Williams, Samuel (1852-1946)

Samuel Williams pictured with grandson Walter McClain

Name/Title

Williams, Samuel (1852-1946)

Entry/Object ID

1.2.25

Description

Born: 1852 in Charleston, South Carolina Died: April 10, 1946 in Cambridge, Massachusetts Under the pen name Sam Aleckson, Samuel Williams wrote his memoir "Before the War and After the Union" while living in Vermont. Born into slavery in South Carolina, Williams bears witness to slavery, reconstruction, and life as a black man in the north.

Also Known As

Aleckson, Sam

Biographical Information

Biography

Born into slavery in 1852 in Charleston, South Carolina, Samuel Williams spent his early years separated from members of his family serving various white households. While enslaved he learned to read and write, a fairly uncommon occurrence in the south. He witnessed the great Charleston fire of 1861 that financially ruined the family that enslaved him. He experienced the Civil War as an enslaved servant of a Confederate Officer, stating in his memoir that "I must admit, I wore the 'grey'." Williams was freed when Union Troops, many members of the 21st Regiment U.S. Colored Infantry, entered Charleston on February 18, 1865. He writes of joining a large crowd of freed slaves to watch the U. S. flag raised over Fort Sumter. After the war, his family reunited and lived in Charleston during reconstruction. He writes extensively of living under restrictive Black Codes, laws that restricted the movement, employment, education, and residences of black citizens. In 1890, Williams and his second wife, Henrietta, moved from Charleston to Springfield, Vermont, where he was employed as a domestic servant and laborer. In 1910, fearing he would go blind, he penned his memoir under the name Sam Aleckson. Though he used real names and places in reflecting on his life in the south, he created fictitious names and places for life in the north. That same year, his wife died and he moved to his daughter's home in Lebanon, New Hampshire. In 1929 he finished his memoir and self-published the manuscript through his son-in-law's press.

Occupation

Laborer Writer