Early Life and Education
Little is known of his early life. He was born in West Hartford, Connecticut, to a reportedly Caucasian mother of some status and a man named Haynes, who was said to be "of some form of African extraction". According to the African American National Biography, his birth date is 18 July 1753 and he died the 28 September 1833.
At the age of five months, Lemuel Haynes was given over to indentured servitude in Granville, Massachusetts. Although serving as an agricultural worker, part of the agreement required educating him. Through accompanying his masters to church, he became exposed to Calvinistic thought. At about twenty years of age, he saw the Aurora Borealis, and, fearing the approach of the Day of Judgment as a result, he soon accepted Christianity.
Read more about this topic: Lemuel Haynes
Famous quotes containing the words early, life and/or education:
“...he came towards them early in the morning, walking on the sea.”
—Bible: New Testament, Mark 6:48.
“we two
With life forever old yet new,
Changed not in kind but in degree,
The instant made eternity—”
—Robert Browning (1812–1889)
“We have not been fair with the Negro and his education. He has not had adequate or ample education to permit him to qualify for many jobs that are open to him.”
—Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)