Moses Roper

Description:Moses Roper appears to have been in Birmingham around 1835. 'A Narrative of the Adventures and Escape of Moses Roper from American Slavery' was published the same year, giving information about his life as a slave. It featured graphic illustartions of torture instruments used on plantations.

Roper was a 'mulatto' slave, born around 1815 in North Carolina to Henry Roper and Nancy, a female slave of mixed African American and Native American ancestry. He repeatedly attempted to gain his freedom, finally escaping to Boston, Massachusetts, New York City and then to England in 1835. Here, he gained the education which later allowed him to become a published 'abolitionist' author.

Supported by philanthropic churchmen, Roper went on a lecture tour of England to spread knowledge of American slavery; he also promoted his autobiography. The 'subscriber list' of his narrative shows that he sold many copies of his narrative to the inhabitants of Birmingham. This list included the following entries:

'Subscribed for in the Rev.J.A.James Congregation......... 510'
'Legg Street Chapel........60'

(note: J.A.James was the congreational minister of Carr's Lane Church, and an important member of the Birmingham Anti-Slavery Socity)