Twenty-Two Years a Slave, and Forty Years a Freeman

by Austin Steward

I was born in Prince William County, Virginia. At seven years of age, I found myself a slave on the plantation of Capt. William Helm. Our family consisted of my father and mother-whose names were Robert and Susan Steward-a sister, Mary, and myself. As was the usual custom, we lived in a small cabin, built of rough boards, with a floor of earth, and small openings in the sides of the cabin were substituted for windows. The chimney was built of sticks and mud; the door, of rough boards; and the whole was put together in the rudest possible manner. As to the furniture of this rude dwelling, it was procured by the slaves themselves, who were occasionally permitted to earn a little money after their day's toil was done. I never knew Capt. H. to furnish his slaves with household utensils of any description. The amount of provision given out on the plantation per week, was invariably one peck of corn or meal for each slave. This allowance was given in meal when it could be obtained; when it could not, they received corn, which they pounded in mortars after they returned from their labor in the field. The slaves on our plantation were provided with very little meat In addition to the peck of corn or meal, they were allowed a little salt and a few herrings. If they wished for more, they were obliged to earn it by over-work. They were permitted to cultivate small gardens, and were thereby enabled to provide themselves with many trifling conveniences. But these gardens were only allowed to some of the more industrious. Capt. Helm allowed his slaves a small quantity of meat during harvest time, but when the harvest was over they were obliged to fall back on the old allowance.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Race, Memoir, Autobiography, Biography

165 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2002

Reviews

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I chose this slavery account because a lot of the story takes place in or near Rochester NY where I live. Austin Steward was a slave born in Virginia in the early 1800s whose master moved to Genesee Country in New York State when it was still a wilderness with rattlesnakes. He gives a vivid portrait of slavery in Virginia which he says was ruthless and slavery in New York, which was less ruthless, because of the wilderness the plantation owners found themselves in and the lack of infrastructure for slave catching. The North had less of a need for slaves which made it more likely for them to be hired out to others and slaves found more opportunities to run away. Even when slavery was finally emancipated, the black citizen was treated badly and often barred from owning land. Due to mistreatment, Steward and his family moved to a colony in Ontario Canada named Wilberforce where American blacks; especially from Cleveland, OH. After the company who owned Wilberforce land, reneged on promises to allow more blacks to come, the colony faltered and died. Seward came back to the Rochester area where he actually saw the founding of the village. The story is compelling and well worth the read. One of my favorite stories was when the master and his slaves first moved to Sodus, NY, a male slave, after several months realized how vulnerable the master and overseer were in the wilderness and began to defy the overseer and eventually defended himself instead of taking a beating. After a while he escaped and was never brought back. There were attempts to reenalave Steward and others, one particularly bloody, but we're ultimately unsuccessful. Escaped slaves who faced being brought back to the South would rather kill themselves than go back is a common theme. Steward wrote the book in 1956 in frustration of Northern abolishsionists who spoke but failed to act to end slavery.

[David Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stumbled upon this book without realizing that its author and subject, Austin Steward, lived and worked both as a slave and freeman in Finger Lakes Region of NY. Steward was born a slave in Virginia. At seven years old when he was assigned his first duties as a house servant. Steward taught himself to read in secrecy, but he was discovered and severely beaten.

His exceedingly cruel master, William Helm, moved his family and the Stewards to New York in 1800. Although New York was a free state, it had a gradual abolition approach and slavery was still permitted. After continued abuse when hired out to a brutal taskmaster, Steward determined to escape, which he did in 1814 at about age 21.

Steward lived in a variety of locations in the Rochester area, including Bath, Sodus, Canandaigua. His descriptions of the area and the still extant wilderness of the early 1800’s is compelling. Steward and another slave took advantage of these wilderness conditions that in some ways were quite treacherous for new settlers including his master. Steward and other slaves took advantage of these conditions and began to resist the abuse of their overseer.

In 1815, when Steward learned that Helm's "hiring out" of slaves violated New York’s anti-slavery laws. He sought advice from pro-abolitionists. Steward made his way to Rochester where he found work with Darius Comstock, president of the Manumission Society, and took classes to increase his education. Before his escape, he had consulted about pursuing legal manumission but was discouraged that it would take too long. In 1817 he started what became a successful business in Rochester, opening his own meat market and general store. He gradually acquired considerable property. On July 5, 1827, he gave a speech at the celebration of final emancipation of slaves in New York, speech brought praise, notoriety and was reported widely.

In 1831 Steward went to Canada, devoting himself to aiding fugitive slaves. He was interested in a new settlement, the Wilberforce Colony (named in honor of William Wilberforce), located north of present-day London, Ontario. The Colony had been founded in 1829 by former slaves fleeing the Ohio Black Codes, as well as rioting in Cincinnati. Almost immediately upon his arrival, Steward was named president of the Colony's board of managers. Wilberforce Colony struggled, however, with internal divisions and financial difficulties. Steward eventually returned, destitute, to Rochester in 1837.

One particularly gruesome narrative is the horror of escaped slaves when captured committed suicide rather than allowing their captors to return them to the south. I highly recommend this book, especially for those that live in Western NY.

Steward died of typhoid fever on February 15, 1869, and was buried in Canandaigua, New York.

[Jo-Ann Leake · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume was a find on Project Gutenberg and it tells the story of injustice to Africans, both in the United States AND in the British Empire, notably Canada. Specifically, Austin Steward tells his story as a slave on a plantation in Maryland, the fall of the family he was owned by, his life in upstate New York, and his efforts along with other slaves to found the colony of Wilberforce, outside of London, Ontario. Many of the incidents have parallels to those of today in regard to systemic racism. He draws a picture of life inside Wlberforce, the politics of freedom and of the abolitionist movement. Highly recommended.

[Julie MacKay · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was interesting to read about the author’s life as a slave and how he became free. A large portion of the book was about his life after slavery and the things he did, especially in connection with the settlement in Canada. He gives his opinion on certain moral issues which I generally agreed with. He seems like he was a great man and I think he was the kind of person that I would enjoy sitting and having a conversation with.

[Fairport Public Library]

March 2019, Betsy, Non Fiction

[Dorothy Freeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought the book when I was at Lake George this past September, because it was about slavery and a man who lived in Upstate New York.

I gave the autobiography four stars, because I always find it insightful to learn something new about subjects that are not really talked about or understood in depth especially from the perspective of the person or persons involved. Be it for example the plight of the slave, Native American or women.

[Stephen Drake · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book would be of particular interest to anyone who was born/raised/lived in the Rochester, NY area.

Austin Steward was born into slavery in Virginia in 1793. Steward was brought into the Rochester area as a slave of William Helm in 1801 or 1802. In 1815, when Steward learned that Helm's "hiring out" of Steward and other slaves violated NY's prohibition on selling slaves, he secured advice and help from prominent pro-abolitionist whites in the area. The rest - his longing for education, his establishment of a successful market in the heart of Rochester's central area, and other events should be read in his own words.

Steward's account is readily accessible to the modern reader. Unlike other writers, it's clear that Steward was writing to and for his contemporaries - and would probably be astonished (but pleased) to find people still reading his memoir over 150 years after its publication. This is evidenced by the ending pages of the book - devoted to correspondence dealing with the Wilberforce Colony in London, Ontario CA. The Colony failed - through no fault of Steward who supported the colony of freed and fugitive slaves afraid that their freedom was in peril in the U.S.

This is a very readable memoir from pre-civil war America. Highly recommended for anyone interested in ex-slave narratives, Rochester history, or engaging and compelling narratives.

[Jerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Steward was born in Virginia in 1793, brought to New York between 1800 & 1802 (Sodus Bay and Bath). New York’s 1799 Gradual Emancipation Act granted freedom after 21 years for females and 25 years for males, and forbade the sale of slaves after 1799. Steward declared his freedom in 1814 and ran away. He became a grocer in Rochester in 1816. He faced discrimination by some whites in Rochester. Slavery became extinct in NY on July 5, 1827. In 1830 Stewart was appointed vice president of the first national black convention. In 1831 Steward became a leader of the Wilberforce colony in Ontario Canada. In 1840 Stewart presided over a statewide convention of blacks pressing for the return of voting rights for blacks in New York.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

First published in 1857, this book is a biography; the author was born a slave in the late 1700's and eventually becomes a freeman. I do not have a strong background of knowledge regarding slavery in the U.S., which would have come in useful to better understand what was happening when, but I still found the book interesting and insightful. I especially enjoyed the parts describing his life in Canada - he joined a black community that existed very close to where I now live.

[Samuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written almost as if it were a piece of historical fiction, this biography is entertaining as well as informative. A delight to read, withstanding and perhaps in part because of it's required nature for myself.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought it was an alright book. I think it could have been a little more descriptive.