Lynn Rainville is the Dean of Sweet Briar College. For over two decades she has studied the lives of exceptional, yet overlooked, Americans. This work has been supported by numerous grants and she has written five books (on Mesopotamian houses, African American cemeteries, Sweet Briar College, and Virginia's role in World War I). She directs the Tusculum Institute for local history and historic preservation at Sweet Briar College.

• List of IllustrationsPrefaceAcknowledgmentsChapter 1. Invisible WorkersChapter 2. Family Origins, 1685-1810Chapter 3. Slavery in Virginia, 1811-1830Chapter 4. Survival Strategies, 1831-1857Chapter 5. Families Divided, 1858-1865Chapter 6. Freedom Communities, 1866-1883Chapter 7. Mourning the Dead, 1884-1900Chapter 8. Forgotten Founders, 1901-2001Chapter 9. Commemorating FoundersBibliographyIndex

“Invisible Founders is a different kind of history of the university and the Black past than most of those published in the past few years, but that is one that has much to offer individuals who are working to bring this history to light at their own institutions.” • Journal of Southern History

Lynn Rainville is the Dean of Sweet Briar College. For over two decades she has studied the lives of exceptional, yet overlooked, Americans. This work has been supported by numerous grants and she has written five books (on Mesopotamian houses, African American cemeteries, Sweet Briar College, and Virginia's role in World War I). She directs the Tusculum Institute for local history and historic preservation at Sweet Briar College.

• List of IllustrationsPrefaceAcknowledgmentsChapter 1. Invisible WorkersChapter 2. Family Origins, 1685-1810Chapter 3. Slavery in Virginia, 1811-1830Chapter 4. Survival Strategies, 1831-1857Chapter 5. Families Divided, 1858-1865Chapter 6. Freedom Communities, 1866-1883Chapter 7. Mourning the Dead, 1884-1900Chapter 8. Forgotten Founders, 1901-2001Chapter 9. Commemorating FoundersBibliographyIndex

“Invisible Founders is a different kind of history of the university and the Black past than most of those published in the past few years, but that is one that has much to offer individuals who are working to bring this history to light at their own institutions.” • Journal of Southern History

Lynn Rainville is the Dean of Sweet Briar College. For over two decades she has studied the lives of exceptional, yet overlooked, Americans. This work has been supported by numerous grants and she has written five books (on Mesopotamian houses, African American cemeteries, Sweet Briar College, and Virginia's role in World War I). She directs the Tusculum Institute for local history and historic preservation at Sweet Briar College.

• List of IllustrationsPrefaceAcknowledgmentsChapter 1. Invisible WorkersChapter 2. Family Origins, 1685-1810Chapter 3. Slavery in Virginia, 1811-1830Chapter 4. Survival Strategies, 1831-1857Chapter 5. Families Divided, 1858-1865Chapter 6. Freedom Communities, 1866-1883Chapter 7. Mourning the Dead, 1884-1900Chapter 8. Forgotten Founders, 1901-2001Chapter 9. Commemorating FoundersBibliographyIndex

“Invisible Founders is a different kind of history of the university and the Black past than most of those published in the past few years, but that is one that has much to offer individuals who are working to bring this history to light at their own institutions.” • Journal of Southern History