In Search of the Promised Land: A Slave Family in the Old SouthThe matriarch of a remarkable African American family, Sally Thomas went from being a slave on a tobacco plantation to a "virtually free" slave who ran her own business and purchased one of her sons out of bondage. In Search of the Promised Land offers a vivid portrait of the extended Thomas-Rapier family and of slave life before the Civil War. Based on personal letters and an autobiography by one of Thomas' sons, this remarkable piece of detective work follows the family as they walk the boundary between slave and free, traveling across the country in search of a "promised land" where African Americans would be treated with respect. Their record of these journeys provides a vibrant picture of antebellum America, ranging from New Orleans to St. Louis to the Overland Trail. The authors weave a compelling narrative that illuminates the larger themes of slavery and freedom while examining the family's experiences with the California Gold Rush, Civil War battles, and steamboat adventures. The documents show how the Thomas-Rapier kin bore witness to the full gamut of slavery--from brutal punishment, runaways, and the breakup of slave families to miscegenation, insurrection panics, and slave patrols. The book also exposes the hidden lives of "virtually free" slaves, who maintained close relationships with whites, maneuvered within the system, and gained a large measure of autonomy. |
Contents
PROLOGUE | 1 |
SALLY THOMAS A LIFE IN BONDAGE | 11 |
FROM SLAVERY TO FREEDOM | 46 |
TRAVELS IN THE NORTH AND WEST | 75 |
IN SEARCH OF CANAAN | 117 |
THE MIDWEST HAITI AND JAMAICA | 163 |
THIS MIGHTY SCOURGE OF WAR | 193 |
EPILOGUE | 229 |
THROUGH THE PRISM OF A BLACK FAMILY | 249 |
ABOUT THE SOURCES | 262 |
APPENDIX 1 PETITIONS OF EPHRAIM FOSTER AND JAMES THOMAS TO THE DAVIDSON COUNTY COURT | 268 |
APPENDIX 2 JOHN RAPIER SR TO RICHARD RAPIER APRIL 8 1845 | 273 |
APPENDIX 3 JOHN RAPIER JR TO JAMES THOMAS JULY 28 1861 | 276 |
Selected Bibliography on Slavery | 281 |
283 | |
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Common terms and phrases
African Americans Alabama Albemarle County Archives Assembly August barber barbershop brother Buffalo Buxton California Canada Carolina color December Despite dollars Dred emancipated Ephraim Foster father February Florence former slaves free blacks freedom friends Henry Thomas hundred Ibid Jackson Jamaica James Rapier James Thomas James Thomas recalled January John Catron John Hope Franklin John Jr John Rapier Jr journey Kansas land later Lauderdale County letter lived Louis Lucretia Mississippi Missouri mixed racial Moorman mother mulatto Nashville Negro Nicaragua North Orleans Parrish passed Petition Placer County plantation political Polk Raleigh Township Rapier to John Rapier wrote Records Richard Rapier River Sally Thomas Sally’s Sarah September September 15 slave owners slavery slaves and free South southern steamboat Street Tenn Tennessee Thomas to John Thomas wrote Thomas's town trade traveled TSLA uncle United USMSPC Walker William women York young