12 Years a Slave by Solomon Northup Chapter 1
Having been born a freeman, and for more than thirty years enjoyed the blessings of liberty
in a free State-and having at the end of that time been kidnapped and sold into Slavery,
where I remained, until happily rescued in the month of January, 1853, after a bondage
of twelve years—it has been suggested that an account of my life and fortunes would not
be uninteresting to the public. Since my return to liberty, I have not failed
to perceive the increasing interest throughout the Northern States, in regard to the subject
of Slavery. Works of fiction, professing to portray its features in their more pleasing
as well as more repugnant aspects, have been circulated to an extent unprecedented, and,
as I understand, have created a fruitful topic of comment and discussion.
I can speak of Slavery only so far as it came under my own observation—only so far as
I have known and experienced it in my own person. My object is, to give a candid and
truthful statement of facts: to repeat the story of my life, without exaggeration, leaving
it for others to determine, whether even the pages of fiction present a picture of more
cruel wrong or a severer bondage. As far back as I have been able to ascertain,
my ancestors on the paternal side were slaves in Rhode Island. They belonged to a family
by the name of Northup, one of whom, removing to the State of New York, settled at Hoosic,
in Rensselaer county. He brought with him Mintus Northup, my father. On the death of
this gentleman, which must have occurred some fifty years ago, my father became free, having
been emancipated by a direction in his will. Henry B. Northup, Esq., of Sandy Hill, a distinguished
counselor at law, and the man to whom, under Providence, I am indebted for my present liberty,
and my return to the society of my wife and children, is a relative of the family in which
my forefathers were thus held to service, and from which they took the name I bear.
To this fact may be attributed the persevering interest he has taken in my behalf.
Sometime after my father's liberation, he removed to the town of Minerva, Essex county,
N. Y., where I was born, in the month of July, 1808. How long he remained in the latter place
I have not the means of definitely ascertaining. From thence he removed to Granville, Washington
county, near a place known as Slyborough, where, for some years, he labored on the farm
of Clark Northup, also a relative of his old master; from thence he removed to the Alden
farm, at Moss Street, a short distance north of the village of Sandy Hill; and from thence
to the farm now owned by Russel Pratt, situated on the road leading from Fort Edward to Argyle,
where he continued to reside until his death, which took place on the 22d day of November,
1829. He left a widow and two children —myself, and Joseph, an elder brother. The latter is
still living in the county of Oswego, near the city of that name; my mother died during
the period of my captivity. Though born a slave, and laboring under the
disadvantages to which my unfortunate race is subjected, my father was a man respected
for his industry and integrity, as many now living, who well remember him, are ready to
testify. His whole life was passed in the peaceful pursuits of agriculture, never seeking
employment in those more menial positions, which seem to be especially allotted to the
children of Africa. Besides giving us an education surpassing that ordinarily bestowed upon children
in our condition, he acquired, by his diligence and economy, a sufficient property qualification
to entitle him to the right of suffrage. He was accustomed to speak to us of his early
life; and although at all times cherishing the warmest emotions of kindness, and even
of affection towards the family, in whose house he had been a bondsman, he nevertheless
comprehended the system of Slavery, and dwelt with sorrow on the degradation of his race.
He endeavored to imbue our minds with sentiments of morality, and to teach us to place our,
trust and confidence in Him who regards the humblest as well as the highest of his creatures.
How often since that time has the recollection of his paternal counsels occurred to me, while
lying in a slave hut in the distant and sickly regions of Louisiana, smarting with the undeserved
wounds which an inhuman master had inflicted, and longing only for the grave which had covered
him, to shield me also from the lash of the oppressor. In the church yard at Sandy Hill,
an humble stone marks the spot where he reposes, after having worthily performed the duties
appertaining to the lowly sphere wherein God had appointed him to walk.
Up to this period I had been principally engaged with my father in the labors of the farm.
The leisure hours allowed me were generally either employed over my books, or playing
on the violin—an amusement which was the ruling passion of my youth. It has also been
the source of consolation since, affording, pleasure to the simple beings with whom my
lot was cast, and beguiling my own thoughts, for many hours, from the painful contemplation
of my fate. On Christmas day, 1829, I was married to Anne
Hampton, a colored girl then living in the vicinity of our residence. The ceremony was
performed at Fort Edward, by Timothy Eddy, Esq., a magistrate of that town, and still
a prominent citizen of the place. She had resided a long time at Sandy Hill, with Mr.
Baird, proprietor of the Eagle Tavern, and also in the family of Rev. Alexander Proudfit,
of Salem. This gentleman for many years had presided over the Presbyterian society at
the latter place, and was widely distinguished for his learning and piety. Anne still holds
in grateful remembrance the exceeding kindness and the excellent counsels of that good man.
She is not able to determine the exact line of her descent, but the blood of three races
mingles in her veins. It is difficult to tell whether the red, white, or black predominates.
The union of them all, however, in her origin, has given her a singular but pleasing expression,
such as is rarely to be seen. Though somewhat resembling, yet she cannot properly be styled
a quadroon, a class to which, I have omitted to mention, my mother belonged.
I had just now passed the period of my minority, having reached the age of twenty-one years
in the month of July previous. Deprived of the advice and assistance of my father, with
a wife dependent upon me for support, I resolved to enter upon a life of industry; and notwithstanding
the obstacle of color, and the consciousness of my lowly state, indulged in pleasant dreams
of a good time coming, when the possession of some humble habitation, with a few surrounding
acres, should reward my labors, and bring me the means of happiness and comfort.
From the time of my marriage to this day the love I have borne my wife has been sincere
and unabated; and only those who have felt the glowing tenderness a father cherishes
for his offspring, can appreciate my affection for the beloved children which have since
been born to us. This much I deem appropriate and necessary to day, in order that those
who read these pages, may comprehend the poignancy of those sufferings I have been doomed to
bear. Immediately upon our marriage we commenced
house-keeping, in the old yellow building then standing at the southern extremity of
Fort Edward village, and which has since been transformed into a modern mansion, and lately
occupied by Captain Lathrop. It is known as the Fort House. In this building the courts
were sometime held after the organization of the county. It was also occupied by Burgoyne
in 1777, being situated near the old Fort on the left bank of the Hudson.
During the winter I was employed with others repairing the Champlain Canal, on that section
over which William Van Nortwick was superintendent. David McEachron had the immediate charge of
the men in whose company I labored. By the time the canal opened in the spring, I was
enabled, from the savings of my wages, to purchase a pair of horses, and other things
necessarily required in the business of navigation. Having hired several efficient hands to assist
me, I entered into contracts for the transportation of large rafts of timber from Lake Champlain
to Troy. Dyer Beckwith and a Mr. Bartemy, of Whitehall, accompanied me on several trips.
During the season I became perfectly familiar with the art and mysteries of rafting—a
knowledge which afterwards enabled me to render profitable service to a worthy master, and
to astonish the simple-witted lumbermen on the banks of the Bayou Boeuf.
In one of my voyages down Lake Champlain, I was induced to make a visit to Canada. Repairing
to Montreal, I visited the cathedral and other places of interest in that city, from whence
I continued my excursion to Kingston and other towns, obtaining a knowledge of localities,
which was also of service to me afterwards, as will appear towards the close of this narrative.
Having completed my contracts on the canal satisfactorily to myself and to my employer,
and not wishing to remain idle, now that the navigation of the canal was again suspended,
I entered into another contract with Medad Gunn, to cut a large quantity of wood. In
this business I was engaged during the winter of 1831-32.
With the return of spring, Anne and myself conceived the project of taking a farm in
the neighborhood. I had been accustomed from earliest youth to agricultural labors, and
it was an occupation congenial to my tastes. I accordingly entered into arrangements for
a part of the old Alden farm, on which my father formerly resided. With one cow, one
swine, a yoke of fine oxen I had lately purchased of Lewis Brown, in Hartford, and other personal
property and effects, we proceeded to our new home in Kingsbury. That year I planted
twenty-five acres of corn, sowed large fields of oats, and commenced farming upon as large
a scale as my utmost means would permit. Anne was diligent about the house affairs, while
I toiled laboriously in the field. On this place we continued to reside until
1834. In the winter season I had numerous calls to play on the violin. Wherever the
young people assembled to dance, I was almost invariably there. Throughout the surrounding
villages my fiddle was notorious. Anne, also, during her long residence at the Eagle Tavern,
had become somewhat famous as a cook. During court weeks, and on public occasions, she
was employed at high wages in the kitchen at Sherrill's Coffee House.
We always returned home from the performance of these services with money in our pockets;
so that, with fiddling, cooking, and farming, we soon found ourselves in the possession
of abundance, and, in fact, leading a happy and prosperous life. Well, indeed, would it
have been for us had we remained on the farm at Kingsbury; but the time came when the next
step was to be taken towards the cruel destiny that awaited me.
In March, 1834, we removed to Saratoga Springs. We occupied a house belonging to Daniel O'Brien,
on the north side of Washington street. At that time Isaac Taylor kept a large boarding
house, known as Washington Hall, at the north end of Broadway. He employed me to drive a
hack, in which capacity I worked for him two years. After this time I was generally employed
through the visiting season, as also was Anne, in the United States Hotel, and other public
houses of the place. In winter seasons I relied upon my violin, though during the construction
of the Troy and Saratoga railroad, I performed many hard days' labor upon it.
I was in the habit, at Saratoga, of purchasing articles necessary for my family at the stores
of Mr. Cephas Parker and Mr. William Perry, gentlemen towards whom, for many acts of kindness,
I entertained feelings of strong regard. It was for this reason that twelve years afterwards,
I caused to be directed to them the letter, which is hereinafter inserted, and which was
the means, in the hands of Mr. Northup, of my fortunate deliverance.
While living at the United States Hotel, I frequently met with slaves, who had accompanied
their masters from the South. They were always well dressed and well provided for, leading
apparently an easy life, with but few of its ordinary troubles to perplex them. Many times
they entered into conversation with me on the subject of Slavery. Almost uniformly I
found they cherished a secret desire for liberty. Some of them expressed the most ardent anxiety
to escape, and consulted me on the best method of effecting it. The fear of punishment, however,
which they knew was certain to attend their re-capture and return, in all cases proved
sufficient to deter them from the experiment. Having all my life breathed the free air of
the North, and conscious that I possessed the same feelings and affections that find
a place in the white man's breast; conscious, moreover, of an intelligence equal to that
of some men, at least, with a fairer skin. I was too ignorant, perhaps too independent,
to conceive how any one could be content to live in the abject condition of a slave. I
could not comprehend the justice of that law, or that religion, which upholds or recognizes
the principle of Slavery; and never once, I am proud to say, did I fail to counsel any
one who came to me, to watch his opportunity, and strike for freedom.
I continued to reside at Saratoga until the spring of 1841. The flattering anticipations
which, seven years before, had seduced us from the quiet farm house, on the east side
of the Hudson, had not been realized. Though always in comfortable circumstances, we had
not prospered. The society and associations at that world-renowned watering place, were
not calculated to preserve the simple habits of industry and economy to which I had been
accustomed, but, on the contrary, to substitute others in their stead, tending to shiftlessness
and extravagance. At this time we were the parents of three
children— Elizabeth, Margaret, and Alonzo. Elizabeth, the eldest, was in her tenth year;
Margaret was two years younger, and little Alonzo had just passed his fifth birth-day.
They filled our house with gladness. Their young voices were music in our ears. Many
an airy castle did their mother and myself build for the little innocents. When not at
labor I was always walking with them, clad in their best attire, through the streets
and groves of Saratoga. Their presence was my delight; and I clasped them to my bosom
with as warm and tender love as if their clouded skins had been as white as snow.
Thus far the history of my life presents nothing whatever unusual—nothing but the common
hopes, and loves, and labors of an obscure colored man, making his humble progress in
the world. But now I had reached a turning point in my existence—reached the threshold
of unutterable wrong, and sorrow, and despair. Now had I approached within the shadow of
the cloud, into the thick darkness whereof I was soon to disappear, thenceforward to
be hidden from the eyes of all my kindred, and shut out from the sweet light of liberty,
for many a weary year. End of chapter 1