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Amanda Smith  Booker T. Washington  Title Page from A Narrative of Events Since the First of August, 1834, by James Williams  Hallie Q. Brown  Portrait of Omar ibn Said 
Guide to Religious Content in Slave Narratives
Compiled by
Marcella Grendler, Andrew Leiter, and Jill Sexton

Many Southern Blacks, both enslaved and free, embraced evangelical Christianity, adapting it to fit past and present experience. First-person accounts of enslavement document the gamut of their religious experience and practice. The narratives reveal the duality of Black religious experience: the white-controlled message and practice, and the "invisible institution" the enslaved community established across the South embodying its own religious ideals and aspirations. Some report the conversion so central to evangelicalism. They capture the joy of being "in the spirit" and the rich sense of personal value religious commitment brought. Many individuals persisted in religious practice despite severe punishment. The narratives show how enslaved people interpreted the Bible, especially the Exodus story, as a metaphor for their own difficult lives and as promise of eventual liberation.
Black authors noted the hypocrisy that sometimes characterized white Christianity, pointing out the contradiction between God's Word and enslavers cruelty and inhumanity. "Slaveholders hide themselves behind the Church. . . . A more praying, preaching, psalm-singing people cannot be found than the slave holders of the South," declared William Wells Brown (1814-1884), an abolitionist lecturer, novelist, playwright, and historian who self-emancipated from enslavement in 1834. The Reverend William H. Robinson (b. 1848), who was freed from slavery during the Civil War and in 1877 converted to Methodism and became a minister and speaker, offered mock family prayers: "grant us all a large increase of slaves . . .." To enslaved people he offered a mock sermon: "God's wisdom is displayed in the system of slavery." Many of the first-person accounts of enslavement rejected the oft-repeated recommendations of obedience to the established order.
This guide is intended as a starting point for researchers interested in learning more about the religious experience of Black people during slavery. It is not a comprehensive index of all religious content in the almost three hundred first-person accounts of enslavement included on our site. References are limited to descriptions written by enslaved people about religion and religious practice during the period of slavery.
Clicking on the linked page numbers will take you to the cited pages within the entire text. The number in parentheses after the page number is the size of the file.

Language updated in 2021.

Baptism
Brown, Henry Box, and Charles Stearn, Narrative of Henry Box Brown (1849), 23-24 p. (200K)
Brown, Josephine, Biography of an American Bondman (1856, c1855), 23-24 p. (180K)
Brown, Rebecca Warren[?], Memoir of Mrs. Chloe Spear (1832), 38-40 p, 49-50 p. (100K)
Henry, George, Life of George Henry (1894), 42-43 p. (170K)
Johnson, Thomas Lewis, Twenty-Eight Years a Slave (1909), 17 p. (800K)
Marrs, Elijah P., Life and History of the Rev. Elijah P. Marrs (1885), 15 p. (215K)
No Author, Biography of London Ferrill (1854), 2-3 p, 7-8 p, 11 p. (35K)
Richmond, Legh, The Negro Servant (1815), 141-143 p, 146 p, 166-167 p, 184 p. (90K)
Said, Nicholas, The Autobiography of Nicholas Said (1873), 145 p. (195K)
Stevens, Charles Emery, Anthony Burns (1856), 164-165 p. (500K)
Bible
(See also Literacy.)
Aaron, The Light and Truth of Slavery (1845), 19-21 p. (150K)
Albert, Octavia V. Rogers, The House of Bondage (1890), 10-11 p. (210K)
Anderson, Thomas, Interesting Account of Thomas Anderson (1854?), 5 p. (30K)
Ball, Charles, Fifty Years in Chains (1859), 150-151 p. (700K)
Bibb, Henry, Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb (1849), 21 p. (400K)
Davis, Noah, A Narrative of the Life of Rev. Noah Davis (1859), 10 p. (85K)
Hughes, Louis, Thirty Years a Slave from Bondage to Freedom (1897), 53 p. (400K)
Jacobs, Harriet Ann, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861), 52 p, 111-115 p. (550K)
Johnson, Thomas Lewis, Twenty-Eight Years a Slave (1909), 17-18 p. (800K)
Offley, G. W. (Greensbury Washington), A Narrative of the Life and Labors of the Rev. G. W. Offley (1859), 9 p, 12 p. (40K)
Randolph, Peter, Sketches of Slave Life (1855), 26 p. (75K)
Upham, Mrs. T.C., Narrative of Phebe Ann Jacobs (1850?), 3-4 p. (25K)
Williams, James, Narrative of James Williams (1838), 71-74 p. (300K)
—slaveholders' interpretation
Brown, William Wells, My Southern Home (1880), 15-20 p. (400K)
Fedric, Francis, Slave Life in Virginia and Kentucky (1863), 12 p. (200K)
Lane, Lunsford, The Narrative of Lunsford Lane (1842), 20-21 p. (120K)
Northup, Solomon, Twelve Years a Slave (1853), 127-130 p. (700K)
Offley, G. W. (Greensbury Washington), A Narrative of the Life and Labors of the Rev. G. W. Offley (1859), 12-14 p. (40K)
Richmond, Legh, The Negro Servant (1815), 147 p, 159-161 p, 171 p, 174 p, 179 p. (90K)
Robinson, Rev. William H., From Log Cabin to the Pulpit (1913), 84-89 p. (300K)
Watson, Henry, Narrative of Henry Watson (1848), 29-31 p. (85K)
Biblical Israel, identification with
Aaron, The Light and Truth of Slavery (1845), 25-26 p. (150K)
Albert, Octavia V. Rogers, The House of Bondage (1890), 31 p, 130 p. (210K)
Black, Leonard, The Life and Sufferings of Leonard Black (1847), 6 p. (65K)
Brown, William Wells, My Southern Home (1880), 86-89 p. (400K)
Grimes, William, Life of William Grimes, the Runaway Slave (1825), 28-29 p. (180K)
Horton, George Moses, Life of George M. Horton (1845), x p. (25K)
Jackson, Mattie J., The Story of Mattie J. Jackson (1866), 21 p. (100K)
Latta, M. L. (Morgan London), The History of My Life and Work (1903), 40 p, 53-54 p. (500K)
Meachum, John B., An Address to All the Colored Citizens of the United States (1846), 41-43 p. (100K)
Randolph, Peter, Sketches of Slave Life (1855), 6 p. (75K)
Ray, Emma J. Smith, Twice Sold, Twice Ransomed (1926), 20-22 p. (550K)
Robinson, Rev. William H., From Log Cabin to the Pulpit (1913), 49-50 p. (300K)
Camp meetings: see Revivals.
Christmas, slaves' celebration
Brown, William Wells, My Southern Home (1880), 95-97 p. (400K)
Douglass, Frederick, Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1892), 180-183 p. (1.5M)
Fedric, Francis, Slave Life in Virginia and Kentucky (1863), 28-19 p. (200K)
Hughes, Louis, Thirty Years a Slave from Bondage to Freedom (1897), 13-16 p, 129 p. (400K)
Smith, James Lindsay, Autobiography of James L. Smith (1881), 92-93 p. (280K)
Stroyer, Jacob, Sketches of My Life in the South (1879), 34-36 p. (80K)
Condemnation of masters
(See also Resistance.)
Aaron, The Light and Truth of Slavery (1845), 6-7 p, 16-17 p. (150K)
Bibb, Henry, Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb (1849), 110 p. (400K)
Brown, Henry Box, Narrative of the Life of Henry Box Brown (1851), 3 p, 29 p. (150K)
Brown, William Wells, Narrative of William W. Brown (1849), 37-38 p, 136-137 p. (300K)
Douglass, Frederick, Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1892), 100-106 p. (1.5M)
Hughes, Louis, Thirty Years a Slave from Bondage to Freedom (1897), 90-91 p. (400K)
Jackson, John Andrew, The Experience of a Slave in South Carolina (1862), 40 p. (150K)
Jacobs, Harriet Ann, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861), 22 p, 108-109 p. (550K)
James, Rev. Thomas, Life of Rev. Thomas James, by Himself (1886), 8-9 p. (60K)
Johnson, Isaac, Slavery Days in Old Kentucky (1901), 31-33 p. (70K)
Jones, Thomas H., The Experience of Thomas H. Jones (1862), 29 p. (125K)
Long, Rev. John Dixon, Pictures of Slavery in Church and State (1857), 166-168 p. (530K)
Mason, Isaac, Life of Isaac Mason as a Slave (1893), 27-32 p. (200K)
Offley, G. W. (Greensbury Washington), A Narrative of the Life and Labors of the Rev. G. W. Offley (1859), 15-16 p. (40K)
Robinson, Rev. William H., From Log Cabin to the Pulpit (1913), 81-84 p. (300K)
Roper, Moses, A Narrative of the Adventures and Escape of Moses Roper, from American Slavery (1838), 21 p, 36 p, 51 p, 55 p. (150K)
Steward, Austin, Twenty-Two Years a Slave, and Forty Years a Freeman (1857), 96-101 p. (600K)
Troy, Rev. William, Hair-breadth Escapes from Slavery to Freedom (1861), 6 p. (175K)
Veney, Bethany, The Narrative of Bethany Veney, a Slave Woman (1889), 46 p. (120K)
Conjure
Bibb, Henry, Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb (1849), 25-28 p, 30-31 p. (400K)
Brown, William Wells, My Southern Home (1880), 10-11 p, 72-81 p. (400K)
Brown, William Wells, Narrative of William W. Brown (1849), 90-92 p. (300K)
Douglass, Frederick, Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1881), 133-137 p. (1.1M)
Douglass, Frederick, My Bondage and My Freedom (1855), 237-248 p. (850K)
Grimes, William, Life of William Grimes, the Runaway Slave (1825), 23-25 p. (180K)
Grimes, William, Life of William Grimes, the Runaway Slave (1855), 27-30 p. (200K)
Jamison, M. F. (Monroe Franklin), Autobiography and Work of Bishop M. F. Jamison, D.D. (1912), 34-40 p. (310K)
Stroyer, Jacob, Sketches of My Life in the South (1879), 42-45 p. (80K)
Conversion experience
Albert, Octavia V. Rogers, The House of Bondage (1890), 12 p. (210K)
Allinson, William J., Memoir of Quamino Buccau (1851), 6-7 p. (50K)
Anderson, Thomas, Interesting Account of Thomas Anderson (1854?), 1-4 p. (30K)
Baquaqua, Mahommah Gardo, Biography of Mahommah G. Baquaqua (1854), 59-60 p. (160K)
Black, Leonard, The Life and Sufferings of Leonard Black (1847), 20-21 p. (65K)
Brinch, Boyrereau and Prentiss, Benjamin F. (Benjamin Franklin), The Blind African Slave, or Memoirs of Boyrereau Brinch, Nick-named Jeffrey Brace (1774 or 5-1817), 204 p. (220K)
Capehart, L. C., Reminiscences of Isaac and Sukey (1907), 11 p. (20K)
Davis, Noah, A Narrative of the Life of Rev. Noah Davis (1859), 19-25 p. (85K)
Elizabeth, Memoir of Old Elizabeth, a Coloured Woman (1863), 4-8 p. (50K)
Elizabeth, Elizabeth, a Colored Minister of the Gospel Born in Slavery (1889), 2-4 p. (40K)
Foster, G. L. (Gustavus Lemuel), Uncle Johnson (186- ?), 66-67 p. (50K)
Grimes, William, Life of William Grimes, The Runaway Slave (1825), 28 p. (180K)
Henson, Josiah, The Life of Josiah Henson (1849), 26-27 p. (150K)
Henson, Josiah, Truth Stranger Than Fiction (1858), 25-30 p. (250K)
Johnson, Thomas Lewis, Twenty-Eight Years a Slave (1909), 9-11 p, 13-19 p. (800K)
Jones, Friday, Days of Bondage (1883), 1-3 p. (70K)
Jones, Thomas, Experience and Personal Narrative of Uncle Tom Jones (publ.?), 19-20 p. (120K)
Jones, Thomas H., The Experience of Thomas H. Jones (1862), 25-26 p. (125K)
Marrs, Elijah P., Life and History of the Rev. Elijah P. Marrs (1885), 13-15 p. (215K)
McCray, S. J., Life of Mary F. McCray (1898), 10-13 p. (200K)
No Author, Biography of London Ferrill (1854), 1-3 p. (35K)
Randolph, Peter, Sketches of Slave Life (1855), 25-26 p. (75K)
Richmond, Legh, The Negro Servant (1815), 143-149 p. (90K)
Robinson, Rev. William H., From Log Cabin to the Pulpit (1913), 137-142 p. (300K)
Smith, James Lindsay, Autobiography of James L. Smith (1881), 26 p. (280K)
Stevens, Charles Emery, Anthony Burns (1856), 162-164 p. (500K)
Veney, Bethany, The Narrative of Bethany Veney, a Slave Woman (1889), 15-16 p. (120K)
Williams, Isaac, Aunt Sally (1858), 44-45 p. (270K)
Freedom: see Resistance.
Funerals
Bradford, Sarah H. (Sarah Hopkins), Scenes in the Life of Harriet Tubman (1869), 43-44 p. (180K)
Long, Rev. John Dixon, Pictures of Slavery in Church and State (1857), 19-20 p. (530K)
No Author, Biography of London Ferrill (1854), 3 p. (35K)
Randolph, Peter, Sketches of Slave Life (1855), 13-15 p. (75K)
Stevens, Charles Emery, Anthony Burns (1856), 167-168 p. 500
Heaven, slaves' notion of
Anderson, William J., Life and Narrative of William J. Anderson (1857), 8 p, 10 p, 47-48 p. (125K)
Ball, Charles, Fifty Years in Chains (1859), 150 p. (700K)
Bibb, Henry, Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb (1849), 126 p. (400K)
Brown, Rebecca Warren[?], Memoir of Mrs. Chloe Spear (1832), 17 p. (100K)
Brown, William Wells, My Southern Home (1880), 20 p. (400K)
Capehart, L.C., Reminiscences of Isaac and Sukey (1907), 9 p. (20K)
Elizabeth, Memoir of Old Elizabeth, a Coloured Woman (1863), 6 p. (50K)
Foster, G. L. (Gustavus Lemuel), Uncle Johnson (186- ?), 73-75 p. (50K)
Levering, Sarah R., Memoirs of Margaret Jane Blake of Baltimore (1897), 27-28 p, 44-45 p. (100K)
Long, Rev. John Dixon, Pictures of Slavery in Church and State (1857), 165 p. (530K)
Meachum, John B., An Address to All the Colored Citizens of the United States (1846), 40-41 p. (100K)
Offley, G. W. (Greensbury Washington), A Narrative of the Life and Labors of the Rev. G. W. Offley (1859), 15 p. (40K)
Randolph, Peter, Sketches of Slave Life (1855), 14 p. (75K)
Upham, Mrs. T.C., Narrative of Phebe Ann Jacobs (1850?), 6 p. (25K)
"Invisible Institution:" see Prayer meetings of slaves.
Jesus
Aaron, The Light and Truth of Slavery (1845), 4 p. (150K)
Black, Leonard, The Life and Sufferings of Leonard Black (1847), 53 p. (65K)
Browne, Martha Griffith, Autobiography of a Female Slave (1857), 46-48 p. (900K)
Davis, Noah, A Narrative of the Life of Rev. Noah Davis (1859), 24 p. (85K)
Foster, G. L. (Gustavus Lemuel), Uncle Johnson (186- ?), 70 p, 74 p. (50K)
Jackson, Mattie J., The Story of Mattie J. Jackson (1866), 5 p. (100K)
Johnson, Thomas Lewis, Twenty-Eight Years a Slave (1909), 15-17 p. (800K)
Jones, Thomas H., The Experience of Thomas H. Jones (1862), 28 p. (125K)
Jones, Thomas, Experience and Personal Narrative of Uncle Tom Jones (publ.?), 20 p. (120K)
Levering, Sarah R., Memoirs of Margaret Jane Blake of Baltimore (1897), 47 p. (100K)
Offley, G. W. (Greensbury Washington), A Narrative of the Life and Labors of the Rev. G. W. Offley (1859), 14-15 p, 17 p. (40K)
Randolph, Peter, Sketches of Slave Life (1855), 9-11 p, 25-26 p, 34 p. (75K)
Richmond, Legh, The Negro Servant (1815), 145-149 p, 179-180 p. (90K)
Williams, Isaac, Aunt Sally (1858), 44-45 p, 52 p. (270K)
Literacy: includes learning to read and write, further education, and experiences related to literacy
Adams, John Quincy, Narrative of the Life of John Quincy Adams (1872), 6 p, 10 p, 12-14 p, 40 p. (80K)
Albert, Octavia V. Rogers, The House of Bondage (1890), 10-11 p, 18 p, 102 p, 108 p, 110-113 p. (210K)
Anderson, Thomas, Interesting Account of Thomas Anderson (1854?), 5 p. (30K)
Anderson, William J., Life and Narrative of William J. Anderson (1857), 8-9 p. (125K)
Anonymous, The Life of Joice Heth (1835), 9 p. (30K)
Anonymous, A Narrative of "Griswold" (1845), 4 p, 9-12 p. (25K)
Bibb, Henry, Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb (1849), 21 p. (400K)
Black, Leonard, The Life and Sufferings of Leonard Black (1847), 18-19 p. (65K)
Brown, Rebecca Warren[?], Memoir of Mrs. Chloe Spear (1832), 20-31 p. (100K)
Brown, William Wells, Speech Delivered at the Lecture Hall, Craydon, England, 5 September, 1849.
Cugoano, Ottobah, Narrative of the Enslavement of Ottobah Cugoano (1825), 126-127 p. (50K)
Davis, Noah, A Narrative of the Life of Rev. Noah Davis (1859), 10 p, 28 p, 33 p, 35-37 p. (85K)
Douglass, Frederick, Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1881), 85-86 p, 105-106 p. (1.1M)
Ferebee, Rev. L. R., A Brief History of the Slave Life of Rev. L. R . Ferebee (1882), 10 p. (50K)
Gurley, Ralph Randolph, Sketch of the Life of the Rev. Lott Cary (1835), 147 p. (60K)
Horton, George Moses, Life of George M. Horton (1845), iv-viii p. (25K)
Hughes, Louis, Thirty Years a Slave from Bondage to Freedom (1897), 100-103 p. (400K)
Jacobs, Harriet Ann, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861), 111-115 p. (550K)
Johnson, Isaac, Slavery Days in Old Kentucky (1901), 24-25 p. (70K)
Jones, Thomas H., The Experience of Thomas H. Jones (1862), 13-22 p. (125K)
Lane, Lunsford, The Narrative of Lunsford Lane (1842), 20 p. (120K)
Marrs, Elijah P., Life and History of the Rev. Elijah P. Marrs (1885), 11-12 p. (215K)
Offley, G. W. (Greensbury Washington), A Narrative of the Life and Labors of the Rev. G. W. Offley (1859), 9-12 p. (40K)
O'Neal, William, Life and History of William O'Neal (1896), 14 p. (100K)
Parker, Allen, Recollections of Slavery Times (1895), 54 p. (100K)
Randolph, Peter, Sketches of Slave Life (1855), 25-27 p. (300K)
Ray, Emma J. Smith, Twice Sold, Twice Ransomed (1926), 16 p, 21 p. (550K)
Richmond, Legh, The Negro Servant (1815), 147 p, 171 p. (90K)
Singleton, William Henry, Recollections of My Slavery Days (1922), 5-7 p, 9-10 p. (55K)
Stevens, Charles Emery, Anthony Burns (1856), 171-172 p. (500K)
Upham, Mrs. T.C., Narrative of Phebe Ann Jacobs (1850?), 3 p. (25K)
Williams, James, Narrative of James Williams (1838), 26 p. (300K)
Marriage
Albert, Octavia V. Rogers, The House of Bondage (1890), 107-108 p. (210K)
Brown, Henry Box, and Charles Stearn, Narrative of Henry Box Brown (1849), 22-23 p. (200K)
Brown, William Wells, My Southern Home (1880), 44-46 p. (400K)
Brown, William Wells, Narrative of William W. Brown (1849), 84-89 p. (300K)
Bruce, Henry Clay, The New Man (1895), 74 p. (400K)
"Captain Stuart" [pseud.], Reuben Maddison (1835), 31-32 p. (60K)
Douglass, Frederick, Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1881), 37 p. (1.1M)
Henry, George, Life of George Henry (1894), 73-74 p. (170KK)
Holsey, Lucius Henry, Bp., Autobiography, Sermons, Addresses, and Essays of Bishop L. H. Holsey, D. D. (1898), 11-12 p. (700KK)
Jackson, Mattie J., The Story of Mattie J. Jackson (1866), 17-18 p. (100K)
Jones, Thomas H., The Experience of Thomas H. Jones (1862), 30-37 p. (125K)
Lane, Lunsford, The Narrative of Lunsford Lane (1842), 10-11 p. (120K)
O'Neal, William, Life and History of William O'Neal (1896), 33-38 p. (100K)
Parker, Allen, Recollections of Slavery Times (1895), 22-27 p. (100K)
Stroyer, Jacob, Sketches of My Life in the South (1879), 11-12 p. (80K)
Truth, Sojourner, and Olive Gilbert, Narrative of Sojourner Truth (1850), 36-37 p. (300K)
Veney, Bethany, The Narrative of Bethany Veney, a Slave Woman (1889), 18-25 p. (120K)
Watson, Henry, Narrative of Henry Watson (1848), 18 p. (85K)
Williams, Isaac, Aunt Sally (1858), 50-54 p. (270K)
Morality: includes conventional Christian morality, slave interpretations, and slaves' moral conflicts.
Bibb, Henry, Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb (1851), 21-23 p, 163-164 p. (400K)
Brown, Henry Box, and Charles Stearn, Narrative of Henry Box Brown (1849), 26-29 p. (200K)
Brown, Henry Box, Narrative of the Life of Henry Box Brown (1851), 3-4 p. (150K)
Brown, William Wells, My Southern Home (1880), 52 p. (400K)
Clarke, Lewis Garrard, Narrative of the Sufferings of Lewis Clarke (1845), 83-84 p. (200K)
Clarke, Lewis Garrard, and Milton Clarke, Narratives of the Sufferings of Lewis and Milton Clarke (1846), 119-121 p. (150K)
Cox, Mary L. and Susan H. Cox, ed., Narrative of Dimmock Charlton (1859), 9 p. (70K)
Green, J. D. (Jacob D.), Narrative of the Life of J. D. Green (1864), 8-9 p, 14-15 p. (120K)
Grimes, William, Life of William Grimes, The Runaway Slave (1825), 22 p., 28-29 p., 34 p., 44 p., 45 p. (180K)
Grimes, William, Life of William Grimes, the Runaway Slave (1855), 28-29 p, 81-82 p. (200K)
Henson, Josiah, The Life of Josiah Henson (1849), 23-25 p. (150K)
Henson, Josiah, Truth Stranger Than Fiction (1858), 44-54 p. (250K)
Henson, Josiah, Uncle Tom's Story of His Life (1876), 43-48 p. (400K)
Holsey, Lucius Henry, Bp., Autobiography, Sermons, Addresses, and Essays of Bishop L. H. Holsey, D. D. (1898), 10 p. (700K)
Jones, Thomas, Experience and Personal Narrative of Uncle Tom Jones (publ.?), 13-22 p. (120K)
Parker, Allen, Recollections of Slavery Times (1895), 75-78 p. (100K)
Veney, Bethany, The Narrative of Bethany Veney, a Slave Woman (1889), 7-8 p, 20-22 p, 35-36 p. (120K)
Prayer meetings of slaves, secret ("Invisible Institution")
Albert, Octavia V. Rogers, The House of Bondage (1890), 11-13 p. (210K)
Bibb, Henry, Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb (1849), 119-121 p. (400K)
Elizabeth, Memoir of Old Elizabeth, a Coloured Woman (1863), 10-12 p. (50K)
Grandy, Moses, Narrative of the Life of Moses Grandy (1843), 56-57 p. (150K)
Hughes, Louis, Thirty Years a Slave from Bondage to Freedom (1897), 52-54 p. (400K)
Jacobs, Harriet Ann, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861), 103 p. (550K)
Johnson, Thomas Lewis, Twenty-Eight Years a Slave (1909), 17-19 p. (800K)
Jones, Friday, Days of Bondage (1883), 17 p. (70K)
Jones, Thomas H., The Experience of Thomas H. Jones (1862), 22-26 p. (125K)
Jones, Thomas, Experience and Personal Narrative of Uncle Tom Jones (publ.?), 18-20 p. (120K)
McCray, S. J., Life of Mary F. McCray (1898), 10-13 p. (200K)
Parker, Allen, Recollections of Slavery Times (1895), 67-68 p. (100K)
Robinson, Rev. William H., From Log Cabin to the Pulpit (1913), 78-80 p. (300K)
Smith, James Lindsay, Autobiography of James L. Smith (1881), 30-34 p. (280K)
Stevens, Charles Emery, Anthony Burns (1856), 166-167 p. (500K)
Thompson, John, The Life of John Thompson (1856), 19 p. (220K)
Upham, Mrs. T. C., Narrative of Phebe Ann Jacobs (1850?), 5 p. (25K)
Preachers, black
Brown, Henry Box, and Charles Stearn, Narrative of Henry Box Brown (1849), 38-39 p. (200K)
Bruce, Henry Clay, The New Man (1895), 72-74 p. (400K)
Douglass, Frederick, Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1881), 82-84 p. (1.1M)
E. M. W. (Elizabeth Merwin Wickham), A Lost Family Found (1869), 18-21 p. (55K)
Grandy, Moses, Narrative of the Life of Moses Grandy (1843), 56-57 p. (150K)
Gurley, Ralph Randolph, Sketch of the Life of the Rev. Lott Cary (1835), 148 p. (60K)
Jackson, Mattie J., The Story of Mattie J. Jackson (1866), 6 p. (100K)
James, Rev. Thomas, Life of Rev. Thomas James, by Himself (1886), 6-7 p. (60K)
Jones, Friday, Days of Bondage (1883), 17 p. (70K)
Lane, Isaac, Autobiography of Bishop Isaac Lane, LL.D. (1916), 52-55 p. (400K)
Offley, G. W. (Greensbury Washington), A Narrative of the Life and Labors of the Rev. G. W. Offley (1859), 10 p. (40K)
Pickard, Kate E. R., The Kidnapped and the Ransomed (1856), 180 p. (800K)
Roper, Moses, Speeches Delivered at Baptist Chapel, Devonshire Square, 26 May 1836 and at Finsbury Chapel, London, England, 30 May 1836 (from Patriot, 1 June 1836). (150K)
Singleton, William Henry, Recollections of My Slavery Days (1922), 7 p. (55K)
Smith, James Lindsay, Autobiography of James L. Smith (1881), 26-28 p. (280K)
Stevens, Charles Emery, Anthony Burns (1856), 165-167 p. (500K)
Troy, Rev. William, Hair-breadth Escapes from Slavery to Freedom (1861), 28-29 p. (175K)
Williams, James, Narrative of James Williams (1838), 25-27 p, 70-74 p. (300K)
Religious experience, positive
Aaron, The Light and Truth of Slavery (1845), 4 p. (150K)
Allinson, William J., Memoir of Quamino Buccau (1851), 6-7 p, 28 p. (50K)
Anderson, Thomas, Interesting Account of Thomas Anderson (1854?), 1-2 p, 4-5 p. (30K)
Anderson, William J., Life and Narrative of William J. Anderson (1857), 8-10 p. (125K)
Black, Leonard, The Life and Sufferings of Leonard Black (1847), 6 p, 21 p. (65K)
Brinch, Boyrereau and Prentiss, Benjamin F. (Benjamin Franklin), The Blind African Slave, or Memoirs of Boyrereau Brinch, Nick-named Jeffrey Brace (1774 or 5-1817), 204 p. (220K)
Brown, William Wells, My Southern Home (1880), 3 p, 12-29 p. (400K)
Bruce, Henry Clay, The New Man (1895), 71-72 p. (400K)
Charlton, Lewis, ed. by Edward Everett Brown, Sketch of the Life of Mr. Lewis Charlton (publ.?), 4-5 p. (35K)
Davis, Noah, A Narrative of the Life of Rev. Noah Davis (1859), 19-25 p. (85K)
Douglass, Frederick, Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1881), 82-84 p. (1.1M)
Douglass, Frederick, Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1892), 110-113 p. (1.5M)
Douglass, Frederick, My Bondage and My Freedom (1855), 166-169 p. (850K)
Elizabeth, Memoir of Old Elizabeth, a Coloured Woman (1863), 3-19 p. (50K)
E. M. W. (Elizabeth Merwin Wickham), A Lost Family Found (1869), 21 p. (55K)
Foster, G. L. (Gustavus Lemuel), Uncle Johnson (186- ?), 65-82 p. (50K)
Grimes, William, Life of William Grimes, the Runaway Slave (1825), 17 p., 28-29 p., 36 p. (180K)
Hayden, William, Narrative of William Hayden (1846), 4-8 p. (340K)
Jacobs, Harriet Ann, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861), 111-113 p. (550K)
Johnson, Thomas Lewis, Twenty-Eight Years a Slave (1909), 9-19 p. (800K)
Jones, Friday, Days of Bondage (1883), 1-3 p, 11 p, 17-18 p. (70K)
Jones, Thomas H., The Experience of Thomas H. Jones (1862), 26-29 p. (125K)
Jones, Thomas, Experience and Personal Narrative of Uncle Tom Jones (publ.?), 20 p. (120K)
Long, Rev. John Dixon, Pictures of Slavery in Church and State (1857), 162-163 p. (530K)
McCray, S. J., Life of Mary F. McCray (1898), 13-16 p. (200K)
Offley, G. W. (Greensbury Washington), A Narrative of the Life and Labors of the Rev. G. W. Offley (1859), 9-10 p, 13-21 p. (40K)
Pickard, Kate E. R., The Kidnapped and the Ransomed (1856), 180 p. (800K)
Singleton, William Henry, Recollections of My Slavery Days (1922), 6-7 p. (55K)
Smith, Rev. David, and Daniel Alexander Payne, Biography of Rev. David Smith of the A. M. E. Church (1881), 12-14 p. (250K)
Stevens, Charles Emery, Anthony Burns (1856), 165 p. (500K)
Upham, Mrs. T. C., Narrative of Phebe Ann Jacobs (1850?), 1-8 p. (25K)
Veney, Bethany, The Narrative of Bethany Veney, a Slave Woman (1889), 15-17 p. (120K)
Religious practice
—slaveholder controlled
Allinson, William J., Memoir of Quamino Buccau (1851), 8 p. (50K)
Bibb, Henry, Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb (1849), 23-24 p. (400K)
Black, Leonard, The Life and Sufferings of Leonard Black (1847), 17 p. (65K)
Brown, Henry Box, Narrative of the Life of Henry Box Brown (1851), 28-32 p, 35-36 p. (150K)
Brown, William Wells, My Southern Home (1880), 3 p, 12-29 p. (400K)
Brown, William Wells, Narrative of William W. Brown (1849), 34-38 p, 82-83 p. (300K)
Bruce, Henry Clay, The New Man (1895), 71-73 p. (400K)
Douglass, Frederick, Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1881), 31-32 p. (1.1M)
Douglass, Frederick, Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1892), 47 p. (1.5M)
Douglass, Frederick, My Bondage and My Freedom (1855), 71-72 p. (850K)
E. M. W. (Elizabeth Merwin Wickham), A Lost Family Found (1869), 19 p. (55K)
Fedric, Francis, Slave Life in Virginia and Kentucky (1863), 26-28 p. (200K)
Hughes, Louis, Thirty Years a Slave from Bondage to Freedom (1897), 90-91 p. (400K)
Jackson, Mattie J., The Story of Mattie J. Jackson (1866), 6 p, 21 p. (100K)
Jacobs, Harriet Ann, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861), 105-111 p. (550K)
Johnson, Thomas Lewis, Twenty-Eight Years a Slave (1909), 10 p, 17 p. (800K)
Lane, Lunsford, The Narrative of Lunsford Lane (1842), 21 p. (120K)
Long, Rev. John Dixon, Pictures of Slavery in Church and State (1857), 164-165 p. (530K)
Offley, G. W. (Greensbury Washington), A Narrative of the Life and Labors of the Rev. G. W. Offley (1859), 12 p. (40K)
Roper, Moses, A Narrative of the Adventures and Escape of Moses Roper, from American Slavery (1838), 51 p. (150K)
Randolph, Peter, Sketches of Slave Life (1855), 32 p. (75K)
Singleton, William Henry, Recollections of My Slavery Days (1922), 7 p. (55K)
Stevens, Charles Emery, Anthony Burns (1856), 164-165 p. (500K)
Thompson, John, The Life of John Thompson (1856), 43 p. (220K)
Troy, Rev. William, Hair-breadth Escapes from Slavery to Freedom (1861), 30 p. (175K)
Watson, Henry, Narrative of Henry Watson (1848), 28-31 p. (85K)
—slaveholder opposition to
Albert, Octavia V. Rogers, The House of Bondage (1890), 11-13 p. (210K)
Anderson, Thomas, Interesting Account of Thomas Anderson (1854?), 3 p. (30K)
Bibb, Henry, Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb (1849), 21 p, 119-121 p. (400K)
Brown, Henry Box, Narrative of the Life of Henry Box Brown (1851), 13 p, 19-20 p, 35-36 p. (150K)
Brown, Henry Box, and Charles Stearn, Narrative of Henry Box Brown (1849), 38-39 p. (200K)
Brown, William Wells, Speech Delivered at the Lecture Hall, Craydon, England, 5 September, 1849.
Douglass, Frederick, Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1881), 83-84 p. (1.1M)
Douglass, Frederick, Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1892), 112 p. (1.5M)
Douglass, Frederick, My Bondage and My Freedom (1855), 168 p. (850K)
Elizabeth, Memoir of Old Elizabeth, a Coloured Woman (1863), 11-12 p. (50K)
E. M. W. (Elizabeth Merwin Wickham), A Lost Family Found (1869), 19-20 p. (55K)
Grandy, Moses, Narrative of the Life of Moses Grandy (1843), 56-57 p. (150K)
Johnson, Isaac, Slavery Days in Old Kentucky (1901), 24-25 p. (70K)
Jones, Friday, Days of Bondage (1883), 17 p. (70K)
Jones, Thomas H., The Experience of Thomas H. Jones (1862), 22-25 p. (125K)
Jones, Thomas, Experience and Personal Narrative of Uncle Tom Jones (publ.?), 17-19 p. (120K)
McCray, S. J., Life of Mary F. McCray (1898), 12-13 p. (200K)
Offley, G. W. (Greensbury Washington), A Narrative of the Life and Labors of the Rev. G. W. Offley (1859), 15-17 p. (40K)
Roper, Moses, A Narrative of the Adventures and Escape of Moses Roper, from American Slavery (1838), 52 p. (150K)
Roper, Moses, Speeches Delivered at Baptist Chapel, Devonshire Square, 26 May 1836 and at Finsbury Chapel, London, England, 30 May 1836 (from Patriot, 1 June 1836).
Thompson, John, The Life of John Thompson (1856), 18-19 p, 25-26 p. (220K)
Veney, Bethany, The Narrative of Bethany Veney, a Slave Woman (1889), 16-17 p. (120K)
Watson, Henry, Narrative of Henry Watson (1848), 17 p. (85K)
Williams, James, Narrative of James Williams (1838), 26 p, 71-74 p. (300K)
Resistance (religious motivation)
Anderson, Thomas, Interesting Account of Thomas Anderson (1854?), 3 p. (30K)
Black, Leonard, The Life and Sufferings of Leonard Black (1847), 22-28 p. (65K)
Johnstone, Abraham, The Address of Abraham Johnstone (1797), 17-20 p. (98K)
Jones, Friday, Days of Bondage (1883), 3-4 p. (70K)
Jones, Thomas H., The Experience of Thomas H. Jones (1862), 20-27 p. (125K)
Jones, Thomas, Experience and Personal Narrative of Uncle Tom Jones (publ.?), 15-21 p. (120K)
Offley, G. W. (Greensbury Washington), A Narrative of the Life and Labors of the Rev. G. W. Offley (1859), 17-20 p. (40K)
Thompson, John, The Life of John Thompson (1856), 25-26 p, 75-81 p. (220K)
Watson, Henry, Narrative of Henry Watson (1848), 35 p. (85K)
Revivals
Anderson, Thomas, Interesting Account of Thomas Anderson (1854?), 1-2 p, 12 p. (30K)
Capehart, L. C., Reminiscences of Isaac and Sukey (1907), 11 p. (20K)
Douglass, Frederick, Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1881), 100-102 p. (1.1M)
Jones, Friday, Days of Bondage (1883), 3 p. (70K)
Long, Rev. John Dixon, Pictures of Slavery in Church and State (1857), 157-161 p. (530K)
Offley, G. W. (Greensbury Washington), A Narrative of the Life and Labors of the Rev. G. W. Offley (1859), 16-17 p. (40K)
Roper, Moses, A Narrative of the Adventures and Escape of Moses Roper, from American Slavery (1838), 55 p. (150K)
Singleton, William Henry, Recollections of My Slavery Days (1922), 6-7 p. (55K)
Smith, James Lindsay, Autobiography of James L. Smith (1881), 31-32 p. (280K)
Thompson, John, The Life of John Thompson (1856), 25 p, 101-102 p. (220K)
Upham, Mrs. T. C., Narrative of Phebe Ann Jacobs (1850?), 5 p. (25K)
Veney, Bethany, The Narrative of Bethany Veney, a Slave Woman (1889), 15-16 p. (120K)
Williams, Isaac, Aunt Sally (1858), 35-44 p. (270K)
Sabbath, slaves' observance
Allinson, William J., Memoir of Quamino Buccau (1851), 6 p. (50K)
Anonymous, The Life of Joice Heth (1835), 9 p. (30K)
Beard, Rev. John Relly, The Life of Toussaint L'Ouverture (1853), 29 p. (900K)
Bibb, Henry, Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb (1849), 21-24 p, 32 p, 59 p, 110-111 p, 119-120 p. (400K)
Black, Leonard, The Life and Sufferings of Leonard Black (1847), 17 p. (65K)
Brown, Rebecca Warren[?], Memoir of Mrs. Chloe Spear (1832), 21 p. (100K)
Brown, William Wells, My Southern Home (1880), 3 p. (400K)
Brown, William Wells, Narrative of William W. Brown (1849), 35 p. (300K)
Davis, Noah, A Narrative of the Life of Rev. Noah Davis (1859), 10 p, 33 p, 35-37 p, 41-42 p. (85K)
Elizabeth, Memoir of Old Elizabeth, a Coloured Woman (1863), 3 p. (50K)
E. M. W. (Elizabeth Merwin Wickham), A Lost Family Found (1869), 5 p. (55K)
Fedric, Francis, Slave Life in Virginia and Kentucky (1863), 26-27 p. (200K)
Ferebee, Rev. L. R., A Brief History of the Slave Life of Rev. L. R . Ferebee (1882), 10 p. (50K)
Foster, G. L. (Gustavus Lemuel), Uncle Johnson (186- ?), 76 p. (50K)
Gurley, Ralph Randolph, Sketch of the Life of the Rev. Lott Cary (1835), 148 p. (60K)
Horton, George Moses, Life of George M. Horton (1845), vi-viii p, xiii p. (25K)
Johnstone, Abraham, The Address of Abraham Johnstone (1797), 15 p. (100K)
Lane, Lunsford, The Narrative of Lunsford Lane (1842), 21 p. (120K)
Offley, G. W. (Greensbury Washington), A Narrative of the Life and Labors of the Rev. G. W. Offley (1859), 10 p, 13 p, 19 p, 21 p. (40K)
Randolph, Peter, Sketches of Slave Life (1855), 19-20 p, 30 p. (75K)
Roper, Moses, Speeches Delivered at Baptist Chapel, Devonshire Square, 26 May 1836 and at Finsbury Chapel, London, England, 30 May 1836 (from Patriot, 1 June 1836).
Upham, Mrs. T. C., Narrative of Phebe Ann Jacobs (1850?), 5-6 p. (25K)
Watson, Henry, Narrative of Henry Watson (1848), 17 p. (85K)
Williams, Isaac, Aunt Sally (1858), 166-169 p. (270K)
Sabbath school: see Literacy
Spirituals
Aaron, The Light and Truth of Slavery (1845), 21 p. (150K)
Adams, John Quincy, Narrative of the Life of John Quincy Adams (1872), 32-34 p, 37-38 p. (80K)
Albert, Octavia V. Rogers, The House of Bondage (1890), 31-33 p. (210K)
Douglass, Frederick, Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1881), 44 p. (1.1M)
Green, William, Narrative of Events in the Life of William Green (1853), 22-23 p. (50K)
Jackson, John Andrew, The Experience of a Slave in South Carolina (1862), 35-39 p. (150K)
Johnson, Thomas Lewis, Twenty-Eight Years a Slave (1909), 9-11 p, 19 p. (800K)
A Narrative of "Griswold" (1845), 13-16 p. (25K)
Parker, Allen, Recollections of Slavery Times (1895), 68-70 p. (100K)
Randolph, Peter, Sketches of Slave Life (1855), 29-31 p. (75K)
Veney, Bethany, The Narrative of Bethany Veney, a Slave Woman (1889), 9 p, 16 p. (120K)
Washington, Booker T., Up From Slavery (1901), 19-20 p. (550K)
—and Christian life
Jacobs, Harriet Ann, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861), 107-109 p. (550K)
—performance
Bradford, Sarah H. (Sarah Hopkins), Scenes in the Life of Harriet Tubman (1869), 44 p. (180K)
Brown, William Wells, My Southern Home (1880), 191-194 p. (400K)
Parker, Allen, Recollections of Slavery Times (1895), 66-69 p.
Randolph, Peter, Sketches of Slave Life (1855), 30-31 p. (75K)
Smith, James Lindsay, Autobiography of James L. Smith (1881), 27 p. (280K)
—shout
Brown, William Wells, My Southern Home (1880), 191-194 p. (400K)
Capehart, L. C., Reminiscences of Isaac and Sukey (1907), 11 p. (20K)
Foster, G. L. (Gustavus Lemuel), Uncle Johnson (186- ?), 70-71 p. (50K)
Jones, Friday, Days of Bondage (1883), 17-18 p. (70K)
Pickard, Kate E. R., The Kidnapped and the Ransomed (1856), 179-180 p. (800K)
Smith, James Lindsay, Autobiography of James L. Smith (1881), 27 p. (280K)
Weddings: see Marriage
Witchcraft: see Conjure

Works Consulted:
Hopkins, Dwight N. Cut Loose Your Stammering Tongue: Black Theology in the Slave Narratives. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, c1991.
Raboteau, Albert J. Slave Religion: The "Invisible Institution" in the Antebellum South. New York: Oxford University Press, 1978.