"Heartbreaking, and essential." --Jill Lepore, author of These Truths "Love speaks across miles, decades and centuries in this meticulously excavated tribute to the formerly enslaved mothers, fathers, siblings, and kin who published "last seen" advertisements in search of loved ones stolen from them in bondage. Patience and Clara Bashop, Hagar Outlaw, Tally Miller, and the other seekers featured here may or may not have succeeded in having their beloveds restored to them, but the power of their loving, the spirit of their loved ones, and the immense scope of their courage breathe off the page in this vital work of recovery." --Ilyon Woo, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Master, Slave, Husband, Wife " Last Seen narrates the stories behind family separations and the indefatigable efforts of formerly enslaved people to find lost loved ones after the Civil War using thousands of "information wanted" advertisements in newspapers. Judy Giesberg brings to life poignant tales of hopeful (though rarely successful) parents, siblings, and other kin through her diligent research to trace the paths and flesh out micro-biographies of some of those who searched against all odds. This is essential reading for understanding both the cruelties of slavery and the resiliency of the generations harmed." --Tera W. Hunter, Chair of African American Studies at Princeton University "The gripping stories of loss and love in Last Seen trace the journeys of slavery's survivors in America who, for decades, tried to reunite their shattered families.
By exposing the heartbreak of forced separations at slave auctions and the horrors of trafficking children, author Judith Giesberg brilliantly banishes the myth that enslaved people were content with their situation. Scrupulously researched, Last Seen is an eye-opening account of the long-lasting damage and disarray caused by the greed and cruelty of America's slave trade. And the common thread in this tapestry of truth is the enduring power of hope." --Ann Hagedorn, award-winning author of Beyond the River and Savage Peace " Last Seen is a powerful, wrenching, and necessary work that shows us how central family histories are to understanding American history. The stories of parents and children, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, desperately seeking and mostly not finding one another in the wake of slavery's violence reveal the indelible horrors of family separation. They also show that, rather than a recent or isolated phenomenon, family separation has been a recurring consequence of politics and policy." --Karin Wulf, Director of the John Carter Brown Library and Professor of History, Brown University "This unvarnished account reminds us that centuries of suffering have yet to be fully acknowledged or atoned for. Informative and sobering.
" --Kirkus Reviews " A heart-wrenching work." --Library Journal, starred review "Groundbreaking.underlines both the lasting trauma of the ruthless shattering of families and the perseverance of the formerly enslaved in searching for their loved ones." --Wall Street Journal "[Giesberg's] affecting book focuses on ten cases that powerfully illuminate the inhumanity of slavery." --Christian Science Monitor.