William Wells Brown: First Black American published Novelist, Playwright, and Travel Writer; Physician (1814-1884)

William Wells Brown was a prominent African American abolitionist, author, and historian who worked tirelessly to promote the cause of freedom and equality for African Americans during the 19th century. Born into slavery in Kentucky in the early 1800s, Brown spent much of his life fighting against the institution of slavery and for the improvement of black life in America.

Early Life and Life As A Child Slave

William Wells Brown was born into slavery in Lexington, Kentucky in 1814 to mother, Elizabeth, a black slave and father, George Higgins, a white man who was the relative of William’s master. He was one of seven children born to his mother. 

When William was very young, his master moved near St. Charles, Missouri with him and the other forty slaves he owned in tow. Shortly after, they moved to St. Louis Missouri where his master purchased a farm. As a young boy, he worked as a house servant while his mother worked as a field hand. He was often hired out by his master for months at a time to work on other plantations, steamboats, hotels and other businesses. 

While in St. Louis William was hired out to work for a slaveholder by the name of Major Freeland. During his time at the Freeland plantation in Missouri, Brown ran away due to constant harsh treatment. After his capture, he was taken to jail then back to the Freeland plantation where he was severely whipped and smoked. 

William was later hired out to work at a Missouri hotel run by a very abusive slaveholder named John Colburn. William was sometimes commissioned to carry out punishments on other slaves on Colburn’s order. In addition to the constant abusive treatment William witnessed and experienced while working at the hotel, he was given the terrible news of his mother and siblings being sold by his master to different slaveholders.

William lived a life with experiences recounted by many slaves. One such experience occurred while hired out to work for publisher and editor Elijah Lovejoy. William was severely beaten for hurting a white boy he was defending himself against. The boy along with several of his friends, all sons of slaveholders, attacked Willam with snowballs, stones and sticks as he returned from running errands for Elijah Lovejoy. In retaliation, the father of the boy William injured, struck him multiple times over the head with a large cane. William bled profusely from his ears and nose and could not walk for five weeks after receiving such a beating.

The Great Escape

“The anxiety to be a freeman would not let me rest day or night.”

Quote from Narrative of William W. Brown, A Fugitive Slave.

William longed to live the life of a free man. He made a few attempts to escape the bowels of slavery, but to no avail. The first attempt was with his mother, as he could not dare the thought of leaving her behind. He persuaded her to escape with him. They made their escape but it would be unsuccessful. The master of his mother put out an advertisement for their capture. They were handcuffed and taken back to their masters. 

As he worked on different steamboats he continuously devised strategies to make his next escape. William was sold to a steamboat owner. On a voyage to New Orleans, the steamboat made a stop in Cincinnati, Ohio, a free state. William knew this was his chance at finally becoming free. Working as a waiter aboard the steamboat Enterprize, he noticed how travelers come and go without restriction. He desired this life for himself.

He decided to make his escape on the first day of January in 1834, as he saw it as the commencement of a new era of his life. While in Cairo, Ohio heading toward Louisville, the boat docked. William made his way off the boat with the crowd and went into a nearby wooded area where he remained until nightfall. William traveled mostly at night to avoid getting caught. 

After reaching a very pro-slavery neighborhood, he met a Quaker by the name of Wells Brown who he thought of as a friend and whose name he later took as his own. Wells Brown helped William by giving him food, clothing and a place to stay. William headed to Canada by way of Cleveland, but while in Cleveland decided to take a job as a table waiter as payment for a place to sleep. William stayed in Cleveland for a while then took a job on a lake steamboat. 

Using his employment on the steamboat, William essentially became a conductor on the Underground Railroad helping many fugitive slaves, at no charge, escape to Canada by transporting them to Detriout and Buffalo. In 1842, William helped transport sixty-nine slaves to Canada.

Abolition

William’s experience living in slavery gave him the burning desire to help other slaves obtain their right to freedom. In 1836, he began his career as an abolitionist after moving to Buffalo, NY. Brown worked tirelessly to raise public awareness about the evils of slavery and to advocate for the immediate abolition of the institution. During that time he attended meetings held by the Western New York Anti-Slavery Society, accommodated antislavery lecturers at his home and spoke at local abolitionist gatherings and rallies.

Brown later began attending convention meetings and joined several committees. He also worked with Fredrick Douglas and others in the fight for freedom. He went on to become one of the leading voices of the abolitionist movement in the United States. He wrote articles and books, and engaged in political activism to fight against slavery and the racism that supported it.

One of Brown’s most influential works as an abolitionist was his book, “Narrative of William W. Brown: A Fugitive Slave.” The book provided a powerful and vivid description of Brown’s experiences as a slave and his eventual escape to freedom. It was one of the first slave narratives to be published by an African American author and played an important role in raising public awareness about the horrors of slavery.

Brown was also a frequent contributor to abolitionist newspapers and magazines. He wrote articles that called attention to the injustices of slavery and highlighted the courage and resilience of enslaved people who sought to resist their enslavement. He was a regular contributor to “The Liberator,” a leading abolitionist newspaper founded by William Lloyd Garrison.

Brown’s activism extended beyond his writing and public speaking. During the Civil War, he worked as a recruiter for the Union Army, helping to enlist African American soldiers to fight against the Confederacy. He believed that the war was an opportunity to strike a decisive blow against slavery and to move the country closer to the ideal of racial equality.
After the war, Brown continued his work as a historian and writer. He believed that it was essential to document the contributions of African Americans to American history and to preserve their stories for future generations. He wrote several books about African American history, including “The Black Man: His Antecedents, His Genius, and His Achievements” and “The Negro in the American Rebellion,” which chronicled the contributions of African American soldiers to the Union cause during the Civil War.

William’s Literacy Works

William Wells Brown’s experiences as a slave deeply influenced his desire to become a writer and use writing to advocate for the abolition of slavery. It was while he was living and working in Buffalo, New York, that he first began to write. Writing became a way for Brown to express himself, to share his story, and to advocate for the cause of freedom for black people. He was also encouraged by his abolitionist colleagues to document his experiences as a slave and to use his writing to raise awareness about the atrocities of slavery. Brown drew from his own experiences to write “Narrative of William W. Brown, A Fugitive Slave,” which became a best-seller and made him a prominent figure in the abolitionist movement. In this book, Brown noted the common misconception of a mild form of slavery in northern states. 

In addition to “Narrative of WIlliam W. Brown,” Brown wrote extensively about other aspects of African American life, including the education, religion, and culture of Black Americans. He also worked as a journalist, publishing articles in several newspapers and magazines, including “The North Star,” published by Frederick Douglass.

The following is a list of books written by William Wells Brown:

• “Narrative of William W. Brown, A Fugitive Slave” (1847) – Brown’s famous slave narrative, which provides a vivid and harrowing account of his experiences as a slave and his escape to freedom.
• “Clotel; or, The President’s Daughter” (1853) – A novel that explores the experiences of a mixed-race woman who is the daughter of President Thomas Jefferson and one of his enslaved servants.
• “Three Years in Europe” (1852) – A travelogue that recounts Brown’s experiences traveling through Europe.
• “The Black Man: His Antecedents, His Genius, and His Achievements” (1863) – A historical work that explores the contributions of African Americans to American society.
• “My Southern Home: The South and Its People” (1880) – A memoir in which Brown reflects on his experiences growing up in the South and his views on race and society.
• “The Rising Son; or, The Antecedents and Advancement of the Colored Race” (1873) – A historical work that traces the history of African Americans from the time of slavery through Reconstruction.
• “The Negro in the American Rebellion” (1867) – A historical work that provides an account of the role of African American soldiers in the Union Army during the Civil War.
• “The Anti-Slavery Harp: A Collection of Songs for Anti-Slavery Meetings” (1848) – A collection of songs and hymns written by Brown and other abolitionists.
• “The American Fugitive in Europe. Sketches of Places and People Abroad” (1855) – A travelogue that recounts Brown’s experiences traveling through Europe and interacting with other abolitionists.

Becoming A Physician

Brown gained an interest in medicine while in slavery on Dr. John Young’s plantation. As a free man, William spent time in England from 1849 to 1854. During that time he met a British ophthalmologist who helped reignite his interest in medicine. He provided Williams with books and advice on the study of medicine. Upon his return to the United States, he began reading books in the field of medicine as well as attending medical lectures and demonstrations. In 1865, he opened his medical practice. He was known as an eclectic physician and listed as such in Samuel W. Butler’s “Medical Register and Directory of the United States” (Philadelphia, 1878).

The Path To Freedom

Although Brown escaped slavery, he was still considered a fugitive slave. In 1849, he launched a lecture tour in Britain and remained abroad until 1854. When the Fugitive Slave Act was passed in 1850, it became dangerous for the escaped slave to return to America. The act required that slaves be returned to their owners, even if they were in a free state. The act also made the federal government responsible for finding, returning, and trying escaped slaves. Because of this, British abolitionists purchased Brown’s freedom in 1854.

Family, Death and Legacy

In the summer of 1834, shortly after escaping slavery, William met and married Elizabeth Spooner, a free black woman. They had three daughters, one of whom died shortly after birth. His third born daughter, Josephine Brown, wrote a biography about her father, entitled, Biography of an American Bondman.

William Wells Brown died on November 6, 1884, in Chelsea, Massachusetts, and is buried in the Cambridge Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts. 

His residence in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is marked by a historic landmark sign, as part of the African-American Heritage Trail. A memorial marker was also erected in 1994 in Buffalo, New York in Erie County, in his honor by Juneteenth Festival, Inc., First Shiloh Baptist Church, Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society.

A public elementary school, WIlliam Wells Brown Elementary,  in Lexington, Kentucky was also named in his honor.

William Wells Brown was a pioneer in the fight against slavery and the struggle for racial equality in the United States. His writing and activism helped to raise public awareness about the horrors of slavery and to lay the groundwork for the eventual abolition of the institution. His work as an abolitionist and historian remains an important part of America’s rich and complex history of the struggle for freedom and equality. He left behind a legacy as a pioneering Black American author, abolitionist, and historian.

Sources

Narrative of William Wells Brown  A Fugitive Slave – William Wells Brown

https://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/brownw/bio.html

Link to site for landmark details:
https://www.cambridgema.gov/historic/cambridgehistory/historicmarkers#aaht