Malvina was an enslaved African American woman. Laura Placida Cotten was presumably Malvina's enslaver, but no records have been located which can confirm this hypothesis. Malvina lived with the Cotten family in Raleigh, and also traveled with them to Wilmington for the winter of 1853-54. Some of Malvina's responsibilities included fixing Margaret Eliza Cotten's hair, preparing meals for the Cotten family, and going to the post office to pick up and deliver mail for the Cottens. After the Civil War Malvina may have resided in Raleigh was a laundress.