Sojourner Truth Timeline

(1797 – 1883)

Sojourner Truth (c. 1797–1883) was an African American abolitionist and women's rights activist. Born into slavery in New York as Isabella Baumfree, she escaped to freedom in 1826 and became one of the first Black women to speak out publicly against slavery. Renowned for her powerful 'Ain't I a Woman?' speech delivered at the 1851 Ohio Women's Rights Convention, she also recruited Black troops for the Union Army during the Civil War and advocated for land grants for formerly enslaved people. More Less

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Early Life and Slavery

Born into slavery in Swartekill, New York

1797

Sojourner Truth was born as Isabella Baumfree around 1797 into slavery in the town of Swartekill, in Ulster County, New York. She was the youngest of about ten children of James and Elizabeth Baumfree, enslaved Africans owned by Colonel Johannes Hardenbergh.

Image source: Sojourner Truth

Sold at auction with a flock of sheep for $100

1806

At around age nine, Isabella was sold at auction along with a flock of sheep for $100 to John Neely, near Kingston, New York. She later recalled the pain of being separated from her family, speaking only Dutch at the time.

Sold twice more before ending up with John Dumont

1808 - 1810

Truth was sold twice over the next few years, first to Martinus Schryver and then to John Dumont of West Park, New York, where she remained until escaping to freedom in 1826. She endured harsh treatment and learned English while under Dumont's ownership.

Marries Thomas, an older enslaved man

1815

Around 1815, Isabella married an older enslaved man named Thomas, chosen by her owner John Dumont. The couple had five children together: Diana, Peter, Elizabeth, Sophia, and possibly another child who died young.

Freedom and Legal Battles

Escapes to freedom with infant daughter Sophia

Sep 1, 1826

One day before the state of New York was scheduled to legally emancipate all enslaved people on July 4, 1827 (she walked away in late 1826), Isabella escaped with her infant daughter Sophia. She found refuge with Isaac and Maria Van Wagenen, a Quaker couple who bought her freedom from Dumont.

Learns son Peter was illegally sold into slavery in Alabama

1827

After gaining her freedom, Isabella discovered that her five-year-old son Peter had been illegally sold by Dumont to a man in Alabama, in violation of New York law that prohibited selling slaves out of state.

Wins landmark lawsuit to recover her son Peter

1828

Isabella took the unprecedented step of suing to recover her son, becoming one of the first Black women in the United States to win a court case against a white man. Peter was returned to her from Alabama, where he had been mistreated.

Joins the Methodist church in New York City

1829

In 1829, Isabella moved to New York City with her son Peter, working as a housekeeper for Elijah Pierson, a Christian evangelist. She became deeply involved in evangelical religion, joining the John Street Methodist Church.

Becomes involved with the Kingdom of Matthias cult

1832 - 1835

Isabella worked with Robert Matthews, known as Prophet Matthias, leader of a controversial religious commune called the Kingdom of Matthias. When Matthews was accused of poisoning Pierson, Isabella was implicated but successfully sued for libel and won damages.

Abolitionist and Activist Career

Has a religious experience and renames herself Sojourner Truth

Jun 1, 1843

On June 1, 1843, Isabella felt called by God to travel and preach, changing her name to Sojourner Truth. She told friends she felt God calling her to travel east and speak the truth regarding sin and injustice.

Joins the Northampton Association of Education and Industry

1844 - 1846

Truth joined the utopian community in Northampton, Massachusetts, founded by abolitionists including Frederick Douglass's associates. There she met William Lloyd Garrison and other prominent reformers, deepening her involvement in abolitionism and women's rights.

Image source: Ross Farm (Northampton, Massachusetts)

Publishes Narrative of Sojourner Truth with help of Olive Gilbert

1850

With the assistance of Olive Gilbert, Truth dictated her memoir, the Narrative of Sojourner Truth: A Northern Slave, which was privately published in 1850 by William Lloyd Garrison. The book brought her fame and helped fund her speaking tours.

Image source: Sojourner Truth

Speaks at the first National Women's Rights Convention

Oct 23, 1850

Truth attended and spoke at the first National Women's Rights Convention in Worcester, Massachusetts, beginning her prominent role in the women's rights movement alongside figures like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

Image source: National Women's Rights Convention

Delivers 'Ain't I a Woman?' speech in Akron, Ohio

May 29, 1851

At the Ohio Women's Rights Convention in Akron, Truth delivered her famous speech, later known as 'Ain't I a Woman?'. Speaking on the intersection of racial and gender inequality, she challenged both sexism and racism, becoming an iconic moment in American oratory.

Image source: Ain't I a Woman?

Meets Harriet Beecher Stowe and other literary figures

1853

During her speaking career, Truth met and befriended notable abolitionists and writers, including Harriet Beecher Stowe, who later wrote about her in the Atlantic Monthly article 'The Libyan Sibyl' in 1863, further elevating Truth's public profile.

Image source: Harriet Beecher Stowe

Meets Harriet Beecher Stowe and other literary figures

Buys home in Harmonia, Michigan

1857

Truth purchased a home in Harmonia, Michigan, a community associated with the Spiritualist movement near Battle Creek. She continued traveling and lecturing while maintaining a base there with her daughters.

Sells Narrative copies and portrait photos to fund activism

1860 - 1875

Throughout the 1860s and 1870s, Truth sold cartes de visite photographs of herself inscribed 'I Sell the Shadow to Support the Substance,' using proceeds to support her travels and causes, making her one of the earliest activists to use photography for self-promotion.

Recruits Black soldiers for the Union Army

1863 - 1865

During the Civil War, Truth recruited African American soldiers for the Union Army, particularly for the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment and other units of the United States Colored Troops.

Image source: United States Colored Troops

Works to desegregate Washington, D.C. streetcars during Civil War

1864 - 1865

While living in Washington, D.C., Truth campaigned against segregated streetcars, personally confronting conductors. She reportedly succeeded in helping integrate the capital's streetcar system through persistent protest.

Meets President Abraham Lincoln at the White House

Oct 29, 1864

Truth traveled to Washington, D.C., and met President Abraham Lincoln at the White House, where they discussed her work and the plight of freedpeople. She presented Lincoln a book of her memoirs signed 'M. Titcomb.'

Image source: Abraham Lincoln

Assigned to work at Freedmen's Hospital in Washington

1865

Truth worked for the Freedmen's Bureau and the National Freedman's Relief Association, caring for formerly enslaved people at Freedmen's Hospital in Washington, D.C., and advocating for land grants and better conditions for freedmen.

Image source: Freedmen's Bureau

Rides whites-only streetcar and files assault complaint

Oct 15, 1865

Truth was injured when a streetcar conductor attempted to violently eject her from a whites-only car. She filed a complaint against the conductor and won, securing his dismissal, a bold act of civil disobedience during Reconstruction.

Petitions Congress for land grants for former slaves

1870 - 1877

Truth spent years petitioning the federal government to provide free land to formerly enslaved people in the West, arguing that freedom without economic independence was hollow. Despite gathering thousands of signatures, Congress never acted on her petitions.

Image source: Forty acres and a mule

Campaigns for land distribution with Kansas migration efforts

1870 - 1879

Truth supported the Exoduster movement of African Americans migrating to Kansas and continued lobbying for federal land grants to freedpeople, meeting with President Ulysses S. Grant and other officials to press her case.

Image source: Exodusters

Campaigns for land distribution with Kansas migration efforts

Speaks on temperance and votes in a local election

1872

Truth advocated for temperance alongside abolition and suffrage. In 1872, she attempted to vote in the presidential election in Battle Creek, Michigan, though she was turned away, demonstrating her lifelong commitment to women's suffrage.

Legacy and Death

Moves to Battle Creek, Michigan, living with daughters

1867

After the dissolution of Harmonia, Truth moved into Battle Creek proper, living with her daughter Elizabeth Banks and continuing her activism from Michigan until her health began to fail in the mid-1870s.

Image source: Battle Creek, Michigan

Health declines; treated by Dr. John Harvey Kellogg

1880 - Nov 26, 1883

In her final years, Truth suffered from ulcers on her legs and declining health. She was treated at the Battle Creek Sanitarium operated by Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, whose family had long been acquainted with her.

Image source: John Harvey Kellogg

Dies at her home in Battle Creek, Michigan

Nov 26, 1883

Sojourner Truth died at her home in College Street, Battle Creek, Michigan, on November 26, 1883. Her funeral drew large crowds, and she was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery beside her family.

Attends celebration honoring Frederick Douglass

1884

Even in her later years, Truth appeared at public events, including celebrations honoring fellow abolitionists like Frederick Douglass, remaining a respected elder stateswoman of the movements for abolition and women's rights.

Image source: Frederick Douglass

Key Facts

Sojourner Truth was born into slavery around 1797 in Swartekill, New York, originally named Isabella Baumfree.
She escaped slavery with her infant daughter Sophia in 1826, a year before New York's emancipation law took effect.
In 1851, she delivered her famous 'Ain't I a Woman?' speech at the Ohio Women's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio.
During the Civil War, she helped recruit Black soldiers for the Union Army, including her grandson James Caldwell.
After the war, she successfully challenged segregation on streetcars in Washington, D.C., by legally riding whites-only cars.

Source

This Sojourner Truth timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.

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