Nobody's Boy

by Fleischner, Jennifer

• ISBN13: 9781883982584
• ISBN10: 1883982588
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-12-30
• Publisher: Missouri Historical Society Pr

Summary

A work of historical fiction,Nobodyrs"s Boyis loosely based on the real-life story of a slave named George Kirkland. Georgers"s owner, Hugh Garland, the lawyer for Mrs. Emerson in theDred Scottcase, brought him to St. Louis at the age of about five. Georgers"s mother, Elizabeth Keckly (dressmaker for and confidante of Mary Todd Lincoln), bought his freedom and, in about 1860, sent him to college in Ohio. Like the main character inNobodyrs"s Boy,the light-skinned George ultimately joined a Missouri regiment in the Civil War, enlisting as a white man on the Union side. Not long after, he died in the battle of Wilsonrs"s Creek. The early 1850s was an important time in Missouri-a turning point in the buildup to the war and the beginning of the historicDred Scottcase. The story of Georgers"s short life is an intimate look at race and life in Missouri at this time, seen through the eyes of an African American boy who grew up on the color line.

Author Biography

Jennifer Fleischer is professor and chair of the English Department at Adelphi University in New York.

Table of Contents

Foreword	6	(2)
Family Tree of George Kirkland	8	(3)
Garland's George	11	(8)
The Stowaway	19	(7)
Returning Home	26	(5)
The Auction Block	31	(10)
Escape	41	(9)
Helping Fugitives	50	(5)
Household Tragedy	55	(9)
The Price of Freedom	64	(10)
A Surprise Visitor	74	(7)
Making Plans	81	(9)
Crossing the River	90	(5)
Saving a Friend	95	(6)
Epilogue	101	(5)
Timeline	106	(2)
Glossary	108	(2)
For Further Reading	110