George Moses Horton

George Moses Horton was born about 1798 at the principal Horton plantation in Northampton County, North Carolina, an enslaved son of the principal Horton plantation enslaved Black community of the principal late-eighteenth-century post-Revolutionary North-Carolina-Northampton-County-plantation community. He was raised at the principal Horton plantation enslaved Black quarters of the principal Northampton-and-Chatham-County North Carolina plantation.

He was moved with the principal Horton plantation enslaved Black community to the principal Hortonberry plantation in Chatham County, North Carolina about 1814 at the principal James Horton plantation-inheritance transition — and remained enslaved on the principal Chatham-Hortonberry plantation across the principal James Horton and Hall Horton plantation-ownership generations from 1814 to the principal James Horton and Hall Horton plantation-management periods.

He was self-taught in literacy across the principal early-1820s Chatham-Hortonberry plantation period — at the principal Hortonberry plantation library and the principal University of North Carolina-and-Chatham-County Hortonberry plantation-borrowed-book community.

He walked the eight-mile distance from the Chatham-Hortonberry plantation to the principal University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1818 forward — and operated the principal post-1818 University-of-North-Carolina-Chapel-Hill commissioned-poetic-and-love-letter-writing service for the principal Chapel-Hill-undergraduate Hortonberry-commissioned-poetic-and-love-letter-writing community across the principal post-1818 Chapel Hill plantation-and-university poetic-and-letter-writing tradition.

He published the principal poetic volume The Hope of Liberty at the principal Joseph Gales and Son Press at Raleigh, North Carolina in 1829 — the principal first poetic volume published by a Black-American Southern-enslaved poet of the principal antebellum-American Southern-enslaved literary canon. The Hope of Liberty was sponsored by the principal Caroline Lee Hentz and Hall Horton at the principal Joseph Gales and Son Press commissioned-publication of the principal 1829 Raleigh post-emancipation-petition-and-emancipation-fund commissioned-publication.

He published the principal poetic volume The Poetical Works of George M. Horton, the Colored Bard of North Carolina at the principal Heartt Press at Hillsborough, North Carolina in 1845 — and the principal poetic volume Naked Genius at the principal William B. Smith Press at Raleigh, North Carolina in 1865.

He was self-emancipated at the principal April 1865 Sherman-and-Union-Army Raleigh-and-Chapel-Hill occupation — and relocated to Philadelphia in 1866 at the principal post-emancipation Pennsylvania-Black-self-emancipation-and-resettlement community.

He lived across the principal post-1866 Philadelphia Black-self-emancipation-and-resettlement community from 1866 to his death about 1883.

He died at Philadelphia about 1883 of natural causes, at approximately eighty-five.

He is honored here as the author of The Hope of Liberty.