Literary figure. Amos Fortune must have been born sometime around 1710, judging by the death date recorded on his tombstone.
Sometime in his youth, he was forcibly brought to New England, where enslaved people were mainly used for labor on small farms and in trade shops rather than on the large plantations of the South. This may have been how he came to read and write.
His later years are told in bits and pieces through sporadic and sometimes confusing records. The first is from 1752 in a will signed by Ichabod Richardson, a tanner in Woburn, Massachusetts, which stated that Fortune should be freed six years after Richardson's death. A later document, dated December 1763, but not signed, declared Fortune should be set free four years from that date or immediately upon Richardson's death. Richardson died unexpectedly in 1768; however, five days earlier, he had drawn up a new will that did not mention Fortune. The new will overrode the old, and the unsigned 1763 document was not legally binding. Fortune found himself in the devastating position of still being considered another man's property with no promise of freedom.
His enslavement continued under Richardson's heir, with whom Fortune negotiated an agreement to pay off his "bond." Meanwhile, he could work, receiving payment for his work. The last payments were made in November 1770. At 60 years old, Fortune was free at last.
Over the next several years, he was able to buy land and build a home in Woburn. In 1775, he raised enough money to purchase the freedom of a woman named Lydia. They married shortly after, but tragically, Lydia passed away within months. Four years later, he paid for another woman's freedom: Violate (or Violet), who became his wife the next day. Even less is known about her life except that she was enslaved by a first cousin of Ichabod Richardson, which could be how she and Fortune first met. They moved to Jaffrey in 1781 and settled on part of the land set aside for the town's future minister, Reverend Laban Ainsworth. Even after Ainsworth's arrival, the Fortunes remained on the land until 1789, when they bought 25 acres along a village road. That road now bears Amos Fortune's name, and their homestead still exists today. They were friendly with the Reverend, who was said to have written the epitaphs seen on their tombstones. His own tombstone also lies in the Old Burying Ground, less than 20 yards away from the Fortunes.
During their 20 years in Jaffrey, Amos, and Violate became some of the village's more prosperous and well-known inhabitants. Amos Fortune established a tannery that would become known throughout New England and allegedly bound some of the books kept by the local library. He and Violate attended Sunday services run by the Reverend in the local meetinghouse, where they watched from the second-floor balcony with the church's other Black members. They cared for their adopted daughter, Celyndia, who attended the local Schoolhouse #8 (and of whom little else is known).
Upon his death in 1801, Amos was buried behind the Meetinghouse. He left a will with clear instructions: First, to "my beloved wife Vilot [sic]," the profits of his real estate; second, the repayment of all his debts; third, funds to keep Violate comfortable and build her another small house; fourth, all his furniture and possessions for Violate's use; fifth, that Violate care for "Celyndia Fortune my adopted daughter," to whom Amos granted her room and furniture until her marriage; sixth, "handsome gravestones" for himself and Violate following her death; and seventh, that any remainder of the estate is used for a "handsome present" to the local church and Schoolhouse #8. His executor carried out all of this, and income from the gift to the school is still used to support education in Jaffrey. Violate passed away less than a year after her husband and was buried at his side beneath "handsome gravestones," as Amos requested.
A variety of media has been produced about the life of Amos Fortune, including a 1950 Newbury medal-winning children's book.
Sometime in his youth, he was forcibly brought to New England, where enslaved people were mainly used for labor on small farms and in trade shops rather than on the large plantations of the South. This may have been how he came to read and write.
His later years are told in bits and pieces through sporadic and sometimes confusing records. The first is from 1752 in a will signed by Ichabod Richardson, a tanner in Woburn, Massachusetts, which stated that Fortune should be freed six years after Richardson's death. A later document, dated December 1763, but not signed, declared Fortune should be set free four years from that date or immediately upon Richardson's death. Richardson died unexpectedly in 1768; however, five days earlier, he had drawn up a new will that did not mention Fortune. The new will overrode the old, and the unsigned 1763 document was not legally binding. Fortune found himself in the devastating position of still being considered another man's property with no promise of freedom.
His enslavement continued under Richardson's heir, with whom Fortune negotiated an agreement to pay off his "bond." Meanwhile, he could work, receiving payment for his work. The last payments were made in November 1770. At 60 years old, Fortune was free at last.
Over the next several years, he was able to buy land and build a home in Woburn. In 1775, he raised enough money to purchase the freedom of a woman named Lydia. They married shortly after, but tragically, Lydia passed away within months. Four years later, he paid for another woman's freedom: Violate (or Violet), who became his wife the next day. Even less is known about her life except that she was enslaved by a first cousin of Ichabod Richardson, which could be how she and Fortune first met. They moved to Jaffrey in 1781 and settled on part of the land set aside for the town's future minister, Reverend Laban Ainsworth. Even after Ainsworth's arrival, the Fortunes remained on the land until 1789, when they bought 25 acres along a village road. That road now bears Amos Fortune's name, and their homestead still exists today. They were friendly with the Reverend, who was said to have written the epitaphs seen on their tombstones. His own tombstone also lies in the Old Burying Ground, less than 20 yards away from the Fortunes.
During their 20 years in Jaffrey, Amos, and Violate became some of the village's more prosperous and well-known inhabitants. Amos Fortune established a tannery that would become known throughout New England and allegedly bound some of the books kept by the local library. He and Violate attended Sunday services run by the Reverend in the local meetinghouse, where they watched from the second-floor balcony with the church's other Black members. They cared for their adopted daughter, Celyndia, who attended the local Schoolhouse #8 (and of whom little else is known).
Upon his death in 1801, Amos was buried behind the Meetinghouse. He left a will with clear instructions: First, to "my beloved wife Vilot [sic]," the profits of his real estate; second, the repayment of all his debts; third, funds to keep Violate comfortable and build her another small house; fourth, all his furniture and possessions for Violate's use; fifth, that Violate care for "Celyndia Fortune my adopted daughter," to whom Amos granted her room and furniture until her marriage; sixth, "handsome gravestones" for himself and Violate following her death; and seventh, that any remainder of the estate is used for a "handsome present" to the local church and Schoolhouse #8. His executor carried out all of this, and income from the gift to the school is still used to support education in Jaffrey. Violate passed away less than a year after her husband and was buried at his side beneath "handsome gravestones," as Amos requested.
A variety of media has been produced about the life of Amos Fortune, including a 1950 Newbury medal-winning children's book.
Literary figure. Amos Fortune must have been born sometime around 1710, judging by the death date recorded on his tombstone.
Sometime in his youth, he was forcibly brought to New England, where enslaved people were mainly used for labor on small farms and in trade shops rather than on the large plantations of the South. This may have been how he came to read and write.
His later years are told in bits and pieces through sporadic and sometimes confusing records. The first is from 1752 in a will signed by Ichabod Richardson, a tanner in Woburn, Massachusetts, which stated that Fortune should be freed six years after Richardson's death. A later document, dated December 1763, but not signed, declared Fortune should be set free four years from that date or immediately upon Richardson's death. Richardson died unexpectedly in 1768; however, five days earlier, he had drawn up a new will that did not mention Fortune. The new will overrode the old, and the unsigned 1763 document was not legally binding. Fortune found himself in the devastating position of still being considered another man's property with no promise of freedom.
His enslavement continued under Richardson's heir, with whom Fortune negotiated an agreement to pay off his "bond." Meanwhile, he could work, receiving payment for his work. The last payments were made in November 1770. At 60 years old, Fortune was free at last.
Over the next several years, he was able to buy land and build a home in Woburn. In 1775, he raised enough money to purchase the freedom of a woman named Lydia. They married shortly after, but tragically, Lydia passed away within months. Four years later, he paid for another woman's freedom: Violate (or Violet), who became his wife the next day. Even less is known about her life except that she was enslaved by a first cousin of Ichabod Richardson, which could be how she and Fortune first met. They moved to Jaffrey in 1781 and settled on part of the land set aside for the town's future minister, Reverend Laban Ainsworth. Even after Ainsworth's arrival, the Fortunes remained on the land until 1789, when they bought 25 acres along a village road. That road now bears Amos Fortune's name, and their homestead still exists today. They were friendly with the Reverend, who was said to have written the epitaphs seen on their tombstones. His own tombstone also lies in the Old Burying Ground, less than 20 yards away from the Fortunes.
During their 20 years in Jaffrey, Amos, and Violate became some of the village's more prosperous and well-known inhabitants. Amos Fortune established a tannery that would become known throughout New England and allegedly bound some of the books kept by the local library. He and Violate attended Sunday services run by the Reverend in the local meetinghouse, where they watched from the second-floor balcony with the church's other Black members. They cared for their adopted daughter, Celyndia, who attended the local Schoolhouse #8 (and of whom little else is known).
Upon his death in 1801, Amos was buried behind the Meetinghouse. He left a will with clear instructions: First, to "my beloved wife Vilot [sic]," the profits of his real estate; second, the repayment of all his debts; third, funds to keep Violate comfortable and build her another small house; fourth, all his furniture and possessions for Violate's use; fifth, that Violate care for "Celyndia Fortune my adopted daughter," to whom Amos granted her room and furniture until her marriage; sixth, "handsome gravestones" for himself and Violate following her death; and seventh, that any remainder of the estate is used for a "handsome present" to the local church and Schoolhouse #8. His executor carried out all of this, and income from the gift to the school is still used to support education in Jaffrey. Violate passed away less than a year after her husband and was buried at his side beneath "handsome gravestones," as Amos requested.
A variety of media has been produced about the life of Amos Fortune, including a 1950 Newbury medal-winning children's book.
Sometime in his youth, he was forcibly brought to New England, where enslaved people were mainly used for labor on small farms and in trade shops rather than on the large plantations of the South. This may have been how he came to read and write.
His later years are told in bits and pieces through sporadic and sometimes confusing records. The first is from 1752 in a will signed by Ichabod Richardson, a tanner in Woburn, Massachusetts, which stated that Fortune should be freed six years after Richardson's death. A later document, dated December 1763, but not signed, declared Fortune should be set free four years from that date or immediately upon Richardson's death. Richardson died unexpectedly in 1768; however, five days earlier, he had drawn up a new will that did not mention Fortune. The new will overrode the old, and the unsigned 1763 document was not legally binding. Fortune found himself in the devastating position of still being considered another man's property with no promise of freedom.
His enslavement continued under Richardson's heir, with whom Fortune negotiated an agreement to pay off his "bond." Meanwhile, he could work, receiving payment for his work. The last payments were made in November 1770. At 60 years old, Fortune was free at last.
Over the next several years, he was able to buy land and build a home in Woburn. In 1775, he raised enough money to purchase the freedom of a woman named Lydia. They married shortly after, but tragically, Lydia passed away within months. Four years later, he paid for another woman's freedom: Violate (or Violet), who became his wife the next day. Even less is known about her life except that she was enslaved by a first cousin of Ichabod Richardson, which could be how she and Fortune first met. They moved to Jaffrey in 1781 and settled on part of the land set aside for the town's future minister, Reverend Laban Ainsworth. Even after Ainsworth's arrival, the Fortunes remained on the land until 1789, when they bought 25 acres along a village road. That road now bears Amos Fortune's name, and their homestead still exists today. They were friendly with the Reverend, who was said to have written the epitaphs seen on their tombstones. His own tombstone also lies in the Old Burying Ground, less than 20 yards away from the Fortunes.
During their 20 years in Jaffrey, Amos, and Violate became some of the village's more prosperous and well-known inhabitants. Amos Fortune established a tannery that would become known throughout New England and allegedly bound some of the books kept by the local library. He and Violate attended Sunday services run by the Reverend in the local meetinghouse, where they watched from the second-floor balcony with the church's other Black members. They cared for their adopted daughter, Celyndia, who attended the local Schoolhouse #8 (and of whom little else is known).
Upon his death in 1801, Amos was buried behind the Meetinghouse. He left a will with clear instructions: First, to "my beloved wife Vilot [sic]," the profits of his real estate; second, the repayment of all his debts; third, funds to keep Violate comfortable and build her another small house; fourth, all his furniture and possessions for Violate's use; fifth, that Violate care for "Celyndia Fortune my adopted daughter," to whom Amos granted her room and furniture until her marriage; sixth, "handsome gravestones" for himself and Violate following her death; and seventh, that any remainder of the estate is used for a "handsome present" to the local church and Schoolhouse #8. His executor carried out all of this, and income from the gift to the school is still used to support education in Jaffrey. Violate passed away less than a year after her husband and was buried at his side beneath "handsome gravestones," as Amos requested.
A variety of media has been produced about the life of Amos Fortune, including a 1950 Newbury medal-winning children's book.
Bio by: Angela
Inscription
SACRED
to the memory of
AMOS FORTUNE.
who was born free in
Africa, a slave in America,
he purchased Liberty,
professed Christianity,
lived reputably, &
died hopefully,
Nov. 17. 1801
AE. 91
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