Thomas White: One Man's Quest for Freedom

Smithsonian Magazine Online published an article on June 18 focused on a remarkable document found amongst family records during research for my new two-part historical novel, Tales of the Sea.

Smithsonian Magazine Features Story Found in Family Documents

Some families are blessed with an embarrassment of riches when it comes to the recorded history of their ancestors. For generations, the family of my husband, Bob Elder, preserved stacks of letters, ship's logs and personal journals which became the foundation of my two-part historical novel, Tales of the Sea.

For people born into slavery when our country was new, however, few records exist to breathe life into their experience. Their forebearers are left wondering what they endured, where they lived, what they thought -- a gaping hole in our national awareness and conscience. One new contribution to the historical record sheds light on a man named Thomas White, whose escape from slavery and life as a merchant ship sailor is chronicled in a document was found amongst the sailing records of Bob's family.

Thomas White makes an appearance in the second book of my Tales of the Sea series, The Drumbeats of War. The narrative of his life has been the subject of year-long and ongoing research effort to understand the significance of this document and reunite Thomas White's story with his descendants.

Last week, Smithsonian Magazine shared the story of Thomas White with the world. I hope this exposure will elevate his remarkable life.

Our research project got its start at Roger Williams University with the help of historian and professor Dr. Charlotte Carrington-Farmer. She assigned two interns and two classes to study the document. One of those interns, Rachel Cabral, a senior at RWU, has become a lead researcher on the team. We've been honored to have the involvement of historian Timothy Walker , author of Sailing to Freedom, and historian Marcus Rediker, author of Freedom Ship. Both continue to contribute perspective and nuance to our understanding of the document.

My intention is to make Thomas White's full narrative available as a nonfiction book and to place it in the public domain where it can be appreciated by all. The document will be permanently housed at the John Hay Library at Brown University.