ughter named Diana. Even so, Robert’s owner forbade the relationship because any children that Truth were to bare would be under the ownership of John Dumont, Truth’s owner, not his own. As a result, Dumont forced Truth into marrying a man named Thomas from another plantation, three years after her unsuccessful relationship with Robert. She bore three of Thomas’ children. Their names were Peter, Elizabeth, and Sophia.
In 1817, New York, as well as other northern states, began debating the abolition of slavery. Ultimately, New York would emancipate all slaves born before July 4, 1799 on July 4, 1827. Dumont promised Sojourner he would give provide her with her freedom one year before the abolition of slavery in New York. When Dumont did not fulfill this promise, Truth escaped with her youngest child, Sophia, leaving her husband and other children behind. Several drastic changes took place in her life consecutively after her escape. For one, it was during this time that Truth found asylum with Isaac and Maria Van Wagenen. The Van Wagenen’s purchased Sojourner from John Dumont and provided her with her freedom. Secondly, Truth would find herself deeply connected to her religion, which would later be the cause for her motivation in fighting for the rights she deserved. Shortly after her escape, Sojourner realized her five-year-old son, Peter, had been illegally sold to a southern man in Alabama. Consequently, Truth sued John Dumont for illegally selling her son into slavery. Ergo, in 1828, Truth was the first black women to successfully challenge a white man in court with such a case. This case would be a turning point in history because of all the challenges Sojourner was to face in order to win the trail.
After winning the case, Sojourner and her son moved to New York City, where she would work for two men consecutively. Truth worked as a housekeeper for the first man, Elijah Pierson, a Christian evangelist, who later died of poisoning. The second man, Robert Mathews, who was also a religious leader known as Prophet Matthias and Truth’s later employer, was arrested for the murder of Elijah Pierson. Being that Truth was under employment of Matthews at the time and was previously employed by Pierson, she was accused of aiding in the murder. In addition, the Folgers, members of Pierson’s cult, accused Sojourner of attempting to poison them as well. There was not enough evidence supporting that Matthews committed the crime, so he was acquitted. After Sojourner was found innocent of being an accomplice to the murder of Elijah Pierson, she filed a lawsuit against the members of Pierson’s cult, the Folgers, for slander. In 1835, Truth was yet again the first African-American woman to win a civil case of that sort.
As mentioned earlier, during her first few years of freedom, Truth had converted to Christianity, particularly Evangelical faith. This could be the reason she worked for both Pierson and Matthews, as they were both significant in the Christian community. In 1843, Isabella Baumfree changed her name to Sojourner Truth, which translates to traveling preacher. This was the first step in devoting her life to Christianity. In the same fashion, Truth traveled to attend and even hold her own prayer groups across New England. She later went on to join the Northampton Association of Education and Industry in Massachusetts. The organization was founded by fellow abolitionists, such as Fredrick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison, with the intent to support broad reform, ranging from women’s rights to opposition of war. Truth lived on the self-sufficient community grounds and made connections with several abolitionist leaders during her stay.
After the community broke up, Truth published a memoir entitled The Narrative of Sojourner Truth: A Northern Slave. William Lloyd Garrison, whom she met through the Northampton community, wrote the introduction to the book. Provided that truth did not know how to read or write, Oliver Gilbert wrote the rest memoir with the information she provided him. Truth’s narrative not only included her r