THIS IS A LISTING FOR ONE MINT NEVER HINGED SINGLE: THE ABOVE IMAGE(S) ARE OF THE ACTUAL STAMP(S) YOU WILL RECEIVE IF YOU ARE THE WINNING BIDDER U.S.=$1; Canada=$2;Other Intl=$3 |
Sojourner Truth was born Isabella Baumfree in Swartekill, New York in 1797. She was born to slaves at a time when slavery was still legal in New York. When she was nine, Truth was sold with a flock of sheep for $100.
Truth suffered beatings at the hands of a cruel master for three years before being sold several times. In 1799, New York began to legislate to abolish slavery, though the law wouldn’t go into effect until 1827. Truth’s owner promised to free her a year before the state emancipation, but when she injured her hand, he claimed she was less productive and rescinded his promise. Truth then worked furiously, spinning 100 pounds of wool, to make up for her injury.
Then in late 1826, Truth escaped with her infant daughter, leaving her other four children behind. Truth found shelter in the home of Isaac and Maria Van Wagener, who paid her former master $20 for her freedom. While there, Truth learned that one of her sons had been illegally sold to an owner in Alabama. She took the issue to court and got her son back, making her one of the first African American women to go to court against a white man and win.
During the Civil War, Sojourner Truth recruited black troops to fight for the Union. In 1864, she moved to Washington, DC, to work for the National Freedman’s Relief Association. She met with President Lincoln in October of that year. In 1865, she rode in streetcars to help campaign for their desegregation.
In 1872, Truth met with President Ulysses S. Grant and returned home to Battle Creek, Michigan to speak on his behalf in his re-election campaign. She even tried to vote in that election but was turned away.