Sensei Aishitemasu | Hidden Figures: Harriet E. Wilson #BlackHERstoryMonth 12/28 @SenseiAishitemasu | Uploaded February 2022 | Updated October 2024, 1 hour ago.
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Harriet E. Wilson (March 15, 1825 – June 28, 1900) was a Black American novelist, spiritualist, and entrepreneur. She was the first Black American woman, along with being the first Black American of any gender, to publish a novel in North America. Her novel ‘Our Nig, or Sketches from the Life of a Free Black’ was published in 1859 in Boston, Massachusetts. The novel was rediscovered in 1982 by the scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr., who documented it as the first Black American novel published in the United States.
Born a free Negro in New Hampshire, Harriet E. "Hattie" Adams was orphaned when young and bound until the age of 18 as an indentured servant. After the end of her indenture when she turned 18, Adams worked as a house servant and seamstress in households in southern New Hampshire. She married Thomas Wilson on October 6, 1851; she gave birth to a son, George, in 1852, but was widowed shortly after when her husband died at sea. After his death, she moved to Boston, hoping for more work opportunities.
While living in Boston, Wilson launched a hair care business, and beginning in 1857, began running advertisements for it in a local New Hampshire paper. Also while living in Boston, Wilson wrote her novel ‘Sketches from the Life of a Free Black,’ the story of a free Black woman who works as an indentured servant in the North and her experiences with racism and prejudice. On August 14, 1859, she copyrighted it, using the name ‘Mrs. H. E. Wilson,’ and deposited a copy of the novel in the Office of the Clerk of the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts. On September 5, 1859, the novel was published by a publishing firm in Boston. Wilson says in the book's preface she wrote the novel to raise money to help care for her sick child, George, but, sadly, George died on February 16, 1860 of bilious fever.
10 weeks after the death of her son, Wilson returned to her hair care business, achieving immense success with "Mrs. Wilson's Hair Dressing and Hair Regenerator." She was also a known seer and spiritualist, called "the colored medium” in the city of Boston & giving readings at camp meetings, theaters, meeting houses, and private homes throughout New England. She also used her platform to advocate for the education of Black children and against racism.
On June 28, 1900, Hattie E. Wilson died in the Quincy Hospital in Quincy, Massachusetts. She was buried at Mount Wollaston Cemetery. On October 6, 2006, the town of Milford, New Hampshire unveiled the Harriet E. Wilson Memorial statue in her honor.
The scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. rediscovered ‘Sketches from the Life of a Free Black’ in 1982, when he found an original copy of the book in a Manhattan bookstore. He documented it as the first novel by an Black American to be published in the United States and republished it in 1983 ‘Sketches from the Life of a Free Black’ was reissued by Penguin Random House with an introduction by Gates, and has since been republished in several other editions.
#HarrietEWilson #HiddenFigures
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Did you know I wrote a book? ☺️ 'So, About That... A Year of Contemporary Essays on Race and Pop Culture'
Paperback: amazon.com/About-That-Contemporary-Essays-Culture-ebook/dp/B013V0CHK6
Kindle: amazon.com/dp/B013V0CHK6
Digital download (e-book): gumroad.com/l/IkUa
******************
Links:
'Our Nig, OR, SKETCHES FROM THE LIFE OF A FREE BLACK:'
penguinrandomhouse.com/books/288985/our-nig-by-harriet-e-wilson
The Harriet Wilson Project:
harrietwilsonproject.net/harriet-wilson-.html
'AN 1859 BLACK LITERARY LANDMARK IS UNCOVERED:'
nytimes.com/1982/11/08/books/an-1859-black-literary-landmark-is-uncovered.html
'Mrs. H.E. Wilson, mogul?'
archive.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2009/02/15/mrs_he_wilson_mogul
'Harriet E. Wilson - The first female African-American novelist:'
kentakepage.com/harriet-e-wilson-the-first-female-african-american-novelist
HARRIET E. ADAMS WILSON:
blackpast.org/african-american-history/wilson-harriet-e-adams-c-1828
Harriet Wilson - 1st African American Woman To Publish A Novel In the United States:
blackmail4u.com/2017/09/05/harriet-wilson-1st-african-american-woman-to-publish-a-novel-in-the-united-states
If you enjoy my work, please consider supporting!
CashApp: $SerenSensei
Patreon: patreon.com/seren_sensei
All Patrons get access to the Discord server!
NEW MERCH SHOP: the-bheezebake-project.creator-spring.com
Harriet E. Wilson (March 15, 1825 – June 28, 1900) was a Black American novelist, spiritualist, and entrepreneur. She was the first Black American woman, along with being the first Black American of any gender, to publish a novel in North America. Her novel ‘Our Nig, or Sketches from the Life of a Free Black’ was published in 1859 in Boston, Massachusetts. The novel was rediscovered in 1982 by the scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr., who documented it as the first Black American novel published in the United States.
Born a free Negro in New Hampshire, Harriet E. "Hattie" Adams was orphaned when young and bound until the age of 18 as an indentured servant. After the end of her indenture when she turned 18, Adams worked as a house servant and seamstress in households in southern New Hampshire. She married Thomas Wilson on October 6, 1851; she gave birth to a son, George, in 1852, but was widowed shortly after when her husband died at sea. After his death, she moved to Boston, hoping for more work opportunities.
While living in Boston, Wilson launched a hair care business, and beginning in 1857, began running advertisements for it in a local New Hampshire paper. Also while living in Boston, Wilson wrote her novel ‘Sketches from the Life of a Free Black,’ the story of a free Black woman who works as an indentured servant in the North and her experiences with racism and prejudice. On August 14, 1859, she copyrighted it, using the name ‘Mrs. H. E. Wilson,’ and deposited a copy of the novel in the Office of the Clerk of the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts. On September 5, 1859, the novel was published by a publishing firm in Boston. Wilson says in the book's preface she wrote the novel to raise money to help care for her sick child, George, but, sadly, George died on February 16, 1860 of bilious fever.
10 weeks after the death of her son, Wilson returned to her hair care business, achieving immense success with "Mrs. Wilson's Hair Dressing and Hair Regenerator." She was also a known seer and spiritualist, called "the colored medium” in the city of Boston & giving readings at camp meetings, theaters, meeting houses, and private homes throughout New England. She also used her platform to advocate for the education of Black children and against racism.
On June 28, 1900, Hattie E. Wilson died in the Quincy Hospital in Quincy, Massachusetts. She was buried at Mount Wollaston Cemetery. On October 6, 2006, the town of Milford, New Hampshire unveiled the Harriet E. Wilson Memorial statue in her honor.
The scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. rediscovered ‘Sketches from the Life of a Free Black’ in 1982, when he found an original copy of the book in a Manhattan bookstore. He documented it as the first novel by an Black American to be published in the United States and republished it in 1983 ‘Sketches from the Life of a Free Black’ was reissued by Penguin Random House with an introduction by Gates, and has since been republished in several other editions.
#HarrietEWilson #HiddenFigures
******************
Merchandise! MAKE SURE U GETTA SHIRT!! teepublic.com/user/sssseren
shophouseof950.com/embroidery-tees/theblackamericans
shophouseof950.com/embroidery-tees/dacs?rq=d.a.c.s
Follow me on social media!
Instagram: @sensei_aishitemasu
Personal Tumblr: sensei-aishitemasu.tumblr.com
Tumblr for my work: sssseren.tumblr.com
Snapchat: sssseren
GoFundMe: gofundme.com/tc5wh7q
******************
Did you know I wrote a book? ☺️ 'So, About That... A Year of Contemporary Essays on Race and Pop Culture'
Paperback: amazon.com/About-That-Contemporary-Essays-Culture-ebook/dp/B013V0CHK6
Kindle: amazon.com/dp/B013V0CHK6
Digital download (e-book): gumroad.com/l/IkUa
******************
Links:
'Our Nig, OR, SKETCHES FROM THE LIFE OF A FREE BLACK:'
penguinrandomhouse.com/books/288985/our-nig-by-harriet-e-wilson
The Harriet Wilson Project:
harrietwilsonproject.net/harriet-wilson-.html
'AN 1859 BLACK LITERARY LANDMARK IS UNCOVERED:'
nytimes.com/1982/11/08/books/an-1859-black-literary-landmark-is-uncovered.html
'Mrs. H.E. Wilson, mogul?'
archive.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2009/02/15/mrs_he_wilson_mogul
'Harriet E. Wilson - The first female African-American novelist:'
kentakepage.com/harriet-e-wilson-the-first-female-african-american-novelist
HARRIET E. ADAMS WILSON:
blackpast.org/african-american-history/wilson-harriet-e-adams-c-1828
Harriet Wilson - 1st African American Woman To Publish A Novel In the United States:
blackmail4u.com/2017/09/05/harriet-wilson-1st-african-american-woman-to-publish-a-novel-in-the-united-states
