Letters and Diary of Laura M. Towne: 1862-1884

by Laura M. Towne, Rupert Sargent Holland (Editor)

On April 9, 1862, 37-year-old Laura Matilda Towne left her home in Philadelphia for Port Royal Island, newly captured by the Union forces in the American Civil War. She spent the next 38 years of her life educating and ministering to free slaves.

She maintained the utmost belief in the humanity and possibilities for African-Americans. With her friend, Ellen Murray, she established the Penn Center school on St. Helena Island, the first school for emancipated slaves in the United States. Laura Towne is an vital figure in black history in America.

Now a National Historic Landmark, the Penn Center was used during the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s to train movement workers in non-violent civil disobedience.

Here are Laura Towne's own letters to her beloved family and excerpts from her diary. The documents contain a fascinating look at African-American emancipation, hunger to learn and work, events of the war, and especially a look at the Reconstruction South.

For the first time, this long-out-of-print book is available as an affordable, well-formatted book for e-readers and
smartphones.

Be sure to LOOK INSIDE or download a sample.

239 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1912

About the author

Laura Matilda Towne was an American abolitionist and educator. She is best known for forming the first freedmen's schools (those for newly freed slaves), notably the Penn School.

Laura Towne originally studied medicine when the American Civil War broke out.

She was raised in Philadelphia hearing sermons about the abolition of slavery by her minister, William Henry Furness at the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia. Influenced by these teachings, Towne answered the call for volunteers when the Union captured Port Royal and other Sea Islands area of South Carolina. With the help of her Quaker friend Ellen Murray (January 31, 1834 – April 7, 1908), they founded the Penn Center on St. Helena Island, the first school for newly freed slaves in the United States.

Source: wikipedia

Reviews

[Jessaka · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ever since reading “Mama Day” by Gloria Naylor I have been interested in the Gullah Islands off the East coast of the United States, so when my husband wanted to see the East Coast, I wanted to find a Gullah Island to visit. St Helena Island was the one I chose, and I loved it there, and wrote about it in my review of “The Secret of Gumbo Grove.”

This book contains letters and journal entries of Laura Towne who taught at the Penn School on the island, a school we visited, one where they once taught the freed slaves how to farm, make clothes, shoes, etc.

The problem with letters is, if they are not explained, you end up with more questions than answers, such as the school was built around 1862 or so, or at least that is when Mary went there to teach the “free slaves.” Freed? I thought that they were not freed until 1865. That is the type of confusion I have with these letters. So, while I appreciate her letters, I wish that the author, who put this book together had foot notes. Such as this too: The blacks were paid money for the work they were doing. How much were they paid, and how far did it go? How much food and clothing could they buy? As I continued reading, I figured it out some things, and other things were finally explained in the future letters. Such as, the Yankees had taken over South Carolina, so the Blacks were freed in name only but soon kept getting their freedom papers. Then the Yankees came in and took the able bodied black men off to war.

Their African religion was called “Shouting.” What is “Shouting?” I had to ask Alexa. You get into a circle and stomp your feet and clap your hands. Do they shout? What are its beliefs?

As a result of not always understand this book, I can only remember one anecdote, such as how some military men told a black man that they would let him kill his master who had abused him for fyears, but the black man said that he did not wish him to suffer so would not kill him.

I did not finish this book because the letters began to get vague and tedious, so I quit If one is doing research they would like this book. I have another one up my sleeve though.

[ART HOLMES · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laura M. Towne

I found the letters by Laura to be very enlightening. Her dedication to improving the lives of the previously enslaved is to be greatly applauded. Her occasional comments about the difficult times that freed men and women experienced was likewise educational.