THE BARBER OF NATCHEZ WHEREIN A SLAVE IS FREED AND RISES TO A VERY HIGH STANDING; WHEREIN THE FORMER SLAVE WRITES A TWO-THOUSAND-PAGE JOURNAL ABOUT HIS TOWN AND HIMSELF; WHEREIN THE FREE NEGRO DIARIST IS APPRAISED IN TERMS OF HIS FRIENDS, HIS CODE . . .

Davis, Edwin Adams and William Ransom Hogan, 1908-1971. [William T. Johnson, 1809-1851.]

ISBN 10: 0807102121 / ISBN 13: 9780807102121

Published by Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press [LSU Press], [2000]., 1973

About this Item

Full title - THE BARBER OF NATCHEZ WHEREIN A SLAVE IS FREED AND RISES TO A VERY HIGH STANDING; WHEREIN THE FORMER SLAVE WRITES A TWO-THOUSAND-PAGE JOURNAL ABOUT HIS TOWN AND HIMSELF; WHEREIN THE FREE NEGRO DIARIST IS APPRAISED IN TERMS OF HIS FRIENDS, HIS CODE, AND HIS COMMUNITY'S REACTION TO HIS WANTON MURDER. Reprint of the 1973 edition. [10], 278 pages. Paperback: H 21.25cm x L 14cm. Paper covers lightly rubbed; slight curling towards front cover's fore-edge with light crease at lower corner; bookstore price sticker still affixed to rear cover. Light creasing/curling at top fore-edge corners of pages 117-124; interior pages are clean. Binding retains some crispness. A very good+ copy. With frontispiece portrait, Preface by Edwin Adams Davis, and Index. Biography of freed slave William T. Johnson (1809-1851) of Natchez, Mississippi who amassed a fair fortune during the early to mid 1800s acquired by entrepreneurial ownership of various businesses including a barber shop, a bath house, a book store, and various land holdings. {MS Shelf #4} ISBN 0807102121.

Seller Inventory # Z626X-7036

Bibliographic Details

• Title: THE BARBER OF NATCHEZ WHEREIN A SLAVE IS FREED AND RISES TO A VERY HIGH STANDING; WHEREIN THE FORMER SLAVE WRITES A TWO-THOUSAND-PAGE JOURNAL ABOUT HIS TOWN AND HIMSELF; WHEREIN THE FREE NEGRO DIARIST IS APPRAISED IN TERMS OF HIS FRIENDS, HIS CODE . . .
• Publisher: Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press [LSU Press], [2000].
• Publication Date: 1973
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0807102121
• ISBN 13: 9780807102121
• Binding: Soft cover
• Seller catalogs:
  • Americana-Mississippi

About this title

Synopsis

In The Barber of Natchez, Edwin Adams Davis and William Ransom Hogan tell the remarkable story of William Johnson, a slave who rose to freedom, business success, and high community standing in the heart of the South―all before 1850. Emancipated as a young boy in 1820, Johnson became a barber’s apprentice and later opened several profitable barber shops of his own. As his wealth grew, he expanded into real estate and acquired large tracts of nearby farm and timber land. The authors explore in detail Johnson’s family, work, and social life, including his friendships with people of both races. They also examine his wanton murder and the resulting trial of the man accused of shooting him. More than the story of one individual, the narrative also offers compelling insight into the southern code of honor, the apprentice system, and the ownership of slaves by free blacks. Based on Johnson’s two-thousand-page diary, letters, and business records, this extraordinary biography reveals the complicated life of a freedman in Mississippi and a new perspective on antebellum Natchez.

About the Author

Edwin Adams Davis was the head of the Louisiana State University Department of Archives. He graduated from Kansas State Teachers College and received his advanced degrees at the State University of Iowa and LSU.

William Ransom Hogan was head of the Department of Archives at LSU and also served as chairman of the history department at Tulane University. He is the author of The Texas Republic: A Social and Economic History.