People, Locations, Episodes

Sun, 08.07.1836

Thomas Lewis Johnson, Minister born

*Thomas Johnson was born on this date in 1836. He was a Black slave, minister, and author.

Thomas Lewis Johnson was from Rock Raymon, Virginia; his grandfather had been brought to America from Guinea, Africa. His mother was also a slave, but his father was a freeman. At age three, his father attempted to buy his wife and son, but they were sent to Alexandria, VA. When Johnson was 12 years old, he was separated from his mother by being sent to work in Fredericksburg, VA.

In 1852 he was sold to a family in Richmond, which enabled him to meet up with his mother, who a man had already purchased from that city. After the American Civil War, Johnson was freed and moved to Denver, where he worked as a minister.  In 1876 he went to Africa as a missionary. His book, 'Twenty-Eight Years a Slave' was published in 1909. Johnson’s death is unknown.

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