author
James Mars
b. 1790
Born into slavery in Connecticut, he later turned his life story into a powerful memoir that challenged the idea that slavery was only a Southern institution. His writing and activism helped preserve an essential piece of New England's Black history.
1 Audiobook
Life of James Mars, a Slave Born and Sold in Connecticut
by James Mars
About the author
Born on March 3, 1790, in Canaan, Connecticut, James Mars spent his early life enslaved and gained his freedom in 1811. He later became an important voice in Connecticut's Black community, remembered as both an author and a political activist.
In 1864, he published A Life of James Mars, a Slave Born and Sold in Connecticut, Written by Himself. The memoir is especially notable because it documents slavery in New England and offers a firsthand account of resistance, family separation, and the long struggle for freedom.
Mars also took part in civic and religious life, and his legacy has endured as historians and readers continue to return to his narrative for its honesty, courage, and historical value. His work remains an important window into both African American history and the history of slavery in the North.