Promises to the Dead Trivia Quiz

Answer: Sherman

Jesse Sherman was a young man who lived in the 1800s. His biological mother and father were both dead and Jesse lived with his great-uncle known as Uncle Philemon.

Answer: Lydia

Lydia died after she gave birth to a stillborn daughter. In the beginning of the story, Jesse went to catch a turtle that would be made into soup for his uncle. While he was hunting, Lydia came up behind him and she stuck a knife up to his throat. At the time, she was in labor and was about to have the baby she had been pregnant with.

She told Jesse to go and get Miss Sally so she could deliver her baby. Jesse did as he was told, and Miss Sally delivered a stillborn daughter. Shortly after the birth, Lydia died but before she did she asked Jesse if he would take her son to a friend of hers known as Miss Polly who was living in Baltimore City. Jesse promised that he would, and he was completely resistant to the idea of breaking his promise because it was a promise that he had made with the dead.

Answer: Colonel Abednego Botfield

Actually, Perry and his mother were both slaves and they belonged to a widow. Lydia took her son and they became runaways. When they took off, the angry widow put a reward up for whoever found them and turned them in. Colonel Abednego Botfield knew of this reward, so he set out to capture the mother and son so he could turn them in and collect his reward.

Answer: Uncle Philemon

Jesse and his uncle were not the only people living in Philemon's house. Uncle Philemon had a slave and her name was Delia. As a matter of fact, Delia was Lydia's very own aunt.

Answer: Miss Polly

Miss Polly and Lydia were good friends once upon a time. Miss Polly didn't know about Lydia having a baby or that she had a girl and died shortly after the birth. When Jesse finally managed to get Perry to Miss Polly, Miss Polly found out who Perry's biological father was.

She refused to take him and then she ran away. Perry's father was actually a married man known as Peregrine and Peregrine was Miss Polly's brother. Peregrine died after he fell off a horse, and he was the deceased husband of the widow who owned Lydia and Perry. According to the story, Peregrine apparently loved his slave Lydia so much he had a child with her.

Answer: Hyacinth

Hyacinth was another slave and she was forced to live far away from her mother, known as Maror, and her sister Lydia. When Jesse found Hyacinth, he introduced her to the nephew she never knew she had and he told her about Lydia and all that they had been through.

Answer: Yes

Colonel Abednego Botfield was really the biological grandfather of Perry. Long ago, Colonel Botfield and Maror had a child together and her name was Lydia. Maror was the grandmother of Perry, and she was also yet another slave. After Jesse found out the truth, Colonel Botfield gave Jesse Perry's inheritance and then he died because he was shot by a Yankee.

Answer: Maror

After Jesse and Perry met Hyacinth for the first time, we found out that Hyacinth was planning her escape along with her mother and three other slaves. They didn't make their escape the way they wanted to. But, thanks to the help of some Yankees, Perry and his family were set free and they actually got pure freedom and they were no longer slaves.

Answer: Peregrine

In the story, Perry told Jesse that when his father was still alive Peregrine read him stories when he went to bed. Perry also said that his mother told him not to call Peregrine his father when other people were around because if Perry did, chaos would most likely erupt and come to the surface.

Answer: False

Actually, Jesse returned home to his uncle because he knew that his uncle needed him in order to survive. It was really hard for Perry and Jesse to leave each other, but they did. Perry got his freedom and he went to live with Hyacinth and Maror and Jesse went back to his home to live with his uncle.

At the end of the story, Jesse went to the grave that he dug with Miss Sally for Lydia. The story ended with Jesse putting a headstone on Lydia's grave and he told her that Perry was safe and that he kept his promise.