Dilsia (slave)

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Dilsia was a woman enslaved by President William Henry Harrison. According to civil rights activist Walter Francis White's family oral history, William Henry Harrison had 6 children with Dilsia.^[1] Walter Francis White is rumored to be a descendant of William Henry Harrison and Dilsia.

Children's lives[]

According to civil rights activist Walter Francis White's oral history, when William Henry Harrison decided to run for president, he concluded that it would not be political for him to have "bastard slave children" in his home. So, he gave four of Dilsia's children to his brother. His brother sold them to Joseph Poythress, one of the earliest white settlers of LaGrange, Georgia.

Marie Harrison[]

Marie Harrison was Walter Francis White's grandmother and allegedly President William Henry Harrison's mixed race daughter with Dilsia, whom he enslaved.^[2]

Marie Harrison was enslaved at birth; her mother (Dilsia) was also enslaved and her father was allegedly President William Henry Harrison. According to civil rights activist Walter Francis White's oral history, when Harrison decided to run for president, he concluded that it would not be politic for him to have "bastard slave children" in his home. So, he gave four of Dilsia's children (including Marie Harrison) to his brother. His brother sold them to Joseph Poythress, one of the earliest white settlers of LaGrange, Georgia.

References[]