Malindy's Freedom: The Story of a Slave Family (Volume 1)

This is an account of the years 1820 to 1865 in the life of Malindy, a freeborn Cherokee who was unlawfully enslaved as a child by a Franklin County, Missouri, farmer. Married to a freedman, Malindy gave birth to five children in slavery--creating a family she would fight her whole life to keep together. As a testament to Malindy's iron will, her great-granddaughters Mildred Johnson and Theresa Delsoin have lived to share the story passed on through their family for generations--a story of courage, conviction, and love. In Malindy's Freedom , Johnson and Delsoin construct a narrative that realistically re-creates Malindy's world--the individuals she encountered, the crucibles she faced, the battles she won. The authors relied principally on census records, along with other primary and secondary sources, to document their great-grandmother's experience as told to them by their grandmother. Malindy's story of the "peculiar institution" of slavery is unique: it makes clear that the African American experience derives from Native American and European, as well as African, roots. The beauty of Malindy's Freedom is the authors' appreciation of their ancestors as human beings who did the best they could for their families under inhuman conditions. Edited by Stuart Symington, Jr., Malindy's Freedom brings truth and humanity to one of American history's darkest hours. Yet, as a tale of abiding faith and steadfast love for one's family, Malindy's story is the story of every family that has ever struggled to survive and has ultimately been the stronger for it.

This is an account of the years 1820 to 1865 in the life of Malindy, a freeborn Cherokee who was unlawfully enslaved as a child by a Franklin County, Missouri, farmer. Married to a freedman, Malindy gave birth to five children in slavery creating a family she would fight her whole life to keep together. As a testament to Malindy s iron will, her greatgranddaughters Mildred Johnson and Theresa Delsoin have lived to share the story passed on through their family for generations a story of courage, conviction, and love. Johnson and Delsoin construct a narrative that realistically recreates Malindy s world the individuals she encountered, the crucibles she faced, the battles she won. The authors relied principally on census records, along with other primary and secondary sources, to document their greatgrandmother s experience as told to them by their grandmother.

Author Bio: Mildred Johnson is a resident of St. Louis County, now retired. After working for St. Louis County Hospital for several years as a nurse s attendant, she established the first hot lunch program in the Kirkwood school system, at Booker T. Washington School. Johnson is also the author of a volume of poetry, Miracle at Twilight. Theresa Delsoin is a native of Kirkwood, Missouri, and the sister of Mildred Johnson. Delsoin holds a bachelor s degree in sociology from Chicago State University. Now retired from a career in social services, hospital administration, and mental health, she resides in North Miami Beach, Florida, and serves as a Peace Corps volunteer in Samoa. Stuart Symington, Jr., is counsel to the Clayton, Missouri, law firm of Gallop, Johnson & Neuman, L.C., where he was a partner from 1988 to 2000. Symington was a founder, and is a past chairman, of the University of Missouri St. Louis Chancellor s Council and is a trustee of the Bernoudy Foundation

Edited by Stuart Symington, Jr. and Anne W. Symington.

Table of Contents vi Foreword viiiPreface xiiEditors’ Note xivAuthors’ Acknowledgments I Chapter One: The Way of the Cherokees 13Chapter Two: Rose Dawn Is Enslaved 31Chapter Three: Malindy Becomes a House Slave and Is Sold 45Chapter Four: Life in the Big House 6lChapter Five: Malindy Meets Old Free Charlie Wilson 83Chapter Six: Prayer Meetings at the Grape Arbor 99Chapter Seven: Slave Motherhood: Malindy Feels the Lash 119Chapter Eight: Sold on the Auction Block 135Chapter Nine: Malindy’s Son George Defies Slavery 155Chapter Ten: The Nation Becomes Divided 173Chapter Eleven: Free, Free at Last 193Afterword 200Appendix: Census Records 208Selected BibliographyThis book is dedicated to the au "Malindy, born a free Cherokee Indian, was unlawfully enslaved as a child by a Franklin County, Missouri, farmer. Married to a freedman, Malindy gave birth to five children in slavery - creating a family she would fight her whole life to keep together. As a testament to her iron will, Malindy's great-granddaughters Mildred Johnson and Theresa Delsoin have lived to share the story passed on through their family for generations - a story of courage, conviction, and love."