Biography of a Slave - Being the Experiences of Rev Charles Thompson, a Preacher of the United Brethren Church, While a Slave in the South Together

Book excerpt: Charles Thompson was born in Atala County, Mississippi, near the town of Rockford, on March 3, 1833. The son of slaves, he spent most of his life as a slave. This book covers the first half of Thompson's life, when all he knew was slavery, and the hope for freedom and the right to determine his own fate was a bitter dream. He intended to write another volume covering his life as a minister and the coming of the Civil War but this was never published. * * * * Reverend Charles Thompson provides a first-hand account of life during slavery in Mississippi and how he helped grow an informal community of Christian worshipers among the slaves on his master's plantation and neighboring estates. His account uses a conversational style that Thompson describes as "being much better suited to the tastes and capacities of my colored readers." And he is frank with the terrible state of affairs that the slaves contended with on a daily basis, from jealous overseers who abused their authority, to cruel masters who vented their rage on their possessions, much as a spoiled child will break a toy when angered. * * * * Thompson's "church" was able to rise and flourish because it was supported and overseen by his master and mistress, and he recalls the growth of the congregation and the building of an official place of worship, in spite of the terrible conditions of slavery. * * * * Check our other Children's, Juvenile, and Adult books at www.FlyingChipmunkPublishing.com, or Like us on Facebook for our latest releases.