While most information about individual slaves in the South is unknown, lost, or has been deliberately concealed, Sojourner Truth was a slave in New York State, and there are meticulous records detailing her life, in addition to those in her Narrative. She was born a slave in 1797, named Isabella Baumfree, and then sold three times to different masters before she was fifteen.
"Narrative of Sojourner Truth" (1850) is the autobiographical story of Sojourner Truth.Truth was born into slavery in Swartekill, Ulster County, New York, but escaped with her infant daughter to freedom in 1826. After going to court to recover her son, she became the first black woman to win such a case against a white man.
While most information about individual slaves in the South is unknown, lost, or has been deliberately concealed, Sojourner Truth was a slave in New York State, and there are meticulous records detailing her life, in addition to those in her Narrative. She was born a slave in 1797, named Isabella Baumfree, and then sold three times to different masters before she was fifteen.