FREEMAN, ELIZABETH (aka Bet, Mum Bett, and MumBet, c. 1744–28 December, 1829), the first enslaved African American to file and win a freedom suit in Massachusetts. Freeman was a key figure in one of the most important legal cases of the American Revolution.
She was born into slavery in a small town in the New York colony and owned by Pieter Hogeboom, a descendant of the original Dutch immigrants who settled in the area. When she was around seven years old, Freeman was sent to serve as a domestic servant to Hannah, the daughter of Hogeboom, who had married John Ashley, one of the most important landowners and community leaders in western Massachusetts. Ashley played a central role in the politics that led up to the American Revolution and is credited with the probable drafting, in January 1773, of a document called the Sheffield Declaration, which was published on February 18, 1773, in the Massachusetts Spy. The document proclaimed that “Mankind in a state of nature are equal, free, and independent of each other, and have a right to the undisturbed enjoyment of their lives, their liberty, and property.” This fundamental tenet would appear in the Declaration of Independence three years later.
On June 15, 1780, Massachusetts ratified its State Constitution, the first article stating, “All men are born free and equal.” Either at a public reading, at home, or within the community, Freeman heard these words and understood that, unlike the Sheffield Declaration or even the Declaration of Independence, the Massachusetts State Constitution was a legal document that asserted freedom and equality for all. Theodore Sedgwick, a young lawyer who had participated in the meetings that led to the Sheffield Declaration, served as Freeman’s attorney. He also served as the legal representative for Brom, another enslaved man in the Ashley household who was added to the suit Brom and Bett v. Ashley (1781). The courts ultimately sided with Freeman and Brom. Ashley first appealed the decision but dropped his case when two other freedom trials were similarly decided, which signaled that slavery had officially become unconstitutional in the state of Massachusetts.
In the wake of the victory, Elizabeth changed her name to Elizabeth Freeman. She took a job as a paid domestic servant for Theodore Sedgwick and became an intimate member of his household as a senior servant and governess to the Sedgwick children. An account of Freeman’s life was later published in the writings of Theodore’s daughter, Catharine Maria Sedgwick. These writings detailed the Sedgwick family’s use of the name Mumbet, short for “Mother Beth,” for Freeman. Freeman eventually bought her own home, where she lived until her death. Beloved by the Sedgwick family, she was buried in their family plot with a marble tombstone inscribed with the following words:
ELIZABETH FREEMAN, also known by the name of MUMBET died Dec. 28th, 1829. Her supposed age was 85 Years. She was born a slave and remained a slave for nearly thirty years; She could neither read nor write, yet in her own sphere she had no superior or equal. She neither wasted time nor property. She never violated a trust, nor failed to perform a duty. In every situation of domestic trial, she was the most efficient helper and the tenderest friend. Good mother, farewell.