Harriet Jacobs

1
Harriet Jacobs

• 1813 ? - 1897

2
Harriet Jacobs

• Born into slavery in North Carolina
• Orphaned at the age of 16
• Taken into the home of her owner and trained as a
  house servant
• This is where Jacobs learned to read and write
  (normally forbidden to slaves)
• When her owner died, she was willed to her
  mistresss niece and sent to live with Dr. James
  Norcom
• As a teen, she was subjected to harassment by
  Norcom
• He was furious at her refusals of his advances,
  and sent her away to do hard labor as a
  plantation slave. He also threatened to do the
  same to her children.
• She escaped from the plantation and found shelter
  with sympathetic family and friends (both black
  and white).

3
Harriet Jacobs

• Found the safest place at her grandmothers a
  tiny crawl space above a store room
• Hid there for 7 yrs. Reading (mostly the Bible),
  writing, sewing, and watching her children
• In 1842, she escaped to NYC worked as a
  nursemaid and reunited with her children
  eventually
• Spent the next 10 yrs. as a fugitive
• Gained her freedom in 1852
• Began writing the story of her life in 1853,
  published it herself in 1861 using the pen name
  Linda Brent
• After the publication, she became an active
  abolitionist, working during the Civil War to
  relieve poverty and suffering of former slaves
• Distributed clothing and supplies, raised money,
  and helped to establish schools and orphanages in
  Philadelphia, New York, Washington D.C.,
  Alexandria, and Savannah