Sustained by God's power

"I have much to be thankful to God for."

In The 1850s, African American Nancy Prince offered her autobiography to the public, not out of "a vain desire to appear before the public; but, by the sale, I hope to obtain the means to supply my necessities. There are many benevolent societies for the support of Widows, but I am desirous not to avail myself of them, so long as I can support myself by my own endeavors" (Preface).

Mrs. Prince was born free, and spent the early part of her life in Massachusetts. Fearless, she led other women in driving a slaveholder, looking for runaways, out of a Boston neighborhood. Later, through marriage to an African American who served in the court of the Russian czar, she became acquainted with nobility, and yet returned—for health reasons—to American soil. Her husband passed away before he could join her. Her interest in freedom for others led her to the West Indies, where she attempted to establish schools for newly freed slaves.

Through the connivance of slaveholders as well as others, Prince was reduced to poverty. When she returned once again to American soil, unscrupulous people attempted to take her into slavery. She courageously outwitted them at every turn, however. At the end of her autobiography, which describes a life devoted to helping one's fellowman even in the midst of the deepest trials, she speaks of God's sustaining power with passion and conviction:

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... and this woman's beat goes on