The woman
who became known as Sojourner Truth was born in 1797 as Isabella Baumfree. She was one of
approximately 12 children of an enslaved couple named James and Elizabeth Baumfree. When her
first owner died, his son sold nine-year-old Truth, along with a flock of sheep, for $100. She
passed through several other owners and eventually ended up owned by a man named Dumont. Instead
of allowing Truth to marry the man she loved, Dumont forced her to marry a man named Thomas. She
had five children.
At the time, New York, where Truth lived, was working out
legislation to abolish slavery, and Dumont promised that if she behaved, he would set her free.
However, when she found out he had lied to her, Truth walked away with her infant daughter,
leaving her other children behind because she could not legally bring them with her.
This is where religion entered Sojourner Truth's life and began to play a major role.
She and her daughter were taken in by a couple named Isaac and Maria Van Wagenen. They paid off
her debt to Dumont. While living with the Van Wagenens, she had a religious experience that
changed her life. She became a devout Christian and changed her name to Sojourner Truth as a
testimony to her newfound faith.
After she left the Van Wagenens, she worked
for other preachers and eventually became a traveling preacher herself. She joined an
organization called the Northampton Association of Education and Industry, which advocated for
abolition. She became famous for her speeches advocating for abolition and women's rights.
Because of her work for the abolitionist movement, she was invited to the White House, where she
met President Abraham Lincoln. After the Civil War, while she was attempting unsuccessfully to
obtain land grants from the federal government for former slaves, she went to the White House
again and met President Ulysses S. Grant.
Since Truth's conversion experience
during her stay with the Van Wagenens, her Christian faith strengthened her and defined her
activities and the content of her public speeches. She died in 1883. She is recognized in the
calendar of saints in both the Episcopal Church and the Lutheran Church.
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