Thirty Years a Slave

I was born in Virginia in 1832 near Charlottesville in the beautiful valley of the Rivanna river. My father was a white man and my mother a negress the slave of one John Martin. I was a mere child probably not more than six years of age as I remember when my mother two brothers and myself were sold to Dr. Louis a practicing physician in the village of Scottsville. We remained with him about five years when he died and in the settlement of his estate I was sold to one Washington Fitzpatrick a merchant of the village. He kept me a short time when he took me to Richmond by way of canal-boat expecting to sell me; but as the market was dull he brought me back and kept me some three months longer when he told me he had hired me out to work on a canal-boat running to Richmond and to go to my mother and get my clothes ready to start on the trip. I went to her as directed and when she had made ready my bundle she bade me good-by with tears in her eyes saying: My son be a good boy; be polite to every one and always behave yourself properly.