EXTRACT OF A LETTER TO R. H.;
dated, Cambden, 1st of 2nd month, 1824.
“Esteemed Friend,
“I received thy[1] book and pens, with a letter unsealed, yesterday, dated 1st month, 17th, 1824, requesting some account of my deceased mother and daughters. Dear Robert, thy letter discovered a sign of generosity, or concern, for the good of all people; and this concern enables thee to be condescending to men of low estate; wherefore I pray, that the condescending grace of God, that has begun with thee, may continue with thee, all the days of thy life; and that through the all-sufficient merits of Christ, both thee and thy family, all may be brought to Sion’s hill; and that you may be enabled to join the blessed company, to sing redeeming love, for ever and ever, Amen.
“If thou go home to England, then I shall see thee no more; but I trust to see you in the land of rest, where partings are no more, * * * * * the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, be with your spirits. Amen.
“SOLOMON BAYLEY.”
I now proceed to give some brief account of the nativity, life, and death, of my mother. She was born of a Guinea Woman, who was brought from Guinea about the year 1690, as near as I can guess; and said to be about eleven years old when brought to America. But oh! how different is the situation of things, towards the coloured people since that day; the Lord certainly is at work in the rising generations, to have more pity and compassion than in ages past. My Grandmother was bought into one of the most barbarous families of that day; and although treated hard, was said to have fifteen sons and daughters: she lived to a great age, until she appeared weary of life.
My mother had thirteen sons and daughters; she served the same cruel family, until they died. Then great distress and dispersion took place: our young mistress married, and brought our family, out of the state of Virginia, into the state of Delaware. After some years, her husband removed back into Virginia: after that law took place against moving slaves, which entitled all of us to freedom; we made a move to recover it by that law, but we soon were all sold and scattered very wide apart, some to the east, and some west, north, and south. My father and mother they pretended to set free, to stop a trial in court, and after they had been free about eleven months, they came upon them unawares; my father Abner, sister Margaret, and brother Abner, were taken in the night, and carried to Long Island, one of the West India Islands, and sold to Abner Stephen; he has sent two letters here, or we never should have known what had become of them.
On the same night as above cited, my mother being in the house, they meant to take her; but she made an excuse to go out at the door, and ran and left her sucking child, and her two other children, and her husband my father: now it being winter time, the child cried; they therefore left it and carried away my father and the other two children. Then some friend took the child and carried it to mother; then mother took her son about eleven months old, and travelled near a hundred miles from the State of Virginia to Dover in Kent County, State of Delaware; and from thence to New Jersey.
In this time she testified she experienced great affliction both of body and mind; but at length, like Hagar, she was enabled to see Him who had seen her in all her affliction, and not only to see him in the works of creation, but also in the works of his providence; and her mind was enlightened to see into the nature and largeness of her sins. She also testified, that the view of eternity and of eternal consequences, so distressed her mind, that it swallowed up her present distress, and so she was induced to give up the lesser, and attend to the greater; namely, to find peace and rest in the life to come: she was enabled to go on in search after truth, until she experienced peace of mind, and evidence of pardon for all her sins, which was her greatest concern till death.
Now the number of years that we were parted, mother and I, was about eighteen; except that once in a great hurry, I travelled more than a hundred miles to see her; at the same time I left keeping of a saw mill, my wife, and young child about a mouth old, and taking with me seventeen or eighteen dollars, which all became a sacrifice with my time, to the relief of my mother; but I was favoured to find that satisfaction, which I esteemed more than time or money.
Now it came to pass after eighteen years, my mind was visited with a concern to go to Africa, after that Paul Cuffee had been there, and brought good tidings from that place;[2] therefore I thought it good to put out my children in good families, where they could get some schooling, and learn how to work, and then get my wife in with some good sort of people; and being advised to wait till it should seem proper to recommend me to that service, I thought it right to engage in some profitable business, and was hired to attend a mill; in which time the case of my mother came before me, and I sent for her to the State of Delaware from New Jersey; and when brought together, it was indeed like heaven on earth begun; we could sit and tell of the dangers and difficulties we had been brought through; so my mother was favoured to end her days with me: she, like my grandmother lived to a great age, and appeared weary of affliction, and of this troublesome world; her mind became disordered; she desired a short illness, which was granted; she died the third day after she was taken sick, with very little complaint or struggle; but was thought to have fallen asleep.