Forest Grove (Oregon) woman one of the last children of an American slave

[depakid]

Hannah Hurdle-Toomey is one of the last known surviving children of a former slave.
Hurdle-Toomey, 77, is the 25th and last child of Andrew Jackson Hurdle, who was born
into slavery in the mid-1800s.
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FOREST GROVE -- On the day that slavery's abolition was announced in Texas in 1865, Andrew Jackson Hurdle became a free man. Today, the youngest of his 25 children, Hannah Hurdle-Toomey, lives in Forest Grove and is one of the last living children of a slave.

The status has brought Hurdle-Toomey national attention -- in stories in Essence magazine and the Chicago Tribune -- since President Barack Obama was elected. Tonight, Hurdle-Toomey will speak in Forest Grove as part of a panel and town hall discussion, "Oregon at 150: The Role of Ethnic Communities."

"I count it a privilege to share the information in every way I can, because it is such a unique story," Hurdle-Toomey said.

As libraries around the state approach the finale of Oregon Reads -- honoring immigrant stories during Oregon's 150th year of statehood -- local residents and immigrants will share their experiences at upcoming events.

<snip>

Hurdle-Toomey, 77, said her history defines her. She and her brother Chester Hurdle are the last two living siblings. She was 3years old when her dad died in 1935, at age 90, but she's pieced together his story from his letters and from her older siblings, some of whom were old enough to be her grandparents.

"My family is really who I am," said Hurdle-Toomey, who became a pastor, like her father. Hurdle-Toomey spends her days working on her dad's biography at the library and juggling speaking engagements and interviews. But today, she said she'd like to take a break from her usual heavy material. She says to expect something a bit comical.

More: http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/03/forest_grove_woman_one_of_last.html
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This just left me speechless.

[Arugula Latte]

1. Wow!

Amazing. I didn't know any kids were left. She's not even that old, relatively speaking.

[Journeyman]

6. Her father was 87 when she was born, she's 77 now. . .

her father would have been 20 when freed. Looking at the numbers, the odds favor quite a few more survivors, even at this late age.

Assuming fertile fathers up to the same age as this woman's, a slave born in 1865 would be 87 in 1952. In 1932, this hypothetical emancipated child would be only 67, a more reasonable age for fathering a child. Children born between 1932 and 1952 would range from 57 to 77 years old. Push the date of birth back 10 or 20 years from the earliest year and the fertility of the father becomes far more likely (at 47 to 37 years of age), while the age of the child remains reasonable for still being alive -- 87 to 97.

As the article says, Hannah Hurdle-Toomey is one of the last known surviving children of a former slave. The numbers seem to suggest there are considerably more people among us who are separated from this portion of our past by only a few degrees.

We would all do well to remember how youthful this nation remains and how close we all are to our past.

[shireen]

2. amazing ...

i didn't realize she existed, makes that horrible period in American history feel more recent.

[BlooInBloo]

3. :)

[Withywindle]

4. So her father was 86 or so when she was conceived?

I bet a lot of men would like to know HIS secret. :)


This is the reason why I have trouble with people with no sense of history. The past is NEVER as far away as most Americans think.

[depakid]

5. "The past is NEVER as far away as most Americans think."

or as Gowen Stevens says in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Requiem_for_a_Nun">Requiem for a Nun, "The past is never dead. It's not even past."