In His Own Words

"Houston Hartsfield Holloway (1844-1917) was born enslaved in upcountry Georgia, taught himself to read and write, learned the blacksmith trade, was emancipated by Union victory in 1865, and served as an ordained traveling preacher in the African Methodist Episcopal Church from 1870 to 1883. He devoted the remainder of his life to his family, his blacksmith trade, and his local church. Holloway describes slavery, his family (often fractured by slave sales), friends, religious experiences, courtship and marriage, neighborhood parties and games, work and work songs, and interactions with slave owners. His vivid account of the arrival of federal troops and his subsequent emancipation describes how he and his neighbors adjusted to freedom, constructing new family living arrangements, new employment compacts, and new civil and church relations. Writing his autobiography in his sixties, Holloway reflects on the successes and disappointments of his life and the moral and material condition of his people." -- Front inside cover.