Early Life and Education
Born into slavery near Warrenton, North Carolina, Hyman did not receive any formal education as a child. By 1861, he was working as a janitor for a jeweler named King in Warrenton. King was from Pennsylvania and taught Hyman to read and write; when this was discovered by whites in town, they ran off the man and his wife. When Hyman persisted in trying to learn, at the age of 21 he was sold downriver to a new master in Alabama. In twenty-five years as a slave, Hyman was sold at least eight times.
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