Learn about enslavement, resistance, abolition and the struggle for freedom through biographies and historical records.
8,921 matching cards · 24 cards per page
ca. 1796
FROM THE SOURCE CATALOGA framed, hand-cut silhouette of Flora (ca. 1777 - 1815), an enslaved woman in Connecticut. The silhouette was traced at life-size directly from her cast shadow and cut from cream-colored wove paper that has been adhered to thin brown paperboard, likely…
early 20th century
FROM THE SOURCE CATALOGHand-forged wrought iron piece made by Peter Simmons. The large piece is three-dimensional and forms a triangular shaped pillar. Decorative elements inside the pillar form spiral vines with leaves attached to it. The piece is painted black with some of the…
early 20th century
FROM THE SOURCE CATALOGHand-forged wrought iron piece made by Peter Simmons. The large piece is two-dimensional and has a square top. A diamond is at the center of the piece. Decorative elements above and below the diamond mirror each other and form a “X” with spiral elements.…
early 20th century
FROM THE SOURCE CATALOGHand-forged wrought iron piece made by Peter Simmons. The large piece is two-dimensional and has a rounded top. Decorative elements inside the piece form repeating ovals with spirals at the top and bottom. Inside every oval is a decorative plant with three…
early 20th century
FROM THE SOURCE CATALOGHand-forged wrought iron piece made by Peter Simmons. The large piece is two-dimensional and has a square top and bottom. Decorative elements inside the piece form alternating spirals. The piece is painted black with some of the paint flaking off.
1828-1850
FROM THE SOURCE CATALOGA hand-made loom with weaving intact. The loom is made out of a wooden fruit crate and popsicle sticks. There are twenty four (24) popsicle sticks attached to a wooden bar at the top of the loom. Each stick has a hole in it with a piece of thread running…
1875
FROM THE SOURCE CATALOGA paper handbill advertisement for a performance by the Jubilee Singers on March 23, 1875 at City Hall in an unnamed location. One side of the handbill has the printed title [A SONG FROM FREDERICK DOUGLASS] at the top and then recounts a visit of the…
June 19, 1914
FROM THE SOURCE CATALOGA letterpress handbill for a Juneteenth commemoration to be held in Denison, Texas, June 19-20th, 1914. The handbill is printed in black ink on off-white newsprint and reads in large print: "Just a Reminder of the Emancipation Celebration to be Held at the…
2000s
FROM THE SOURCE CATALOGRigid speed handcuffs, "Model 2103 Speedcuff," manufactured by Hiatt & Co. Ltd. The cuffs have a rigid, black plastic center bar and two nickel cuffs for the left and right hands with an 18-tooth swing-through design. "Hiatt" is engraved on the topside of…
1870s - early 20th century
FROM THE SOURCE CATALOGA square handkerchief made of machine-woven off-white linen or cotton with scalloped edges. The handkerchief is machine-embroidered in silk around the borders with a design of two zigzags running parallel with each other and small dots between the zigzag…
1870s - early 20th century
FROM THE SOURCE CATALOGA square handkerchief made of machine-woven off-white linen or cotton with three borders of machine-made lacework. The innermost and outermost lacework motifs are bobbin lace designs of a chain with one thick and one thin link on a mesh ground. Between…
1870s - early 20th century
FROM THE SOURCE CATALOGA square handkerchief made of machine-woven off-white linen or cotton with machine-made lacework borders. The central square of the handkerchief is plain except for a lacework floral spring in one corner. The border consists of four panels of bobbin lace…
19th century
FROM THE SOURCE CATALOGHandmade wooden washboard with metal scrubbing panel. The washboard is constructed with a main rectangular panel of carved wood with two turned legs on the bottom edge. The top section of this main panel is thinner than the middle section and the legs. The…
1827; modified 1831
FROM THE SOURCE CATALOGA single folded sheet, handwritten manumission document. On one side, the document reads "This is to certify that I John Berry of the Territory of Arkansas and the county of Hempstead by these presents do emancipate and set free at my death, or sooner if I…
1860-1899
FROM THE SOURCE CATALOGA handwritten narrative of the life of "Uncle Barcus" or Bachus, an enslaved man. The handwriting is cursive in pencil on red paper and reads: [Old Uncle Barcus / “Belonged to Moodys” / Body servant of Jameson / Moody in “War of 1812” / Drove carriage when…
Biography
Hannah Bond, also known by her pen name Hannah Crafts (born c. 1830s), was an American writer who escaped from slavery in North Carolina about 1857 and went to the North. Bond settled in New Jersey, likely married Thomas Vincent, and became a teacher.
Loading image…Biography
Hannah Jackson (1792 or 1801 – 1895) was an African American woman who worked as a house slave for the seventh U.S. president Andrew Jackson and his wife Rachel. She was present at both their deaths. She was interviewed twice late in her life for her…
Jan. 1, 1865–Jan. 1, 1868
FROM THE SOURCE CATALOGCataloged as “Hardeman – Madison Counties”.
November 14, 1883
FROM THE SOURCE CATALOGThe front page of Harper’s Weekly: Journal of Civilization, Vol. XXVII, No. 1405. It has a full-page portrait of Frederick Douglass. Douglass is wearing a suit in the portrait. Typed below the image is "FREDERICK DOUGLASS - [See Page 743]."
Biography
Harriel "Hal" G. Geiger (c. 1840 – June 11, 1886) was an American politician, blacksmith, and lawyer. Born into slavery in South Carolina, he was elected to the Texas House of Representatives as a candidate for the Greenback Party.
Loading image…1822–1917
Harriet Evans Paine (c. 1822–1917) was a Texas storyteller and oral historian. She was born a slave and was also known as "Aunt Harriet."
Loading image…1810–1875
Harriet Forten Purvis (c. 1810 – June 11, 1875) was an African-American abolitionist and first generation suffragist. With her mother and sisters, she formed the first biracial women's abolitionist group, the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society. She…
Born 1801
Harriet Hemings (May 1801 – after 1822) was born into slavery at Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States, in the first year of his presidency. Most historians believe her father was Jefferson, who is believed to have…
1813–1897
Jacobs hid for years to escape slavery before publishing Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, a searing firsthand account of bondage and resistance.
Biographies, museum objects and archive records are distinct card types. Every card links to its historical source.
