author
Solomon Bayley
Born into slavery in Delaware, he turned his hard-won freedom into a powerful life story. His 1825 narrative is one of the earliest firsthand accounts by a formerly enslaved Delawarean and remains an important voice in American history.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Solomon Bayley was a formerly enslaved African American writer, born around 1771 and believed to have died around 1839. He is best known for A Narrative of Some Remarkable Incidents in the Life of Solomon Bayley, published in London in 1825, a memoir that tells of enslavement, family separation, escape, faith, and the long struggle for freedom.
Bayley’s life took him from slavery in Delaware through repeated hardship and uncertainty before he secured his freedom. His book was published for the benefit of the abolitionist cause, and it stands out as a rare early account connected to Delaware and to the broader tradition of slave narratives before the Civil War.
What makes his writing especially memorable is its plainspoken honesty and deep religious feeling. Bayley does not just record events; he shows how hope, endurance, and conviction helped him survive, which gives his story lasting emotional force for modern readers.