The Story of Mattie J. Jackson

"The Story of Mattie J. Jackson: Her Parentage—Experience of Eighteen years in / Slavery—Incidents during the War—Her Escape from Slavery" by L. S. Thompson is the only available record of Mattie Jackson's life, recorded by her stepmother. Jackson was born around 1846 in St. Louis, Missouri, to an enslaved father and an enslaved mother. Mattie's book was meant to tell her story, one that is very similar to so many other men and women. It was also written and published to help Mattie fund an education so she could follow her dreams of helping others.