Background
Mattie Jane Jackson was born in January 1847 in Saint Louis, Missouri. She was the daughter of Westley Jackson and Ellen Turner.
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Mattie Jane Jackson
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Career
She is known for her 1866 autobiography, Jackson: Her Parentage, Experience of Eighteen Years in Slavery, Incidents During the War, Her Escape from Slavery: A True Story, which contributed to the national knowledge of African American family life during slavery and the reconstruction era of the United States. Her autobiography presents the history of multi-generational familial relationships and their inner strength, despite repeated, forced separation. A copy of the manuscript is held in trust at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Brown escaped to Canada around 1855.
He changed his name to John G. Thompson and become a barber in the city of Lawrence, Massachusetts. When Ellen met one Sam Adams and made preparations to marry, the steamboat captain kidnapped the family and sent them to Louisville, Kentucky, where they were sold to different owners.
At the time she arrived in Lawrence in April 1866, Mattie could read a little bit, but couldn"t write at all, and was interested in continuing her education. Her stepmother took down the story of Mattie"s life to date.
Doctor Thompson also saw to its publication, with its primary purpose being to raise money that Mattie could use to further her education.
After Ellen Turner Adams" death in May 1893, the Dyers moved to Dardenne Prairie, Missouri, about thirty-five miles from Saint Louis, where they would live for the rest of their lives.
