RBS98: Samson Ceasar Letters

African-American texts from the Modern English Collection -- Electronic Text Center

The letters are held by University of Virginia Library Special Collections, Accession #10595, 6 items.

Detailed descriptions can be found in the following:

EAD Guide to Samson Ceasar Letters to David S. Haselden and Henry F. Westfall, 1834-1835.

In these letters, Samson Ceasar, a former Virginian slave, writes to David S. Haselden and to his former master Henry F. Westfall, both of Buchannon, Lewis County, Va. about his new life in Liberia, describing his studies, his illnesses, his future prospects, and, in his letter of August 3, 1835, a skirmish with the natives. Most striking, however, is his analysis of the quality of the Liberian immigrants in his letter dated June 2, 1834:

I must Say that our Country never will improve as it ought until the people in the United States keep their Slaves that they have raised dumb as horses at home and Send those here who will be A help to improve the country.

Above all, Ceasar is a religious man; his devotion to God and belief in God's benevolence are frequent topics in his letters: "I want to do all I can in God's service," he writes in a letter to Henry Westfall, "I have been trying to Blow the gospel trump since I landed in Africa."

The Letters

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1834 | 1835

1834, February 7: Samson Ceasar to David S. Haselden: Original Text | Modernized Text; Large Image: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
Small Image: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |

1834, March 18: Samson Ceasar to Henry F. Westfall: Original Text | Modernized Text; Large Image: 1 | 2
Small Image: 1 | 2

1834, April 1: Samson Ceasar to Henry F. Westfall: Original Text | Modernized Text; Large Image: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
Small Image: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Details: 1 | 2 | 3

1834, June 2: Samson Ceasar to Henry F. Westfall: Original Text | Modernized Text; Large Image: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
Small Image: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

1835, March 5: Samson Ceasar to Henry F. Westfall: Original Text | Modernized Text; Large Image: 1 | 2 | 3
Small Image: 1 | 2 | 3

1835, August 3: Samson Ceasar to Henry F. Westfall: Original Text | Modernized Text; Large Image: 1 | 2 | 3
Small Image: 1 | 2 | 3