Young John Beverly
Description:
John Burgess: “My grandfather as a young man. His name was John William Beverly. He was born in Lynchburg, VA. His father was a free man and his mother was an Indian. And because she was free, he was also free. But because of slave insurrections, the Virginia legislature passed a law saying there could be no free Negroes in Virginia. So his parents had him leave Virginia and he crossed over to Ohio. He did not join the Union Army, but he was a servant to a Union officer during the Civil War.”
Institution:
Grand Rapids Public Library
Subject Topics: