Peter Wheeler

Born in 1789, Peter Wheeler is remembered for Chains and Freedom (1839), an autobiographical narrative about his life as an enslaved man, his escape, and the years that followed. Library and catalog records identify the book as the story of "a colored man yet living," published in New York in 1839, with abolitionist Charles Edwards Lester involved in recording and presenting Wheeler’s account.

Historical markers and library sources say Wheeler escaped slavery in 1806 and later settled near Spencertown, New York, around 1825. His story traces a remarkable path through bondage, seafaring, religious struggle, and hard-won independence, making his book an important firsthand voice from the era before the Civil War.

Though not widely known today, Wheeler’s narrative remains valuable because it preserves the experiences of a man who insisted on telling his own story. For listeners interested in slave narratives, early American memoir, or overlooked voices in U.S. history, his work is both moving and historically significant.