Pierre Toussaint / Arthur Jones.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Jones, Arthur, 1936-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Toussaint, Pierre, 1766-1853.

Toussaint, Pierre.

African Americans--Biography.

African Americans.

African American Catholics--Biography.

African American Catholics.

Enslaved persons--Haiti--Biography.

Enslaved persons.

Enslaved persons--New York (State)--New York--Biography.

Haiti--Biography.

Haiti.

New York (N.Y.)--Biography.

New York (N.Y.).

National Book Committee.

New York (State)--New York.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

ix, 342 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Doubleday, 2003.

Summary:

Pierre Toussaint was born in Saint Domingue (now known as Haiti) in 1781. The child of a slave on a plantation owned by the Berards, a prosperous French family, he was raised as a devout Catholic. When a slave uprising forced the Berards to flee the island in 1797, Toussaint came to New York City as the family's servant. As a black man and as a Catholic, Toussaint found that his new home held dangers of its own: Slaves were brutalized by their owners, free blacks were beaten in the streets, and anti-Catholic sentiment was rampant. But New York also offered him new opportunities. When Toussaint's talents as a hairstylist -- along with his charming, refined manners -- made him a favorite of the women in New York's upper-class families, he began earning a substantial income. He was given his freedom in 1807, married in 1811, and devoted his life to helping former slaves, supporting the Church, and taking care of the poor and oppressed, all while helping to raise funds for the city's first cathedral.

In the first biography of Toussaint written for a mainstream audience, Arthur Jones charts a life buffeted and scarred by poverty, prejudice, and political upheaval, and shows how Toussaint's faith, independence of mind, and sense of personal dignity served as lifelong sources of strength. Drawing on letters from Toussaint's friends and admirers, black and white alike, as well as on a wealth of historical sources, Jones brings to life a man who, by defying the strictures of a racist society, became an example not only for other black people but for oppressed and maligned immigrants of all backgrounds.

Contents:

Prologue: Out of Slavery 1

1 Saint Domingue, French Antilles, 1781 3

2 Catholic Slaveholders, Catholic Slaves 18

3 The Berards 33

4 Guillotines and Boiling Sugar, 1788

Part I 50

5 Religion

and Revolution, 1788

Part II 68

6 The Bloody Boyhood 79

7 New York, New York 99

8 The Berard Household, 1797-1814 120

9 Glimpsed, But Not Recognized 137

10 "Freedom," 1802-1811 151

11 Juliette and Pierre 168

12 Aurore

and 1822 185

13 An Interlude 201

14 "Dear Uncle" 221

15 Hostile City, Racist Church 242

16 The Circle of Friends, the 1830s 261

17 Pillar of Strength, 1835-1839 276

18 "Saint Pierre," the 1840s 289

Epilogue: Rest in Peace 303.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [325]-326) and index.

ISBN:

0385499949

OCLC:

51098215