Lunsford Lane

Lunsford Lane (May 30, 1803 – June 27, 1879) was an entrepreneur tobacconist from North Carolina who bought freedom for himself and his family. He became a vocal abolitionist and wrote a slave narrative autobiography. His life and narrative shows the plight of slavery, even for the relatively privileged slaves.

Life

Lane was born near Raleigh, North Carolina. His parents, Edward and Clarissa Lane, were enslaved house servants (commonly called "house slaves") in the family of Sherwood Haywood in Raleigh. The surname Lane came from their original owners. The only child, Lunsford Lane also became a servant at the family. This gave him far more opportunities than were available to enslaved field workers (then called "field slaves"), but he still dreamt of freedom.

He earned his first money by selling a basket of peaches his father had given him. This was the start of a varied entrepreneurial career. Lane sold marbles and saved money he was given by guests visiting the house. From his father he had learnt to prepare smoking tobacco. Lane improved on it, and made a tobacco with an especially sweet and pleasant taste. He made it by night when he was free from the house work. He also made a pipe with reeds, a hot wire and clay, which he sold in the early part of the night, and produced in the latter. Many of the local legislators became his customers, and he was able to expand his business and have others sell the products on commission. He became known as a tobacconist while doing his work as a house slave in daytime. He also sold firewood, worked as a handyman and as a messenger in governor Edward B. Dudley's office.