Sojourner Truth Escapes Slavery

People

Isabella Baumfree (Sojourner Truth) (subject); James Baumfree (father); Elizabeth Baumfree (mother); Thomas (husband); Robert (partner); Diana (daughter); Peter (son); Elizabeth (daughter) (daughter); Sophia (daughter); Colonel Johannes Hardenbergh (enslaver); John Neely (enslaver); Martinus Schryver (enslaver); John Dumont (enslaver); Isaac Van Wagenen (ally); Maria Van Wagenen (ally); Olive Gilbert (author); President Abraham Lincoln (official)

Outcome

Isabella Baumfree escaped slavery in late 1826 and won a landmark court case for her son Peter in 1828; she later became Sojourner Truth, one of the foremost abolitionists and women's rights advocates in American history, until her death on November 26, 1883

In late 1826, Isabella Baumfree, the woman who would later become known as Sojourner Truth, walked away from the farm of her enslaver John Dumont in West Park, Ulster County, New York, carrying her infant daughter Sophia. Born into slavery around 1797 in Swartekill, Ulster County, to James and Elizabeth Baumfree, Isabella had been the property of Colonel Johannes Hardenbergh, a Dutch colonist. She spoke only Dutch as her first language until she was about nine years old. Sold multiple times as a child, she endured severe beatings from owner John Neely before eventually being purchased by Dumont. New York's gradual emancipation law of 1799 would have freed her on July 4, 1827, but Dumont had promised to release her a year early and then broke that promise. Rather than wait, Isabella chose to leave. She found refuge with Isaac and Maria Van Wagenen in New Paltz, New York, who paid Dumont $20 for her services and $5 for Sophia to secure their freedom until the emancipation date took effect. Shortly after gaining her freedom, Isabella discovered that her son Peter, approximately five years old, had been illegally sold by Dumont to a slaveholder in Alabama, a direct violation of New York law that prohibited the sale of enslaved people out of state. With the assistance of local Quakers, Isabella filed suit and won Peter's return in 1828, becoming one of the first Black women to successfully sue a white man in an American court. This legal victory demonstrated both her fierce determination and her willingness to confront the legal system that had sanctioned her bondage. In 1843, Isabella Baumfree changed her name to Sojourner Truth, believing she was called by God to travel the land and preach the truth. She became one of the most powerful voices of the abolitionist and women's rights movements. On May 29, 1851, she delivered her famous address at the Women's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio, a speech later popularized under the title "Ain't I a Woman?" that exposed the intertwined oppressions of race and sex. She met President Abraham Lincoln at the White House on October 29, 1864, advocated for the rights of formerly enslaved people after the Civil War, and attempted to vote in the 1872 presidential election but was turned away. Her autobiography, "The Narrative of Sojourner Truth," was dictated to Olive Gilbert and published in 1850. She died on November 26, 1883, in Battle Creek, Michigan. Her escape from slavery in 1826 and her subsequent legal battle for her son stand as founding acts of resistance that launched one of the most consequential activist careers in American history.