English: Biography: An accomplished artisan and craftswoman, Pleasant Harrison represents a direct link to handicrafts of more than 100 years ago. She is a skilled spinner, weaver, and needleworker, making fabrics from the fibers of plants grown in her garden. The third of the six children of Richard and Elizabeth Adams Haynes, she was born in South Carolina. At an early age she was sent to live with her grandfather, Charlie Adams, a self-taught doctor who introduced her to herbal medicine; she became proficient in making herbal medicines, wines, soaps, and dyes. Mrs. Harrison has worked as a domestic, taken care of sick people in their homes, and been a skilled sewing machine operator in a factory making upholstery and clothing for the U.S. Marine Corps. Although diagnosed as having terminal cancer in 1949, she made a complete recovery, which she attributed to the extensive knowledge and use of herbs and other natural remedies. In 1961 she began construction of her house in Chesilhurst, N.J., and has completed the designing, wiring, plumbing, and carpentry herself over the years. An active member of the Baptist Church, she is also a member of the local planning and health boards, and presently cares for handicapped people in her home. She lectures on old-time crafts and remedies and demonstrates her fabric techniques with her loom and 120-year-old spinning wheel.

Description: The Black Women Oral History Project interviewed 72 African American women between 1976 and 1981. With support from the Schlesinger Library, the project recorded a cross section of women who had made significant contributions to American society during the first half of the 20th century. Photograph taken by Judith Sedwick
Repository: Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America.
Collection: Black Women Oral History Project
Research Guide: http://guides.library.harvard.edu/schlesinger_bwohp

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