Henrietta was an enslaved African American woman. Laura Placida Cotten was presumably Henrietta's enslaver, but no records have been located which can confirm this hypothesis. Henrietta lived with the Cotten family in Raleigh, and also may have traveled with them to Wilmington for the winter of 1853-54. Among Henrietta's responsibilities was fixing Margaret Eliza Cotten's hair. Any further records about Henrietta's status after the end of the Cotten diary have not been located.