Twelve Years a Slave - Enhanced Edition (31 page)

Acknowledgements

Since my discovery of the original 1853 edition of
Twelve Years a Slave
as a young girl on Bayou Boeuf, a host of people have contributed in so many ways in the over seven decades of work in documenting his story. I could not have done this work without them, and without their help this project could never have been completed. I want to express my deepest appreciation.

It was my father, a fifth-generation Louisiana planter, Sam Lyles, who told me much about Boeuf plantation history, while my mother, Myrtle Guy Lyles, encouraged my writing efforts. Sonia Taub, a retired research librarian of Saratoga Springs, New York, visited the Boeuf country some years ago and returned to research the story of Northup, generously enriching my own research.

Other people, such as my sister, Betty McGowen, helped me in many small but important ways, such as providing her hospitality at her Walnut Grove Plantation by inviting visitors wanting to learn about Solomon. Kenneth Perry, who lived out his life near Indian Creek, gave me a log from the Ford sawmill and set the record straight on the exact location of the mill.

Many genealogists have enhanced my understanding of the years Solomon Northup spent in the Boeuf country. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Ford of Redding, California, assisted with the genealogies of William Prince Ford and the Prince families, while Rene Pernoud, a descendant of William C.C.C. Martin, shared her information of the Martins. Field Horne and Dr. Clifton Brown of Schenectady, New York, both sent me information on the black and white Northup families. Mr. and Mrs. Bob Epps drove from Texas on July 4, 1982, to bring me the genealogy of the Edwin Epps family. Mrs. Edith Wyckoff, of Long Island, New York, a descendant of attorney Henry Northup, mailed me, a stranger, a framed picture of her ancestor, who figures so large in the Solomon Northup story. She also sent a lengthy history of her research on her family and the writings of Henry Northup.

It was the interest of Chancellor Robert Cavanaugh who helped in my work to get the Edwin Epps house moved to the campus of LSU-Alexandria. A committee of local people, blacks and whites, at Bunkie, Louisiana, where I live, added their efforts with mine to preserve the Epps house despite undeserved harassment from our community, some of whom thought the entire story foolish. In the end it was M.D. Descant and his son, Don Pat, of M.D. Descant Contractors, Inc., who restored the old house on the LSUA campus in faithful detail. It is available for all visitors to see a typical plantation “Big House”—in this case the very one from which Edwin Epps operated his plantation.

While the South takes considerable pride in its reputation for hospitality, it could hardly be more so than that extended to me from a number of New Yorkers who graciously contributed information they gleaned over the years. Members of the Whitehall Free Library—all volunteers—shared the considerable work they completed, while David Fiske of Saratoga Lake, Dr. Edward Knoblauch of Albany, and Paul Loding of Hudson Falls, were all especially helpful.

Always helping in this effort in every way they could were my colleagues: Dr. Patsy Barber at LSU-Alexandria; Dr. John Tarver of the Louisiana Agricultural Extension; Dr. Rouse Caffey, Chancellor of the Extension; and Raymond Laborde, Lieutenant Governor. My heartfelt appreciation is extended to these individuals, as well as to President W.C. Jenkins of Louisiana State University. One of my students, Elizabeth Brazelton, allowed me to use the valuable documents of her great-grandfather, attorney John Waddill, which were vitally important in my documentation. The late Dr. Edwin Adams Davis, historian at LSU, helped me gain recognition for my research on Northup. Rufus Smith at the Rapides Parish Courthouse shared his wisdom with me over the years, while nobody could have done more than Avoyelles Clerk of Court Sammy Couvillion and his father, Gradni, who was Clerk of Court preceding him. Both went beyond the call of duty many times over the years in securing essential documents relating to Solomon Northup’s experience in Avoyelles Parish.

In 1968, I published the first modern edition of
Twelve Years a Slave
and continued to build my Northup archive throughout my teaching career. After retiring as professor of History at LSU-Alexandria in 1987, with my five children grown and about their business in far away places, I literally lived and breathed the story of Solomon Northup. After years of such dedication, and in my mid-80’s, I realized I had reached my breaking point and could not get the manuscript for my final definitive edition checked and polished for publication. I telephoned my daughter, Dr. Sara Kuhn, a professor of English at Chattanooga State Community Technical College, and told her, “Sara, I can’t do anything more. If you can’t finish what needs to be done, I guess it just won’t get done.” I’ll never forget the cheerful voice that came back to me. “That’s all right, Mom. I’ll take care of it. Get it in the mail and get some rest!” There are no words for the countless hours, e-mails exchanged, and complete dedication of Sara Eakin Kuhn in editing the book and converting my documentation into the proper Chicago Style Manual essential for publication. I also appreciate the valuable assistance of my sister, Manie Culbertson, another English teacher, who performed the final proof reading.

Finally, it is complete. Solomon’s story, one of the most important in American history, has been authenticated and placed in the context of the times. I have given my fullest effort. Now Solomon, and I, can rest.

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