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Biographies Listed Alphabetically
This section of the bibliography lists biographies published in English before 1940 that were written by or about slaves or former slaves. Much less well known than autobiographical slave narratives, the biographies of slaves or former slaves constitute an abundant resource for the study of the nineteenth-century slave narrative tradition. In addition to book-length biographies, the following listing comprises biographical pamphlets, books of biographical sketches, historical volumes that contain a significant proportion of biographical narratives, and substantial biographical introductions to editions of authors' works. Generally more sermonic than narrative, eulogies are not listed here. Also excluded from this bibliography are various other non-narrative biographical forms, for example, the commemorative speech, the newspaper, magazine, or journal article, and the obituary, even though they were sometimes used for biographical purposes.
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A | Top of Page
- Adams, H. G. (Henry Gardiner), 1811 or 2-1881, ed. God's Image in Ebony: Being a Series of Biographical Sketches, Facts, Anecdotes, etc., Demonstrative of the Mental Powers and Intellectual Capacities of the Negro Race London: Partridge and Oakey, 1854.
- Alexander, Charles, b. 1868. Battles and Victories of Allen Allensworth, A. M., Ph. D. Lieutenant-Colonel, Retired, U. S. Army. Boston: Sherman, French, 1914.
- Allinson, William J., 1810-1874. Memoir of Quamino Buccau, a Pious Methodist. Philadelphia: Henry Longstreth, 1851.
- Anecdotes and Memoirs of William Boen, a Coloured Man, Who Lived and Died Near Mount Holly, New Jersey. To Which Is Added the Testimony of Friends of Mount Holly Monthly Meeting Concerning Him. Philadelphia: J. Richards, 1834.
- Armistead, Wilson, 1819-1868. A Tribute for the Negro: Being a Vindication of the Moral, Intellectual, and Religious Capabilities of the Coloured Portion of Mankind: With Particular Reference to the African Race: Illustrated by Numerous Biographical Sketches, Facts, Anecdotes, etc. Manchester, Eng.: W. Irwin, 1848.
B | Top of Page
- Barber, John Warner, 1798-1885. A History of the Amistad Captives: Being a Circumstantial Account of the Capture of the Spanish Schooner Amistad, by the Africans on Board: Their Voyage, and Capture Near Long Island, New York: with Biographical Sketches of Each of the Surviving Africans: Also, an Account of the Trials had on Their Case, Before the District and Circuit Courts of the United States, for the District of Connecticut. New Haven: E. L. & J. W. Barber, 1840.
- Barrett, Philip. Gilbert Hunt, the City Blacksmith. Richmond, VA: James Woodhouse, 1859.
- Beard, John Relly, 1800-1876. The Life of Toussaint L'Ouverture, the Negro Patriot of Hayti: Comprising an Account of the Struggle for Liberty in the Island, and a Sketch of Its History to the Present Period. London: Ingram, Cooke, and Co, 1853.
- ---. Toussaint L'Ouverture. A Biography and Autobiography. Boston: J. Redpath, 1863.
- Biographical Sketch of Millie Christine, the Carolina Twin, Surnamed the Two-Headed Nightingale and the Eighth Wonder of the World. Cincinnati: Hennegan & Co. Print, [between 1902 and 1912].
- Biography of London Ferrill, Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Colored Persons, Lexington, Ky. Lexington, KY: A. W. Elder, 1854.
- Bleby, Henry, 1809-1882. Josiah: the Maimed Fugitive. London: Wesleyan Conference Office, 1873.
- Bluett, Thomas. Some Memoirs of the Life of Job, the Son of Solomon, the High Priest of Boonda in Africa; Who Was a Slave about Two Years in Maryland; and Afterwards Being Brought to England, Was Set Free, and Sent to His Native Land in the Year 1734. London: R. Ford, 1734.
- Bradford, Sarah Hopkins, b. 1818. Harriet, the Moses of Her People. New York: George R. Lockwood, 1886.
- ---. Scenes in the Life of Harriet Tubman. Auburn, NY: W. J. Moses, 1869.
- Bragg, George Freeman, 1863-1940. Men of Maryland. Baltimore: Church Advocate, 1914.
- ---. Richard Allen and Absalom Jones. Baltimore: Church Advocate, 1915.
- Brown, Hallie Quinn. Homespun Heroines and other Women of Distinction. Xenia, OH: Aldine, 1926.
- Brown, Josephine. Biography of an American Bondman, by His Daughter. Boston: Robert F. Wallcut, 1856.
- Brown, Rebecca Warren. Memoir of Mrs. Chloe Spear, a Native of Africa: Who Was Enslaved in Childhood, and Died in Boston, January 3, 1815, aged 65 Years. Boston: J. Loring, 1832.
- Brown, William Wells, 1814?-1884. The Black Man: His Antecedents, His Genius, and His Achievements. New York: T. Hamilton, 1863.
- Bruce, John Edward, b. 1856. Prince Hall, the Pioneer of Negro Masonry; Proofs of the Legitimacy of Prince Hall Masonry. New York: s. n., 1921.
C | Top of Page
- Capehart, L. C. Reminiscences of Isaac and Sukey, Slaves of B. F. Moore, of Raleigh, N. C. Raleigh: Edwards, 1907.
- "Captain Stuart". Reuben Maddison a True Story. Birmingham, Eng.: B. Hudson, 1835.
- Chesnutt, Charles Waddell, 1858-1932. Frederick Douglass. Boston: Small, Maynard, 1899.
- Cox, Mary L. and Susan H. Cox, eds. Narrative of Dimmock Charlton, a British Subject, Taken from the Brig "Peacock" by the U.S. Sloop "Hornet," Enslaved while a Prisoner of War, and Retained Forty-five Years in Bondage. Philadelphia: The Editors, 1859.
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- Dungy, J. A. A Narrative of the Rev. John Dungy, Who Was Born a Slave. Written by His Daughter. Rochester, NY: The Author, 1866.
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- Early, Sarah J. W. Life and Labors of Rev. Jordan W. Early, One of the Pioneers of African Methodism in the West and South. Nashville: Publishing House A.M.E. Church Sunday School Union, 1894.
- Edwards, John Passmore, 1823-1911. Uncle Tom's Companions: or, Facts Stranger Than Fiction: a Supplement to Uncle Tom's Cabin, Being Startling Incidents in the Lives of Celebrated Fugitive Slaves London: Edwards, 1852.
- Edwards, S. J. Celestine. From Slavery to a Bishopric, or, The Life of Bishop Walter Hawkins of the British Methodist Episcopal Church, Canada. London: J. Kensit, 1891.
- Eliot, William Greenleaf, 1811-1887. The Story of Archer Alexander: From Slavery to Freedom, March 30, 1863. Boston: Cupples, Upham, 1885.
F | Top of Page
- Fleming, Walter Lynwood, 1874-1932. " 'Pap' Singleton, the Moses of the Colored Exodus." The American Journal of Sociology, 15 (July 1909): 61-82.
- Floyd, Silas Xavier, b. 1869. Life of Charles T. Walker, D.D. ("The Black Spurgeon") Pastor of Mt. Olivet Baptist Church, New York City. Introduction by Robert Stuart MacArthur, D. D. Nashville: National Baptist Publishing Board, 1902.
- Foster, Gustavus Lemuel, 1818-1876. Uncle Johnson, the Pilgrim of Six Score Years. Philadelphia: Presbyterian Board, 1867.
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- Gallaudet, Thomas H., 1787-1851. A Statement with Regard to the Moorish Prince, Abduhl Rahhahman. New York: D. Fanshaw, 1828.
- Green, Augustus R. The Life of the Rev. Dandridge F. Davis of the African Methodist E. Church with a Brief Account of His Conversion and Ministerial Labors, from August 1834, till March 1847: Also a Brief Sketch of the Life of the Rev. David Conyou of the A. M. E. C. and His Ministerial Labors: To Which is Annexed the Funeral Discourse Delivered at the Ohio Conference, in Zanesville, on the Decease of the Rev. D. F. Davis, by the Author: Published by Order of the Ohio Conference. Pittsburgh: Ohio A. M. E. Conference, 1850.
- Green, Frances Harriet (Whipple), 1805-1878. Memoirs of Elleanor Eldridge. Providence, RI: B. T. Albro, 1838.
- Gregory, James Monroe, 1849-1915. Frederick Douglass the Orator: Containing an Account of His life; His Eminent Public Services; His Brilliant Career as Orator; Selections from His Speeches and Writings. Springfield, MA: Willey, 1893.
- Gurley, Ralph Randolph, 1797-1872. Life of Jehudi Ashmun, Late Colonial Agent in Liberia. With An Appendix, Containing Extracts from his Journal and Other Writings; With a Brief Sketch of the Life of The Rev. Lott Cary. Washington: James C. Dunn, 1835.
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- Hamilton, Jeff, 1840-1950?. "My Master," The Inside Story of Sam Houston and His Times, by His Former Slave, Jeff Hamilton, as Told to Lenoir Hunt. Dallas: Manfred, Van Nort & Co., 1940.
- Hatcher, William Eldridge, 1834-1912. John Jasper: The Unmatched Negro Philosopher and Preacher. New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1908.
- Hawkins, William G. (William George), 1823-1909 Lunsford Lane; or, Another Helper from North Carolina. Boston: Crosby and Nichols, 1863.
- Holland, Frederick May, 1836-1908. Frederick Douglass: the Colored Orator. New York: Funk and Wagnalls, 1895.
- Hopper, Isaac Tatem, 1771-1852. Narrative of the Life of Thomas Cooper. New York: The Author, 1832.
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- Jennings, Paul, b. 1799. A Colored Man's Reminiscences of James Madison Ed. J.B.R. Brooklyn: George C. Beadle, 1865.
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- Lee, Hannah Farnham Sawyer, 1780-1865. Memoir of Pierre Toussaint, Born a Slave in St. Domingo. Boston: Crosby, Nichols, 1854.
- Levering, Sarah R. Memoirs of Margaret Jane Blake of Baltimore, Md.: and Selections in Prose and Verse. Philadelphia: Innes, 1897.
- Lewis, John W. The Life, Labors and Travels of Elder Charles Bowles, of the Free Will Baptist Denomination, by Eld. John W. Lewis. Together with an Essay on the Character and Condition of the African Race by the Same. Also, an Essay on the Fugitive Law of the U. S. Congress of 1850, by Rev. Arthur Dearing. Watertown, MA: Ingalls and Stowell's, 1852.
- The Life of Joice Heth, the Nurse of Gen. George Washington, (the Father of Our Country,) Now Living at the Astonishing Age of 161 Years, and Weighs Only 46 Pounds. New York: The Author, 1835.
- Long, John Dixon, 1817-1894. Pictures of Slavery in Church and State; Including Personal Reminiscences, Biographical Sketches, Anecdotes, etc. with an Appendix, Containing the Views of John Wesley and Richard Watson on Slavery. Philadelphia: The Author, 1857.
M | Top of Page
- McCray, S. J. Life of Mary F. McCray: Born and Raised a Slave in the State of Kentucky. By Her Husband and Son. Lima, OH: s. n., 1898.
- Merritt, Raleigh Howard. From Captivity to Fame; or, The Life of George Washington Carver. Boston: Meador, 1929.
- Mitchell, Joseph, 1798-1864. The Missionary Pioneer, or, a Brief Memoir of the Life, Labours, and Death of John Stewart, (Man of Colour) Founder, under God, of the Mission among the Wyandotts at Upper Sandusky, Ohio. New York: The Author, 1827.
- Mott, Abigail, 1766-1851, and M. S. (Mary S.) Wood, 1805-1894, eds. Narratives of Colored Americans. New-York: W. Wood, 1875.
- Mott, Abigail, 1766-1851, ed. Biographical Sketches and Interesting Anecdotes of Persons of Colour. To Which is Added, a Selection of Pieces in Poetry. New York: M. Day, 1826.
N | Top of Page
- A Narrative of "Griswold," the African Youth, from the Mission School, at Las Palmas, Who Died in Boston, May 16, 1844. Boston: A Friend of Missions, 1845.
- Nell, William Cooper, 1816-1874. The Colored Patriots of the American Revolution, with Sketches of Several Distinguished Colored Persons: To Which Is Added a Brief Survey of the Condition and Prospects of Colored Americans. Boston: Robert F. Wallcut, 1855.
- Newbold, Virginia. Carney: A Sketch. Philadelphia: the Author, 1929.
- Nicholson, Alfred W. Brief Sketch of the Life and Labors of Rev. Alexander Bettis. Also an Account of the Founding and Development of the Bettis Academy. Trenton, SC: The Author, 1913.
- Norris, Robert, d. 1791. Memoirs of the Reign of Bossa Ahadee, King of Dahomy, an Inland Country of Guiney: to which are Added, the Author's Journey to Abomey, the Capital; and a Short Account of the African Slave Trade. London: W. Lowndes, 1789.
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- Pancoast, William H. (William Henry), 1834-1897. The Carolina Twins. [Philadelphia?, PA.: s.n., 187-?]. Rpt. from the Photographic Review of Medicine and Surgery. Vol. 1, no 5 (1871).pp. 43-57.
- Pendleton, Leila Amos, b. 1860 A Narrative of the Negro. Washington, D. C.: Press of R. L. Pendleton, 1912.
- Pickard, Kate E. R. The Kidnapped and the Ransomed. Being the Personal Recollections of Peter Still and His Wife "Vina," after Forty Years of Slavery. Syracuse, NY: William T. Hamilton; New York: Miller, Orton and Mulligan, 1856.
R | Top of Page
- Randolph, Edwin Archer, b. 1854 The Life of Rev. John Jasper, Pastor of Sixth Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Richmond, Va., from His Birth to the Present Time, with His Theory on the Rotation of the Sun. Richmond, VA: R. T. Hill, 1884.
- Robinson, Nina Hill. Aunt Dice: The Story of a Faithful Slave. Nashville, TN: M. E. Church, South, Barbee & Smith, 1897.
- The Royal African: or, Memoirs of the Young Prince of Annamaboe [William Ansah Sessarakoo]. London: W. Reeve, 1749.
- Rudd, Daniel A., b. 1854, and Theophilus Bond, b. 1879. From Slavery to Wealth: The Life of Scott Bond, the Rewards of Honesty, Industry, Economy and Perserverance. Madison, Ark.: The Authors, 1917.
S | Top of Page
- Scott, Emmett Jay, 1873-1957, and Lyman Beecher Stowe, 1880-1963. Booker T. Washington, Builder of a Civilization. Garden City, New York: Doubleday Page, 1916.
- Simmons, William J., 1849-1890. Men of Mark: Eminent, Progressive and Rising. Cleveland: Rewell, 1887.
- Simpson, John Hawkins. Horrors of the Virginian Slave Trade and of the Slave-Rearing Plantations. The True Story of Dinah, an Escaped Virginian Slave, Now in London, on whose Body are Eleven Scars Left by Tortures which were Inflicted by Her Master, Her Own Father. Together with Extracts from the Laws of Virginia, Showing that Against these Barbarities the Law gives not the Smallest Protection to the Slave, but the Reverse. London: A. W. Bennett, 1863.
- A Sketch of Henry Franklin and Family. Philadelphia: Collins, 1887.
- A Sketch of the Life of Thomas Green Bethune (Blind Tom). Philadelphia: Ledger Book and Job, 1865.
- Stedman, John Gabriel. Narrative of Joanna; an Emancipated Slave, of Surinam. (From Stedman's Narrative of a Five Year's Expedition against the Revolted Negroes of Surinam). Boston: Isaac Knapp, 1838.
- Stevens, Charles Emery, 1815-1893. Anthony Burns: A History. Boston: John P. Jewett, 1856.
- Straker, David Augustus, d. 1908. Reflections on the Life and Times of Toussaint L'Ouverture, the Negro Haytien, Commander-in-Chief of the Army, Ruler Under the Dominion of France, and Author of the Independence of Hayti. Columbia, SC: C. A. Calvo, 1886.
- Suggs, Eliza. Shadow and Sunshine. Omaha, NE: The Author, 1906.
T | Top of Page
- Taylor, James Barnett, 1804-1871. Biography of the Elder Lott Carey, Late Missionary to Africa. Baltimore: Armstrong & Berry, 1837.
- Thatcher, Benjamin Bussy, 1809-1840. Memoir of Phillis Wheatley, a Native African and a Slave. Boston: George W. Light, 1834.
- Thompson, Mary W. Broken Gloom. Sketches of the History, Character and Dying Testimony of Beneficiaries of the Colored Home, in the City of New-York. New York: J. F. Trow, 1851.
- Thompson, Matilda G. Aunt Judy's Story: A Tale from Real Life. Written for the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Fair. Philadelphia: Merrihew & Thompson, Printers, 1855.
- Troy, William. Hair-breadth Escapes from Slavery to Freedom. Manchester: Bremner, 1861.
- Twelvetrees, Harper, 1823-1881. The Story of the Life of John Anderson, the Fugitive Slave. London: W. Tweedie, 1863.
U | Top of Page
- Upham, Mrs. T. C. Narrative of Phebe Ann Jacobs. London: W. and F. G. Cash, 1850.
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- Vale, Gilbert, 1788-1866. Fanaticism: Its Source and Influence, Illustrated by the Simple Narrative of Isabella, in the Case of Matthias, Mr. and Mrs. B. Folger, Mr. Pierson, Mr. Mills, Catherine, Isabella, &c. &c. A Reply to W. L. Stone, with the Descriptive Portraits of All the Parties, While at Sing-Sing and at Third Street. - Containing the Whole Truth - and Nothing but the Truth. New York: Gilbert Vale, 1835. (Note: "The Simple Narrative of Isabella" is the narrative of Sojourner Truth.)
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- Washington, Booker T., 1856-1915. Frederick Douglass. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1906.
- Weld, Theodore Dwight, 1803-1895, ed. American Slavery As It Is: Testimony of a Thousand Witnesses. New York: American Anti-Slavery Society, 1839.
- Wheatley, Phillis, 1753-1784, and Margaretta Matilda Odell. Memoir and Poems of Phillis Wheatley, a Native African and a Slave. Dedicated to the Friends of the Africans. Boston: Published by Geo. W. Light, 1834.
- White, William Spotswood, 1800-1873. The African Preacher: An Authentic Narrative. Philadelphia: Presbyterian Board, 1849.
- Wickham, Elizabeth Merwin, 1810-1901. A Lost Family Found: An Authentic Narrative of Cyrus Branch and His Family, Alias John White, of Manchester, Vermont. Manchester, VT: s. n. 1869.