Fugitive Slave in the Gold Rush
Life and Adventures of James Williams
Bison Books · Print & ebook · October 1, 2001
African American records of the Gold Rush are rare, as are underground railroad accounts from those fleeing to freedom; yet here is the account of a self-taught escaped slave and underground railroad worker who also succumbed to the lure of the California Gold Rush.
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- Who it’s for
- This memoir traces Williams’s escape, Underground Railroad work, and California travels.
- Themes
- Escape from slavery, California Gold Rush, Underground Railroad
- Genres
- Black & African American Lives, Western U.S. History, Black History
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For younger readers: Gold Mountain, The Kidnapped Prince, What Made California the Golden State?: Life During the Gold Rush
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Start with this bookAbout this book
African American records of the Gold Rush are rare, as are underground railroad accounts from those fleeing to freedom; yet here is the account of a self-taught escaped slave and underground railroad worker who also succumbed to the lure of the California Gold Rush.
Continue reading
James Williams was all of these things and more, a fascinating individual who in this memoir manages to cram more life into fewer pages than almost anyone has before or since – a habit of traveling light that served him well. We learn about Williams's birth and escape from the South and his travels and exciting experiences on the West Coast in the mid-nineteenth century. We become privy to his views on the many people he met, including Chinese immigrants, and his observations on notable events of his time, such as the Modoc War in California.
Gold Rush Journeys
This memoir traces Williams’s escape, Underground Railroad work, and California travels.
Come here for
- An escaped slave’s account of the California Gold Rush
- Observations on Chinese immigrants and the Modoc War
Expect
- Birth and escape from the South, followed by West Coast travels
- Views of people he met and events of his time
Where it sits
| Black & African American Lives | 89% |
|---|---|
| Black History | 27% |
| Western U.S. History | 27% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- History
- 19th-Century America
- Authors
- James Williams
- Publisher
- Bison Books
- Published
- October 1, 2001
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Theme
- Escape from slavery · California Gold Rush · Underground Railroad
- Reading lane
- History