ARRIVAL IN NEW-ORLEANS--GLIMPSE OF FREEMAN--GENOIS, THE
RECORDER--HIS DESCRIPTION OF SOLOMON--REACH CHARLESTON--INTERRUPTED
BY CUSTOM HOUSE OFFICERS--PASS THROUGH RICHMOND--ARRIVAL IN
WASHINGTON--BURCH ARRESTED--SHEKELS AND THORN--THEIR TESTIMONY--BURCH
ACQUITTED--ARREST OF SOLOMON--BURCH WITHDRAWS THE COMPLAINT--THE
HIGHER TRIBUNAL--DEPARTURE FROM WASHINGTON--ARRIVAL AT SANDY
HILL--OLD FRIENDS AND FAMILIAR SCENES--PROCEED TO GLENS
FALLS--MEETING WITH ANNE, MARGARET AND ELIZABETH--SOLOMON NORTHUP
STAUNTON--INCIDENTS--CONCLUSION.
As the steamer glided on its way towards New-Orleans, _perhaps_ I was
not happy--_perhaps_ there was no difficulty in restraining myself
from dancing round the deck--perhaps I did not feel grateful to the
man who had come so many hundred miles for me--perhaps I did not
light his pipe, and wait and watch his word, and run at his slightest
bidding. If I didn't--well, no matter.
We tarried at New-Orleans two days. During that time I pointed out the
locality of Freeman's slave pen, and the room in which Ford purchased
me. We happened to meet Theophilus in the street, but I did not think
it worth while to renew acquaintance with him. From respectable
citizens we ascertained he had become a low, miserable rowdy--a
broken-down, disreputable man.
We also visited the recorder, Mr. Genois, to whom Senator Soule's
letter was directed, and found him a man well deserving the wide and
honorable reputation that he bears. He very generously furnished us
with a sort of legal pass, over his signature and seal of office, and
as it contains the recorder's description of my personal appearance,
it may not be amiss to insert it here. The following is a copy:
"_State of Louisiana_--_City of New-Orleans_:
Recorder's Office, Second District.
"To all to whom these presents shall come:--
"This is to certify that Henry B. Northup, Esquire, of the county
of Washington, New-York, has produced before me due evidence
of the freedom of Solomon, a mulatto man, aged about forty-two
years, five feet, seven inches and six lines, woolly hair, and
chestnut eyes, who is a native born of the State of New-York. That
the said Northup, being about bringing the said Solomon to his
native place, through the southern routes, the civil authorities
are requested to let the aforesaid colored man Solomon pass
unmolested, he demeaning well and properly.
"Given under my hand and the seal of the city of New-Orleans this
7th January, 1853.
[L. S.] "TH. GENOIS, Recorder."
On the 8th we came to Lake Pontchartrain, by railroad, and, in due
time, following the usual route, reached Charleston. After going on
board the steamboat, and paying our passage at this city, Mr. Northup
was called upon by a custom-house officer to explain why he had not
registered his servant. He replied that he had no servant--that, as
the agent of New-York, he was accompanying a free citizen of that
State from slavery to freedom, and did not desire nor intend to make
any registry whatever. I conceived from his conversation and manner,
though I may perhaps be entirely mistaken, that no great pains would
be taken to avoid whatever difficulty the Charleston officials might
deem proper to create. At length, however, we were permitted to
proceed, and, passing through Richmond, where I caught a glimpse of
Goodin's pen, arrived in Washington January 17th, 1853.
We ascertained that both Burch and Radburn were still residing in that
city. Immediately a complaint was entered with a police magistrate
of Washington, against James H. Burch, for kidnapping and selling
me into slavery. He was arrested upon a warrant issued by Justice
Goddard, and returned before Justice Mansel, and held to bail in the
sum of three thousand dollars. When first arrested, Burch was much
excited, exhibiting the utmost fear and alarm, and before reaching the
justice's office on Louisiana Avenue, and before knowing the precise
nature of the complaint, begged the police to permit him to consult
Benjamin O. Shekels, a slave trader of seventeen years' standing, and
his former partner. The latter became his bail.
At ten o'clock, the 18th of January, both parties appeared before the
magistrate. Senator Chase, of Ohio, Hon. Orville Clark, of Sandy Hill,
and Mr. Northup acted as counsel for the prosecution, and Joseph H.
Bradley for the defence.
Gen. Orville Clark was called and sworn as a witness, and testified
that he had known me from childhood, and that I was a free man, as
was my father before me. Mr. Northup then testified to the same, and
proved the facts connected with his mission to Avoyelles.
Ebenezer Radburn was then sworn for the prosecution, and testified
he was forty-eight years old; that he was a resident of Washington,
and had known Burch fourteen years; that in 1841 he was keeper of
Williams' slave pen; that he remembered the fact of my confinement in
the pen that year. At this point it was admitted by the defendant's
counsel, that I had been placed in the pen by Burch in the spring of
1841, and hereupon the prosecution rested.
Benjamin O. Shekels was then offered as a witness by the prisoner.
Benjamin is a large, coarse-featured man, and the reader may perhaps
get a somewhat correct conception of him by reading the exact language
he used in answer to the first question of defendant's lawyer. He was
asked the place of his nativity, and his reply, uttered in a sort of
rowdyish way, was in these very words--
"I was born in Ontario county, New-York, and _weighed fourteen
pounds_!"
Benjamin was a prodigious baby! He further testified that he kept the
Steamboat Hotel in Washington in 1841, and saw me there in the spring
of that year. He was proceeding to state what he had heard two men
say, when Senator Chase raised a legal objection, to wit, that the
sayings of third persons, being hearsay, was improper evidence. The
objection was overruled by the Justice, and Shekels continued, stating
that two men came to his hotel and represented they had a colored man
for sale; that they had an interview with Burch; that they stated they
came from Georgia, but he did not remember the county; that they gave
a full history of the boy, saying he was a bricklayer, and played
on the violin; that Burch remarked he would purchase if they could
agree; that they went out and brought the boy in, and that I was the
same person. He further testified, with as much unconcern as if it
was the truth, that I represented I was born and bred in Georgia;
that one of the young men with me was my master; that I exhibited a
great deal of regret at parting with him, and he believed "got into
tears!"--nevertheless, that I insisted my master had a right to sell
me; that he _ought_ to sell me; and the remarkable reason I gave was,
according to Shekels, because he, my master, "had been gambling and on
a spree!"
He continued, in these words, copied from the minutes taken on the
examination: "Burch interrogated the boy in the usual manner, told him
if he purchased him he should send him south. The boy said he had no
objection, that in fact he would like to go south. Burch paid $650 for
him, to my knowledge. I don't know what name was given him, but think
it was not Solomon. Did not know the name of either of the two men.
They were in my tavern two or three hours, during which time the boy
played on the violin. The bill of sale was signed in my bar-room. It
was a _printed blank, filled up by Burch_. Before 1838 Burch was my
partner. Our business was buying and selling slaves. After that time
he was a partner of Theophilus Freeman, of New-Orleans. Burch bought
here--Freeman sold there!"
Shekels, before testifying, had heard my relation of the circumstances
connected with the visit to Washington with Brown and Hamilton, and
therefore, it was, undoubtedly, he spoke of "two men," and of my
playing on the violin. Such was his fabrication, utterly untrue, and
yet there was found in Washington a man who endeavored to corroborate
him.
Benjamin A. Thorn testified he was at Shekels' in 1841, and saw a
colored boy playing on a fiddle. "Shekels said he was for sale. Heard
his master tell him he should sell him. The boy acknowledged to me he
was a slave. I was not present when the money was paid. Will not swear
positively this is the boy. The master _came near shedding tears: I
think the boy did_! I have been engaged in the business of taking
slaves south, off and on, for twenty years. When I can't do that I do
something else."
I was then offered as a witness, but, objection being made, the court
decided my evidence inadmissible. It was rejected solely on the ground
that I was a colored man--the fact of my being a free citizen of
New-York not being disputed.
Shekels having testified there was a bill of sale executed, Burch
was called upon by the prosecution to produce it, inasmuch as such
a paper would corroborate the testimony of Thorn and Shekels. The
prisoner's counsel saw the necessity of exhibiting it, or giving some
reasonable explanation for its non-production. To effect the latter,
Burch himself was offered as a witness in his own behalf. It was
contended by counsel for the people, that such testimony should not be
allowed--that it was in contravention of every rule of evidence, and
if permitted would defeat the ends of justice. His testimony, however,
was received by the court! He made oath that such a bill of sale had
been drawn up and signed, _but he had lost it, and did not know what
had become of it_! Thereupon the magistrate was requested to dispatch
a police officer to Burch's residence, with directions to bring his
books, containing his bills of sales for the year 1841. The request
was granted, and before any measure could be taken to prevent it, the
officer had obtained possession of the books, and brought them into
court. The sales for the year 1841 were found, and carefully examined,
but no sale of myself, by any name, was discovered!
Upon this testimony the court held the fact to be established, that
Burch came innocently and honestly by me, and accordingly he was
discharged.
An attempt was then made by Burch and his satellites, to fasten
upon me the charge that I had conspired with the two white men to
defraud him--with what success, appears in an extract taken from an
article in the New-York Times, published a day or two subsequent to
the trial: "The counsel for the defendant had drawn up, before the
defendant was discharged, an affidavit, signed by Burch, and had a
warrant out against the colored man for a conspiracy with the two
white men before referred to, to defraud Burch out of six hundred
and twenty-five dollars. The warrant was served, and the colored man
arrested and brought before officer Goddard. Burch and his witnesses
appeared in court, and H. B. Northup appeared as counsel for the
colored man, stating he was ready to proceed as counsel on the part of
the defendant, and asking no delay whatever. Burch, after consulting
privately a short time with Shekels, stated to the magistrate that
he wished him to dismiss the complaint, as he would not proceed
farther with it. Defendant's counsel stated to the magistrate that
if the complaint was withdrawn, it must be without the request or
consent of the defendant. Burch then asked the magistrate to let him
have the complaint and the warrant, and he took them. The counsel
for the defendant objected to his receiving them, and insisted they
should remain as part of the records of the court, and that the court
should endorse the proceedings which had been had under the process.
Burch delivered them up, and the court rendered a judgment of
discontinuance by the request of the prosecutor, and filed it in his
office."
* * * * *
There may be those who will affect to believe the statement of the
slave-trader--those, in whose minds his allegations will weigh heavier
than mine. I am a poor colored man--one of a down-trodden and degraded
race, whose humble voice may not be heeded by the oppressor--but
_knowing_ the truth, and with a full sense of my accountability, I
do solemnly declare before men, and before God, that any charge or
assertion, that I conspired directly or indirectly with any person
or persons to sell myself; that any other account of my visit to
Washington, my capture and imprisonment in Williams' slave pen, than
is contained in these pages, is utterly and absolutely false. I never
played on the violin in Washington. I never was in the Steamboat
Hotel, and never saw Thorn or Shekels, to my knowledge, in my life,
until last January. The story of the trio of slave-traders is a
fabrication as absurd as it is base and unfounded. Were it true, I
should not have turned aside on my way back to liberty for the purpose
of prosecuting Burch. I should have _avoided_ rather than sought him.
I should have known that such a step would have resulted in rendering
me infamous. Under the circumstances--longing as I did to behold my
family, and elated with the prospect of returning home--it is an
outrage upon probability to suppose I would have run the hazard, not
only of exposure, but of a criminal prosecution and conviction, by
voluntarily placing myself in the position I did, if the statements of
Burch and his confederates contain a particle of truth. I took pains
to seek him out, to confront him in a court of law, charging him with
the crime of kidnapping; and the only motive that impelled me to this
step, was a burning sense of the wrong he had inflicted upon me, and a
desire to bring him to justice. He was acquitted, in the manner, and
by such means as have been described. A human tribunal has permitted
him to escape; but there is another and a higher tribunal, where false
testimony will not prevail, and where I am willing, so far at least as
these statements are concerned, to be judged at last.
* * * * *
We left Washington on the 20th of January, and proceeding by the way
of Philadelphia, New-York, and Albany, reached Sandy Hill in the night
of the 21st. My heart overflowed with happiness as I looked around
upon old familiar scenes, and found myself in the midst of friends of
other days. The following morning I started, in company with several
acquaintances, for Glens Falls, the residence of Anne and our children.
As I entered their comfortable cottage, Margaret was the first that
met me. She did not recognize me. When I left her, she was but seven
years old, a little prattling girl, playing with her toys. Now she was
grown to womanhood--was married, with a bright-eyed boy standing by
her side. Not forgetful of his enslaved, unfortunate grand-father,
she had named the child Solomon Northup Staunton. When told who I
was, she was overcome with emotion, and unable to speak. Presently
Elizabeth entered the room, and Anne came running from the hotel,
having been informed of my arrival. They embraced me, and with tears
flowing down their cheeks, hung upon my neck. But I draw a veil over a
scene which can better be imagined than described.
When the violence of our emotions had subsided to a sacred joy--when
the household gathered round the fire, that sent out its warm and
crackling comfort through the room, we conversed of the thousand
events that had occurred--the hopes and fears, the joys and sorrows,
the trials and troubles we had each experienced during the long
separation. Alonzo was absent in the western part of the State. The
boy had written to his mother a short time previous, of the prospect
of his obtaining sufficient money to purchase my freedom. From his
earliest years, that had been the chief object of his thoughts and his
ambition. They knew I was in bondage. The letter written on board the
brig, and Clem Ray himself, had given them that information. But where
I was, until the arrival of Bass' letter, was a matter of conjecture.
Elizabeth and Margaret once returned from school--so Anne informed
me--weeping bitterly. On inquiring the cause of the children's sorrow,
it was found that, while studying geography, their attention had been
attracted to the picture of slaves working in the cotton-field,
and an overseer following them with his whip. It reminded them of
the sufferings their father might be, and, as it happened, actually
_was_, enduring in the South. Numerous incidents, such as these, were
related--incidents showing they still held me in constant remembrance,
but not, perhaps, of sufficient interest to the reader, to be
recounted.
[Illustration: ARRIVAL HOME, AND FIRST MEETING WITH HIS WIFE AND
CHILDREN]
* * * * *
My narrative is at an end. I have no comments to make upon the subject
of Slavery. Those who read this book may form their own opinions of
the "peculiar institution." What it may be in other States, I do not
profess to know; what it is in the region of Red River, is truly
and faithfully delineated in these pages. This is no fiction, no
exaggeration. If I have failed in anything, it has been in presenting
to the reader too prominently the bright side of the picture. I doubt
not hundreds have been as unfortunate as myself; that hundreds of free
citizens have been kidnapped and sold into slavery, and are at this
moment wearing out their lives on plantations in Texas and Louisiana.
But I forbear. Chastened and subdued in spirit by the sufferings I
have borne, and thankful to that good Being through whose mercy I have
been restored to happiness and liberty, I hope henceforward to lead an
upright though lowly life, and rest at last in the church yard where
my father sleeps.
ROARING RIVER.
A REFRAIN OF THE RED RIVER PLANTATION.
[Illustration: Musical score]
"Harper's creek and roarin' ribber,
Thar, my dear, we'll live forebber;
Den we'll go to de Ingin nation,
All I want in dis creation,
Is pretty little wife and big plantation.
CHORUS.
Up dat oak and down dat ribber,
Two overseers and one little nigger."
APPENDIX.
A.--Page 291.
CHAP. 375.
_An act more effectually to protect the free citizens of this
State from being kidnapped, or reduced to Slavery._
[Passed May 14, 1840.]
The People of the State of New-York, represented in Senate and
Assembly, do enact as follows:
§ 1. Whenever the Governor of this State shall receive information
satisfactory to him that any free citizen or any inhabitant of this
State has been kidnapped or transported away out of this State, into
any other State or Territory of the United States, for the purpose of
being there held in slavery; or that such free citizen or inhabitant
is wrongfully seized, imprisoned or held in slavery in any of the
States or Territories of the United States, on the allegation or
pretence that such a person is a slave, or by color of any usage
or rule of law prevailing in such State or Territory, is deemed or
taken to be a slave, or not entitled of right to the personal liberty
belonging to a citizen; it shall be the duty of the said Governor to
take such measures as he shall deem necessary to procure such person
to be restored to his liberty and returned to this State. The Governor
is hereby authorized to appoint and employ such agent or agents as
he shall deem necessary to effect the restoration and return of
such person; and shall furnish the said agent with such credentials
and instructions as will be likely to accomplish the object of his
appointment. The Governor may determine the compensation to be allowed
to such agent for his services besides his necessary expenses.
§ 2. Such agent shall proceed to collect the proper proof to establish
the right of such person to his freedom, and shall perform such
journeys, take such measures, institute and procure to be prosecuted
such legal proceedings, under the direction of the Governor, as shall
be necessary to procure such person to be restored to his liberty and
returned to this State.
§ 3. The accounts for all services and expenses incurred in carrying
this act into effect shall be audited by the Comptroller, and paid by
the Treasurer on his warrant, out of any moneys in the treasury of
this State not otherwise appropriated. The Treasurer may advance, on
the warrant of the Comptroller, to such agent, such sum or sums as
the Governor shall certify to be reasonable advances to enable him to
accomplish the purposes of his appointment, for which advance such
agent shall account, on the final audit of his warrant.
§ 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
B.--Page 292.
MEMORIAL OF ANNE.
_To His Excellency, the Governor of the State of New-York:_
The memorial of Anne Northup, of the village of Glens Falls, in the
county of Warren, State aforesaid, respectfully sets forth--
That your memorialist, whose maiden name was Anne Hampton, was
forty-four years old on the 14th day of March last, and was married
to Solomon Northup, then of Fort Edward, in the county of Washington
and State aforesaid, on the 25th day of December, A. D. 1828, by
Timothy Eddy, then a Justice of the Peace. That the said Solomon,
after such marriage, lived and kept house with your memorialist in
said town until 1830, when he removed with his said family to the town
of Kingsbury in said county, and remained there about three years, and
then removed to Saratoga Springs in the State aforesaid, and continued
to reside in said Saratoga Springs and the adjoining town until about
the year 1841, as near as the time can be recollected, when the said
Solomon started to go to the city of Washington, in the District of
Columbia, since which time your memorialist has never seen her said
husband.
And your memorialist further states, that in the year 1841 she
received information by a letter directed to Henry B. Northup, Esq.,
of Sandy Hill, Washington county, New-York, and post-marked at
New-Orleans, that said Solomon had been kidnapped in Washington, put
on board of a vessel, and was then in such vessel in New-Orleans, but
could not tell how he came in that situation, nor what his destination
was.
That your memorialist ever since the last mentioned period has been
wholly unable to obtain any information of where the said Solomon was,
until the month of September last, when another letter was received
from the said Solomon, post-marked at Marksville, in the parish of
Avoyelles, in the State of Louisiana, stating that he was held there
as a slave, which statement your memorialist believes to be true.
That the said Solomon is about forty-five years of age, and never
resided out of the State of New-York, in which State he was born,
until the time he went to Washington city, as before stated. That
the said Solomon Northup is a free citizen of the State of New-York,
and is now wrongfully held in slavery, in or near Marksville, in the
parish of Avoyelles, in the State of Louisiana, one of the United
States of America, on the allegation or pretence that the said Solomon
is a slave.
And your memorialist further states that Mintus Northup was the
reputed father of said Solomon, and was a negro, and died at Fort
Edward, on the 22d day of November, 1829; that the mother of said
Solomon was a mulatto, or three quarters white, and died in the county
of Oswego, New-York, some five or six years ago, as your memorialist
was informed and believes, and never was a slave.
That your memorialist and her family are poor and wholly unable to pay
or sustain any portion of the expenses of restoring the said Solomon
to his freedom.
Your excellency is entreated to employ such agent or agents as shall
be deemed necessary to effect the restoration and return of said
Solomon Northup, in pursuance of an act of the Legislature of the
State of New-York, passed May 14th, 1840, entitled "An act more
effectually to protect the free citizens of this State from being
kidnappd or reduced to slavery." And your memorialist will ever pray.
(Signed,) ANNE NORTHUP.
Dated November 19, 1852.
* * * * *
STATE OF NEW-YORK:
Washington county, ss.
Anne Northup, of the village of Glens Falls, in the county of Warren,
in said State, being duly sworn, doth depose and say that she signed
the above memorial, and that the statements therein contained are true.
(Signed,) ANNE NORTHUP.
Subscribed and sworn before me this
19th November, 1852.
CHARLES HUGHES, Justice Peace.
* * * * *
We recommend that the Governor appoint Henry B. Northup, of the
village of Sandy Hill, Washington county, New-York, as one of the
agents to procure the restoration and return of Solomon Northup, named
in the foregoing memorial of Anne Northup.
Dated at Sandy Hill, Washington Co., N. Y.,
November 20, 1852. (Signed.)
PETER HOLBROOK, DANIEL SWEET,
B. F. HOAG, ALMON CLARK,
CHARLES HUGHES, BENJAMIN FERRIS,
E. D. BAKER, JOSIAH H. BROWN,
ORVILLE CLARK.
* * * * *
STATE OF NEW-YORK:
Washington County, ss:
Josiah Hand, of the village of Sandy Hill, in said county, being
duly sworn, says, he is fifty-seven years old, and was born in said
village, and has always resided there; that he has known Mintus
Northup and his son Solomon, named in the annexed memorial of Anne
Northup, since previous to the year 1816; that Mintus Northup then,
and until the time of his death, cultivated a farm in the towns of
Kingsbury and Fort Edward, from the time deponent first knew him until
he died; that said Mintus and his wife, the mother of said Solomon
Northup, were reported to be free citizens of New-York, and deponent
believes they were so free; that said Solomon Northup was born in
said county of Washington, as deponent believes, and was married Dec.
25th, 1828, in Fort Edward aforesaid, and his said wife and three
children--two daughters and one son--are now living in Glens Falls,
Warren county, New-York, and that the said Solomon Northup always
resided in said county of Washington, and its immediate vicinity,
until about 1841, since which time deponent has not seen him, but
deponent has been credibly informed, and as he verily believes truly,
the said Solomon is now wrongfully held as a slave in the State of
Louisiana. And deponent further says that Anne Northup, named in
the said memorial, is entitled to credit, and deponent believes the
statements contained in her said memorial are true.
(Signed,) JOSIAH HAND.
Subscribed and sworn before me this
19th day of November, 1852,
CHARLES HUGHES, Justice Peace.
* * * * *
STATE OF NEW-YORK:
Washington county, ss:
Timothy Eddy, of Fort Edward, in said county, being duly sworn, says
he is now over--years old, and has been a resident of said town more
than--years last past, and that he was well acquainted with Solomon
Northup, named in the annexed memorial of Anne Northup, and with his
father, Mintus Northup, who was a negro,--the wife of said Mintus
was a mulatto woman; that said Mintus Northup and his said wife and
family, two sons, Joseph and Solomon, resided in said town of Fort
Edward for several years before the year 1828, and said Mintus died
in said town A. D. 1829, as deponent believes. And deponent further
says that he was a Justice of the Peace in said town in the year 1828,
and as such Justice of the Peace, he, on the 25th day of Dec'r, 1828,
joined the said Solomon Northup in marriage with Anne Hampton, who is
the same person who has subscribed the annexed memorial. And deponent
expressly says, that said Solomon was a free citizen of the State of
New-York, and always lived in said State, until about the year A. D.
1840, since which time deponent has not seen him, but has recently
been informed, and as deponent believes truly, that said Solomon
Northup is wrongfully held in slavery in or near Marksville, in the
parish of Avoyelles, in the State of Louisiana. And deponent further
says, that said Mintus Northup was nearly sixty years old at the time
of his death, and was, for more than thirty years next prior to his
death, a free citizen of the State of New-York.
And this deponent further says, that Anne Northup, the wife of
said Solomon Northup, is of good character and reputation, and her
statements, as contained in the memorial hereto annexed, are entitled
to full credit.
(Signed,) TIMOTHY EDDY.
Subscribed and sworn before me this
19th day of November, 1852,
TIM'Y STOUGHTON, Justice.
* * * * *
STATE OF NEW-YORK:
Washington County, ss:
Henry B. Northup, of the village of Sandy Hill, in said county, being
duly sworn, says, that he is forty-seven years old, and has always
lived in said county; that he knew Mintus Northup, named in the
annexed memorial, from deponent's earliest recollection until the
time of his death, which occurred at Fort Edward, in said county, in
1829; that deponent knew the children of said Mintus, viz, Solomon
and Joseph; that they were both born in the county of Washington
aforesaid, as deponent believes; that deponent was well acquainted
with said Solomon, who is the same person named in the annexed
memorial of Anne Northup, from his childhood; and that said Solomon
always resided in said county of Washington and the adjoining counties
until about the year 1841; that said Solomon could read and write;
that said Solomon and his mother and father were free citizens of the
State of New-York; that sometime about the year 1841 this deponent
received a letter from said Solomon, post-marked New-Orleans, stating
that while on business at Washington city, he had been kidnapped, and
his free papers taken from him, and he was then on board a vessel,
in irons, and was claimed as a slave, and that he did not know his
destination, which the deponent believes to be true, and he urged
this deponent to assist in procuring his restoration to freedom; that
deponent has lost or mislaid said letter, and cannot find it; that
deponent has since endeavored to find where said Solomon was, but
could get no farther trace of him until Sept. last, when this deponent
ascertained by a letter purporting to have been written by the
direction of said Solomon, that said Solomon was held and claimed as
a slave in or near Marksville, in the parish of Avoyelles, Louisiana,
and that this deponent verily believes that such information is true,
and that said Solomon is now wrongfully held in slavery at Marksville
aforesaid.
(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 this deponent swears positively that said Solomon Northup is a
citizen of 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 22d 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 this 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 an Agent of this State, to take proper proceedings in
behalf of Solomon Northup, there in 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 satisfactary
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 the 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
[L.S.] affixed the privy seal of the State, at Albany, this 23d day
of November, in the year of our Lord 1852.
(Signed,) WASHINGTON HUNT.
JAMES F. RUGGLES, Private Secretary.
C.--Page 309.
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.
[L.S.] Given under my hand and seal of office as Recorder in and for the
parish of Avoyelles, this 4th day of January, A. D. 1853.
(Signed,) ADE. BARBIN, Recorder.
THE END
* * * * *
[Transcriber's Notes:
The transcriber made these changes to the text:
1. p. xi., Chalenged --> Challenged
2. p. xiii., Coversation --> Conversation
3. p. xvi, expresssion --> expression
4. p. 53, hight --> height
5. p. 58, susually --> usually
6. p. 86, She's not for sale. --> She's not for sale."
7. p. 97, looded --> looked
8. p, 103, capenter --> carpenter
9. p. 106, aligators --> alligators
10. p. 112, Chenyville --> Cheneyville
11. p. 135, gripe --> grip
12. p. 138, loose --> lose
13. p. 149, listing --> listening
14. p. 156, an one --> a one
15. p. 224, maintin --> maintain
16. p. 244, LEW CHEENEY --> LEW CHENEY
17. p. 274, priviliges --> privileges
18. p. 296, 'bringing down his hand emphatically on the table,' -->
bringing down his hand emphatically on the table,
19. p. 314, reppresented --> represented
20. p. 316, offer- --> offered
End of Transcriber's Notes]