In Search of the Promised Land: A Slave Family in the Old South

by John Hope Franklin, Loren Schweninger

Overview

The 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780190207601
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	09/01/2005
Series:	New Narratives in American History
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	7 MB

About the Author

John Hope Franklin is Professor of History Emeritus at Duke University and the author of numerous books, including From Slavery to Freedom: A History of Negro Americans and Runaway Slaves: Rebels on the Plantation (co-authored with Loren Schweninger). One of the most revered historians at work today, he is past president of the American Historical Association, the Organization of American Historians, and the Southern Historical Association. Loren Schweninger is Elizabeth Rosenthal Excellence Professor and Director of the Race and Slavery Petitions Project at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He is the author of Black Property Owners in the South, 1790-1915.

Table of Contents

	Illustrations	vii
	Foreword	xi
	Acknowledgments	xiii
	The Descendants of Sally Thomas	xvi
	Prologue	1
1	Sally Thomas: A Life in Bondage	11
	Virtual Freedom	14
	Sally's Children	16
	Sally's Son James	23
	Sally's Grandchildren: The Rapier Boys	34
2	From Slavery to Freedom	46
	The Domestic Slave Trade	48
	James Thomas: The Boyhood Years	54
	Barbershop	63
3	Travels in the North and West	75
	Nashville's Black Community	86
	The Changing Attitudes of Whites	92
	A Fugitive Slave in the North	95
	The California Gold Rush	99
	The Epidemic's Shadow	108
4	In Search of Canaan	117
	Bound for Nicaragua	119
	The Dilemma of John Rapier Sr.	126
	The Minnesota Territory	135
	Canada West and James Thomas Rapier	142
5	The Midwest, Haiti, and Jamaica	163
	Into "Bleeding Kansas"	167
	Steamboating on the Mississippi	169
	John Rapier Jr. in the Caribbean	180
6	This Mighty Scourge of War	193
	James Thomas in St. Louis	194
	John Rapier Jr.'s Continuing Odyssey	203
	The War's End	219
	Epilogue	229
	Afterword: 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, 1851	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
	Index	283

Editorial Reviews

The authors argue that this ''highly unusual family'' illuminates relatively unexplored aspects of Southern history, and they tell its story elegantly.
— The New York Times

Caleb Crain

Tracing the Thomas-Rapier family through three antebellum generations-from about 1808 to 1865-distinguished historians Franklin and Schweninger present an absorbing, impeccably researched account of "blacks who [have] only received passing notice-the free and quasi-free persons of mixed racial ancestry." Through this uncommon but not unique family, Franklin and Schweninger compress vast strata of slavery studies into an awesomely compact monograph, treating the reader to enough material (and drama) for a door-stopper; if the book were not so gemlike in size (it's 4 1/2" x 6 1/2"), style and substance, one could call it a page-turner. From Tennessee, Thomas-Rapiers travel widely (sometimes as slaves), and there is a panoramic quality to their immersion in American historical events: one attends a Jenny Lind concert; one seeks gold in California; one escapes to Buffalo and later settles in Canada; one is involved with the filibusters in Nicaragua. They become entrepreneurs and adventurers, gamblers and teachers, churchmen and a congressman. They talk politics; they worry about their children. The brutalization endemic in slave culture is ever present. The authors bring it all to life with startling clarity, using documents, letters and diaries with such judiciousness that the scholarly apparatus enlivens rather than deadens. A genealogy that keeps the family connections clear, maps that trace their peregrinations and the fully informative captions that accompany the illustrations supplement this remarkable text. (Aug.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Coauthors of Runaway Slaves: Rebels on the Plantation, 1790-1860, Franklin (history, emeritus, Duke Univ.) and Schweninger (history, Univ. of North Carolina, Greensboro) here present a compelling narrative of African American lives by tracing the history of the Thomas-Rapier family during the antebellum and Civil War eras. Starting with matriarch Sally Thomas, born a slave in 1787, the book enables readers to distinguish the various complex modes within which slavery operated. The resulting family history also traces the evolution of race relations in diverse locations from New Orleans to New York City, Canada, Minnesota, and the Caribbean. Using primary sources, including letters, diaries, legal records, reminiscences, and newspaper clippings, as well as the autobiography of Sally Thomas's son James, the authors have presented an account unique in its archival richness, further illuminated by images and maps. This is a distinguished contribution to American history and social sciences. Highly recommended for both public and academic libraries.-Edward G. McCormack, USM Gulf Coast Lib., Univ. of South Mississippi Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

"A compelling narrative of African American lives.... Using primary sources, including letters, diaries, legal records, reminiscences, and newspaper clippings, as well as the autobiography of Sally Thomas's son James, the authors have presented an account unique in its archival richness, further illuminated by images and maps. This is a distinguished contribution to American history and social sciences."—Library Journal (starred review)

"For an African-American family in the early-19th-century South, the Thomas-Rapiers had a surprising amount of control over their lives. With her master's benign neglect, Sally Thomas earned enough money as a laundress to buy property, and she saw her three sons into freedom.... The authors argue that this 'highly unusual family' illuminates relatively unexplored aspects of Southern history, and they tell its story elegantly."—Caleb Crain, New York Times Book Review

"A marvelous and rare piece of historical research that is both rigorous in its construction and accessible in its presentation, making it an invaluable resource for academics and non-experts alike."—Atlanta Journal Constitution

"This slim but fascinating book about the Thomas-Rapier family seeks to add another layer to our understanding of American slavery.... The authors might be academics, but their book reads like a novel."— Sharon Broussard, Cleveland Plain Dealer

"An absorbing, impeccably researched account.... From Tennessee, Thomas-Rapiers travel widely (sometimes as slaves), and there is a panoramic quality to their immersion in American historical events: one attends a Jenny Lind concert; one seeks gold in California; one escapes to Buffalo and later settles in Canada; one is involved with the filibusters in Nicaragua. They become entrepreneurs and adventurers, gamblers and teachers, churchmen and a congressman. They talk politics; they worry about their children. The brutalization endemic in slave culture is ever present. The authors bring it all to life with startling clarity, using documents, letters and diaries with such judiciousness that the scholarly apparatus enlivens rather than deadens. A genealogy that keeps the family connections clear, maps that trace their peregrinations and the fully informative captions that accompany the illustrations supplement this remarkable text."—Publishers Weekly

"A unique and exciting addition to the literature on slavery and 19th-century history. It shows the complexity of slave life and challenges existing historical interpretations without completely overturning the studies of the last thirty years. I love the story itself—what a story!" —James Fuller, University of Indianapolis

"One of the more vivid presentations of antebellum race relations I have seen. So much of scholarship on slave life tends to lose sight of individuals who had to confront life in a slave society. This book brings individuals back into the picture." —Dickson D. Bruce, University of Irvine California

"This work is unique in its combination of archival richness, narrative accessibility, and interpretive range. I'm impressed by the authors' abilities to maintain a focus on the big picture of slavery and emancipation while bringing to life related histories of gender, the city, and filibustering, among others. The 'wholes and parts' dilemma seems to be reconciled in this telling of one family's remarkable history." —David Quigley, Boston College

From the Publisher