Frederick Douglas Day
(born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey)
c. February 1817 or 1818 – February 20, 1895
Ex-Slave Bounty and Pension Association Certificate of Membership (MS.1553)
Membership fees and dues were used to aid in legislation which would provide compensation and reparations for the unpaid labor and suffering of ex-slaves.
My Bondage and My Freedom by Frederick Douglass
Rare Books E449.D738 1855 (signed copy)
The second of three autobiographies written by Douglass, the narrative depicts in greater detail his transition from bondage to liberty.
Album of Knoxville College and other missions among the Freedmen of The United Presbyterian Church
Rare Books BX8952.A42 1901
Established in 1875, Knoxville College was dedicated to educating Tennessee’s African-American population.
Memphis Freedman Bureau Illustration (MS.3001)
The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands offered assistance to newly emancipated slaves after the Civil War.
Memphis Freedman Bureau Report, 1864 (MS.3240)
Captain T.A. Walker lists some of the grievances experienced by freedmen including problems with housing, education and cases of sickness at the Freedmen's Hospital.
Petition to Abolish Slavery, undated (MS.1204)
The petition, signed by residents of Bedford County, asks the Tennessee Legislature to pass a law that will free the state's enslaved peoples and their descendants.
Stephen B. Jones Bill of Sale, 1846 (MS.2722)
The bill documents a transaction between Stephen B. Jones of Mississippi and John W. Dillahoy of Tennessee in which Jones sold Dillahoy six slaves for $1800.00. These slaves included an African-American family of four and a Native American woman and her son.