author
Isaac Mason
b. 1822
A firsthand witness to slavery in Maryland, this memoir follows a man who escaped bondage and later told his story with plainspoken force. It offers a direct, deeply personal view of endurance, danger, and the meaning of freedom.
1 Audiobook
Life of Isaac Mason as a Slave
by Isaac Mason
About the author
Born in Kent County, Maryland, on May 14, 1822, Isaac Mason was enslaved from birth and spent his early life under several enslavers. He later escaped to freedom and eventually settled in Worcester, Massachusetts.
In 1893, he published Life of Isaac Mason as a Slave, an autobiographical narrative describing his childhood in slavery, his escape, and the hardships that shaped his life. The book stands out for its direct voice and for the vivid detail it gives to everyday life under slavery.
After the Civil War, Mason returned to Maryland with a church delegation that assisted formerly enslaved people. His memoir remains an important personal record of slavery and self-emancipation in the United States.