*A collection of letters from Black Americans to their former enslavers provide a rare firsthand glimpse into the lives of enslaved men and women and the people who controlled their lives.
The letters were published by The Washington Post, with the spelling standardized and paragraph breaks added for readability, the outlet noted. Per the publication, “Three of these five letters were written by formerly enslaved people directly to their onetime enslavers.” One was written by famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass, and another was written by an enslaved woman searching for her daughter, which you can read below.
Read all the letters here, and read below the letter addressed to President Abraham Lincoln, whose author was seeking emancipation but her enslaver refused to let her leave.
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“It is my Desire to be free”: Annie Davis (to Abraham Lincoln), 1864
Lincoln was never a slaveholder, but as president during the Civil War, he held the fate and freedom of millions of Black Americans in his hands. As such, he received hundreds of letters from Black Americans, both free and enslaved, many of which are collected in a new book. When Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation, he did not free enslaved people in slave states that remained in the Union, like Maryland, where Annie Davis was held.
Belair, Aug. 25th, 1864
Mr. President,
It is my Desire to be free. To go to see my people on the Eastern Shore. My mistress won’t let me.
You will please let me know if we are free and what I can do. I write to you for advice. Please send me word this week, or as soon as possible, and obliged.
Annie Davis
Belair, Harford County, MD.
There is no evidence Lincoln responded. However, the state of Maryland ended slavery months later, a move the president had urged.
A letter from Vilet Lester to her former enslaver, written in 1857. (David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University)
“What has Ever become of my Precious little girl?”: Vilet Lester, 1857
Nothing is known of Vilet Lester and the fate of her daughter other than what appears in this letter, which she likely dictated to her enslaver and addressed to Patsey Patterson, who may have been the adult daughter of Lester’s former enslaver. It was found in the papers of Patterson’s relatives and is housed at Duke University.
Georgia, Bullock Co., August 29th, 1857
My Loving Miss Patsey,
I have long been wishing to embrace this present and pleasant opportunity of unfolding my [word unclear] and feelings, since I was constrained to leave my Long Loved home and friends, which I cannot never give myself the Least promise of returning to. I am well and Enjoying good health and ha[ve] ever Since I Left Randolph.
When’d I left Randolph, I went to Rockingham and Stayed there five weeks, and then I left there and went to Richmond, Virginia, to be Sold. And I Stayed there three days and was bought by a man by the name of Groover and brought to Georgia, and he kept me about Nine months. And he, being a trader, Sold me to a man by the name of Rimes. And he Sold me to a man by the name of Lester, and he has owned me four years and Says that he will keep me until death Separates us, [unless] Some of my old North Carolina friends wants to buy me again.
My Dear Mistress, I cannot tell my feelings, nor how bad I wish to See you, and old Boss and Miss Rahol and Mother. I do not know which I want to See the worst, Miss Rahol or mother. I have thought that I wanted to See mother, but never before did I know what it was to want to See a parent and could not.
I wish you to give my love to old Boss, Miss Rahol and Bailum, and give my manifold love to mother, brothers and sister, and please to tell them to Write to me, So I may hear from them, if I cannot See them.
And also, I wish you to write to me and write me all the news. I do want to know whether old Boss is Still Living or not, and all the rest of them, and I want to know whether Bailum is married or not. I wish to know what has Ever become of my Precious little girl. I left her in Goldsborough with Mr. Walker, and I have not heard from her Since. And Walker Said that he was going to Carry her to Rockingham and give her to his Sister, and I want to know whether he did or not, as I do wish to See her very much.
And Boss Says he wishes to know whether he [Walker] will Sell her or not, and the least that can buy her. And that he wishes an answer as Soon as he can get one, as I wish him to buy her, and my Boss, being a man of Reason and feeling, wishes to grant my troubled breast that much gratification and wishes to know whether he will Sell her now.
So I must come to a close by Escribing myself your long-loved and well-wishing play mate, as a Servant until death,
Vilet Lester of Georgia to Miss Patsey Patterson of North Carolina
My Boss’s Name is James B. Lester, and if you Should think enough of me to write me, which I do beg the favor of you as a Servant, direct your letter to Millray, Bullock County, Georgia. Please do write me, So fare you well, in love.
Read all the letters here.
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