Emanuel Quivers (1814-1879)

Charles City County · dedicated 2021 · Route 5 near entrance to Berkeley Plantation

Emanuel Quivers was born into slavery on Berkeley Plantation to Jonathan and Sarah Quivers. Trained as a blacksmith, in 1845 Quivers became an enslaved wage earner at the Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond. There he learned the closely guarded puddling technique for manufacturing high-grade iron, rising to supervise a large group of artisans and laborers. He and his wife, Frances, were early members of the First African Baptist Church in Richmond. In 1852, he and Frances purchased their family’s freedom and left for California. As a community leader, Quivers advocated for educating African American children and for laws allowing persons of color to testify against whites.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

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what this marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years here

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