William Wells Brown, Hoodoo in St. Louis

William Wells Brown (circa 1814-1884) was a formerly enslaved man and an abolitionist who documented Hoodoo practices of enslaved people in St. Louis in two of his books. Brown was born enslaved in Kentucky. In 1827 Brown’s enslaver, Dr. John Young, moved near St. Louis, Missouri, and established a small farm. Dr. Young hired out Brown to work in the city of St. Louis for steamboat captains and local merchants. During his years enslaved in St. Louis, Brown saw conjure practices of enslaved people that he documented years later in his autobiographies after he escaped from slavery on the Underground Railroad. In 1849, Brown published Narrative of William W. Brown, An American Slave. Written by Himself. In the book, Brown wrote that he saw an enslaved man named Frank, who was a fortune-teller. Brown spoke to Frank to know if his plan to escape from slavery on the Underground Railroad would lead to his freedom. Brown wrote…[Read more here]