Harriet E. Wilson was the first known African American to publish a novel on the North American continent. Born a free person of color in New Hampshire, Wilson was orphaned when young and bound as an indentured servant until the age of 18. Follow a trail to places where the child-servant went as she was growing up and where she struggled to make a living. Learn about Harriet’s only son, George, who died in a poor house while she was trying to survive as a widow.

Wilson’s book was published in 1859 with her original title, a device to engage the reader in her fictionized autobiography, Our Nig; or Sketches from the Life of a Free Black, in a Two-Story White House, North, Showing that Slavery’s Shadows Fall Even There. She wrote only one novel. Wilson went on to be known as a Spiritualist and was paid on the public lecture circuit to talk about her life.

Meeting Place: 1 Union Sq, Milford, NH.

Sankofa Tour Guide: David Nelson