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Identifier
20140066-74
Description
A transcript of an Ex-Slave Narrative interview conducted by Sheldon F. Gauthier for the Works Progress Administration's Federal Writers' Project in the 1930s with Ann J. Edwards. Edwards was born into slavery in 1856 on the Arlington County, Virginia plantation of John Cook. In 1858, Cook moved to Washington, D. C. and emancipated those he enslaved. After her parents split and her mother died in 1861, Edwards was adopted by Richard H. Cain, the minister of an African Methodist church in D. C. She describes the conditions in D. C. during the Civil War, with a focus on runaway slaves and her step-father's role in assisting them on their arrival to D. C. She also discusses the popular sentiment upon Abraham Lincoln's assassination. After the war, Cain moved the family to Charleston, South Carolina, where he became the minister of Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church and the editor of a newspaper. Cain later served as a state senator and then U. S. Representative. Edwards describes attempts to assassinate Cain as he ran for office and served his terms in the state and U. S. Congresses. In her interview, Edwards gives her opinions about race relations and women's rights.
Archival Date
Undated
Collection Name
Works Progress Administration, Federal Writers' Project. Fort Worth City Guide Draft and Records.
Collection Number
AR316-4-6
Original Format
Paper
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License