George Washington Carver

George Washington Carver was born in Diamond, Missouri, sometime around 1861. He never knew his actual birth date, as records weren't always kept in those days. His mother was Susan Carver, a slave, which made George a slave as well. They lived on the farm of Moses Carver, who was George's father.

When George was still an infant, he and his mother were kidnapped by "night riders." (A gang of masked men, usually white, who spread terrorism and fear in the south during and after the Civil War.) Of course, that was during the Civil War.

Moses Carver finally tracked George down and got him back by trading him for a race horse that was worth $300. At the time, George was very ill, suffering from whooping cough. Though he recovered, the illness made him very frail (physically weak). He was unable to do heavy chores like other slaves, and so he was taught to learn and sew. George worked in the "big house" (the house owned by slave owners) for his keep.

George enjoyed spending long hours alone in the woods around the farm. He loved nature and flowers and decided to take up gardening. People thought he was strange because he talked to his flowers. His interest increased and he began collecting specimens of plants and flowers from the woods.

When the Civil War ended, George could have left the Moses farm. Both he and his brother, James, chose to remain there. George taught himself to read. He had a desire to become educated. Not many black people could read in those days. Slave owners didn't want their slaves to have any education.

When George was ten, his father sent him to Kansas to school. While he lived there, he earned his living by working as a cook, a farm hand and a laundry helper. The work was hard, but George was determined to continue his schooling. He succeeded. He finished high school and set his sights on university.

Links:

George Washington Carver: Part Two

Booker T. Washington by Georgene Bramlage of the topic, "The Green Thumb Club," right here at Kids' Korner.

Let's Attend a Slave Auction

Original Oil Painting on Canvas 1942, by Betsy Graves Reyneau (1888-1964)