Whispers of Cruel Wrongs: The Correspondence of Louisa Jacobs and Her Circle, 1879-1911 (Wisconsin Studies in Autobiography)

Louisa Jacobs was the daughter of Harriet Jacobs, author of the famous autobiography Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl . That work included a heartbreaking account of Harriet parting with six-year-old Louisa, taken away to the North by her white father. Now, rediscovered letters reveal the lives of Louisa and her circle and shed light on Harriet's old age. New voices call out from the lost world of nineteenth-century African American women in this annotated correspondence. Unidentified for nearly one hundred years, over seventy rare letters from Louisa Jacobs, Annie Purvis, and Charlotte Forten to their friend Eugenie Webb disclose the lives of these educated, resourceful women. Jacobs taught at Howard University, ran her own small business, advocated for civil rights, cared for her ailing mother, and worked for two federal agencies. Purvis, Forten, and Webb were descendants of some of Philadelphia's earliest free black abolitionist families. Sustained by friendship and faith, these women created warm and sympathetic relationships, despite difficult family obligations and the racist strife that marked the post-Reconstruction era in Washington, Philadelphia, and New Jersey. Edited By Mary Maillard. All Of The Seventy-two Documents Reproduced In This Collection Are Held In A Single Private Collection, The Annie Wood Webb Papers. Because Of The Rarity Of These Documents As Examples Of Nineteenth-century African American Women's Personal Correspondence, There Has Been No Selection Process: All Documents Written By Louisa Jacobs And Annie Purvis To Eugenie Webb Are Included.--editorial Note. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 201-206) And Index. Contents List of Illustrations Preface Editorial Principles Introduction Biographical Sketches One by One the Moments Fall: 1879–1880 One by One Thy Duties Wait Thee: 1881–1882 One by One Bright Gifts from Heaven: 1883 One by One Thy Griefs Shall Meet Thee: 1884–1885 So Each Day Begin Again: 1886–1887 Hours Are Golden Links: 1890–1911 Epilogue: The Pilgrimage Be Done Notes Select Bibliography Index