A Minute's Freedom & More: The Motivational Story of Elizabeth Freeman

Elizabeth Freeman (c. 1744 – December 28, 1829), also known as Bet, Mum Bett, or MumBet, was the first enslaved African American to file and win a freedom suit in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling, in Freeman's favor, found slavery to be inconsistent with the 1780 Massachusetts State Constitution.

Freeman was illiterate and left no written records of her life. Her early history has been pieced together from the writings of contemporaries to whom she told her story or who heard it indirectly, as well as from historical records.

From the time Freeman gained her freedom, she became widely recognized and in demand for her skills as a healer, midwife and nurse. After the Sedgwick children were grown, Freeman moved into her own house on Cherry Hill in Stockbridge, near her daughter, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Elizabeth Freeman died in December 1829 and was buried in the Sedgwick family plot in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Theodore Sedgwick was the lawyer who accepted her freedom case and Freeman worked for him as senior servant and governess to the Sedgwick children, who called her "Mumbet".

Freeman remains the only non-Sedgwick buried in the Sedgwick plot.

If you take the time to sit down and commit to the research, you will often find that history is filled with examples of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Almost two centuries after Elizabeth "Mumbet" Freeman filed her suit in court for her freedom, an unassuming woman named Rosa Parks changed history one hot summer's day by refusing to give up her seat on a bus. Park's simple act of defiance helped fuel the Civil Rights movement.

Like Rosa Parks, Elizabeth Freeman was an ordinary person who performed a remarkable act. Once she gained her freedom, Elizabeth raised her daughter, saved her hard earned money, enjoyed the company of family and friends, and collected fine personal possessions that she once only dreamt of owning. Yet, like Parks and the other ordinary people who came before and after her, Elizabeth Freeman helped to change the course of history. Her court case, which resulted in her freedom from slavery, was a direct challenge to the very existence of slavery in the state of Massachusetts. It was a first of its kind, which made Elizabeth's case not only unique but extremely important to American history.

Elizabeth "Mumbet" Freeman is a reminder to all of us that one need not be famous, or a great speaker, or a great intellect to make a difference in the world. All one really needs to do is not be afraid to take a stand and fight for what you believe in, as Elizabeth did.

Elizabeth's story is also a reminder that while it's fine to obsess over women like Oprah, Lizzo, and Michelle Obama, time would probably be better spent learning about and possibly admiring women like Elizabeth Freeman, Rosa Parks, and sculptor Augusta Savage, just to name a few.

 

Elizabeth's story, hidden history that has remained long forgotten, is the story of an enslaved woman who fought for her freedom and a new nation that still had a lot to learn when it came to applying the principle of liberty to all citizens, despite their color.

 

For the rest of Elizabeth's story, please check out the audio link provided for EPISODE TEN of our podcast, Hidden History:

 

LISTEN NOW: A Minute's Freedom & More: The Motivational Story of Elizabeth Freeman - 

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Images and Documents

The Massachusetts Spy, or Thomas's Boston Journal, vol. II, no. 107, February 18, 1773, containing the Sheffield Declaration as lead article. The Declaration's first resolution stated, "Mankind in a state of nature are equal, free, and independent of each other, and have a right to the undisturbed enjoyment of their lives, their liberty and property..."

This portrait of Theodore Sedgwick (1746-1813) was painted by Ezra Ames (1768-1836) sometime before 1836,  after the original painted by Gilbert Stuart in 1808.

Writ of Replevin, Brom & Bett vs John Ashley, May 1781.

Verdict Case No. 1 Brom & Bett vs. J. Ashley Esq. 159996

The Colonel John Ashley House is a historic house museum at 117 Cooper Hill Road in Sheffield, Massachusetts. Built in 1735 by a prominent local leader, it is one of the oldest houses in southern Berkshire County. The museum is owned and operated by The Trustees of Reservations, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Sedgwick family home in Sheffield, Massachusetts. The home still stands today and is privately owned.

The Sedgwick family home in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. The home still stands today and is privately owned.

Mum Bett, aka Elizabeth Freeman, aged 67-68. Painted by Susan Anne Ridley Sedgwick, aged 23. Watercolor on ivory, painted 1811. The necklace around her neck would later be turned into a bracelet and kept by Catharine Maria Sedgwick.

Photo courtesy of Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston.

"Sedgwick Pie", where the Sedgwick family is buried in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. It is said that the graves are arranged in a circular fashion so that on Judgement Day when all arise from their graves, "Sedgwicks will only gaze on Sedgwicks". Elizabeth Freeman remains the only non-Sedgwick buried in the Sedgwick plot.

The grave of Theodore Sedgwick, the lawyer who represented Elizabeth Freeman in her freedom suit.

The grave of Elizabeth "Mumbet" Freeman. The inscription reads: 

ELIZABETH FREEMAN, also known by the name of MUMBET died Dec. 28th 1829. Her supposed age was 85 Years. She was born a slave and remained a slave for nearly thirty years; She could neither read nor write, yet in her own sphere she had no superior or equal. She neither wasted time nor property. She never violated a trust, nor failed to perform a duty. In every situation of domestic trial, she was the most efficient helper and the tenderest friend. Good mother, farewell.

Catharine Maria Sedgwick, engraving by A.B. Durand,

painted by Chas. Ingham, c. 1832.

Portrait of American writer Catharine Maria Sedgwick.

Photo courtesy of Literary Pilgrimages in New England...by Edwin M. Bacon, 1902.

BRACELET - Gold, late 18th century

14.6 cm x 1.3 cm

Jewelry 02.004

This bracelet consists of a double-strand of gold beads, with a golden clasp. Originally a necklace belonging to Elizabeth Freeman, it came into Catharine Maria Sedgwick’s possession after Freeman’s death, at which time it was repurposed into a bracelet. The clasp and gold separators probably date from the 1840s. Freeman is seen wearing the necklace in the miniature portrait of her by Susan Anne Ridley Sedgwick, sister-in-law of Catharine Maria.

A statue of Elizabeth Freeman on display in the National Museum of African American History and Culture's Slavery and Freedom exhibition.

Photo courtesy of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

A bronze statue of Elizabeth Freeman was

unveiled in 2022 in Sheffield, MA.

Reading Material

Massachusetts Bay Colony was the first slave-holding colony in New England. The first slaves were brought to the colony in the early 17th century. The exact date slaves first entered Massachusetts is unknown but many sources suggest Samuel Maverick was the first slaveholder in the colony after he arrived in early Boston in 1624 with two slaves.

Learn more about slavery in Massachusetts below:

Free blacks in the antebellum period—those years from the formation of the Union until the Civil War—were quite outspoken about the injustice of slavery. Their ability to express themselves, however, was determined by whether they lived in the North or the South. Free Southern blacks continued to live under the shadow of slavery, unable to travel or assemble as freely as those in the North. It was also more difficult for them to organize and sustain churches, schools, or fraternal orders such as the Masons.

Learn more about free blacks in the Antebellum Period below:

Black and white abolitionists in the first half of the nineteenth century waged a biracial assault against slavery. Their efforts proved to be extremely effective. Abolitionists focused attention on slavery and made it difficult to ignore. They heightened the rift that had threatened to destroy the unity of the nation even as early as the Constitutional Convention.

Learn more about abolition, anti-slavery movements, and the rise of the sectional controversy below:

Featured Video

Learn more about the legacy of Elizabeth Freeman in this virtual tour of the Colonel John Ashley House in Sheffield, Massachusetts:

Resources

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