ABSTRACT
Jacob Read, 2 of Charleston, South Carolina, was a member of the Senate of the United States; and as Congress then sat in Philadelphia, he went there in the latter part of the year 1797, to discharge the duties of his station, and took his family with him, and several slaves to wait upon them. Among the number was a bright mulatto, who assumed the name of Betsey. Although her situation was much more tolerable than many others, she felt the galling chains of slavery too grievous to be patiently borne; and she determined to make an effort to be free. She was aware of the difficulty attending the enterprise; but after full deliberation, she resolved to make the attempt.
