The Bondwoman's Narrative

by Hannah Crafts

  Col. Wheeler told me to stay on the upper porch and did not let me go to dinner, and sent by the servants some dinner to me, but I did not desire any; after dinner he asked me if I had dinner; I told him I wanted none; while he was at dinner I saw a colored woman, and went to her and told her I was a slave woman traveling with a very curious gentleman, who did not want me to have anything to do or say to colored persons; she said she was sorry for me; I said nothing more; then I went back and took my seat where I had been ordered by Col. Wheeler; he had told me not to talk to colored persons; to tell everybody I was traveling with a minister going to Nicaragua; he seemed to think I might be led off; he did not tell me I could be free if I wanted to when I got to Philadelphia; on the boat he said he would give me my freedom; he never said so before; I had made preparations before leaving Washington to get my freedom in New York; I made a suit to disguise my self in—they had never seen me wear it—to escape in when I got to New York; Mr. Wheeler has that suit in his possession, in my trunk; I wasn’t willing to come without my children; for I wanted to free them; I have been in Col. Wheeler’s family nearly two years; he bought me from a gentleman of Richmond—a Mr. Crew; he was not a member of Col. Wheeler’s family; Col. Wheeler was not more than half an hour at dinner; he came to look at me from the dinner-table, and found me where he had left me; I did not ask leave of absence at Bloodgood’s Hotel; while Col. Wheeler went on board the boat a colored man asked me did I want to go with Col. W.; I told him “No, I do not;” at 9 o’clock that night he said he would touch the telegraph for me and some one [sic] would meet me at New York; I said I was obliged to him; no more was said then; I had never seen the man before; when Col. Wheeler took me on board he took me on the upper deck and sat us down alongside of him. While sitting there I saw a colored man and a white one; the white man beckoned me to come to him; the colored man asked did I desire my freedom; the white man approached Mr. W. and said he desired to tell me my rights; Mr. W. said, “My woman knows her rights;” they told me to go with them; he held out his hand but did not touch mine, and I immediately arose to go with him; I took my oldest boy by the hand; the youngest was picked up by some people and became very alarmed, and I proceeded off the boat as quickly as I could, being perfectly willing and desirous to go; Mr. Wheeler tried to stop me, no one else; he tried to get before me as though he wanted to talk to me; I wanted to get off the boat, and didn’t listen to what he had to say. I did not say I did not want my freedom; I have always wanted it; I did not say I wanted to go with my master; I went very willingly to the carriage, I was very glad to go; the little boy said he wanted to go to his massa, he was frightened; I did not say I wanted to go to Col. Wheeler; there was no outcry of any kind, my little boy made all the noise that was made.”

  (The Case of Passmore Williamson, 1855)

  Version II

  “Jane Johnson being sworn, makes oath and says—“My name is Jane— Jane Johnson; I was the slave of Mr. Wheeler of Washington; he bought me and my two children, about two years ago, of Mr. Cornelius Crew, of Richmond, Va.; my youngest child is between six and seven years old, the other between ten and eleven; I have one other child only, and he is in Richmond; I have not seen him for about two years; never expect to see him again; Mr. Wheeler brought me and my two children to Philadelphia, on the way to Nicaragua, to wait on his wife; I didn’t want to go without my two children, and he consented to take them; we came to Philadelphia by the cars; stopped at Mr. Sully’s, Mr. Wheeler’s father-in-law, a few moments; then went to the steamboat for New York at 2 o’clock, but were too late; we went into Bloodgood’s Hotel; Mr. Wheeler went to dinner; Mr. Wheeler had told me in Washington to have nothing to say to colored persons, and if any of them spoke to me, to say I was a free woman traveling with a minister; we staid [sic] at Bloodgood’s till 5 o’clock; Mr. Wheeler kept his eye on me all the time except when he was at dinner; he left his dinner to come and see if I was safe, and then went back again; while he was at dinner, I saw a colored woman and told her I was a slave woman, that my master had told me not to speak to colored people, and that if any of them spoke to me to say that I was free; but I am not free; but I want to be free; she said: ‘poor thing, I pity you;’ after that I saw a colored man and said the same thing to him, he said he would telegraph to New York, and two men would meet me at 9 o’clock and take me with them; after that we went on board the boat, Mr. Wheeler sat beside me on the deck; I saw a colored gentleman come on board, he beckoned to me; I nodded my head, and could not go; Mr. Wheeler was beside me and I was afraid; a white gentleman then came and said to Mr. Wheeler, ‘I want to speak to your servant, and tell her of her rights;’ Mr. Wheeler rose and said, ‘If you have anything to say, say it to me— she knows her rights;’ the white gentleman asked me if I wanted to be free; I said ‘I do, but I belong to this gentleman and I can’t have it;’ he replied, ‘Yes, you can, come with us, you are as free as your master, if you want your freedom come now; if you go back to Washington you may never get it;’ I rose to go, Mr. Wheeler spoke, and said, ‘I will give you your freedom,’ but he had never promised it before, and I knew he would never give it to me; the white gentleman held out his hand and I went toward him; I was ready for the word before it was given me; I took the children by the hands, who both cried, for they were frightened, but both stopped when they got on shore; a colored man carried the little one, I led the other by the hand. We walked down the street till we got to a hack; nobody forced me away; nobody pulled me, and nobody led me; I went away of my own free will; I always wished to be free and meant to be free when I came North; I hardly expected it in Philadelphia, but I thought I should get free in New York; I have been comfortable and happy since I left Mr. Wheeler, and so are the children; I don’t want to go back; I could have gone in Philadelphia if I had wanted to; I could go now; but I had rather die than go back. I wish to make this statement before a magistrate, because I understand that Mr. Williamson is in prison on my account, and I hope the truth may be of benefit to him.”

  Jane [her mark] Johnson

  (William Still, The Underground Railroad, pp. 94–95)

  APPENDIX C

  John Hill Wheeler’s Library Catalogue

  Compiled by Bryan C. Sinche

  Wheeler compiled a catalogue of his books at his North Carolina home on June 10, 1850. Wheeler had six cases of books, each containing more than 180 volumes. The first case he catalogued contained primarily bellestristic and philosophical works; other cases included law, history, classics, politics, and other assorted volumes. Besides the 1,200 volumes contained within Wheeler’s library, he kept a selection of books in his parlor. These few titles were most likely for the women in his home; they cover topics such as needlepoint and homemaking.

  The list below contains the legible titles from the belletristic portion of Wheeler’s library. Wheeler does not list authors in his catalogue, except in a few instances; therefore, most publication data for the works in his library is speculative. I have used Wheeler’s titles and the cutoff date of 1850 to locate possible authors and publishers for the works.

  This list has been assembled using the Library of Congress catalogue, the National Union catalogue, and the OCLC catalogue. I have focused on editions published in Philadelphia and New York since Wheeler frequented those cities (especially Philadelphia). For the three works for which I have been unable to locate any possible publication data in any catalogue, I have simply listed the title as it appears in Wheeler’s own catalogue.

  Selection from Case One:

  1. Biography of Eminent Men, Statesmen, Heroes, Authors, Artists and Men of Science, of Europe and America. Samuel Griswold Goodrich, ed. New York: Nafis and Cornish, 1846. This title is part of Peter Parley’s Select Library.

  2. Wheeler records Literature and Literary Men as a title. Though there is no exact match for such a title, this volume is likely one of the following:

  Gilfillan, George. Sketches of Modern Literature, and Eminent Literary Men, (Being a Gallery of
Literary Portraits). 2 vols. New York: D. Appleton & Co.; Philadelphia: Geo. S. Appleton, 1846.

  Gilfillan, George. Modern Literature and Literary Men: Being a Second Gallery of Literary Portraits. New York: Appleton, 1850.

  3. Phillips, Charles, Curran and His Contemporaries. Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood and Sons, 1850.

  4. American Female Poets. Rufus Wilmot Griswold, ed. (Running title: Gems from American Female Poets.) Bound with his Gems from the American Poets. Philadelphia: Porter and Coates, 1844.

  5. Marshal Book of Oratory.

  6. Hedge, Frederic Henry. Prose Writers of Germany. Philadelphia: Carey and Hart, 1848.

  7. Kennedy, John Pendleton. Swallow Barn. Philadelphia: Carey and Lea, 1832.

  8. The title Lives of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence could be one of the following:

  Dwight, Nathaniel. The Lives of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1840.

  Goodrich, Charles A. Lives of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence. New York: W. Reed & Co., 1829. (Also, New York: T. Mather, 1832.)

  9. Wheeler records Wiley Reader as a title. This volume is most likely Wiley and Putnam. Wiley & Putnam’s Library of Choice Reading.

  New York: Wiley and Putnam, 1846.

  10. Wheeler records Lives of the Poets as a title, which suggests Samuel Johnson’s work. However, he makes a notation that the volume is “by Howett.” There is no work by such an author. One possibility for a Lives of the Poets not by Johnson is

  Sanford, Ezekiel and Robert Walsh. Works of the British Poets with Lives of the Authors. 23 vols. Philadelphia: P. A. Mitchell, Ames and White, 1819.

  11. Starling, Elizabeth. Noble Deeds of American Women, or, Examples of Female Courage and Virtue. Philadelphia: Carey, Lea and Blanchard, 1836.

  12. Wheeler records Poets of America and Europe as a title. There is no work with this title in the LOC, OCLC, or National Union catalogues. A work with this title embedded in its complete title is

  Hall, William. Encyclopedia of English Grammar: Designed for the Use of Schools, Academics, and Private Learners. Embracing Grammar, Elocution, Rhetoric, Logic and Music, upon a New Plan Not Before Introduced, with Copious Exercises in Prose and Selections from the Most Distinguished Poets of Europe and America. Columbus, Ohio: Scott & Bascom, 1850.

  13. Nunes, Joseph A. Aristocracy: or, Life among the “Upper Ten.” Philadelphia: T. B. Peterson, 1848.

  14. Wheeler records Women, or Virgin, Wife and Mother as a title. Though there is no such title in the LOC, OCLC, or National Union catalogues, a similar title is

  The True History of Henrietta de Belgrave: a Woman Born to Great Calamities, a Distressed Virgin, Unhappy Wife, and Most Afflicted Mother, Her Intended Voyage with Her Parents to the East Indies … London: Printed and sold at Bailey’s Printing Office, 1750.

  15. Johnson, Samuel.The Rambler with a Historical and Biographical Preface by Alex Chalmers. Philadelphia: J. J. Woodward, 1827. (This is one of seventy-five pre-1850 editions—the other Philadelphia edition published during Wheeler’s life is The Rambler, to Which is Prefixed an Essay on the Life and Genius of Dr. Johnson, by Arthur Murphy, Esq. Philadelphia: H. Cowperthwait, 1828.

  16. Moore, Thomas. Works of Thomas Moore. 4th ed. 2 vols. Philadelphia: Washington Press, 1827–28.

  17. Scott, Sir Walter. Works of Sir Walter Scott. Philadelphia: Pomeroy, 1824. 7 vols. (There were ten pre-1850 American editions of Scott’s Works—the other Philadelphia editions published during Wheeler’s lifetime were by Carey and Hart, 1845 and 1847. Each edition contained ten volumes.)

  18. Scott, Sir Walter. Beauties of the Waverly Novels. Boston: Samuel G. Goodrich, 1829.

  19. Byron, Lord (George Gordon). Works of Lord Byron. 2 vols. Philadelphia: Moses Thomas, 1816. (Includes a sketch of Byron’s life by J. W. Lake.)

  20. Walpole, Horace. Reminiscences. Boston: Wells and Lilly, 1820. (This is the only American edition. J. Sharpe of London published Reminiscences in 1819.)

  21. Burns, Robert. Letters. 2 vols. in 1. Boston: Wells and Lilly, 1820. ( J. Sharpe of London published Letters in 1819.)

  22. Gray, Thomas. Letters. Boston: Wells and Lilly, 1820.

  23. Goldsmith, Oliver. Essays by Dr. Goldsmith. Philadelphia: B. Davies, 1802. (Part of the Select British Classics Series.) Though there are numerous editions of Goldsmith’s Essays, this is the only one with the same title Wheeler recorded.

  24. Bacon, Francis. Essays, Moral, Economical and Political. Philadelphia: R. Deseliver, etc., 1818.

  25. Johnson, Samuel. Sermons by Samuel Johnson LLD, Left for Publication by John Taylor. Boston: Wells and Lilly, 1821. ( J. Sharpe of London published Sermons in 1819.)

  26. Reynold, Sir Joshua. Discourses at the Royal Academy by Sir Joshua Reynolds. Boston: Wells and Lilley, 1821.

  27. Chesterfield, Philip Dormer Stanhope. Lord Chesterfield’s Letters to His Son. Baltimore: John Kingston. Printed by A. Miltenberger, 1813. 28. Wheeler records Poets and Artists of Great Britain, which is most likely

  Hall, S. C. The Book of Gems. The Poets and Artists of Great Britain. London; Saunders and Otley, 1836; Philadelphia: T. Wardle, 1838.

  29. Wheeler records Years of Consolation “by Mrs. Burton.” This may be Butler, Mrs. Fanny Kemble. “Year of Consolation,” in Littell’s Living Age 15 (1847).

  30. Dwight, Theodore. The Father’s Book, or, Suggestions for the Government and Instruction of Young Children, on Principles Appropriate to a Christian Country. Springfield, Mass.: G. and C. Merriam, 1834.

  31. Beauties of British Classics: Containing the Best Selections of Entertaining and Instructive Essays … Baltimore: T. W. Cleland, 1826. 32. Warne, Joseph A. Phrenology in the Family. Or, the Utility of Phrenology in Early Domestic Education … Philadelphia: G. W. Donohue, 1839.

  33. Goldsmith, Oliver. Goldsmith’s Poems. Consisting of The Traveller, The Deserted Village, Edwin and Angelina, Retaliation, Double Transformation, and A New Simile. Philadelphia: Printed by H. Maxwell, for Mathew Carey, 1800. (Though there are numerous editions of Goldsmith’s poems, this is the only one with this title.)

  34. Calliope, a Collection of English Ballads. Baltimore: Edward J. Coale; J. Robinson, printer, 1814.

  36. Swift, Jonathan. Gulliver’s Travels. 2 vols. Philadelphia: Printed for Mathew Carey, 1808–09. (This is the first full, dated, American edition, but it is titled Travels into Several Remote Regions of the World, by Lemuel Gulliver. Later editions ignore Swift’s pseudonymic title, and the first American edition titled Gulliver’s Travels was New York: Dixon and Silkels, 1827.)

  37. Shakespeare, William. Beauties of Shakespeare Regularly Selected from Each Play. Boston: T. Bedlington, 1827.

  38. Appears to be Wanderer of Livitzen. No such title appears in the Library of Congress catalogue. There is an entry for

  Waterston, George. Wanderer in Washington. Printed at the Washington Press by Jonathan Elliot, 1827.

  39. Dickens, Charles. Old Curiosity Shop. Philadelphia: Lea and Blanchard, 1841, 1842, 1849.

  40. Wills’ Poems. Though there are no titles in the OCLC or LOC catalogue by this name, two possibilities are

  Willis, Nathaniel Parker. The Poems, Sacred, Passionate and Humorous of Nathaniel Parker Willis. New York: Clark and Austin, 1844.

  Willis, Nathaniel Parker. Poems of Early and After Years. Philadelphia: Carey and Hart, 1848.

  41. Scott, Sir Walter. Waverly Novels. 5 vols. Philadelphia: Carey and Hart, 1839, 1844–49.

  42. Dickens, Charles. Barnaby Rudge. Philadelphia: Lea and Blanchard, 1842.

  43. Lever, Charles J. Charles O’Malley. Philadelphia: Carey and Hart, 1840–49. Five editions published in this span.

  44. Legends and Stories of Ireland; Containing the Dead Boxer and Other Tales. Philadelphia: J. B. Perry; New York: Nafis and Cornish, 1820.

  45. Hazlitt, William. Characters of Shakespeare’s Plays. New York: Wiley and Putnam, 1845.

  46. Brontë, Charlotte. Jane Eyre.
New York: Harper, 1847.

  47. Brontë, Emily. Wuthering Heights. London: Newby, 1847. (There are two American editions published prior to 1850; however, both are wrongly attributed to the “author of Jane Eyre.”)

  48. Warren, Samuel. Now and Then … Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood and Sons, 1847?.

  49. Brontë, Charlotte. New York: Harper, 1850. (Part of a three-volume collection entitled The Brontê Novels.)

  50. Wheeler records this title as Temptation, and there are several possibilities in the OCLC catalogue, though this volume may be one of a series with Voluptuousness, Pride, and Envy (51–53).

  Other possibilities are Gascoigne, Caroline. Temptation, or, a Wife’s Perils. London: H. Colburn, 1839.

  Kidder, Daniel Parish. The Temptation, or, Henry Thornton. Showing the Progress and Fruits of Intemperance. Boston: King, Saxton and Pierce, 1841.

  Sue, Eugène. The Temptation; or, The Watch Tower of Koat-Vën: A Romantic Tale. New York: Burgess, Stringer & Co., 1848.

  Temptation, or, Henry Morland. Boston: Bowles and Dearborn, Press of Isaac R. Butts and Co., 1827.

  Townsend, William Thompson. Temptation, or, The Fatal Brand. London: T. H. Lacy, 1800.

  51. Voluptuousness.

  52. Wheeler records this title as Envy. A possibility for this entry is Champion, Joseph. Envy: A Poem, to General R. Smith. London: printed for W. Davis, 1776.

  53. Wheeler records this title as Pride. Though there is no such title in the LOC catalogue, some possibilities are

  Arthur, Timothy Shay. Pride or Principle, Which Makes the Lady? Philadelphia: R. G. Benford, 1844.

  Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice: A Novel. London: Printed for T. Egerton, 1813.

  Rusticus, Nicholas. Pride, or, A Touch at the Times: A Satirical Poem, Addressed to All Genuine Reformers in This Glorious Age of Anti-ism. Boston: John Marsh & Co., 1830.