(Signed), HENRY B. NORTHUP.
Subscribed and sworn to before me
This 20th day of November, 1852,
CHARLES HUGHES, J. P.
STATE OF NEW-YORK:
Washington County, ss
Nicholas C. Northup, of the village of Sandy Hill, in said county, being duly sworn, doth depose and say, that he is now fifty-eight years of age, and has known Solomon Northup, mentioned in the annexed memorial of Ann Northup, ever since he was born. And this deponent saith that said Solomon is now about forty-five years old, and was born in the county of Washington aforesaid, or in the county of Essex, in said State, and always resided in the State of New-York until about the year 1841, since which time deponent has not seen him or known where he was, until a few weeks since, deponent was informed, and believes truly, that said Solomon was held in slavery in the State of Louisiana. Deponent further says, that said Solomon was married in the town of Fort Edward, in said county, about twenty-four years ago, and that his wife and two daughters and one son now reside in the village of Glens Falls, county of Warren, in said State of New-York, and was born free, and from his earliest infancy lived and resided in the counties of Washington, Essex, Warren and Saratoga, in the State of New-York, and that his said wife and children have never resided out of said counties since the time said Solomon was married; that deponent knew the father of said Solomon Northup; that said father was a negro, named Mintus Northup, and died in the town of Fort Edward, in the county of Washington, State of New-York, on the 22nd day of November, A.D. 1829, and was buried in the grave-yard in Sandy Hill aforesaid; that for more than thirty years before his death he lived in the counties of Essex, Washington and Rensselaer and State of New-York, and left a wife and two sons, Joseph and the said Solomon, him surviving; that the mother of said Solomon was a mulatto woman, and is now dead, and died, as deponent believes, in Oswego county, New-York, within five or six years past. And this deponent further states, that the mother of the said Solomon Northup was not a slave at the time of the birth of said Solomon Northup, and has not been a slave at any time within the last fifty years.
(Signed), N.C. NORTHUP.
Subscribed and sworn before me this 19th day
of November, 1852.
CHARLES HUGHES, Justice Peace.
STATE OF NEW-YORK:
Washington County, ss.
Orville Clark, of the village of Sandy Hill, in the county of Washington, State of New-York, being duly sworn, doth depose and say—that he, this deponent, is over fifty years of age; that in the years 1810 and 1811, or most of the time of those years, this deponent resided at Sandy Hill, aforesaid, and at Glens Falls; that this deponent then knew Mintus Northup, a black or colored man; he was then a free man, as this deponent believes and always understood; that the wife of said Mintus Northup, and mother of Solomon, was a free woman; that from the year 1818 until the time of the death of said Mintus Northup, about the year 1829, this deponent was very well acquainted with the said Mintus Northup; that he was a respectable man in the community in which he resided, and was a free man, so taken and esteemed by all his acquaintances; that this deponent has also been and was acquainted with his son Solomon Northup, from the said year 1818 until he left this part of the country, about the year 1840 or 1841; that he married Anne Hampton, daughter of William Hampton, a near neighbor of this deponent; that the said Anne, wife of said Solomon, is now living and resides in this vicinity; that the said Mintus Northup and William Hampton were both reputed and esteemed in this community as respectable men. And this deponent saith that the said Mintus Northup and his family, and the said William Hampton and his family, from the earliest recollection and acquaintance of this deponent with him (as far back as 1810,) were always reputed, esteemed, and taken to be, and this deponent believes, truly so, free citizens of the State of New-York. This deponent knows the said William Hampton, under the laws of this State, was entitled to vote at our elections, and he believes the said Mintus Northup also was entitled as a free citizen with the property qualification. And this deponent further saith, that the said Solomon Northup, son of said Mintus, and husband of said Anne Hampton, when he left his State, was at the time thereof a free citizen of the State of New-York. And this deponent further saith, that said Anne Hampton, wife of Solomon Northup, is a respectable woman, of good character, and I would believe her statements, and do believe the facts set forth in her memorial to his excellency, the Governor, in relation to her said husband, are true.
(Signed), ORVILLE CLARK.
Sworn before me, November 19th, 1852.
U.G. PARIS, Justice of the Peace.
STATE OF NEW-YORK:
Washington County, ss.
Benjamin Ferris, of the village of Sandy Hill, in said county, being duly sworn, doth depose and say —that he is now fifty-seven years old, and has resided in said village forty-five years; that he was well acquainted with Mintus Northup, named in the annexed memorial of Anne Northup, from the year 1816 to the time of his death, which occurred at Fort Edward, in the fall of 1829; that he knew the children of the said Mintus, namely Joseph Northup and Solomon Northup, and that the said Solomon is the same person named in said memorial; that said Mintus resided in the said county of Washington to the time of his death, and was, during all that time, a free citizen of the said State of New-York, as deponent verily believes; that said memorialist, Anne Northup, is a woman of good character, and the statement contained in her memorial is entitled to credit.
(Signed), BENJAMIN FERRIS.
Sworn before me,
November 19th, 1852.
U. G. PARIS, Justice of the Peace.
STATE OF NEW-YORK:
Executive Chamber, Albany, Nov. 30, 1852.
I hereby certify that the foregoing is a correct copy of certain proofs filed in the Executive Department, upon which I have appointed Henry B. Northup as Agent of this State, to take proper proceedings in behalf of Solomon Northup, therein mentioned.
(Signed), WASHINGTON HUNT.
By the Governor.
J. F. R., Private Secretary.
STATE OF NEW-YORK:
Executive Department.
WASHINGTON HUNT, Governor of the State of New-York, to whom it may concern, greeting:
Whereas, I have received information on oath, which is satisfactory to me, that Solomon Northup, who is a free citizen of this State, is wrongfully held in slavery, in the State of Louisiana:
And whereas, it is made my duty, by the laws of this State, to take such measures as I shall deem necessary to procure any citizen so wrongfully held in slavery, to be restored to his liberty and returned to this State:
Be it known, that in pursuance of chapter 375 of the laws of this State, passed in 1840, I have constituted, appointed and employed Henry B. Northup, Esquire, of the county of Washington, in this State, an Agent, with full power to effect this restoration of said Solomon Northup, and the said Agent is hereby authorized and empowered to institute such proper and legal proceedings, to procure such evidence, retain such counsel, and finally to take such measures as will be most likely to accomplish the object of his said appointment.
He is also instructed to proceed to the State of Louisiana with all convenient dispatch, to execute the agency hereby created.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name,
and affixed the privy seal of the State, at Albany, this 23rd
day of November, in the year of our Lord 1852.
(Signed), WASHINGTON HUNT.
James F. Ruggles, Private Secretary.
Original Appendix C
_____________
RELEASE DOCUMENT.
STATE OF LOUISIANA:
Parish of Avoyelles.
Before me, Aristide Barbin, Recorder of the parish of Avoyelles, personally came and appeared Henry B. Northup, of the county of Washington, State of New-York, who hath declared that by virtue of a commission to him as agent of the State of New-York, given and granted by his excellency,
Washington Hunt, Governor of the said State of New-York, bearing date the 23d day of November, 1852, authorizing and empowering him, the said Northup, to pursue and recover from slavery a free man of color, called Solomon Northup, who is a free citizen of the State of New-York, and who was kidnapped and sold into slavery, in the State of Louisiana, and now in the possession of Edwin Epps, of the State of Louisiana, of the Parish of Avoyelles; he, the said agent, hereto signing, acknowledges that the said Edwin has this day given and surrendered to him as such agent, the said Solomon Northup, free man of color, as aforesaid, in order that he be restored to his freedom, and carried back to the said State of New-York, pursuant to said commission, the said Edwin Epps being satisfied from the proofs produced by said agent, that the said Solomon Northup is entitled to his freedom. The parties consenting that a certified copy of said power of attorney be annexed to this act.
Done and signed at Marksville, parish of Avoyelles, this fourth day of January, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the presence of the undersigned, legal and competent witnesses, who have also hereto signed.
(Signed), HENRY B. NORTHUP.
EDWIN EPPS.
ADE. BARBIN, Recorder.
Witnesses:
H. TAYLOR,
JOHN P. WADDILL.
STATE OF LOUISIANA:
Parish of Avoyelles.
I do hereby certify the foregoing to be a true and correct copy of the original on file and of record in my office.
Given under my hand and seal of office as Recorder [L. S.] in and for the parish of Avoyelles, this 4th day of January, A. D. 1853.
(Signed), ADE. BARBIN, Recorder.
Original Song
Image and Map Gallery
Acknowledgements
Since my discovery of the original 1853 edition of Twelve Years a Slave as a young girl on Bayou Boeuf, a host of people have contributed in so many ways in the over seven decades of work in documenting his story. I could not have done this work without them, and without their help this project could never have been completed. I want to express my deepest appreciation.
It was my father, a fifth-generation Louisiana planter, Sam Lyles, who told me much about Boeuf plantation history, while my mother, Myrtle Guy Lyles, encouraged my writing efforts. Sonia Taub, a retired research librarian of Saratoga Springs, New York, visited the Boeuf country some years ago and returned to research the story of Northup, generously enriching my own research.
Other people, such as my sister, Betty McGowen, helped me in many small but important ways, such as providing her hospitality at her Walnut Grove Plantation by inviting visitors wanting to learn about Solomon. Kenneth Perry, who lived out his life near Indian Creek, gave me a log from the Ford sawmill and set the record straight on the exact location of the mill.
Many genealogists have enhanced my understanding of the years Solomon Northup spent in the Boeuf country. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Ford of Redding, California, assisted with the genealogies of William Prince Ford and the Prince families, while Rene Pernoud, a descendant of William C.C.C. Martin, shared her information of the Martins. Field Horne and Dr. Clifton Brown of Schenectady, New York, both sent me information on the black and white Northup families. Mr. and Mrs. Bob Epps drove from Texas on July 4, 1982, to bring me the genealogy of the Edwin Epps family. Mrs. Edith Wyckoff, of Long Island, New York, a descendant of attorney Henry Northup, mailed me, a stranger, a framed picture of her ancestor, who figures so large in the Solomon Northup story. She also sent a lengthy history of her research on her family and the writings of Henry Northup.
It was the interest of Chancellor Robert Cavanaugh who helped in my work to get the Edwin Epps house moved to the campus of LSU-Alexandria. A committee of local people, blacks and whites, at Bunkie, Louisiana, where I live, added their efforts with mine to preserve the Epps house despite undeserved harassment from our community, some of whom thought the entire story foolish. In the end it was M.D. Descant and his son, Don Pat, of M.D. Descant Contractors, Inc., who restored the old house on the LSUA campus in faithful detail. It is available for all visitors to see a typical plantation “Big House”—in this case the very one from which Edwin Epps operated his plantation.
While the South takes considerable pride in its reputation for hospitality, it could hardly be more so than that extended to me from a number of New Yorkers who graciously contributed information they gleaned over the years. Members of the Whitehall Free Library—all volunteers—shared the considerable work they completed, while David Fiske of Saratoga Lake, Dr. Edward Knoblauch of Albany, and Paul Loding of Hudson Falls, were all especially helpful.
Always helping in this effort in every way they could were my colleagues: Dr. Patsy Barber at LSU-Alexandria; Dr. John Tarver of the Louisiana Agricultural Extension; Dr. Rouse Caffey, Chancellor of the Extension; and Raymond Laborde, Lieutenant Governor. My heartfelt appreciation is extended to these individuals, as well as to President W.C. Jenkins of Louisiana State University. One of my students, Elizabeth Brazelton, allowed me to use the valuable documents of her great-grandfather, attorney John Waddill, which were vitally important in my documentation. The late Dr. Edwin Adams Davis, historian at LSU, helped me gain recognition for my research on Northup. Rufus Smith at the Rapides Parish Courthouse shared his wisdom with me over the years, while nobody could have done more than Avoyelles Clerk of Court Sammy Couvillion and his father, Gradni, who was Clerk of Court preceding him. Both went beyond the call of duty many times over the years in securing essential documents relating to Solomon Northup’s experience in Avoyelles Parish.
In 1968, I published the first modern edition of Twelve Years a Slave and continued to build my Northup archive throughout my teaching career. After retiring as professor of History at LSU-Alexandria in 1987, with my five children grown and about their business in far away places, I literally lived and breathed the story of Solomon Northup. After years of such dedication, and in my mid-80’s, I realized I had reached my breaking point and could not get the manuscript for my final definitive edition checked and polished for publication. I telephoned my daughter, Dr. Sara Kuhn, a professor of English at Chattanooga State Community Technical College, and told her, “Sara, I can’t do anything more. If you can’t finish what needs to be done, I guess it just won’t get done.” I’ll never forget the cheerful voice that came back to me. “That’s all right, Mom. I’ll take care of it. Get it in the mail and get some rest!” There are no words for the countless hours, e-mails exchanged, and complete dedication of Sara Eakin Kuhn in editing the book and converting my documentation into the proper Chicago Style Manual essential for publication. I also appreciate the valuable assistance of my sister, Manie Culbertson, another English teacher, who performed the final proof reading.
Finally, it is complete. Solomon’s story, one of the most important in American history, has been authenticated and placed in the context of the times. I have given my fullest effort. Now Solomon, and I, can rest.
Bibliography
Albany Evening Journal (NY). “From The Union Gasette. Northup’s Kidnappers.” July 12, 1854.
Albany Evening Journal (NY). “Literary News.” June 6, 1856.
Albany Evening Journal (Albany, NY). “The Northrop Kidnapping Case.” July 13, 1854.
Albany People’s Journal (NY). “The Northup Kidnapping Case” from Saratoga Whig. July 13, 1854.
Allen, R. L. “Letters from the South.-No. 12.” American Agriculturist, November 1847, 336-38.
Armstead, Myra B. Young, Field Horne, and Gretchen Sorin. A Heritage Uncovered: The Black Experience in Upstate New York, 1800-1825. Elmira, NY: Chemung Historical Society, 1988.
Bacon, Edward. Among the Cotton Thieves. Bossier City, LA: Everett Publishing, 1989.
Ballston Democratic Whig Journal (Ballston, NY). “The Kidnappers of Northup.” July 17, 1855.
Ballston Journal (Ballston, NY). “Court Proceedings.” May 26, 1857.
Ballston Spa v. Solomon Northup (Oyer and Terminer May 1, 1839).
Bancroft, Frederic. Slave Trading in the Old South. New York, NY: Ungar Publishing, 1959, quoted in Harry M. Ward, Richmond: An Illustrated History (Northridge, CA: Windsor Publishing, 1985), 106.
Bank of Kentucky v. Conner, et al., 4 1849 317 (Louisiana State Supreme Court 1849).
Bascom, Robert O. The Fort Edward Book Containing Some Historical Sketches with Illustrations and Family Records. Fort Edwards, NY: n.p., 1903.
Beecher, Harris H. Record of the 114th Regiment, New York State Volunteers. Norwich, NY: J.F. Hubbard, Jr., 1866.
Benjamin Carlle, Jr. v. Solomon Northup (Supreme Courts, State of New York, Wayne County Oct. 9, 1854).
Benjamin P. Burham v. Anne Northup (Supreme Court Warren County Judgments Mar. 1 to Apr. 25, 1859).
Bennett, Ezra. “Day Book of Bennett Store.” Unpublished raw data, 1838. Sue Eakin Papers, LSUAlexandria Archives, Alexandria, LA.
Bennett, Charles D. Charles D. Bennett to Virginia, 1894. Ezra Bennett Papers. Louisiana State University Alexandria, Alexandria.
Bennett, Ezra. “Bennett Papers.” Sue Eakin Papers. Louisiana State University Alexandria, Alexandria, LA.
———. Ezra Bennett to C. Toledano, September 8, 1840. Sue Eakin Papers. Louisiana State University Alexandria, Alexandria, LA.
———. Ezra Bennett to Dear Brother Charles, August 26, 1847. Sue Eakin Papers. Louisiana State University Alexandria, Alexandria, LA.
———. Ezra Bennett to George Turrell and Calhoun, August 1841. Ezra Bennett Papers. Louisiana State University Alexandria, Alexandria.
———. Ezra Bennett to Loflin and Stephens, March 5, 1842. Sue Eakin Papers. Lousiana State University Alexandria, Alexandria, LA.
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