Horton, George Moses, 1798?-approximately 1880
Name Entries
person
Horton, George Moses, 1798?-approximately 1880
Name Components
Surname :
Horton
Forename :
George Moses
Date :
1798?-approximately 1880
eng
Latn
authorizedForm
rda
Horton, George Moses, 1798?-ca. 1880
Name Components
Date :
1798?-ca. 1880
eng
Latn
alternativeForm
rda
Horton, George Moses, 1797-1893
Name Components
Surname :
Horton
Forename :
George Moses
Date :
1797-1893
eng
Latn
alternativeForm
rda
Horton, George Moses, 1798-1883
Name Components
Surname :
Horton
Forename :
George Moses
Date :
1798-1883
eng
Latn
alternativeForm
rda
Genders
Exist Dates
1798
1798
Birth
1880
1880
Death
There are no exact dates for his life or death
Biographical History
George Moses Horton was born into slavery on William Horton's plantation, likely in 1798, in Northampton County, North Carolina. William Horton's estate was broken up in 1819; George was separated from his family. As a child he taught himself to read and compose poetry. By the age of 20, he began visiting the University of North Carolina and selling to the students acrostic love poems based on the names of their girlfriends. George was able to buy some time from his owner, James Horton; he was not freed, though, until the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.
His literary efforts were encouraged by a number of well-placed individuals, including the novelist Caroline Lee Hentz, North Carolina Governor and later University President David L. Swain, and newspaperman Horace Greeley. Hentz, encouraged him and arranged for the publication of a collection, The Hope of Liberty. The book, the first published in the South by a black man, did not sell enough copies for Horton to purchase his freedom, nor did two subsequent collections.
George relocated to Philadelphia after the Civil War. He later emigrated to Bexley, Liberia,  arriving January 7, 1867; it is unknown of his exact death date, death location, or burial; he may have even returned to Philadelphia.
.eng
Latn
External Related CPF
https://viaf.org/viaf/8257080
https://www.worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n50030738
https://id.loc.gov/authorities/n50030738
https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q5542654
Other Entity IDs (Same As)
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Languages Used
eng
Latn
Subjects
American literature
African American authors
African American poets
American poetry
Slaves
Slaves' writing, American
Nationalities
Activities
Occupations
Poets
Legal Statuses
Places
Northampton County
AssociatedPlace
Birth
North Carolina
AssociatedPlace
Chapel Hill
AssociatedPlace
United States
AssociatedPlace
Chatham County
AssociatedPlace
Republic of Liberia
AssociatedPlace
Philadelphia
AssociatedPlace
Convention Declarations
<conventionDeclaration><citation>VIAF</citation></conventionDeclaration>