William wells brown family

Introduction : William Wells Brown was an African American anti-slavery lecturer, groundbreaking novelist, playwright and historian. He is widely considered to have been the first African American to publish works in several major literary genres. Known for his continuous political activism especially in his involvement with the anti-slavery movement, Brown is widely acclaimed for the effectiveness of many of his writings.

Early Years: Brown was born to a white father and enslaved mother on a plantation outside of Lexington, Kentucky, most likely in He spent his childhood and much of his young adult life as a slave in St. Louis, Missouri working a variety of trades. Shortly thereafter he was taken in and helped to safety by Mr. Wells Brown, a white Quaker family.

William would adopt their names in respect for the help they provided him. They had two daughters. Later Brown moved his family to Buffalo, New York where he spent nine years working both as a steamboat worker on Lake Erie and a conductor for the underground railroad.

How is william wells brown remembered today

It was this involvement as a prominent speaker that many historians and scholars suggest provided the trajectory for his later career as a writer. Brown, a Fugitive Slave, Written by Himself. The resounding success of his narrative led Brown to travel across Europe between and where he delivered more than a thousand speeches. He also wrote two additional books.