Sumter Museum hosts acclaimed historian Susanna Ashton for talk on the local escaped slave who inspired 'Uncle Tom's Cabin'

Sumter Museum invites the public to a special evening with noted historian and author Dr. Susanna Ashton on Thursday, June 18, at 6 p.m. at the museum's Heritage Education Center, 122 N. Washington St. Admission is free, and light refreshments will be provided.

Ashton will discuss her award-winning book, "A Plausible Man: The True Story of the Escaped Slave Who Inspired Uncle Tom's Cabin," which traces the remarkable life of John Andrew Jackson, a man born into enslavement near present-day Lynchburg, South Carolina, less than 20 miles from Sumter Museum.

Born around 1825, Jackson escaped slavery on horseback on Christmas Day in 1846 and embarked on an extraordinary journey that carried him from South Carolina to Massachusetts and Maine. Along the way, a chance encounter with Harriet Beecher Stowe helped inspire the landmark novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin."

Jackson would later travel to Canada and England, becoming an internationally known abolitionist lecturer and author.

Following the Civil War, Jackson returned to South Carolina, where he devoted decades to supporting the formerly enslaved residents of Sumter County by raising money for schools, churches and relief efforts. His story represents an important chapter in both local and national history.

Ashton, a professor of English at Clemson University, spent more than 15 years researching and recovering Jackson's life story. An expert on slavery and freedom narratives, she has been a Du Bois Fellow at Harvard University's Hutchins Center, a fellow with Yale University's Gilder Lehrman Center and a Fulbright Scholar. Her biography, published by The New Press in 2024, has been recommended by The Wall Street Journal and featured in The New York Times and Smithsonian Magazine.

"John Andrew Jackson's story is one of courage, perseverance and profound impact," said Annie Rivers, executive director of Sumter Museum. "We are excited to welcome Dr. Ashton to share this extraordinary local history and help reconnect our community with a figure whose influence reached far beyond South Carolina."

Books on Broad will be on site with copies of "A Plausible Man" available for purchase and signing following the program. The event is free and open to the public.

Sumter Museum explores historical experiences through programs and exhibits that allow all of us to inform and shape our future. Museum facilities include the Williams Brice House (1916), Heritage Education Center, Carolina Backcountry Homestead, Temple Sinai Jewish History Center and future Sumter Military Museum.