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The Betsey Scott Harper story

Draughon Center, Terrance Vickerstaff publish book about Auburn founding family

"What's our story?"

That's the question family historian and author Terrance Vickerstaff and the Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts & Humanities (CMDCAH) want children to ask when they read, "Betsey Scott Harper: The Story of an Auburn First Family."

Vickerstaff and the CMDCAH premiered the children's book about Vickerstaff's great-great-great grandmother in November. Betsey Scott Harper was an enslaved woman on the Scott plantation, known today as Pebble Hill.

"I was always taught that in order for you to fly, you have to have roots," Vickerstaff said. "Betsey Scott Harper's story represents the entirety of the fabric of Auburn, the Loveliest Village on the Plains. But for Auburn to become the Loveliest Village on the Plains, you have to understand everybody's story, so Betsey's story is one of endurance, hardship, faith and fortitude."

The book is about Betsey's journey through enslavement and emancipation. It is a story of love and courage that highlights the importance of family history. From what daily life was like as an enslaved person to the celebration when Betsey and her husband, Major Harper, could finally be married after emancipation, the book balances the harsh reality of history with the care of ancestors who paved the way for future generations.

Vickerstaff wrote from the memory of his grandmother telling the family history to him. He hopes that students who read Betsey's story will learn to appreciate their own family histories as parts of the larger Auburn story.

"For the students to be able to utilize it and the teachers to have and understand her story, that's the benefit," Vickerstaff said. "We are taking time to walk in someone else's shoes and taking time to get to know what Auburn really means. It makes a difference in being able to hand that legacy and that heritage to someone."

Readers follow a young Vickerstaff telling his Grandma Betsey's story as it was told to him. The language is age-appropriate for fourth graders and the illustrations balance the emotional weight of Betsey's story with the joyful act of remembering loved ones.

Illustrator Laura Murray took special care to bring young readers into the story by illustrating Vickerstaff as a child, riding down the road with his grandmother and learning history alongside the reader.

"This was a neat, full-circle moment for me to take a hard story and make it easier to digest for children," Murray said. "The thing that I love about this book is that it personalizes the family who built the home, lived here and worked the land. They're the main part of the story and it's important to show that side of the story."

At the premiere event, Vickerstaff and the CMDCAH honored four generations of Betsey's direct descendants, representing more than 100 years of Auburn history.

Representatives from the Auburn University Department of History, the Lee County Remembrance Project, the Alabama Humanities Alliance, Auburn City Schools and the Auburn Heritage Association also attended.

History alumna Shari Williams '20 helped conduct genealogical research for the book. While she was a graduate student at the CMDCAH, she researched the history of enslaved people at the Scott plantation and tracked ten generations of Vickerstaff's family who called Auburn home.

"People identify with historical facts, historical narratives when they can tie them to actual people," Williams said. "This project helped to foreground Major Harper and Betsey Scott as real people, and I think that's especially important for younger students. To connect on that human level, to show that these were real people who got married, had a family and were a part of early Auburn, is really important."

Copies of "Betsey Scott Harper: The Story of an Auburn First Family" will be sent to the Auburn Public Library, Opelika Public Library and every fourth-grade classroom in Auburn's elementary schools.

In February, the Vickerstaff family and CMDCAH will host a community launch event celebrating the life and legacy of Betsey Scott Harper, featuring live readings and character portrayals at the Scott-Yarbrough House.

Buy your copy of "Betsey Scott Harper: The Story of an Auburn First Family."

Tags: Center for the Arts and Humanities Community, Outreach and Engagement History