06/04/2026
Mrs. Angeline Lester (born c. 1847), a formerly enslaved woman who was interviewed in Youngstown, Ohio, in 1937.
FWP workers interviewed more than 2,300 formerly enslaved Americans across the nation. These first-person accounts provide invaluable insights into the daily lives, struggles, and culture of enslaved individuals before and after emancipation.
Angeline Lester lived a long life centered around her family, hard work, and a deep commitment to her faith.
Mrs. Angeline Lester lives at 836 West Federal Street, on U.S. Route #422, in a very dilapidated one story structure, which once was a retail store room with an addition built on the rear at a different floor level.
Angeline lives alone and keeps her several cats and chickens in the house with her. She was born on the plantation of Mr. Womble, near Lumpkin, Stewart County, Georgia about 1847, the exact date not known to her, where she lived until she was about four years old. Then her father was sold to a Dr. Sales, near Brooksville, Georgia, and her mother and a sister two years younger were sold to John Grimrs[HW:?], who in turn gave them to his newly married daughter, the bride of Henry Fagen, and was taken to their plantation, near Benevolence, Randolph County, Georgia.
After having her picture taken she wanted to know what was to be done with it and when told it was to be sent to Columbus or maybe to Washington, D.C. she said “Lawsy me, if you had tol’ me befo’ I’d fixed up a bit.”
