Family stories often serve as powerful symbols of personal identity and understanding. Yet these same accounts might not be entirely true: as the generations go on, errors large and small can enter a story, and multiple narratives might blend together. Sometimes, the errors are consequential—as is surely the case with stories about Mary Bland Ewell Jones and the allegedly faithful slave in Mary's household, one “Mammy Chloe.” In the opening article of this issue of Utah Historical Quarterly, Emily Crumpton-Deason turns to primary source documents to understand if Chloe was ever associated with the family or if she existed at all. Crumpton-Deason also examines contemporary popular culture, in which a grossly racialized fictional character named Mammy or Aunt Chloe appeared in minstrel shows, novels, and elsewhere. This article is an important corrective to stories about the Mammy Chloe who supposedly associated with Mary Bland Ewell Jones—stories that have been...
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