July 25, 2025 • 11 mins
Delve into the captivating life of an American Bondman, as lovingly presented by his daughter, Josephine Brown. This biography not only revisits the significant experiences documented in her fathers own narratives, but also introduces fresh anecdotes and her unique perspective on his life. While the book draws heavily from previously published autobiographical accounts, it is enriched by a narrative style brimming with humor and wit. As observed by Andrews, the biographys exceptional contribution to the legacy of William Wells Brown is the insights it provides into the rhetorical strategies employed by both father and daughter in their united stand against slavery.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapters fifteen and sixteen of Biography of an American Bondman
by his Daughter by Josephine Brown. This LibriVox recording is
in the public domain. Chapter fifteen, where ere a human
voice is heard in witness for the True and Right,
(00:22):
where ere a human heart is stirred to mingle in
faith's Gloria's fight. That voice revere, that heart sustain it
shall not be to the in vain. Having some three
months leisure time during the winter, mister Brown began in
the autumn of eighteen forty three to speak on the
(00:43):
subject of American slavery. Not satisfied with merely gaining his
own freedom, he felt it to be his duty to
work for others, And in the language of the poet,
he would ask himself, is true freedom but to break
fetters our own dear sake, and with leather hearts forget
(01:04):
that we owe mankind to debt. No true freedom is
to share all the chains our brothers wear, and with
heart and hand to be earnest to make others free.
With this feeling, he went forth to battle against slavery
at the South and its offspring prejudice against colored people
(01:24):
at the North. Buffalo and its vicinity was at that
time one of the worst places in the state, with
the exception of New York City for colored persons. Hatred
to the blacks had closed all the schools against colored children,
and the Negro pew was the only place in the
church where the despised race were permitted to have a seat.
(01:47):
Mister Brown not only combated this unnatural prejudice in Buffalo,
but also in the surrounding towns. On one occasion, he
visited the town of Attica to give a lecture on slavery,
and so great was the hatred to the Nigro that
after the meeting was over, he looked in vain for
a place too lodged for the night. After visiting every
(02:09):
tavern in the village, he returned to the vestry of
the church, and, entering it remained until morning. The night
was a bitter cold one, and mister Brown walked the
aisle from eleven at night till six the next morning.
One year after he lectured in the same place, and
the little seed left there twelve months before had taken root,
and mister Brown found more than one person willing to
(02:31):
take him in. If there is one thing at the
north which seems more cruel and hateful than another connected
with American slavery. It is the way in which colored
persons are treated by the whites. The withering influence which
this hatred exerts against the elevation of the free colored
people can scarcely be imagined. Wherever the black man makes
(02:54):
his appearance in the United States, he meets this hatred.
In some sections of the country, it is worse than
in others. As you advance nearer to the slave States,
you feel this prejudice the more. Twenty years ago, if
colored persons travel by steamboat, they were put on the deck,
if by coach, on the outside, if by railway in
(03:16):
the Jim Crow car. Even the respectable eating saloons have
been closed against colored persons. In New York and Philadelphia,
the despised race are still excluded from most places of refreshment.
To the everlasting shame of the church, she still holds
on to this Unchristian practice of separating persons on account
(03:37):
of their complexion. In the refined city of Boston, there
was a church as late as eighteen forty seven needed
its pews upon condition that no colored person should ever
be permitted to enter them. Most of these churches have
a place set off in the gallery where the negro
may go if he pleases. A New York d d
(03:58):
while on a visit to England some years since, was
charged by a London divine with putting his colored members
in the furthest part of the gallery. The American clergyman,
with a long face and upturned eyes, exclaimed, ah, my
dear brother, I think more of my colored members than
I do of the whites, and therefore I placed them
in the top of the house of as to get
(04:19):
them nearer to Heaven. Charles Lennox Remund, during the many
years that he has labored in the anti slavery cause,
has in all probability experienced greater insults and more hardships
than any other person of color. To hear him relate
what he has undergone while traveling to and from the
places of his meetings makes one's blood chill. This pretended
(04:43):
fastidiousness on the part of the whites has produced some
of the most ridiculous scenes. William Wells Brown, while traveling
through Ohio in eighteen forty four, went from Sandusky to
Republic on the Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad. On
arriving at Sandusky, learned that colored people were not allowed
to take seats in the cars with whites, and that
(05:05):
as there was no Jim Crow car on that road,
blacks were generally made to ride in the bag each car.
Mister Brown, however, went into one of the best passenger cars,
seated himself, crossed his legs, and looked as unconcerned as
if the car had been made for his sole use.
At length, one of the railway officials entered the car
(05:26):
and asked him what he was doing there. I'm going
to Republic, said mister Brown. You can't ride here, said
the conductor. Yes, I can return the colored men. No,
you can't rejoin the railway man. Why, inquired mister Brown.
Because we don't allow niggers to ride with white people,
replied the conductor. Well, I shall remain here, said mister Brown.
(05:46):
You will see pretty soon whether you will or not,
retorted the railwaymen, and he turned to leave the car.
By this time, the passengers were filling up the seats
and everything being made ready to start. After an absence
of a few minutes, the conductor again entered the car,
accompanied by two stout men, and took mister Brown by
the collar and pulled him out. Pressing business demanded that
(06:09):
mister Brown should go and by that train. He therefore
got into the freight car just as the train was
moving off. Seating himself on a flour barrel, he took
from his pocket the last number of the Liberator and
began reading it. On went the train, making its usual
stops until within four or five miles of Republic, when
the conductor, who by the bye was the same man
(06:31):
who moved mister Brown from the passenger car, demanded his ticket.
I have no ticket, returned he Then I will take
your fare, said the conductor. How much is it, inquired
mister Brown. One dollar and a quarter was the answer.
How much do you charge those who ride in the
passenger cars, inquired the colored man. The same, said the conductor.
Do you suppose that I will pay the same price
(06:54):
for writing up here in the freight car that those
do who are in the passenger car, asked mister Brown, certainly,
replied the conductor. Well you are very much mistaken if
you think any such thing, said the passenger. Come black
man out with your money, and none of your nonsense
with me, said the conductor. I won't pay you the
price you demand, and that's the end of it, said
(07:15):
mister Brown. Don't you intend paying your fare, inquired the conductor. Yes,
replied the colored man, but I won't pay you a
dollar and a quarter. What do you intend to pay them,
demanded the official. I will pay what's right, but I
don't intend to give you all that sum. Well, then,
said the conductor, as you've had to ride in the
freight car, give me one dollar and you may go.
(07:35):
I won't do any such thing, returned mister Brown. Why
won't you, inquired the railway man. If I had come
in the passenger car, I would have paid as much
as others do. But I won't ride up here on
a flower bear and pay you a dollar. You think
yourself as good as white people, I suppose, said the conductor,
and his eyes flashed as if he meant what he said. Well,
being you seem to feel so bad because you had
(07:57):
to ride in the freight car, Give me seventy five
cents and I'll say no more about it, continued he. No,
I won't. If I had been permitted to ride with
the other passengers, I would pay what you first demanded.
But I won't pay seventy five cents for riding up
here astride of flour barrel in the hot sun. Don't
you intend paying anything at all? Asked the conductor. Yes,
(08:17):
I will pay what is right. Give me half a dollar,
and I will say no more about it. No, I
won't returned the other. I shall not pay fifty cents
for riding in a freight car. What will you pay, then,
demanded the conductor. What do you charge per one hundred
on this road, asked mister Brown. Twenty five cents, asked
the conductor. Then will I pay you thirty seven and
a half cents, said the passenger, For I weigh just
(08:39):
one hundred and fifty pounds. Do you expect to get
off by paying that trifling sum? I have come as freight,
and I will pay for freight and nothing more, said
mister Brown. The conductor took this thirty seven and I
have cents, declaring as he left the car that that
was the most impudent Negro that ever traveled on that road.
End of chapter fifteen. Chapter sixteen. Fortis the mind that
(09:05):
makes the body rich. And as the sound breaks through
the darkest clouds, so honour perein the meanest habit, the
subject of our memoir. No sooner felt himself safe from
the pursuit of the Southern Bloodhounds than he began to
seek for that which the system of slavery had denied
him while one of its victims. During the first five
years of his freedom, his chief companion was a book,
(09:28):
either an arithmetic, a spelling book, a grammar or history.
Though he never went through any systematic course of study,
he nevertheless has mastered more in useful education than many
who have had better privileges. After lecturing in the Anti
Slavery Cross for more than five years, mister Brown was
invited to visit Great Britain. He had first declined, but
(09:50):
being urged by many friends of the slave in the
Old World, he at last, in the summer of eighteen
forty nine, resolved to go. As soon as it was
understood that the fugitive slave was going abroad. The American
Peace Society elected him as a delegate to represent them
at the Peace Congress at Paris without any solicitation. The
(10:11):
Executive Committee of the American Anti Slavery Society strongly recommended
mister Brown to the friends of freedom in Great Britain.
The President of the above society gave him private letters
to some of the leading men and women in Europe.
In addition to these, the Colored citizens of Boston held
a meeting the evening previous to his departure, and gave
mister Brown a public farewell, and passed resolutions commending him
(10:35):
to the confidence and hospitality of all lovers of liberty
in the Motherland. Such were the auspices under which this
self educated man sailed for England on the eighteenth of
July eighteen forty nine, without being a salary agent or
any promise of remuneration from persons either in Europe or America.
The subject of our narrative arrived at Liverpool after a
(10:58):
passage of a few hours lest les than ten days
end of Chapter sixteen.
Chapters fifteen and sixteen of Biography of an American Bondman
by his Daughter by Josephine Brown. This LibriVox recording is
in the public domain. Chapter fifteen, where ere a human
voice is heard in witness for the True and Right,
(00:22):
where ere a human heart is stirred to mingle in
faith's Gloria's fight. That voice revere, that heart sustain it
shall not be to the in vain. Having some three
months leisure time during the winter, mister Brown began in
the autumn of eighteen forty three to speak on the
(00:43):
subject of American slavery. Not satisfied with merely gaining his
own freedom, he felt it to be his duty to
work for others, And in the language of the poet,
he would ask himself, is true freedom but to break
fetters our own dear sake, and with leather hearts forget
(01:04):
that we owe mankind to debt. No true freedom is
to share all the chains our brothers wear, and with
heart and hand to be earnest to make others free.
With this feeling, he went forth to battle against slavery
at the South and its offspring prejudice against colored people
(01:24):
at the North. Buffalo and its vicinity was at that
time one of the worst places in the state, with
the exception of New York City for colored persons. Hatred
to the blacks had closed all the schools against colored children,
and the Negro pew was the only place in the
church where the despised race were permitted to have a seat.
(01:47):
Mister Brown not only combated this unnatural prejudice in Buffalo,
but also in the surrounding towns. On one occasion, he
visited the town of Attica to give a lecture on slavery,
and so great was the hatred to the Nigro that
after the meeting was over, he looked in vain for
a place too lodged for the night. After visiting every
(02:09):
tavern in the village, he returned to the vestry of
the church, and, entering it remained until morning. The night
was a bitter cold one, and mister Brown walked the
aisle from eleven at night till six the next morning.
One year after he lectured in the same place, and
the little seed left there twelve months before had taken root,
and mister Brown found more than one person willing to
(02:31):
take him in. If there is one thing at the
north which seems more cruel and hateful than another connected
with American slavery. It is the way in which colored
persons are treated by the whites. The withering influence which
this hatred exerts against the elevation of the free colored
people can scarcely be imagined. Wherever the black man makes
(02:54):
his appearance in the United States, he meets this hatred.
In some sections of the country, it is worse than
in others. As you advance nearer to the slave States,
you feel this prejudice the more. Twenty years ago, if
colored persons travel by steamboat, they were put on the deck,
if by coach, on the outside, if by railway in
(03:16):
the Jim Crow car. Even the respectable eating saloons have
been closed against colored persons. In New York and Philadelphia,
the despised race are still excluded from most places of refreshment.
To the everlasting shame of the church, she still holds
on to this Unchristian practice of separating persons on account
(03:37):
of their complexion. In the refined city of Boston, there
was a church as late as eighteen forty seven needed
its pews upon condition that no colored person should ever
be permitted to enter them. Most of these churches have
a place set off in the gallery where the negro
may go if he pleases. A New York d d
(03:58):
while on a visit to England some years since, was
charged by a London divine with putting his colored members
in the furthest part of the gallery. The American clergyman,
with a long face and upturned eyes, exclaimed, ah, my
dear brother, I think more of my colored members than
I do of the whites, and therefore I placed them
in the top of the house of as to get
(04:19):
them nearer to Heaven. Charles Lennox Remund, during the many
years that he has labored in the anti slavery cause,
has in all probability experienced greater insults and more hardships
than any other person of color. To hear him relate
what he has undergone while traveling to and from the
places of his meetings makes one's blood chill. This pretended
(04:43):
fastidiousness on the part of the whites has produced some
of the most ridiculous scenes. William Wells Brown, while traveling
through Ohio in eighteen forty four, went from Sandusky to
Republic on the Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad. On
arriving at Sandusky, learned that colored people were not allowed
to take seats in the cars with whites, and that
(05:05):
as there was no Jim Crow car on that road,
blacks were generally made to ride in the bag each car.
Mister Brown, however, went into one of the best passenger cars,
seated himself, crossed his legs, and looked as unconcerned as
if the car had been made for his sole use.
At length, one of the railway officials entered the car
(05:26):
and asked him what he was doing there. I'm going
to Republic, said mister Brown. You can't ride here, said
the conductor. Yes, I can return the colored men. No,
you can't rejoin the railway man. Why, inquired mister Brown.
Because we don't allow niggers to ride with white people,
replied the conductor. Well, I shall remain here, said mister Brown.
(05:46):
You will see pretty soon whether you will or not,
retorted the railwaymen, and he turned to leave the car.
By this time, the passengers were filling up the seats
and everything being made ready to start. After an absence
of a few minutes, the conductor again entered the car,
accompanied by two stout men, and took mister Brown by
the collar and pulled him out. Pressing business demanded that
(06:09):
mister Brown should go and by that train. He therefore
got into the freight car just as the train was
moving off. Seating himself on a flour barrel, he took
from his pocket the last number of the Liberator and
began reading it. On went the train, making its usual
stops until within four or five miles of Republic, when
the conductor, who by the bye was the same man
(06:31):
who moved mister Brown from the passenger car, demanded his ticket.
I have no ticket, returned he Then I will take
your fare, said the conductor. How much is it, inquired
mister Brown. One dollar and a quarter was the answer.
How much do you charge those who ride in the
passenger cars, inquired the colored man. The same, said the conductor.
Do you suppose that I will pay the same price
(06:54):
for writing up here in the freight car that those
do who are in the passenger car, asked mister Brown, certainly,
replied the conductor. Well you are very much mistaken if
you think any such thing, said the passenger. Come black
man out with your money, and none of your nonsense
with me, said the conductor. I won't pay you the
price you demand, and that's the end of it, said
(07:15):
mister Brown. Don't you intend paying your fare, inquired the conductor. Yes,
replied the colored man, but I won't pay you a
dollar and a quarter. What do you intend to pay them,
demanded the official. I will pay what's right, but I
don't intend to give you all that sum. Well, then,
said the conductor, as you've had to ride in the
freight car, give me one dollar and you may go.
(07:35):
I won't do any such thing, returned mister Brown. Why
won't you, inquired the railway man. If I had come
in the passenger car, I would have paid as much
as others do. But I won't ride up here on
a flower bear and pay you a dollar. You think
yourself as good as white people, I suppose, said the conductor,
and his eyes flashed as if he meant what he said. Well,
being you seem to feel so bad because you had
(07:57):
to ride in the freight car, Give me seventy five
cents and I'll say no more about it, continued he. No,
I won't. If I had been permitted to ride with
the other passengers, I would pay what you first demanded.
But I won't pay seventy five cents for riding up
here astride of flour barrel in the hot sun. Don't
you intend paying anything at all? Asked the conductor. Yes,
(08:17):
I will pay what is right. Give me half a dollar,
and I will say no more about it. No, I
won't returned the other. I shall not pay fifty cents
for riding in a freight car. What will you pay, then,
demanded the conductor. What do you charge per one hundred
on this road, asked mister Brown. Twenty five cents, asked
the conductor. Then will I pay you thirty seven and
a half cents, said the passenger, For I weigh just
(08:39):
one hundred and fifty pounds. Do you expect to get
off by paying that trifling sum? I have come as freight,
and I will pay for freight and nothing more, said
mister Brown. The conductor took this thirty seven and I
have cents, declaring as he left the car that that
was the most impudent Negro that ever traveled on that road.
End of chapter fifteen. Chapter sixteen. Fortis the mind that
(09:05):
makes the body rich. And as the sound breaks through
the darkest clouds, so honour perein the meanest habit, the
subject of our memoir. No sooner felt himself safe from
the pursuit of the Southern Bloodhounds than he began to
seek for that which the system of slavery had denied
him while one of its victims. During the first five
years of his freedom, his chief companion was a book,
(09:28):
either an arithmetic, a spelling book, a grammar or history.
Though he never went through any systematic course of study,
he nevertheless has mastered more in useful education than many
who have had better privileges. After lecturing in the Anti
Slavery Cross for more than five years, mister Brown was
invited to visit Great Britain. He had first declined, but
(09:50):
being urged by many friends of the slave in the
Old World, he at last, in the summer of eighteen
forty nine, resolved to go. As soon as it was
understood that the fugitive slave was going abroad. The American
Peace Society elected him as a delegate to represent them
at the Peace Congress at Paris without any solicitation. The
(10:11):
Executive Committee of the American Anti Slavery Society strongly recommended
mister Brown to the friends of freedom in Great Britain.
The President of the above society gave him private letters
to some of the leading men and women in Europe.
In addition to these, the Colored citizens of Boston held
a meeting the evening previous to his departure, and gave
mister Brown a public farewell, and passed resolutions commending him
(10:35):
to the confidence and hospitality of all lovers of liberty
in the Motherland. Such were the auspices under which this
self educated man sailed for England on the eighteenth of
July eighteen forty nine, without being a salary agent or
any promise of remuneration from persons either in Europe or America.
The subject of our narrative arrived at Liverpool after a
(10:58):
passage of a few hours lest les than ten days
end of Chapter sixteen.
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