Albert, Octavia V.R. (1853–c. 1899)

African-American historian. Born Octavia Victoria Rogers in Oglethorpe, Georgia, on December 24, 1853; died around 1899, in Houma, Louisiana; studiedat Atlanta University; married Reverend A.E.P. Albert, in 1874; children: Laura T.F. Albert.

Selected works:

The House of Bondage: or Charlotte Brooks and Other Slaves (1891).

Octavia Albert was born into slavery but was emancipated at the end of the Civil War. Devoutly African Methodist Episcopal, she attended school in Oglethorpe, Georgia, before attending Atlanta University, where she studied education. She then took a teaching post in Montezuma, Georgia. There she worked with A.E.P. Albert, whom she married on October 21, 1874. The Alberts moved to Houma, Louisiana, and in 1877 A.E.P. was ordained a minister in the Methodist Episcopal church. In 1888, Octavia was converted to her husband's church and baptized by him.

Their home in Louisiana became a gathering place for former slaves. Albert was known to feed, house, read to, and teach anyone who needed her assistance. In the process, she gathered oral histories of those men, women, and children who passed through her home and told her stories of slavery and freedom. Albert's intentions were twofold: she hoped to create a history of slavery and post-abolition that would accurately represent African-American experiences; and she believed that Christians—hearing and recognizing the mistreatment of blacks—would prevent it from happening again. Albert's preface to the small book of personal stories caused some concern because she had addressed an audience that she did not perceive as exclusively black women. Instead, the book was intended for readers regardless of gender or race, a hitherto unheard of concept. It is perhaps for this reason that the book was not published until 1891.

sources:

Albert, Octavia V.R. The House of Bondage: or Charlotte Brooks and Other Slaves. NY: Oxford University Press, 1988.