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This Hidden History was created by SCAD student L. Edward Smith as part of his SCAD art history department coursework, with guidance from art history professor Holly Goldstein, Ph.D., 2020.
The Johnny Mercer (1909-1976) historical marker was dedicated in 2006. View the Johnny Mercer (1909-1976) listing.
(fig. 1) L. Edward Smith, Johnny Mercer Historical Marker, 5.11.2020, Digital Photograph,1025x1025 pixels, jpeg, Smith private collection Savannah, GA.
(fig. 2) Public Domain, Unknown Author, Jpeg, 233x342 pixels,60 KB, commons.m.wikimedia.org, HWMercer.jpg, 5.9.2020
(fig. 3) Jpeg, 447x600 pixels, (contributor 47084636) Photograph, Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 14 May 2020), Mary Stiles Anderson Mercer.
(fig. 4) Public Domain, Library of Congress, (Historic American Buildings Survey), Photograph, 800 x 572 pixels, 5.12.2020, https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FRONT_AND_SOUTH_SIDE_-_Mercer-Wilder_House.
(fig. 5) Lawrence Bradley, Customs House, Bay and Bull Streets, Savannah (Chatham County Georgia), (Historic American Building Survey), Photograph, April 1936, 558x374 pixels, 74KB, 5.13.2020, commons.m.wikimedia.org
(fig. 6) L. Edward Smith, Andrew Lowe House, Lafayette Square, Savannah, GA, Digital Photograph 982x1005 pixels, jpeg, 5.11.2020, Smith Private Collection Savannah GA.
(fig. 7) L. Edward Smith, Green-Meldrim House, Madison Square, Savannah, GA. 5.11.2020, Digital Photograph 986x986 pixels, jpeg, Smith Private Collection Savannah GA.
(fig. 8) L. Edward Smith, Mercer-Williams House, Bull Street Savannah GA, 5.11.2020, Digital Photograph 872x872 pixels, jpeg, Smith Private Collection Savannah GA.
(fig. 9) L. Edward Smith, Screen-shot Google Mapp’s, Johnny Mercer Historical Marker Location, Digital Photograph, 1080x1167 pixels, jpeg, Smith Private Collection Savannah GA.
Fig. 10) L. Edward, Savannah Grey, Crochet, 20”x20”, Smith Private Collection 5.25.2020
Fig. 11) L. Edward, Savannah Grey, Crochet, 20”x20”, Smith Private Collection 5.25.2020
This exploration has been a journey. Originally, I was interested in two things specifically: “Who actually did the physical construction of the Mercer House?” and “Who would have been the domestic help?” What I found was a story of civil unrest, human ownership, and antebellum wealth. The journey took me deep into the lives of the Mercers through census documents and tax records. It ultimately yielded two names that can now see light in Savannah’s public history, Ausentine and Eliza. “Ausentine,” was the young slave owned by Hugh Mercer. Her life reveals a hidden history and offers questions needing answers: Who was she? Why is she the only slave mentioned by name? Then I found Eliza Vicks, an English woman who obviously left her home, her husband, and her children, in effort to carve a stable life. I found some fragments about her life; I can draw the conclusion that she was a strong and brave woman, a woman who cared deeply enough for her family that she found employment in another country to help them. She was a woman who cared enough to steal to feed her family and suffer a month in jail. In the time allotted for this project the only small connection between enslaved workers and the Mercer House property was the Savannah Grey Brick sunken garden in the space between the Carriage House and Main House. The garden was installed by Williams, the final owner, and is not original to the house. (fig. 10) Therefore, as a textile artist, I wove and painted a material fragment of my interpretation of Savannah Grey brick, with my own fingerprints interwoven with the brick and mortar in remembrance of those enslaved workers and the property’s complex history.
