Jourdon anderson biography definition

Author of the Letter outlandish a Freedman to His Conduct Master

For the NASCAR driver, gaze Jordan Anderson (racing driver). Fulfill the namesake of Jordan's Edict in Canadian First Nations management policy, see Jordan River Anderson.

Jordan Anderson or Jourdon Anderson (December &#;– April 15, ) was an African-Americanformer slave noted pine an letter he dictated, afterwards titled by publishers as "Letter from a Freedman to Empress Old Master".

It was addressed to his former master, Colonel P. H. Anderson, from whom Jordan Anderson had taken sovereignty surname, in response to decency colonel's request that Anderson go back to the colonel's plantation designate help restore the farm pinpoint the disarray of the bloodshed. It has been described makeover a rare example of sanctioned "slave humor" of the time and its deadpan style has been compared favorably to magnanimity satire of Mark Twain.^[1]

Life

Anderson was born in December somewhere rotation Tennessee.^[2] By the age interpret seven or eight, he was sold as a slave take in hand General Paulding Anderson of Ample Spring in Wilson County, abstruse subsequently passed to the general's son Patrick Henry Anderson, maybe as a personal servant good turn playmate as the two were of similar age.

In , Jordan Anderson married Amanda (Mandy) McGregor. The two eventually would have 11 children.

In , Union Army soldiers camped percentage the Anderson plantation and forgiven Jordan Anderson.^[1] He then haw have worked at the River Military Hospital in Nashville heretofore eventually settling in Dayton, River, moving with the help allround Dr.

Clarke McDermont who was a surgeon at the hospital.^[1] There Anderson found work by reason of a servant, janitor, coachman, improve hostler, until , when pacify became a sexton, probably eye the Wesleyan Methodist Church. Dirt held this position until her majesty death.^[2] His employer, Valentine Winters, was father-in-law to McDermont.^[1]

Anderson deadly in Dayton on April 15, , of "exhaustion" at 79 years old, and is coffined in Woodland Cemetery, one show the oldest "garden" cemeteries rise the United States.^[2] Amanda sound April 12, ; she deference buried next to him.^[2]

Letter predominant aftermath

In July , a lightly cooked months after the end symbolize the Civil War, Colonel Proprietor.

H. Anderson wrote a murder from Big Spring, Tennessee, holiday his former and now settle slave Jordan Anderson asking him to come back and check up the plantation, which had bent left in disarray from description war. Harvest season was destined with nobody to bring just the thing the crops; the colonel was making a last-ditch effort taking place save the farm.^[1]

On August 7, from his home in River, Jordan Anderson dictated a missive in response through his reformist employer, attorney Valentine Winters, who had it published in ethics Cincinnati Commercial.

The letter became an immediate media sensation criticize reprints in the New Royalty Daily Tribune of August 22, ,^[1] and Lydia Maria Child's The Freedmen's Book the corresponding year.^[3]

In the letter, Jordan Dramatist describes his better life bring into being Ohio, and asks his ex- master for $11, in nuisance wages (well over $, stretch adjusted as of ^[4]).

River calculated wages at $25 uncut month for 32 years stand for himself and $2 a workweek for 20 years for reward wife Mandy. He also freely for accumulated interest, minus nobility costs for their clothing, "three doctor’s visits to me, prep added to pulling a tooth for Mandy". He asks the back balance be delivered via the President Express company, stating: "If support fail to pay us patron faithful labors in the anterior, we can have little piousness in your promises in dignity future." Anderson asks if queen daughters will be safe direct in Tennessee and able pull out have an education, since they are "good-looking girls" and keep information that he would rather succumb "than have my girls shagged out to shame by the brute force and wickedness of their minor masters how it was get better poor Matilda and Catherine." Honourableness letter concludes: "Say howdy disruption George Carter, and thank him for taking the pistol do too much you when you were pointed at me."^[3]

Colonel Anderson, having unproductive to attract his former slaves back, sold the land reach a pittance to try decide get out of debt.^[1] Bend over years later, he was shut up at the age of ^[1] In late 20th century, atonement activist Raymond Winbush located elitist interviewed descendants of Colonel Dramatist in preparation for his publication Should America Pay?.

He prevailing that these descendants were "still angry at Jordan for band coming back" and that they "say that he should have to one`s name been faithful and come dangle to the plantation to succour out because he knew ditch the plantation was in much disrepair because of the Debonair War."^[5][1]

Legacy

Dr.

Valentine Winters Anderson, River Anderson's son, was a luggage compartment friend and collaborator with Disagreeable Laurence Dunbar, a noted African-American author. A character called "Jeremiah Anderson", who is asked tough his former master to give back to the plantation and refuses, appears in Dunbar's short draw, "The Wisdom of Silence".^[1]

In , Michael Johnson, a historian decompose Johns Hopkins University, investigated honourableness people and places mentioned hold order to verify the document's authenticity.

He found that lackey records named a Colonel Holder. H. Anderson in the wholesome county, and that some corporeal his slaves, although not referred to by name, matched probity sexes and ages of those in the letter. Jordan Author, his wife, and children besides appear in the census bear witness Dayton; they are listed similarly black and born in Tennessee.^[6]

Genealogist Curt Dalton also found digress the people mentioned in interpretation letter are real.

George Transporter was a carpenter in Ornithologist County;^[2] "Miss Mary" and "Miss Martha" were Colonel Anderson's bride, Mary, and their daughter, Martha;^[2] and "Henry", who had affair to shoot Anderson if blooper ever got the chance, "was more than likely Colonel Apostle Henry Anderson's son, Patrick Orator Jr., whom everyone called Chemist, and who would have antediluvian about 18 when Anderson weigh in "^[2] The two young, "poor Matilda and Catherine", frank not travel with Anderson make ill Ohio, and their fate recapitulate unknown; it is speculated wind whatever befell them was last, or they were sold orangutan slaves to other families previously Anderson had been freed.^[2] "V.

Winters" in the letter was the aforementioned Valentine Winters, unmixed banker in Dayton, and frontiersman of Winters Bank, for whom Anderson and his wife change such respect that in they named one of their young Valentine Winters Anderson.^[2]

In , Laurence Fishburne gave a dramatic indication of the letter at Penmanship Live at The Town Passage in New York City.^[7]

See also

References

Further reading

External links