Writing Resources
I was born in 1797 in Swartekill New York as Isabella Baumfree I am not aware of my true date of birth as it was not recorded as many slaves were not I was born into slavery I was one of twelve children to James and Elizabeth Baumfree My family was owned by Colonel Hardenbergh and we lived at his estate in Esopus New York To say slavery didn't exist in the north is purely a lie Eventually the Colonel passed away and we were all passed down to Charles his son With this my family was separated I was nine at the time and Charles sold me at an auction for one hundred dollars My master became John Neely He was indeed a hostile and violent man However I did not stay with him forever during the next two years I was sold two more times I ended up with a man named John Dumont who lived in West Park New York These couple of years during my childhood were the ones in which I learned english Several years later in 1815 I met a man named Robert who lived on a farm near by I fell in love with him and we ended up having my first daughter together Diana His owner was outraged and prohibited a further relationship because it would benefit my owner with the addition of slaves from our union and not himself I never saw Robert again A couple years later John Dumont convinced me to marry one of his older slaves
