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(SLAVERY AND ABOLITION--SLAVE NARRATIVES.) BROWN, WILLIAM J. The Life of William J. Brown of Providence, R.I., With Personal Recollections of Incidents in Rhode Island. 230 pages. 8vo, original finely ribbed black cloth lettered in gilt on the upper cover; very slight rubbing to the extremities. A superior copy. Providence: Angell & Co, 1883
first edition of a scarce narrative. William J. Brown (1814-1885) provides a rich description of what the life of a Negro in Rhode Island was like in the early portion of the 19th century. At the time of this writing, Brown, a shoemaker and Baptist minister, had lost his sight and was nearly paralyzed, probably from arthritis. There is a lot of Rhode Island history in his narrative, beginning with an account of his grandfather, an African slave, brought to Rhode Island by the noted Quaker Moses Brown, before he turned against slavery. Brignano, number 35.
