
In 1823, Day moved to North Carolina. Within a decade, he had established himself as one of the state's pre-eminent furniture craftsmen and entrepreneurs. His creative work was widely recognized as outstanding and won him the custom of two of North Carolina's governors and a commission to furnish the interior woodwork of one of the original buildings of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
Day trained both free and slave apprentices, but the latter in particular were withdrawn by their masters once they became sufficiently proficient. To secure a reliable labor force for his expanding business, which by the mid-19th century was the state's largest furniture workshop measured both by volume of production and by number of apprentices employed, Day himself purchased slaves.
Day's work was in demand from Virginia to Georgia, and he properly viewed himself as a man not only of property, but also of merit and stature. When he married a free black woman of Virginia and confronted the North Carolina law that had forbidden since 1827 the immigration of free blacks, he responded by suggesting that he would move himself and his shop to Virginia. Prominent citizens, including the state's attorney general, had the North Carolina Legislature pass a special bill exempting Mrs. Day from the provisions of the 1827 law. Similarly, Day executed handsome pews of walnut, yellow poplar and pine with gracefully curved arms for the Presbyterian Church in Milton, N.C.--in exchange for the privilege of his family's sitting in the section reserved for whites.
Day's career and social achievements rested not on monopoly--in fact, he had many competitors--but on the aesthetic vision, inventive decorative motifs and precise craftsmanship of his work. In 1848 Day purchased the Union Tavern in Milton. which was then 30 years old and is today the sole remaining structure of the 13 that existed when the town of Milton was laid out in 1819. Known locally as Yellow Tavern, this served as Day's workshop and residence until shortly before his death in 1861. The tavern, a National Historic Landmark, was partially destroyed by fire in 1989 and is undergoing restoration with the aim of establishing a museum celebrating Day's extraordinary talents. Article A16883748 Copyright © 1996 Information Access Company
"MY DEAREST MARY ANN" is an historic presentation about Thomas Day gleaned from a letter to his only daughter, away in a northern private school, presented by Thomas Day re-enactor, Herman Joubert.
Contact at 336.234.8383 or e-mail hjoubert540@earthlink.net