George Moses Horton
Associated Building(s): Horton Residence Hall;
Other Relationships: Poet
Birthplace: Northampton County, North Carolina
Lifespan: 1797/1883
Race: Black
Sex: Male
Relationship(s) to University: Enslaved Person
Era(s): Antebellum, Civil War
Involvement(s): Slavery
Narrative: https://unchistory.web.unc.edu/building-narratives/horton-residence-hall/
More info: http://ncpedia.org/biography/horton-george-moses
Latitude/Longitude: 36.439810, -77.371873
George Moses Horton (c. 1797-c. 1883) published his first book of poetry, The Hope of Liberty, in 1829 while enslaved on a Chatham County, North Carolina, farm. He is the only person to publish a book while enslaved; he hoped that book sales would buy his freedom. Horton often went to Chapel Hill to sell produce and, while there, several UNC students paid him for poems to give to their girlfriends.