PIERRE TOUSSAINT: A Story of Old New York

An appreciative account of the Negro slave and later freedman records a life of undemonstrative dedication, pays tribute to the courtesy, dignity and compassion which marked all his acts of kindly service towards others. From Saint Domingue in the French West Indies, Toussaint was brought to America in 1787 by the Berards to whom he belonged, and with his apprenticeship in New York to a hairdresser, learned the trade which was to support him and the Berards after the death of M. Berard and the loss of their fortune. Always generous with his counsel as well as his money, Toussaint became a coiffeur to many prominent families, helped the poor as well as the rich, married in his middle years and in his old age gave his heart to his sister's child. He helped to secure the freedom of many slaves, to found educational institutions for his people, to build a Catholic Church- and it was his faith which sustained him through the death of his wife and his niece.... A life of gentle piety, this has been documented with care and with respect.