Moses Grandy

Moses Grandy (

Over the years, Grandy studied navigation and other jobs assigned to him, so he was proficient and valuable. A strong, tall man, he worked hard, long hours. He was thoughtful about his actions to avoid worsening his situation; he would not be a runaway or a rebel. Grandy was keenly aware that his success would be more likely to be secured by an alliance with an honorable man.

Grandy "married" a woman (enslaved people could not marry legally), who he said he loved "as I loved my life". She lived on a plantation, and one day, as he was poling a boat through the river, he heard a woman call his name. He saw his wife in a slave coffle as she was being walked to a boat that would take her south and away from him.

He earned enough money to buy his freedom, but two different enslavers stole his money. Instead of giving Moses his freedom, James sold him to another enslaver, Mr. Trewitt, and kept the money Moses paid. Grice took him to court to have him honor his agreement. That having failed, other whites reacted by having him removed from the boarding house he lived in.

The family members that Grandy wanted to buy their freedom included his wife, four of his six children — one of his daughters earned the money to free herself and one of her sisters — and four grandchildren. #tag:ref|Schermerhorn states that by the time Grandy had his narrative published, six of his children, three girls and three boys, had been "sold to New Orleans." He lived with his wife and four young men. #tag:ref|The household had six people, a man and a woman between 36 and 54, 3 males between 10 and 23, and one man between 24 and 35.

Abolitionist and author Grandy believed abolitionists in the United States, England, and Ireland (at that time, not an independent country) were important in the fight to abolish slavery. It was one of the slave narratives read in the United States and overseas that fueled the abolitionist movement.

His descendant Eric Sheppard, who wrote the book Ancestor's Call, estimated that Moses saved a total of $3,000 in 1844 currency.

Legacy In 2006 Moses Grandy Trail, a portion of Virginia State Route 165, was named in his honor.

Published book .