The Online Books Page

Enslaved persons -- United States -- Biography

See also what's at your library, or elsewhere.

• Enslaved persons -- United States
• Enslaved persons -- Biography
• United States -- Biography

• Enslaved persons -- United States -- Biography -- Juvenile literature
• Enslaved women -- United States -- Biography
• Freed persons -- United States -- Biography
• Fugitive slaves -- United States -- Biography
• Enslaved persons -- Alabama -- Biography
• Enslaved persons -- Arkansas -- Biography
• Enslaved persons -- Connecticut -- Biography
• Enslaved persons -- Delaware -- Biography
• Enslaved persons -- Georgia -- Biography
• Enslaved persons -- Indiana -- Biography
• Enslaved persons -- Kentucky -- Biography
• Enslaved persons -- Louisiana -- Biography
• Enslaved persons -- Maine -- Biography
• Enslaved persons -- Maryland -- Biography
• Enslaved persons -- Massachusetts -- Biography
• Enslaved persons -- Mississippi -- Biography
• Enslaved persons -- Missouri -- Biography
• Enslaved persons -- New Jersey -- Biography
• Enslaved persons -- New York (State) -- Biography
• Enslaved persons -- North Carolina -- Biography
• Enslaved persons -- South Carolina -- Biography
• Enslaved persons -- Tennessee -- Biography
• Enslaved persons -- Texas -- Biography
• Enslaved persons -- Virginia -- Biography

• Hair-Breadth Escapes from Slavery to Freedom (Manchester: W. Bremner, 1861), by William Troy (HTML and TEI with commentary at UNC)
• Uncle Tom's Companions, or, Facts Stranger Than Fiction: A Supplement to Uncle Tom's Cabin, Being Startling Incidents in the Lives of Celebrated Fugitive Slaves (London: Edwards and Co., 1852), by John Passmore Edwards, contrib. by Frederick Douglass (HTML and TEI with commentary at UNC)
• Behind the Scenes: or, Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the White House (New York: G. W. Carleton and Co., 1868), by Elizabeth Keckley
  • illustrated HTML and TEI at UNC
  • Gutenberg text
  • page images at HathiTrust
• Harriet, The Moses of Her People (second edition, 1886), by Sarah H. Bradford (HTML and TEI at UNC)
• Letters from the Slave States, by James Stirling (page images at MOA)
• Life and Labors of Rev. Jordan W. Early, One of the Pioneers of African Methodism in the West and South (Nashville: Publishing House A.M.E. Church Sunday School Union, 1894), by Sarah J. W. Early (HTML and TEI at UNC)
• Life of William Grimes, the Runaway Slave, Brought Down to the Present Time (New Haven: The author, 1855), by William Grimes (HTML and TEI with commentary at UNC)
• Life of William Grimes, the Runaway Slave: Written by Himself (New York: The author, 1825), by William Grimes
  • HTML and TEI with commentary at UNC
  • page images at HathiTrust
• Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb, An American Slave, Written By Himself (New York: The author, 1849), by Henry Bibb, contrib. by Lucius C. Matlack
  • HTML and TEI with commentary at UNC
  • Gutenberg text and Librivox audio
  • page images at HathiTrust
• Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb, An American Slave, Written By Himself (third stereotype edition; New York: The author, 1850), by Henry Bibb, contrib. by Lucius C. Matlack
  • multiple formats at archive.org
  • page images at HathiTrust
• Samuel Hall, 47 Years a Slave: A Brief Story of His Life Before and After Freedom Came to Him (Washington, IA: Journal Print, 1912), by Samuel Hall, ed. by Orville Elder (HTML and TEI at UNC)
• Thirty Years a Slave: From Bondage to Freedom (Milwaykee: South Side Printing Co., 1897), by Louis Hughes
  • HTML and TEI with commentary at UNC
  • multiple formats at archive.org
  • page images at HathiTrust
  • multiple formats with commentary at loc.gov
• Thirty Years a Slave: From Bondage to Freedom (Milwaykee: South Side Printing Co., 1897), by Louis Hughes (Gutenberg text and Librivox Audio)
• Interesting Account of Thomas Anderson, a Slave, Taken from His Own Lips (Virginia: 1854?), by Thomas Anderson, ed. by J. P. Clark (HTML and TEI at UNC)
• Life of Isaac Mason As a Slave, by Isaac Mason (illustrated HTML and TEI at UNC)
• Memories of Childhood's Slavery Days (Boston: Ross Pub. Co., 1909), by Annie L. Burton (HTML and TEI at UNC)
• Twice Sold, Twice Ransomed: Autobiography of Mr. and Mrs. L. P. Ray (Chicago: Free Methodist Publishing House, c1926), by Mrs. L. P. Ray and L. P. Ray (illustrated HTML and TEI at UNC)
• Autobiography, Sermons, Addresses, and Essays of Bishop L. H. Holsey, D. D. (Atlanta: Franklin Print. and Pub. Co., 1898), by Lucius Henry Holsey (illustrated HTML and TEI at UNC)
• An Autobiography: The Story of the Lord's Dealings With Mrs. Amanda Smith, the Colored Evangelist (Chicago: Meyer and Brother, 1893), by Amanda Smith, contrib. by J. M. Thoburn
  • illustrated HTML and TEI with commentary at UNC
  • page images at HathiTrust
• Battles and Victories of Allen Allensworth, A. M., Ph. D., Lieutenant-Colonel, Retired, U. S. Army (Boston: Sherman, French and Co., c1914), by Charles Alexander (HTML and TEI at UNC)
• The Colored Patriots of the American Revolution, With Sketches of Several Distinguished Colored Persons; To Which Is Added a Brief Survey of the Condition And Prospects of Colored Americans (Boston: Robert F. Wallcut, 1855), by William C. Nell (illustrated HTML and TEI at UNC)
• The Deeper Wrong: or, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself (London: W. Tweedie, 1862), by Harriet A. Jacobs, ed. by Lydia Maria Child (page images at HathiTrust)
• Frederick Douglass (Boston: Small, Maynard and Co., 1899), by Charles W. Chesnutt
  • illustrated HTML and TEI at UNC
  • page images at HathiTrust
  • multiple formats at archive.org
• Frederick Douglass (based on an 1899 edition, with some 21st-century annotations), by Charles W. Chesnutt (Gutenberg text)
• The Fugitive Blacksmith: or, Events in the History of James W. C. Pennington, Pastor of a Presbyterian Church, New York, Formerly a Slave in the State of Maryland, United States (second edition; London: C. Gilpin, 1849), by James W. C. Pennington
  • HTML and TEI with commentary at UNC
  • page images at HathiTrust
  • reprint transcription: Gutenberg text
• Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself (Boston: Published for the author, 1861), by Harriet A. Jacobs, ed. by Lydia Maria Child
  • HTML and TEI at UNC
  • page images at MOA
• The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African, Written by Himself (London: The author, 1789), by Olaudah Equiano
  • Volume I: HTML and TEI with commentary at UNC
  • Volume I: multiple formats at archive.org
  • volume I, second edition: HTML at ECCO TCP
  • volume II: HTML and TEI with commentary at UNC
  • Volume II: multiple formats at archive.org
  • volume II: HTML at ECCO TCP
  • 2 volumes in 1: page images at HathiTrust
  • Gutenberg text, illustrated HTML, and audio reading
• The Kidnapped and the Ransomed: Being the Personal Recollections of Peter Still and His Wife "Vina," after Forty Years of Slavery (Syracuse: William T. Hamilton, 1856), by Kate E. R. Pickard, contrib. by Samuel J. May and William Henry Furness (illustrated HTML and TEI at UNC)
• Life and Adventures of Robert, the Hermit of Massachusetts (Providence: Printed for H. Trumbull, 1829), by Henry Trumbull and Robert Voorhis (illustrated HTML and TEI with commentary at UNC)
• The Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African, Written by Himself (2 volumes in 1; Boston: I. Knapp, 1837), by Olaudah Equiano
  • multiple formats at archive.org
  • page images at HathiTrust
• The Light and Truth of Slavery: Aaron's History (Worcester, MA: The author, ca. 1843), by Aaron
  • illustrated HTML and TEI at UNC
  • multiple formats at archive.org
• A Narrative of Some Remarkable Incidents in the Life of Solomon Bayley, Formerly a Slave in the State of Delaware, North America (London: Printed for Harvey and Darton, et al., 1825), by Solomon Bayley, ed. by Robert Hurnard
  • Gutenberg text
  • page images at HathiTrust
• A Narrative of Some Remarkable Incidents in the Life of Solomon Bayley, Formerly a Slave in the State of Delaware, North America (second edition; London: Harvey and Darton, 1825), by Solomon Bayley, ed. by Robert Hurnard (HTML and TEI at UNC)
• Reuben Maddison: A True Story (Birmingham, England: B. Hudson, 1835) (HTML and TEI at UNC)
• Trials and Confessions of Madison Henderson, Alias Blanchard, Alfred Amos Warrick, James W. Seward, and Charles Brown, Murderers of Jesse Baker and Jacob Weaver, as Given by Themselves; and A Likeness of Each, Taken in Jail Shortly after Their Arrest (St. Louis: Chambers and Knapp, 1841), ed. by A. B. Chambers, contrib. by Madison Henderson, James W. Seward, Alfred Amos Warrick, and Charles Brown (illustrated HTML and TEI at UNC)
• The United States Governed by Six Hundred Thousand Despots (as originally published in The Empire, Sydney, Australia, 1855), by John S. Jacobs
  • Part 1: page images at Trove
  • Part 2: page images at Trove
• Slavery unmasked; being a truthful narrative of a three years' residence and journeying in eleven Southern States (Negro Universities Press, 1969), by Philo Tower (page images at HathiTrust)
• Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, an American slave. (Published by Anti-Slavery Office, No. 25 Cornhill, 1845), by Frederick Douglass, Wendell Phillips, and William Lloyd Garrison (page images at HathiTrust)
• Truth is stranger than fiction. (J.P. Jewett;, 1858), by Josiah Henson, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Cowles & Company, Geo. C. Rand & Avery, and Mass.) John P. Jewett and Company (Boston (page images at HathiTrust)
• Fifty years in chains; or, The life of an American slave. (H. Dayton ;, 1859), by Charles Ball, Charles Ball, and of Lewistown? Pa Fisher. (page images at HathiTrust)
• Incidents in the life of a slave girl (Pub. for the author, 1861), by Harriet A. Jacobs and Lydia Maria Child (page images at HathiTrust)
• A narrative of the life of Rev. Noah Davis, a colored man (J.F. Weishampel, Jr., 1895), by Noah Davis (page images at HathiTrust)
• Silvia Dubois : a biografy of the slav who whipt her mistres and gand her fredom (Oxford University Press, 1883), by Cornelius Wilson Larison and Jared Lobdell (page images at HathiTrust)
• Memories of childhood's slavery days (Ross Publishing Company, 1909), by Annie L. Burton (page images at HathiTrust)
• Pictures of slavery in church and state; including personal reminiscences, biographical sketches, anecdotes, etc., etc. (Negro Universities Press, 1969), by John Dixon Long, Richard Watson, and John Wesley (page images at HathiTrust)
• Testimonies concerning slavery (Chapman and Hall, 1864), by Moncure Daniel Conway (page images at HathiTrust)
• The experience of Thomas H. Jones : who was a slave for forty-three years (1862), by Thomas H. Jones, Randall K. Burkett, Bazin and Chandler, and Taylor & Adams (page images at HathiTrust)
• A narrative of the life of Rev. Noah Davis, a colored man (J. F. Weishampel, Jr., 1859), by Noah Davis (page images at HathiTrust)
• The experience of Thomas H. Jones, who was a slave for forty-three years (AMS Press, 1975), by Thomas H. Jones (page images at HathiTrust)
• A narrative of the life of Rev. Noah Davis, a colored man (J. F. Weishampel, Jr., 1859), by Noah Davis (page images at HathiTrust)
• Life of Isaac Mason as a slave. ([n.p.], 1893), by Isaac Mason (page images at HathiTrust)
• Autobiography of the Rev. Josiah Henson (B.B. Russell, 1879), by Josiah Henson, Gilbert Haven, John Greenleaf Whittier, Wendell Phillips, and Harriet Beecher Stowe (page images at HathiTrust)
• Vie de l'oncle Tom (J. Bonhoure, 1878), by Josiah Henson and Harriet Beecher Stowe (page images at HathiTrust)
• An Englishman's travels in America: his observations of life and manners in the free and slave states. (Binns and Goodwin, 1853), by J. Benwell (page images at HathiTrust)
• The Story of the life of John Anderson the fugitive slave (W. Tweedie, 1863), by Harper Twelvetrees (page images at HathiTrust)
• My life in the South (Newcomb & Gauss, 1898), by Jacob Stroyer (page images at HathiTrust)
• Frederick Douglass. (Small, Maynard, 1904), by Charles W. Chesnutt and J. H. Kent (page images at HathiTrust)
• Bywgraffiad y Parch. Josiah Henson (W.Hughes, 1877), by Josiah Henson, John Lobb, D. Griffith, S. Morley, Harriet Beecher Stowe, D. Griffith, John Lobb, and George Sturge (page images at HathiTrust)
• From log cabin to the pulpit : or fifteen years in slavery (W.H. Robinson, 1913), by William H. Robinson and John Hope Franklin Research Center for African and African American History and Culture (page images at HathiTrust)
• Twelve years a slave : the thrilling story of a free colored man, kidnapped in Washington in 1841, sold into slavery, and after a twelve years' bondage, reclaimed by state authority from a cotton plantation in Louisiana (Philadelphia : Keystone Pub. Co., [189-?], in the 1890s), by Solomon Northup and Randall K. Burkett (page images at HathiTrust)
• 12 years a slave (Philadelphia, Penn. : John E. Potter and Co., 185?, 1850), by Solomon Northup, Kenny J. Williams, and Harriet Beecher Stowe (page images at HathiTrust)
• Adventures and escape of Moses Roper (London : Harvey and Darton, 1843., 1843), by Moses Roper (page images at HathiTrust)
• Silvia Dubois, (now 116 yers old.) : A biografy of the slav who whipt her mistres and gand her fredom. (C.W. Larison, publisher, 1883), by Cornelius Wilson Larison, Silvia Dubois, and Crosscup & West (page images at HathiTrust)
• Life of Frederick Douglass (Published at the Anti-Slavery Office, no. 25 Cornhill., 1848), by Frederick Douglass, Wendell Phillips, and William Lloyd Garrison (page images at HathiTrust)
• The life and sufferings of Leonard Black, a fugitive from slavery. (Press of Benjamin Lindsey, 1847), by Leonard Black and Benjamin Lindsey (page images at HathiTrust)
• Life of Frederick Douglass (Webb and Chapman, Gt. Brunswick-street, 1846), by Frederick Douglass, Wendell Phillips, William Lloyd Garrison, and Webb and Chapman (page images at HathiTrust)
• Narrative of the life of Moses Grandy, formerly a slave in the United States of America. (Oliver Johnson, 25 Cornhill, 1844), by Moses Grandy, Oliver Johnson, and George Thompson (page images at HathiTrust)
• Gustavus Vassa (Published by Samuel Wood & Sons, no. 261 Pearl-street. R. & G.S. Wood, printers, 1829), by Olaudah Equiano, Alexander Anderson, Abigail Mott, R. & G.S. Wood (Firm), and Samuel Wood & Sons (page images at HathiTrust)
• Life of Olaudah Equiano (Printed by and for W. Cock; and sold by his agents throughout the kingdom, 1815), by Olaudah Equiano, Charles F. Heartman, W. Cock, and Trathan Penaluna (page images at HathiTrust)
• Account of James Albert, &c. ([Glasgow?] : [publisher not identified], [1785?], 1785), by James Albert Ukawsaw Gronniosaw (page images at HathiTrust)
• Incidents in the life of a slave girl. (AMS Press, 1973), by Harriet A. Jacobs (page images at HathiTrust)
• Narrative of Solomon Northup, a citizen of New-York, kidnapped in Washington City in 1841, and rescued in 1853, from a cotton plantation near the Red River in Louisiana (Auburn : Derby and Miller ; Buffalo : Derby, Orton and Mulligan ; London : Sampson Low, Son & Co., 1853., 1853), by Solomon Northup, Carter Godwin Woodson, D. Wilson, and Association for the Study of African-American Life and History (page images at HathiTrust)
• Life and times of Fred'k Douglass (Hartford, Conn. : Park Publishing Co., 1881., 1881), by Frederick Douglass, Edward W. Kinsley, Augustus Robin, George L. Ruffin, and Park Publishing Company (page images at HathiTrust)
• Illustrated edition of the life and escape of Wm. Wells Brown from American slavery written by himself. (C. Gilpin, 1851), by William Wells Brown (page images at HathiTrust)
• Life and adventures of Robert Voorhis, the hermit of Massachusetts, who has lived 14 years in a cave, secluded from human society : comprising, an account of his birth, parentage, sufferings, and providential escape from unjust and cruel bondage in early life, and his reasons for becoming a recluse (Printed for H. Trumbull, 1829), by Henry Trumbull, Robert Voorhis, and Sylvester S. Southworth (page images at HathiTrust)
• The life of Josiah Henson, formerly a slave (Charles Gilpin, 1852), by Josiah Henson and Thomas Binney (page images at HathiTrust)
• Sketch of the life of Mr. Lewis Charlton : and reminiscences of slavery (Daily Press Print, 1870), by Lewis Charlton and Edward Everett Brown (page images at HathiTrust)
• Scenes in the Life of Harriet Tubman, by Sarah H. Bradford (Gutenberg ebook)
• The New Man: Twenty-nine years a slave, twenty-nine years a free man, by Henry Clay Bruce (Gutenberg ebook)
• The Life of Josiah Henson, Formerly a Slave, Now an Inhabitant of Canada, by Josiah Henson, ed. by Samuel Atkins Eliot (Gutenberg ebook)
• Illustrated Edition of the Life and Escape of Wm. Wells Brown from American Slavery: Written by Himself, by William Wells Brown (Gutenberg ebook)
• Father Henson's Story of His Own Life: Truth Stranger Than Fiction, by Josiah Henson, contrib. by Harriet Beecher Stowe (Gutenberg ebook)
• Life of Isaac Mason as a Slave, by Isaac Mason (Gutenberg ebook)
• Fifty Years in Chains; or, the Life of an American Slave, by Charles Ball (Gutenberg ebook)
• A Slave Girl's Story: Being an Autobiography of Kate Drumgoold., by Kate Drumgoold (Gutenberg ebook)
• Memories of Childhood's Slavery Days, by Annie L. Burton (Gutenberg ebook)
• Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States from Interviews with Former Slaves, Volume XII, Ohio Narratives, by United States. Work Projects Administration (Gutenberg ebook)
• Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States from Interviews with Former Slaves, Volume III, Florida Narratives, by United States. Work Projects Administration (Gutenberg ebook)
• Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States from Interviews with Former Slaves, Volume VI, Kansas Narratives, by United States. Work Projects Administration (Gutenberg ebook)

More items available under narrower terms.