The Education of Betsey Stockton : An Odyssey of Slavery and Freedom

A perceptive and inspiring biography of an extraordinary woman born into slavery who, through grit and determination, became a historic social and educational leader. The life of Betsey Stockton (ca. 1798–1865) is a remarkable story of a Black woman’s journey from slavery to emancipation, from antebellum New Jersey to the Hawai‘ian Islands, and from her own self-education to a lifetime of teaching others—all told against the backdrop of the early United States’ pervasive racism. It’s a compelling chronicle of a critical time in American history and a testament to the courage and commitment of a woman whose persistence grew into a potent form of resistance. When Betsey Stockton was a child, she was “given, as a slave” to the household of Rev. Ashbel Green, a prominent pastor and later the president of what is now Princeton University. Although she never went to school, she devoured the books in Green’s library. After being emancipated, she used that education to benefit other people of color, first in Hawai‘i as a missionary, then Philadelphia, and, for the last three decades of her life, Princeton—a college town with a genteel veneer that never fully hid its racial hostility. Betsey Stockton became a revered figure in Princeton’s sizeable Black population, a founder of religious and educational institutions, and a leader engaged in the day-to-day business of building communities. In this first book-length telling of Betsey Stockton’s story, Gregory Nobles illuminates both a woman and her world, following her around the globe, and showing how a determined individual could challenge her society’s racial obstacles from the ground up. It’s at once a revealing lesson on the struggles of Stockton’s times and a fresh inspiration for our own. L'Odyssée de Betsey Stockton est la remarquable saga du voyage d'une femme de l'esclavage à la liberté - et au leadership. Autrefois propriété du président de l'université de Princeton, Ashbel Green, Betsey Stockton s'est lancée dans une vie remarquable après son émancipation par Green. Elle a voyagé jusqu'aux îles Sandwich en tant que missionnaire et enseignante, pour finalement revenir à Princeton dans ces rôles, contribuant à la fondation de la First Presbyterian Church of Colour et de l'école publique de la ville pour les enfants noirs, où elle a enseigné pendant près de trente ans. L'histoire de sa vie détaille et ravive les complexités de la vie afro-américaine dans le Nord de l'antebellum en général, et dans la ville de Princeton aux influences méridionales en particulier "Betsey Stockton's Odyssey is a remarkable saga of one woman's journey from slavery to freedom--and to leadership. Once the property of Princeton University president Ashbel Green, Stockton embarked on a remarkable life after Green emancipated her. She traveled as far as the Sandwich Islands as a missionary and teacher, eventually returning to Princeton in those roles, helping to found both the First Presbyterian Church of Colour and the town's public school for black children, where she taught for nearly thirty years. The story of her life details and enlivens the complexities of African American life in the antebellum north generally and in the southern-inflected town of Princeton in particular"-- Provided by publisher Prologue -- Given, as a slave -- She calls herself Betsey Stockton -- A long adieu -- A missionary's life is very laborious -- Philadelphia's first "coloured infant school" -- From ashes to assertion -- Betsey Stockton's Princeton education -- A time of war, a final peace -- Epilogue