Twenty-Two Years a Slave and Forty Years a Freeman

Overview

"Twenty-Two Years a Slave, and Forty Years a Freeman" is a slave narrative, detailing Austin Steward's early life of enslavement and escape, as well as his years of freedom and work at Wilber force Colony. Austin Steward (1793 – 1869) was an African-American abolitionist and author. He was born a slave and escaped from Virginia at about age 21, settling in Rochester, New York, and then Canada. Contents: • Slave Life on the Plantation • At the Great House • Horse-racing and Its Consequences • Journey to Our New Home in New York • Incidents at Sodus Bay • Removal From Sodus to Bath • Dueling • Horse-racing and General Training • Death Bed and Bridal Scenes • Hired Out to a New Master • Thoughts on Freedom • Capt. Helm — Divorce — Kidnapping • Locate in the Village of Rochester • Incidents in Rochester and Vicinity • Sad Reverses of Capt. Helm • British Emancipation of Slavery • Oration — Termination of Slavery • Condition of Free Colored People • Persecution of the Colored People • Removal to Canada • Roughing It in the Wilds of Canada • Narrow Escape of a Smuggler • Narrative of Two Fugitives From Virginia • Pleasant Re-union of Old and Tried Friends • Private Losses and Private Difficulties • Incidents and Peculiarities of the Indians • Our Difficulties With Israel Lewis • Desperation of a Fugitive Slave • A Narrow Escape From My Enemies • Death of B. Paul, and Return of His Brother • My Family Return to Rochester • The Land Agent and the Squatter • Character and Death of I. Lewis • My Return to Rochester • Bishop Brown — Death of My Daughter • Celebration of the First of August • Correspondence Letter From A. Steward to Wm. L. Garrison