Austin Steward

author

Austin Steward

1794–1860

Born into slavery and determined to educate himself in secret, this Black abolitionist, businessman, and memoirist turned a hard-won life into one of the important firsthand narratives of slavery and freedom in the nineteenth century.

1 Audiobook

Twenty-Two Years a Slave, and Forty Years a Freeman Embracing a Correspondence of Several Years, While President of Wilberforce Colony, London, Canada West

Twenty-Two Years a Slave, and Forty Years a Freeman Embracing a Correspondence of Several Years, While President of Wilberforce Colony, London, Canada West

by Austin Steward

About the author

Born in Virginia in the 1790s and taken to New York as a child, Austin Steward was enslaved for years before gaining his freedom as a young man. He secretly learned to read despite brutal punishment, a determination that shaped the rest of his life.

After escaping slavery, he built a successful business in Rochester, New York, and became active in the antislavery movement. He later helped lead the Wilberforce Colony in Canada West, an effort to create opportunities for formerly enslaved people and other Black settlers.

Steward is best remembered for his 1857 autobiography, Twenty-Two Years a Slave, and Forty Years a Freeman. The book combines the story of his own life with sharp reflections on slavery, freedom, and Black self-determination, making it a valuable firsthand account of the era.