ere sheltered in churches,
halls and private houses, until such time as they could pursue their
journey. Methought, I will find him in this motley crowd, of all ages,
from the crowing babe in its mother's arms, to the aged and decrepit,
on whom the marks of slavery were still visible. I piled inquiry upon
inquiry, until after long and persistent search, I learned that my
father had always lived on the same plantation, fifteen miles from
Vicksburg. I wrote to my father and begged him to come and see me and
make his home with me; sent him the money, so he would be to no
expense, and when he finally reached St. Louis, it was with great joy
that I received him. Old, grizzled and gray, time had dealt hardly
with him, and he looked very little like the dapper master's valet,
whose dark beauty won my mother's heart.

Forty-five years of separation, hard work, rough times and heart
longings, had perseveringly performed its work, and instead of a man
bearing his years with upright vigor, he was made prematurely old by
the accumulation of troubles. My sister Nancy came from Canada, and we
had a most joyful reunion, and only the absence of our mother left a
vacuum, which we deeply and sorrowfully felt. Father could not be
persuaded to stay with us, when he found his wife dead; he longed to
get back to his old associations of forty-five years standing, he felt
like a stranger in a strange land, and taking pity on him, I urged him
no more, but let him go, though with great reluctance.

* * * * *

There are abounding in public and private libraries of all sorts,
lives of people which fill our minds with amazement, admiration,
sympathy, and indeed with as many feelings as there are people, so I
can scarcely expect that the reader of these episodes of my life will
meet with more than a passing interest, but as such I will commend it
to your thought for a brief hour. To be sure, I am deeply sensible
that this story, as written, is not a very striking performance, but I
have brought you with me face to face with but only a few of the
painful facts engendered by slavery, and the rest can be drawn from
history. Just have patience a little longer, and I have done.

I became a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1855; was
elected President of the first colored society, called the "Female
Union," which was the first ever organized exclusively for women; was
elected President of a society known as the