author

Charles Thompson

b. 1833

Born into slavery in Mississippi in 1833, he later recounted his life in a vivid memoir that traces his path from bondage to the ministry. His story offers a firsthand view of slavery, faith, and survival in the American South.

1 Audiobook

Biography of a Slave, Being the Experiences of Rev. Charles Thompson, a Preacher of the United Brethren Church, While a Slave in the South.

Biography of a Slave, Being the Experiences of Rev. Charles Thompson, a Preacher of the United Brethren Church, While a Slave in the South.

by Charles Thompson

About the author

Charles Thompson was an African American author and preacher best known for Biography of a Slave: Being the Experiences of Rev. Charles Thompson. In that memoir, he states that he was born on March 3, 1833, in Atala County, Mississippi, near Rockford, and describes his early life in slavery.

His book presents a personal account of enslavement in the South and of the hardships, violence, and instability that shaped his life. It also reflects the importance of religion in his journey, identifying him as a preacher in the United Brethren Church.

Today, Thompson is remembered primarily through this autobiographical work, which preserves a rare firsthand narrative of slavery and the struggle for dignity and faith under brutal conditions.