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Dear Diary,
   My Name is Isabella Baumfree, and as much as I wish it was not true... I am a slave. When I was young, I wished very much to change my name to Sojourner Truth. I just love that name, and I hoped very much that I would some day. I was born in 1753 in Ulster County, New York.

     In general, the day I was born, was the worst day of my life. You see, I was born into slavery with my parents and 12 siblings. I was sold from my family at the age of eleven. My life was miserable from the day I was sold. I was sold to a plantation owner named John Nealy. When I met him, he was, and still is, the cruelest person I had ever met.   When I was young, I would have to sit and watch mother be tortured by her owner. Usually, I just closed my eyes and tried with all my might to imagine good things, but unfortunately for me, there were not any good things.
            Sincerely,
            Isabella Baumfree

February 21, 1766

Dear Diary,
   While I was young, I didn't have any assigned chores. I just helped mother with her chores. She was the greatest , and I adored her very much. She tried so hard to make my life worth living, but unfortunately that life stopped the day I was sold. She died a couple of days after I was sold because of the abuse by her owner. Soon he stopped giving her food. She was so weak. It took about a year for the news to reach me about my mother’s death. I tried to make my owner’s life miserable, just like mine. I tried doing everything wrong, like serving the wrong supper at the wrong time, or wrinkling his bed sheet which he absolutely hated . I realized after a while that this was only making things worse for me. My owner just beats me with so much force and anger, I do not know if I will survive another punishment.
            Sincerely,
            Isabella Baumfree

March 5, 1766

Dear Diary,
   My owner has a daughter. She was ever so kind. Her name was Anna. I hope that one day I can live such a wonderful life as she. When her father was out, she taught me to read and to write. She knew that she would be in great trouble if her father found out, but she was very careful. It took me quite a while to get used to learning. When I first came to the plantation, I could only speak Dutch. It was very hard not knowing much English but with Anna teaching me and everyone around me talking, it got quite easy after a while. I never want to stop speaking Dutch, but I wish very much to be fluent in English one day.

     I started to write letters to this young man I have met. His name is Thomas. He is the kindest man. I knew the second I saw him that I wanted to marry him. My skin is darker than most of the slaves around, so I get beaten more often than the light skinned slaves. It is bad enough that at times I think I would rather be dead. My owner is armed with a variety of weapons and sometimes he threatens to use them on me. He has me working twice as hard as before such that I can barely walk.   Every part of my body aches with the labor. He needs to earn more money because his taxes went up. Everyday I have to get up at nearly the crack of dawn and walk down to the fields and work until dark.
            Sincerely,
            Isabella Baumfree

June 8, 1766

Dear Diary,
   This morning while I was getting ready to go out into the fields, I overheard Mr. Nealy talking to Anna. They were talking about the law that has been passed to get money for England. Mr. Nealy has to pay a tax of 6 pence, and will be working me even harder to make more money.

     It is around midnight and I have just finished working. It is spring but I am very cold. In the winter we get blankets, but I do not have one now. I live in a very tiny scattered hut with nothing but a mattress and a very small table. I think Mr. Nealy is coming... if I don’t write soon I will expect you will know what happened.
            Sincerely,
            Isabella Baumfree

Epilogue

Later in Isabella's life, she got married to Thomas, had five children, and changed her name to Sojourner Truth. She continued to stay on the Dumont farm until a few months before the state of New York ended slavery in 1828. Her husband had promised her freedom a year before the state emancipation. When Dumont failed to keep his promise, Isabella ran away with her infant son. After she was freed, she continued to speak Dutch. Sojourner Truth died in 1883.

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