North Carolina Slave Narratives

This page is designed to support a presentation during Concurrent Session J (Friday, September 30th, 2:45-3:45) at the annual conference of the North Carolina English Teachers' Association.  The presenters & their e-mail addresses are as follows:

Dr. Elwanda Ingram     ingrame@wssu.edu

Dr. Rebecca Wall     wallr@wssu.edu

Dr. Adnee Bradford     bradforda@wssu.edu

Dr. Rita Edwards     edwardsrd@wssu.edu

Major Online Source

North American Slave Narratives.  Part of Documenting the American South: Primary Resources for the Study of Southern History, Literature, and Culture, maintained by the University Library, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Most of the links to specific narratives given below go to this site, which also provides links to many narratives that are not by North Carolina authors.

Online Narratives

These works fit into the classic pattern of the slave narrative, though they may vary from it in some ways:

	Curry, James. Narrative of James Curry, A Fugitive Slave. This was not a book, but an article published in The Liberator in 1840.
	Grandy, Moses. Narrative of the Life of Moses Grandy, Late a Slave in the United States of America. Originally published in 1843.
	Jacobs, Harriet ("Linda Brent"). Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Written by Herself. Originally published in 1861. This is the Documenting the American South text. There are also a  hypertext version and a searchable frames version. (The first of these sites also has links to other contemporary writings by and about Jacobs, like articles about her Civil War activities, while the second has illustrations.)
	Jacobs, John S. (Harriet's brother).  A True Tale of Slavery. Originally published in a magazine in 1861.
	Jones, Thomas H. The Experience of Rev. Thomas H. Jones, Who Was A Slave for Forty-Three Years  This is the complete 1885 version, which includes both the full version of the antebellum narrative and a description of Rev. Jones's work as a minister in North Carolina before he escaped to freedom. (See Andrews, North Carolina Slave Narratives, for a discussion of textual history.)  For the 1854 version of the work, see  Experience and Personal Narrative of Uncle Tom Jones; Who Was for Forty Years a Slave.
	Lane, Lunsford. The Narrative of Lunsford Lane, Formerly of Raleigh, N.C. Originally published in 1842.
	Roper, Moses. Narrative of the Adventures and Escape of Moses Roper, from American Slavery.  Originally published in 1848.
	Said, Omar ibn. Autobiography of Omar ibn Said, Slave in North Carolina, 1831. This is the version reprinted in the American Historical Review in 1925. Hear Ossie Davis read another version at http://www.interfaithcenter.org/omar.shtml. See Mostly Menfolk and a Woman or Two: A Virtual Exhibit of 18th and 19th Century African American Literature . A 2002 NPR commentary cites Said and his work as an example of religious diversity in early America.
	Williams, Isaac. Aunt Sally: or, The Cross the Way of Freedom. A Narrative of the Slave-life and Purchase of the Mother of Rev. Isaac Williams of Detroit, Michigan Published in 1858, this book has a preface that begins "There are very few Anti-Slavery books adapted to the young, yet no field could furnish a more attractive literature for children than this." Separated from his mother when she was sold away to Alabama during his childhood, the author grew to young manhood in N.C. but then was sent to Mississippi in the division of his owner's estate. He managed to gain his own freedom as he searched for his mother.

Other Online Autobiographical Writing

All of these are by authors who lived in North Carolina at some point, in most cases being born here. The first two are by people who were still enslaved when they wrote, and the last two are links to oral narratives. The others are autobiographies or reminiscences written after the Civil War:

	Vilet Lester Letter, 1857. Although only a little is known about its context, this letter was written by or possibly for an enslaved woman born in Randolph County, NC., and it tells us (or allows us to infer) a little about her life. More information about the Randolph County connections of Vilet (or Violet) can be found in "'No Leaf Unturned': Clues to the Identity of an Allred Bride."
	Horton, George Moses. LIFE OF GEORGE M. HORTON, The Colored Bard of North-Carolina.  Horton was still enslaved when this appeared as part of his second book, The POETICAL WORKS of George M. Horton, The Colored Bard of North Carolina. As in the case of many of the classic narratives, Horton's autobiography makes the acquisition of literacy a major theme.
	Baysmore, Joseph. A Historical Sketch of the First Colored Baptist Church Weldon, N. C., With the Life and Labor of Elder Joseph Baysmore, with Four Collected Sermons. The sermons occupy most of this document, but there is a brief description of the author's life, which began in 1823 in Bertie County.
	Capehart, L. C. Reminiscences of Isaac and Sukey, Slaves of B. F. Moore, of Raleigh, N.C.  This 1907 Raleigh publication purports to be Moore's daughter's transcription of stories told by two former slaves. It may be fiction, but it is sometimes cited as a genuine narrative.
	Ferebee, London R. BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SLAVE LIFE OF REV. L.R. FEREBEE, AND THE BATTLES OF LIFE, AND FOUR YEARS OF HIS MINISTERIAL LIFE.  Published in Raleigh in 1882, this book describes the author's life in slavery and then in the post-Civil War era. He was born in 1849.
	Hall, Samuel, and Orville Elder. Samuel Hall, 47 Years a Slave; A Brief Story of His Life Before and After Freedom Came to Him. The reminiscences of a 94-year-old man born in Iredell County.
	Jones, Friday. Days of Bondage. Autobiography of Friday Jones. Being a Brief Narrative of His Trials and Tribulations in Slavery. This was published in 1883. Jones was born near Raleigh in 1810.
	Latta, Morgan London. The History of My Life and Work. Autobiography by Rev. M. L. Latta, A.M., D.D. Published in 1903, this book includes the author's memories of growing up in slavery (he was born in 1853) and of the very hard times his widowed mother and her children endured before and just after the Civil War. Most of the book deals with his education and later life.
	Parker, Allen.  Recollections of Slavery Times.   Published in 1895, this book begins "I was born in the town of Chowan on the Chowan River, in the northeastern part of North Carolina, only a short distance south of the Virginia line. My mother, whose name was Millie, was a slave formerly owned by one Peter Parker . . . ."
	Robinson, William H. From Log Cabin to the Pulpit, or, Fifteen Years in Slavery. The author was born in Wilmington in 1848. Better reproductions of the illustrations can be viewed at the NYPLDigitalGallery.
	Singleton, William Henry. Recollections of My Slavery Days. In this 1922 publication, a Union veteran recalls his early days in Craven County, leading to his escape to the Union lines and his struggle to be allowed to enlist.
	Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938 This collection can be searched by state. These materials from a WPA project include "more than 2,300 first-person accounts of slavery and 500 black-and-white photographs of former slaves."  These are different from the written accounts, and the way they were collected presents some theoretical problems, but they are often very interesting stories. There are 218 items (narratives or pictures) in the North Carolina section.
	Tempe Herndon Durham, 1312 Pine St., Durham, North Carolina. This page is part of American Slave Narratives: An Online Anthology, a collection taken from the Federal Writers' Project (WPA) narratives. Mrs. Durham, who was born in Caswell County, was living in Durham when she was interviewed in her 103rd year.

Online Critical and Historical Material

	An Introduction to the Slave Narrative by William L. Andrews, E. Maynard Adams Professor of English. Dr. Andrews is the series editor for the North American Slave Narratives section of Documenting the American South. (See below for references to books by the same author.)
	The Slave Narrative This critical introduction, with links to a number of materials including narratives by non-North Carolina authors, is part of an excellent American literature site created by Prof. Donna M. Campbell.
	Slave narratives and Uncle Tom's Cabin This page is part of the resource material for the PBS series Africans in America.
	Slavery and Emancipation in the Mountain South. Discusses the WPA narratives from the mountain region, including one narrative from North Carolina.
	Harriet Jacobs ('Linda Brent') (1818-1896) This is Prof. Campbell's page on the author of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl.
	Lunsford Lane; or, Another Helper from North Carolina, by William G. Hawkins, is an 1863 biography of the author, and his life is also discussed in John Spencer Bassett's Anti-slavery Leaders of North Carolina, which was published in 1898.
	Resources for Studying George Moses Horton
	Scribbling Women A radio play of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is available from this site. After logging in, click on "The Writers" and scroll down to find Jacobs. (Thanks to Derek Currin of Triton High School for this reference!)

Lesson Plans

	Federal Writers' Project:  Reliving History Through Slave Narratives
	Federal Writers' Project:  Slave Narratives: Constructing U.S. History Through Analyzing Primary Sources
	Federal Writers' Project:  "Been Here So Long": Selections from the WPA American Slave Narratives  Three lesson plans designed to go with American Slave Narratives: An Online Anthology (see above).
	Lane, Lunsford:  Lunsford Lane: A Slave in North Carolina Who Buys His Freedom
	Jacobs, Harriet (Linda Brent):  An Introduction to Slave Narratives: Harriet Jacobs' Life of a Slave Girl.
	Parker, Allen:  An award-winning site at ECU, The Allen Parker Slave Narrative, gives the text, background information, and multiple lesson plans--highly recommended!
	Various:  Perspective on the Slave Narrative Although it is designed for use with the narratives of Frederick Douglass and William Wells Brown, this lesson would adapt to use with other narratives.
	Various:  From Courage to Freedom: Slavery’s Dehumanizing Effects Designed for Frederick Douglass, this lesson plan could be used with several of the book-length NC narratives.
	Various:  Families in Bondage  This lesson too is designed for use with non-NC materials but could be adapted.
	Various: A Debate Against Slavery This lesson asks students to gather evidence for an argument against slavery from primary documents.
	Various:  Revealing Untold Stories: Examining Depictions of Slavery as Presented in a Variety of Texts
	Various:  Oral History Through Personal Narratives
	Various:  Religion and Slavery in the American South: Comparing Perspectives Designed for use with the Documenting the American South materials, this plan focuses on the religious content of some of the narratives.
	Various:  Slavery and Childhood  Designed for use with the narratives of Douglass, Jacobs, Equiano, and Said.

Print Sources

	Andrews, William L., general ed.  North Carolina Slave Narratives: The Lives of Moses Roper, Lunsford Lane, Moses Grandy, and Thomas H. Jones. John Hope Franklin Series in African American History and Culture. Chapel Hill: UNC Press, 2003. The General Introduction is available online.
	Bolic, Cheryl Mason and Meghan M. McGlinn. "Harriet Jacobs: Using Online Slave Narratives in the Classroom." Social Education. 68 (2004): 198-202.
	Cecelski, David S. The Waterman's Song: Slavery and Freedom in Maritime North Carolina. Chapel Hill: UNC Press, 2001. The preface of this book, available online, includes a brief discussion of the narratives of Ferebee, Grandy, and Jones, as well as a reference to Robinson's description of his father's activities.
	Wilentz, Gay. "Authenticating Experience: North Carolina Slave Narratives and the Politics of Place." North Carolina Literary Review. Issue 1.1 (1992):  115-37.

Department of English and Foreign Languages,       Winston-Salem State University

Comments about this page and notifications of broken links should be sent to Rebecca Wall  

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