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He is born a free man in New York State to a freed slave and a free woman.
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to Anne Northup
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by Merrill Brown and Abram Hamilton
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On the night of their arrival, he feels ill after drinking with the pair, and then wakes up in chains in a slave pen. After waking up he is beaten until he says he is not a free man. He is then given a new name and past as a slave.
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Sold by Freeman in New Orleans, Louisiana.
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Ford was a nicer slave owner. Solomon speaks about how he even enjoyed working under him and was motivated to do more than asked to please him.
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Sold along with 17 other slaves due to Ford having financial difficulties.
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After Tibaut attempts to whip Solomon for using nails given to him by Chapin, Solomon beats Tibaut severely. Tibaut hires 2 men to help him lynch and hang Solomon, but they are stopped and held at gunpoint by Chapin. He then hangs bound until Ford gets home and unties him.
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Hired to a planter, Mr. Eldret, because him and Tibaut could not get along. He worked for him for 5 weeks.
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He was held for almost ten years on the Avoyelles Parish. He worked in picking cotton. If any of the slaves didn't collect at least 200 pounds of cotton per day than they were whipped. Even when exceeding the quota, it would be raised.
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Solomon wrote a letter, and made a secret deal with a man named Armsby that he would pay him money in exchange for taking it to the post office. Instead, Armsby told Epps everything.
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Solomon was forced to whip a fellow slave who he was friends with. He reluctantly did it, and after striking her dozens of times he refused to do it more. Epps picked up the whip and continued beating her relentlessly.
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He met a Canadian carpenter named Samuel Bass, and after hearing him express abolitionist ideas, he told him his real name and his status as a kidnapped freeman. Samuel sent out a letter written by Solomon, as well as multiple letters on his behalf to Solomons friends and family.
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Having received Bass's letters, Solomons wife contacted Henry B. Northup, the son of Solomon's father's former master. He collected documentation of Solomons status as a freeman, and went to the courts with it.