Dr. Christy Clark-Pujara’s forthcoming article for the Journal of the Early Republic, “Black Love and Joy: The Pleasure of Correspondence in early Wisconsin, 1850 – 1857”, explores the letters of Caroline Shepard, a free Black woman in southwest Wisconsin, and her aunt, Caroline Milford/Mason, writing from Virginia between 1850 and 1857. Despite 900 miles of separation, the two women sustained a relationship of affection and humor. Caroline once walked a mile after dark in the rain just to send a reply, and her aunt assured her: “you are on my mind from one day to another”. Dr. Clark-Pujara utilized the Wisconsin Historical Society Archives to uncover this story. Their correspondence, filled with family news, grief, and small life pleasures, displays how Black women created and protected joy across distance.
Read Dr. Clark-Pujara’s full piece in the Spring 2026 issue of the JER.