First Fruits of Freedom: The Migration of Former Slaves and Their Search for Equality in Worcester, Massachusetts, 1862-1900

Title Page, Copyright, Dedication

First Fruits of FREEDOM The John Hope Franklin Series in African American History and Culture Waldo E. Martin Jr. and Patricia Sullivan, editors Janette Thomas Greenwood First Fruits of FREEDOM The Migration of Former Slaves and Their Search for Equality in Worcester, Massachusetts, 1862–1900 The University of North Carolina Press Chapel Hill © 2009 The University of North Carolina Press All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America Designed by Courtney Leigh Baker and set in Minion Pro with Edwardian Script and Gotham Display by Rebecca Evans. The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources. The University of North Carolina Press has been a member of the Green Press Initiative since 2003. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Greenwood, Janette Thomas. First fruits of freedom: the migration of former slaves and their search for equality in Worcester, Massachusetts, 1862–1900 / Janette Thomas Greenwood. p. cm.—(The John Hope Franklin series in African American history and culture) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8078-3362-9 (cloth: alk. paper) ISBN 978-0-8078-7104-1 (pbk: alk. paper) 1. African Americans—Massachusetts—Worcester—History—19th century. 2. African Americans—Massachusetts—Worcester—Social conditions—19th century. 3. Freedmen—Massachusetts—Worcester—History—19th century. 4. African Americans—Migrations—History—19th century. 5. Migration, Internal—United States—History—19th century. 6. United States—History—Civil War, 1861–1865— Social aspects. 7. Worcester (Mass.)—Social conditions—19th century. I. Title. F74.W9G925 2010 305.896v07307443—dc22 2009031107 cloth 14 13 12 11 10 5 4 3 2 1 paper 14 13 12 11 10 5 4 3 2 1 Portions of this work appeared previously, in somewhat different form, in Janette Greenwood, “Southern Black Migration and Community Building: Worcester as a Case Study,” in Faces of Community: Immigrant Massachusetts, 1860–2000, ed. Reed Ueda and Conrad Edick Wright (Boston: Massachusetts Historical Society, 2003), and have been reprinted here with permission of the publisher. In memory of my parents, Fern andCarl Thomas, and my father-in law, Isadore Rubin This page intentionally left blank ...