Anderson, Hilton. “Some Negro Slave Songs from an 1856 Novel.” Mississippi Folklore Register 8, no. 3 (1974): 221–26.

The popular novel The Orphan Girls (1856), by James S. Peacocke, is the story of a Louisiana plantation owner’s two daughters who are almost sold at a slave auction before being rescued at the last minute. The novel contains many references to spirituals, and since the novel predates many collections of spirituals, it is an important source for spirituals in the Mississippi and Louisiana area. Anderson has attempted to locate other versions of the songs wherever possible.