Daisy Turner’s Kin

An African American Family Saga – by Jane C. Beck

A daughter of freed African American slaves, Daisy Turner became a living repository of history. The family narrative entrusted to her — “a well-polished artifact, and heirloom that had been carefully preserved” — began among the Yoruba in West Africa and continued with her own long lifetime.

In 1983, folklorist Jane Beck began to interview Turner, then one hundred years old and still relating four generations of oral history. Beck uses Turner’s storytelling to build the Turner family saga, using it as a foundation for the oft-repeated touchstone stories at the heart of the Turners’ experiences.: the abduction into slavery of Turner’s African ancestors; Daisy’s father learning to read; his return as a soldier to his former plantation to kill the overseer; Daisy’s childhood stand against racism; and her family’s life in Vermont. Beck weaves in historical research and offers a folklorist’s perspective on oral history and the hazards and uses of memory.


A powerful vindication and thoughtful explication of the power and persistence of an oral tradition

A powerful vindication and thoughtful explication of the power and persistence of an oral tradition. Anchoring her work in long-term relationships and stellar research both in the library and in the field, Jane Beck shows how folk traditions, and the past, live on and shape our lives.

- Debora Kodish, founder and former director of the Philadelphia Folklore Project

Daisy Turner's Kin
2015-07-17T23:50:58-04:00

- Debora Kodish, founder and former director of the Philadelphia Folklore Project

A powerful vindication and thoughtful explication of the power and persistence of an oral tradition. Anchoring her work in long-term relationships and stellar research both in the library and in the field, Jane Beck shows how folk traditions, and the past, live on and shape our lives.

An impeccable job of verifying the memories of Daisy Turner

Beck has done an impeccable job of verifying the memories of Daisy Turner, clarifying what in her oral history is simply part of family lore and what is historically significant and accurate.

-W. Ralph Eubanks, author of The House at the End of the Road: The Story of Three Generations of an Interracial Family in the American South

Daisy Turner's Kin
2015-07-17T23:49:02-04:00

-W. Ralph Eubanks, author of The House at the End of the Road: The Story of Three Generations of an Interracial Family in the American South

Beck has done an impeccable job of verifying the memories of Daisy Turner, clarifying what in her oral history is simply part of family lore and what is historically significant and accurate.

Required reading for anyone who wants to understand American history

This amazing true story should be required reading for anyone who wants to understand American history. Jane Beck's seminal book, built upon decades of rare historical research combined with rich oral narratives, reads like a vivid novel. The central narrative portrays three generations of Turner men and women whose . . . creativity, resilience, and spiritual strength are at the root of their survival. Drawing upon letters, photos, local records, and oral recollection, the author has woven this compelling, necessary tale that in praise of Daisy Turner's determined truth-telling, encourages a reconsideration of traditional African American histories.

- Ronne Hartfield, author of Another Way Home: The Tangled Roots of Race in One Chicago Family

Daisy Turner's Kin
2015-07-17T23:47:59-04:00

- Ronne Hartfield, author of Another Way Home: The Tangled Roots of Race in One Chicago Family

This amazing true story should be required reading for anyone who wants to understand American history. Jane Beck's seminal book, built upon decades of rare historical research combined with rich oral narratives, reads like a vivid novel. The central narrative portrays three generations of Turner men and women whose . . . creativity, resilience, and spiritual strength are at the root of their survival. Drawing upon letters, photos, local records, and oral recollection, the author has woven this compelling, necessary tale that in praise of Daisy Turner's determined truth-telling, encourages a reconsideration of traditional African American histories.

An astonishing saga of a single African American family

Turner's recollections are interwoven with Beck's research to provide an astonishing saga of a single African American family, an example of the oral history tradition across two continents, and an amazing woman who bridges generations of her family.

- Booklist

Daisy Turner's Kin
2015-07-17T23:46:39-04:00

- Booklist

Turner's recollections are interwoven with Beck's research to provide an astonishing saga of a single African American family, an example of the oral history tradition across two continents, and an amazing woman who bridges generations of her family.

A marvel of scholarly storytelling

Folklorist Beck's story of the Turner family's transition from freedom to slavery to freedom again is a marvel of scholarly storytelling... An engrossing American tale.

Publisher's Weekly

Daisy Turner's Kin
2015-07-17T23:45:15-04:00

Publisher's Weekly

Folklorist Beck's story of the Turner family's transition from freedom to slavery to freedom again is a marvel of scholarly storytelling... An engrossing American tale.

What an engaging and powerful story!

I met and filmed Daisy Turner for my Civil War series and was struck by her vibrancy and the power of her voice. How fortunate we are that Jane Beck was able to both record and authenticate her family narrative. It allows us new insights into the experience of four generations of a family who maintained their identity and self-respect in spite of the dehumanizing circumstances they lived through. What an engaging and powerful story!

- KEN BURNS, filmaker

Daisy Turner's Kin
2015-07-16T23:07:13-04:00

- KEN BURNS, filmaker

I met and filmed Daisy Turner for my Civil War series and was struck by her vibrancy and the power of her voice. How fortunate we are that Jane Beck was able to both record and authenticate her family narrative. It allows us new insights into the experience of four generations of a family who maintained their identity and self-respect in spite of the dehumanizing circumstances they lived through. What an engaging and powerful story!
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Daisy Turner's Kin