Historical Profile: Sojourner Truth

Florence, MA. – Sojourner Truth, born Isabella (Belle) Baumfree (c. 1797 – 1883), was a prominent abolitionist, public speaker, and women’s rights activist.  Truth was born a slave in Swartekill, New York.  In 1826, Truth escaped enslavement from John Dumont of Nest Park, New York and she eventually lived at the home of Isaac and Maria Van Wagenen of New Paltz, New York.  Truth resided at the Van Wagenen home until 1827, the year in which the New York State Emancipation Act was approved.  In 1844, Truth joined the Northampton Association of Education and Industry in Northampton, Massachusetts.

Although Truth was unable to read or write, she was able to dictate her life’s story to one of her neighbor’s in Florence, Massachusetts.  In 1850, abolitionist and journalist William Lloyd Garrison privately published her book titled: The Narrative of Sojourner Truth: a Northern Slave.  Also in 1850, Truth purchased a home in the area of what would eventually become Florence, Massachusetts.  That same year, she spoke at the first National Women’s Rights Convention in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Sojourner Truth statue by Thomas Warren.

 During the Civil War, Truth helped to recruit African Americans to join the Union Army.  She was employed by the National Freedman’s Relief Association.

In 1981, Truth was posthumously inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame.

There is a monument in Florence, Massachusetts dedicated to Sojourner Truth.  The monument was built by sculptor Thomas “Jay” Warren in 2002.  One of the plaques on the monument reads: “Sojourner Truth was born a slave named Isabella in upstate New York in 1797.  She worked for a series of five masters while raising five children.  When slavery ended in New York State in 1827, she settled in New York City.  A deeply religious woman, Isabella took the name Sojourner Truth after God spoke to her.  She was 46 years old when she set out talking and preaching through Long Island and Connecticut.  Eventually she reached Massachusetts and joined the Northampton Association of Education and Industry.  From her home here in what is now Florence, Truth broadened her mission and began speaking out for the abolition of slavery and for women’s rights.”

Comments

  1. Sybil GilchristFebruary 20, 2020 at 11:53 AM

    The statue is a fitting tribute to the legacy of Sojourner Truth. I hope to visit Florence and see Warren's masterpiece up close and personal.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Steven GilchristMarch 10, 2020 at 2:03 PM

    Hi Sybil, I hope that you can visit the Sojourner Truth statue. The monument is an important reminder of Truth's historical significance within American history.
    -Steven Gilchrist

    ReplyDelete

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