Harriet Jacobs in New Bedford

Harriet Jacobs in New Bedford
Author: Peggi Medeiros
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Total Pages: 144
Release: 2020-03-09
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1439669260

In 1861, Harriet Ann Jacobs published a masterpiece, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Her book is the first and only narrative to give voice to a woman who escaped slavery. Cornelia Grinnell Willis not only purchased Harriet's freedom, but she also developed a bond with Harriet and her daughter, Louisa, that lasted a lifetime. Both women suffered trauma as children and miraculously survived. They also had close ties to New Bedford that have not been examined previously. Cornelia married Nathaniel Parker Willis, considered an American Dickens during his lifetime though largely forgotten today. Join author and local historian Peggi Medeiros as she traces the fascinating lives of the Jacobs, Grinnell and Willis families in and out of New Bedford.

Harriet Jacobs in New Bedford

Harriet Jacobs in New Bedford
Author: Peggi Medeiros
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Total Pages: 144
Release: 2020
Genre: History
ISBN: 1467141704

In 1861, Harriet Ann Jacobs published a masterpiece, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Her book is the first and only narrative to give voice to a woman who escaped slavery. Cornelia Grinnell Willis not only purchased Harriet's freedom, but she also developed a bond with Harriet and her daughter, Louisa, that lasted a lifetime. Both women suffered trauma as children and miraculously survived. They also had close ties to New Bedford that have not been examined previously. Cornelia married Nathaniel Parker Willis, considered an American Dickens during his lifetime though largely forgotten today. Join author and local historian Peggi Medeiros as she traces the fascinating lives of the Jacobs, Grinnell and Willis families in and out of New Bedford.

The Harriet Jacobs Family Papers

The Harriet Jacobs Family Papers
Author: Jean Fagan Yellin
Publisher: UNC Press Books
Total Pages: 1052
Release: 2015-12-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1469625792

Although millions of African American women were held in bondage over the 250 years that slavery was legal in the United States, Harriet Jacobs (1813-97) is the only one known to have left papers testifying to her life. Her autobiography, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, holds a central place in the canon of American literature as the most important slave narrative by an African American woman. Born in Edenton, North Carolina, Jacobs escaped from her owner in her mid-twenties and hid in the cramped attic crawlspace of her grandmother's house for seven years before making her way north as a fugitive slave. In Rochester, New York, she became an active abolitionist, working with all of the major abolitionists, feminists, and literary figures of her day, including Frederick Douglass, Lydia Maria Child, Amy Post, William Lloyd Garrison, Susan B. Anthony, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Fanny Fern, William C. Nell, Charlotte Forten Grimke, and Nathan Parker Willis. Jean Fagan Yellin has devoted much of her professional life to illuminating the remarkable life of Harriet Jacobs. Over three decades of painstaking research, Yellin has discovered more than 900 primary source documents, approximately 300 of which are now collected in two volumes. These letters and papers written by, for, and about Jacobs and her activist brother and daughter provide for the thousands of readers of Incidents--from scholars to schoolchildren--access to the rich historical context of Jacobs's struggles against slavery, racism, and sexism beyond what she reveals in her pseudonymous narrative. Accompanied by a CD containing a searchable PDF file of the entire contents, this collection is a crucial launching point for future scholarship on Jacobs's life and times.

Letters From a Slave Girl

Letters From a Slave Girl
Author: Mary E. Lyons
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 196
Release: 2008-06-25
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1439108773

Based on the true story of Harriet Ann Jacobs, Letters from a Slave Girl reveals in poignant detail what thousands of African American women had to endure not long ago, sure to enlighten, anger, and never be forgotten. Harriet Jacobs was born into slavery; it's the only life she has ever known. Now, with the death of her mistress, there is a chance she will be given her freedom, and for the first time Harriet feels hopeful. But hoping can be dangerous, because disappointment is devastating. Harriet has one last hope, though: escape to the North. And as she faces numerous ordeals, this hope gives her the strength she needs to survive.

Harriet Jacobs

Harriet Jacobs
Author: Jean Yellin
Publisher: Civitas Books
Total Pages: 440
Release: 2004
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN:

For the first time--the complete story of the life and times of the most important black woman writer of the 19th century.

A Civil Life in an Uncivil Time

A Civil Life in an Uncivil Time
Author: Paula Tarnapol Whitacre
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
Total Pages: 319
Release: 2017-09
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1612349609

In the fall of 1862 Julia Wilbur left her family’s farm near Rochester, New York, and boarded a train to Washington, DC. As an ardent abolitionist, the forty-seven-year-old Wilbur left a sad but stable life, headed toward the chaos of the Civil War, and spent the next several years in Alexandria, Virginia, devising ways to aid recently escaped slaves and hospitalized Union soldiers. A Civil Life in an Uncivil Time shapes Wilbur’s diaries and other primary sources into a historical narrative of a woman who was alternately brave, self-pitying, foresighted, and myopic. Paula Tarnapol Whitacre describes Wilbur’s experiences against the backdrop of Alexandria, a southern town held by the Union from 1861 to 1865; of Washington, DC, where Wilbur became active in the women’s suffrage movement; and of Rochester, New York, where she began a lifelong association with Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony. Harriet Jacobs, author of Incidents of a Slave Girl, became Wilbur’s friend and ally. Together, the two women, black and white, fought social convention to improve the lives of African Americans escaping slavery by coming across Union lines. In doing so, they faced the challenge to achieve racial and gender equality that continues today. A Civil Life in an Uncivil Time is the captivating story of a woman who remade herself at midlife during a period of massive social upheaval.

New Bedford's Civil War

New Bedford's Civil War
Author: Earl F. Mulderink
Publisher: Fordham Univ Press
Total Pages: 321
Release: 2012
Genre: History
ISBN: 0823243346

Examines the social, political, economic, and military history of New Bedford, Massachusetts, in the nineteenth century, with a focus on the Civil War homefront, 1861-1865, and on the city's black community, soldiers, and veterans.

Whispers of Cruel Wrongs

Whispers of Cruel Wrongs
Author: Mary Maillard
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Pres
Total Pages: 248
Release: 2017-05-09
Genre: History
ISBN: 0299311805

These letters, written in part by the daughter of Harriet Jacobs, offer profound insight into a hidden world--the private lives of genteel African American women in the late nineteenth century.

The Seductions of Biography

The Seductions of Biography
Author: David Suchoff
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 238
Release: 2016-02-04
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1134714491

The Seductions of Biography is an important volume which sheds new light on a flourishing literary form, the biography. In postmodern culture, new methods and intentions emerge, as well as new obstacles, towards our understanding of biography as a genre. This book provides a thorough exploration of this genre, from a wide range of postmodern perspectives. The Seductions of Biography brings together a number of essays which reflect in culturally critical as well as autobiographical terms on current themes and practices of contemporary biography. Issues addressed by these essays focus on the postmodern dilemma itself--as new voices from excluded communities make themselves heard in biographical works, the decentralization of new issues, such as gender, ethnicity, and sexuality, becomes problematic. Contributors question the responsibilities a biographer has, both to the subject and the public, and consider also questions of morality and taste; for example, is it fair to use private tapings made by your subject's analyst? And how much do we really need to know about Eleanor Roosevelt's sex life? The impact of sexuality on our reading of public figures is addressed, as well as other issues which explore the popular and provocative nature of biography. Interdisciplinary and wide-ranging in scope, The Seductions of Biography will appeal to biographers, historians, cultural critics, and the vast population of avid biography readers. Contributors: Kwame Anthony Appiah, Clark Blaise, Marilyn L. Brownstein, Blanche Wiesen Cook, John D'Emilio, Jeffrey Louis Decker, Michael Eric Dyson, Diana Fuss, Marjorie Garber, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Hayden Herrera, Maurice Isserman, Barbara Johnson, William S. McFeely, Diane Wood Middlebrook, Richard J. Powell, Phyllis Rose, Doris Sommer, Marita Sturken, Sherley Anne Williams, Jean Fagan Yellin

A Life in Chains

A Life in Chains
Author: Mark Twain
Publisher: Good Press
Total Pages: 6428
Release: 2023-12-18
Genre: Social Science
ISBN:

In 'A Life in Chains,' readers are presented with an anthology that examines the multifaceted experiences of enslavement and the quest for freedom through a range of literary styles that includes narrative essays, autobiographies, and fictional accounts. This collection stands as a testament to the resilience and diversity of the human spirit under oppression. It spans a broad spectrum of American literature, intertwining voices from different periods to highlight the ongoing struggle against injustice. Significantly, it brings together seminal works that have shaped America's literary and historical landscape, offering an unrivaled exploration of its themes. The contributing authors, including Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Frederick Douglass among others, are pivotal figures whose writings have been instrumental in both reflecting and shaping the consciousness of their times. Their collective oeuvre provides a panoramic view of the societal shifts and the evolving discourse on race, liberty, and identity in America. The anthology aligns with key historical and cultural movements, from abolitionism to the Harlem Renaissance, weaving a rich tapestry that celebrates the triumph of the human will over the chains of bondage. 'A Life in Chains' is an invaluable collection for readers who seek to immerse themselves in the depth and diversity of American literary heritage. It offers a unique opportunity to engage with the works of renowned authors whose voices converge in a powerful dialogue on freedom, resilience, and the indomitable spirit of man. This anthology is not just a literary endeavor; it is an educational journey that underscores the vibrancy of human resilience and the critical importance of storytelling in forging a collective memory. Readers will find within its pages an enduring legacy of courage, wisdom, and hope that continues to resonate in our present times.