Daguerreotype of Rhoda Phillips, ca. 1850 Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, 1860The featured photograph above came to the Museum with only a short summary from a historian. Now their descendants will be able to come and see their family on the walls of the Museum.

Under the principle of partus sequitur ventrem, both Harriet and her brother John were enslaved at birth by the tavern keeper's family, as a mother's status was passed to her children.

Working on this object reminded me why I love to study history and material culture – this photograph captures a moment in the lives of many people, especially the enslaved subjects of the photograph, but also the soldier photographer and even the enslaver. All of her research was possible because, many years ago, someone thought to write, “Felix Richards slaves” on the paper the photograph was mounted on.Browse photographs in the museum's collection from the era of slavery Ambrotype of a woman and child, ca. Harriet Ann Jacobs was born a slave in Edenton, North Carolina. Jean Fagan Yellin has devoted much of her professional life to illuminating the remarkable life of Harriet Jacobs. Learn more about the Museum and view recent newsPublished July 6, 2016; updated Jan. 11, 2019What I thought would be a straightforward cataloging assignment became a wonderful experience that allowed me to collaborate with another scholar who generously shared her research notes with the Museum. Engage with us and support the Museum from wherever you areHow Slavery Affected African American Families1400 Constitution Ave NW, Washington, DC 20560

Harriet Jacobs was born in 1813 in Edenton, North Carolina, to Delilah Horniblow, a slave of the Horniblow family who owned a local tavern. Until she was six years old Harriet was unaware that she was the property of Margaret Horniblow. The experience also allowed me to connect with a living family member of people photographed a century and a half ago. She was the child of Delilah Horniblow and Elijah Knox. Harriet Jacobs, daughter of Delilah, the slave of Margaret Horniblow, and Daniel Jacobs, the slave of Andrew Knox, was born in Edenton, North Carolina, in the fall of 1813. One of these descendants come to Washington, D.C., for an event and I was able to meet her to learn more about her family’s history.Get the latest information about timed passes and tips for planning your visit Born into slavery, Harriet Jacobs would thwart repeated sexual advancements made by her master for years, then run away to the North. Online resources for educators, students, and familiesSearch the collection and explore our exhibitions, centers, and digital initiativesOne hundred and fifty years later, she was able to use archival records to learn the names of the women and children photographed: William, Lucinda, Fannie, Mary, Frances, Martha, Julia, Harriet, and Charles or Marshall. But after contacting this historian, she generously shared her years of research about the people in the photograph, the soldier who took the photo, and the location where it was taken. 1860. Waiting for the Hour, 1863. Harriet Jacobs Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, 1860 What I thought would be a straightforward cataloging assignment became a wonderful experience that allowed me to collaborate with another scholar who generously shared her research notes with the Museum. Over three decades of painstaking research, Yellin has discovered more than 900 primary source documents, approximately 300 of which are now collected in two volumes. Before her death in 1825, Harriet's relatively kind mistress taught her slave to read and sew. She traced the children as they grew through pension and census records and eventually was able to find living descendants of these enslaved people.

Harriet Jacobs’s Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself (1861) is one of the few Slave Narratives written by women. I had a woman’s pride, and a mother’s love for my children; and I resolved that out of the darkness of this hour a brighter dawn should rise for them. It is also the best-known and the work that inspired the writings of other female slaves, as well as later female African American authors.