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2 books match the query 'Slavery Freedom'
Martha Tolton and Her Son Augustus
A Black Catholic Family's Experience of Slavery and FreedomEmilie Leumas
Catholic University of America Press, 2026
This groundbreaking work uncovers the extraordinary story of Martha Tolton, a woman whose courage and faith shaped the life of her son, Father Augustus Tolton—the first recognized Black Catholic priest in the United States. Through meticulous archival research, this book reconstructs the Tolton family’s journey from enslavement in Kentucky and Missouri to freedom in Illinois, offering a rare and deeply human perspective on the Catholic experience of slavery in America.
Drawing on sacramental records, civil documents, successions, and personal testimonies, the narrative illuminates the resilience of a mother who escaped bondage with her children and nurtured their faith against overwhelming odds. Martha’s life, often overshadowed by her son’s historic achievements, emerges here as a story of fortitude, sacrifice, and spiritual strength. More than a biography, this book is a foundational resource for scholars and readers interested in African American history, Catholic studies, and the lived experiences of enslaved families. It explores themes of faith, migration, family bonds, and the enduring quest for dignity and freedom.
Richly documented and profoundly moving, Martha Tolton and Her Son Augustus invites readers to witness a legacy that transcends generations—a testament to hope and perseverance in the face of injustice.
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Venture Smith and the Business of Slavery and Freedom
James Brewer Stewart
University of Massachusetts Press, 2010
This book originated in the summer of 2006, in the burial ground of the First Church of Christ, Congregational, of East Haddam, Connecticut, where a team of forensic scientists began excavating the graves of two emancipated slaves, Venture Smith (d. 1805) and his wife, Marget (d. 1809). Those requesting this remarkable investigation were the Smiths' direct descendants, members of the eighth, ninth, tenth, and eleventh generations, who were determined to honor the bicentennial of their founding ancestor's death by discovering everything possible about his life. Opening burial plots in the hope of recovering DNA for genealogical tracing proved a compelling first step.
But what began as a scientific inquiry into African origins rapidly evolved into an unparalleled interdisciplinary collaboration between historians, literary analysts, geographers, genealogists, anthropologists, political philosophers, genomic biologists, and, perhaps most revealingly, a poet. Their common goal has been to reconstruct the life of an extraordinary African American and to assay its implications for the sprawling, troubled eighteenth-century world of racial exploitation over which he triumphed. This volume displays the rich results of that collaboration.
A highly intelligent, deeply self-motivated and immensely energetic slave transported from Africa, Venture Smith transformed himself through unstinting labor into a respectable Connecticut citizen, a successful entrepreneur, and the liberator of other enslaved African Americans. As James O. Horton emphasizes in his foreword to this volume, "Venture Smith's saga is a gift to all who seek to understand the complex racial beginnings of America. It helps to connect the broad American story with the stories of many Americans whose lives illustrate the national struggle to live out the national ideals."
In addition to Horton and volume editor James Brewer Stewart, contributors include Cameron Blevins, Vincent Carretta, Anna Mae Duane, Robert P. Forbes, Anne L. Hiskes, Paul Lovejoy, Marilyn Nelson, David Richardson, Chandler B. Saint, Linda Strausbaugh, Kevin Tulimieri, and John Wood Sweet.
But what began as a scientific inquiry into African origins rapidly evolved into an unparalleled interdisciplinary collaboration between historians, literary analysts, geographers, genealogists, anthropologists, political philosophers, genomic biologists, and, perhaps most revealingly, a poet. Their common goal has been to reconstruct the life of an extraordinary African American and to assay its implications for the sprawling, troubled eighteenth-century world of racial exploitation over which he triumphed. This volume displays the rich results of that collaboration.
A highly intelligent, deeply self-motivated and immensely energetic slave transported from Africa, Venture Smith transformed himself through unstinting labor into a respectable Connecticut citizen, a successful entrepreneur, and the liberator of other enslaved African Americans. As James O. Horton emphasizes in his foreword to this volume, "Venture Smith's saga is a gift to all who seek to understand the complex racial beginnings of America. It helps to connect the broad American story with the stories of many Americans whose lives illustrate the national struggle to live out the national ideals."
In addition to Horton and volume editor James Brewer Stewart, contributors include Cameron Blevins, Vincent Carretta, Anna Mae Duane, Robert P. Forbes, Anne L. Hiskes, Paul Lovejoy, Marilyn Nelson, David Richardson, Chandler B. Saint, Linda Strausbaugh, Kevin Tulimieri, and John Wood Sweet.
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