Jacob Stroyer (1846 - February 7, 1908) was one of the first published autobiographers of African descent in America, to chronicle his life as an enslaved person.
Stroyer was born on the Kensington Plantation in Eastover, South Carolina in either 1846 or 1849. Stroyer's father, Jacob, was born in Sierra Leone and was captured and brought to America as a youth. The younger Stroyer knew little about his father's family background, other than the names of his paternal grandparents. Stroyer's mother, Chloe, was born in South Carolina where her family had been enslaved for several generations. As a youth, he worked as a hostler. After the Civil War, he attended schools in Columbia and Charleston.
Stroyer moved to Worcester, Massachusetts in 1870. He attended Worcester Academy for two years. He was licensed as an African Methodist Episcopal preacher. In Newport, Rhode Island, he was ordained a deacon. He moved to Salem, Massachusetts to preach.
He first published his autobiography, My Life in the South, in 1879. This was revised in 1898. Born into slavery in 1849, My Life in the South is one of the earliest first-hand looks at life as a slave. A much sought-after speaker, he was urged by listeners to write down his memories. Originally published in 1879 when he was thirty, this is a fascinating collection of stories about the training, discipline and burdens the slave had to bear as well as some of the customs of slaves and southern society.
Jacob Stroyer died in Salem Hospital in Salem on February 7, 1908 of heart disease. His death certificate states that the information used to fill out the "statistical remarks" on the certificate was derived from "Book written by himself." He is buried in Greenlawn Cemetery in Salem.
Source: Black History Mini Docs
