Living History actors present story of servitude
Mar. 14—GREENSBURG — The Greensburg Decatur County Public Library hosted "Bound for Passage: The Story of an Indentured Servant" Saturday afternoon. The event was hosted as a part of the bicentennial programming at the library.
Solo actress Carol Jarboe portrayed indentured servant Maggie Delaney, an Irish wife and mother who voluntarily signs into servitude for the price of sea passage to America.
Primarily a one-woman show, the Living History program tells Maggie's story from the ship journey through the untold horrors of servitude. Upon arrival to the newly settled American colonies, the story focused on Maggie's understanding of her now position in society as property.
Jarboe, a history enthusiast for many years, followed her husband Frank into Living History as a way to encourage and excite those she meets into learning more about our past. An educator at heart, she enjoys bringing interesting facts and often untold stories to life.
As she and her husband attended Living History events, Jarboe began to realize that there were very few of the lower social classes being represented to the public.
While studying these "lower" sorts, Jarboe became fascinated with the lives of the indentured servants and their role in the settlement of our nation. Here was a story that begged to be brought to life. After several years of research, the role of "Maggie" was born.
"Everyone loves a story and Maggie is just a woman who is telling her story of a life of hardship and loss," said Jarboe. "Most everyone can connect with those two emotions and anytime you can bring out an emotion that strikes a familiar chord in another person, BAM, you've made a connection."
Frank Jarboe played the smaller role of Parson John, a reverend acting as Maggie's last and least cruel master.
Adults usually signed into indentured servitude for four to seven years and children sometimes for much longer, with most working in the new colonies' tobacco fields.
Indentured servitude became, during most of the 17th century, the primary means by which Virginia planters filled their nearly inexhaustible need for labor.
At first, the Virginia Company of London paid to transport servants across the Atlantic, but with the institution of the headright system in 1618 the company enticed planters and merchants to incur the cost with the promise of land.
As a result, servants flooded into the colony, where they were greeted by deadly diseases and often harsh conditions that killed a majority of newcomers and left the rest to the mercy of sometimes cruel masters.
The Colonial General Assembly eventually passed laws regulating contract terms as well as the behavior and treatment of servants, but language in the legislation mostly benefited masters with long indentures. The laws limited servant rights while still allowing servants to present complaints in court.
By the end of the 17th century, the number of new servants in Virginia had dwindled and the colony's labor needs were largely met by enslaved Africans.
The small meeting room of the library was packed for the performance and Jarboe led a question and answer session at the show's conclusion.
Josie Clark: josie.clark@greensburgdailynews.com or 812-651-0873.
