Varina Anne Davis and Ellen Barnes [Mrs. Charles McGinnis]

“Winnie Anne Davis + Mammy Nellie, our faithful nurse and maid to Mrs. Davis in Fortress Monroe.”
(note formerly with artifact)

Varina Anne “Winnie” Davis was born in the Confederate White House in June 1864 and went on to achieve a burdensome fame as the “Daughter of the Confederacy” before dying in 1898. A few months after she was photographed with Ellen Barnes, an enslaved nurse and maidservant, both fled the Confederate capital. After the Davises and their party were finally captured, Ellen Barnes remained with the elder Varina Davis while Jefferson Davis was in prison at Fort Monroe. During this time, Ellen Barnes' husband, Charles, died, and she remarried to Frederick McGinnis. The couple settled in Baltimore, Maryland. -- The American Civil War Museum

Photo of Ambrotype and note on provenance taken from: The American Civil War Museum.