Twenty Eight Years A Slave

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This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Thomas L. Johnson's remarkable life, wherein he was born into slavery before going on to a successful career as a minister and missionary, is told here in his own words. Until the age of twenty-eight, Johnson lived under the yolk of his slave masters. As a servant he was subject to abuse for trivial matters, such as not knowing the difference between right and left. Sold on by his master whilst still a teenager, the author had already self-taught himself rudiments of literacy from letters and newspapers left around his master's house. Luckily, his new master's son was kind, and helped Johnson with vocabulary and letters. This knowledge helped Johnson keep aware of developments - the abolitionist movement, which sought freedom for all slaves, was of particular interest, as were the politics of Britain, which had already outlawed slavery. Significantly, Thomas also became interested in religion, learning many words, expressions and lessons from the Bible. After emancipation, this knowledge spurred him on to join the priesthood. He travelled to New York, and soon discovered his natural talent for speaking. A black preacher so soon after emancipation was an unusual sight; it wasn't long before Johnson had made friends and began to contemplate further travels to spread God's word. Sure enough, his talents saw him permanently resettle in England, and embark upon travels even farther afield.

I was born in Virginia, in 1832, near Charlottesville, in the beautiful valley of the Rivanna river. My father was a white man and my mother a negress, the slave of one John Martin. I was a mere child, probably not more than six years of age, as I remember, when my mother, two brothers and myself were sold to Dr. Louis, a practicing physician in the village of Scottsville. We remained with him about five years, when he died, and, in the settlement of his estate, I was sold to one Washington Fitzpatrick, a merchant of the village. He kept me a short time when he took me to Richmond, by way of canal-boat, expecting to sell me; but as the market was dull, he brought me back and kept me some three months longer, when he told me he had hired me out to work on a canal-boat running to Richmond, and to go to my mother and get my clothes ready to start on the trip. I went to her as directed, and, when she had made ready my bundle, she bade me good-by with tears in her eyes, saying: "My son, be a good boy; be polite to every one, and always behave yourself properly."

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