James Mars

Born in 1790 in Canaan, Connecticut, James Mars was an African American writer whose life spanned slavery, gradual emancipation, and the years after the Civil War. He is best known for Life of James Mars, a Slave Born and Sold in Connecticut, Written by Himself, a memoir first published in the 1860s that recounts his childhood, his family's separation, and his determined pursuit of freedom.

Mars's story is especially important because it documents slavery in Connecticut, a part of American history that is often overlooked. Writing in his own voice, he described being sold, forced labor, and the ways enslaved people and their families resisted. His book remains a valuable firsthand record of slavery in the northern United States.

He lived to old age and was photographed later in life, leaving behind both a vivid memoir and a personal historical record. Today, his work is remembered for its honesty, resilience, and its place in the history of Black autobiography in America.