Judith Giesberg in conversation with Lisa Rayam

Drawing from an archive of nearly five thousand letters and advertisements, the riveting, dramatic story of formerly enslaved people who spent years searching for family members stolen away during slavery.

Of all the many horrors of slavery, the cruelest was the separation of families in slave auctions. Spouses and siblings were sold away from one other. Young children were separated from their mothers. Fathers were sent down river and never saw their families again.

As soon as slavery ended in 1865, family members began to search for one another, in some cases persisting until as late as the 1920s. They took out “information wanted” advertisements in newspapers and sent letters to the editor. Pastors in churches across the country read these advertisements from the pulpit, expanding the search to those who had never learned to read or who did not have access to newspapers. These documents demonstrate that even as most white Americans—and even some younger Black Americans, too—wanted to put slavery in the past, many former slaves, members of the “Freedom Generation,” continued for years, and even decades, to search for one another. These letters and advertisements are testaments to formerly enslaved people’s enduring love for the families they lost in slavery, yet they spent many years buried in the storage of local historical societies or on microfilm reels that time forgot.

Judith Giesberg draws on the archive that she founded—containing almost five thousand letters and advertisements placed by members of the Freedom Generation—to compile these stories in a narrative form for the first time. Her in-depth research turned up additional information about the writers, their families, and their enslavers. With this critical context, she recounts the moving stories of the people who placed the advertisements, the loved ones they tried to find, and the outcome of their quests to reunite.

This story underscores the cruelest horror of slavery—the forced breakup of families—and the resilience and determination of the formerly enslaved. Thoughtful, heart-wrenching, and illuminating, Last Seen finally gives this lesser-known aspect of slavery the attention it deserves.

Judith Giesberg is professor of history and Robert M. Birmingham chair in the humanities at Villanova University. She is the founder and director of the Last Seen archive, and the author of several books on Civil War history, including Army at Home, Emilie Davis’s Civil War, and Last Seen.

Lisa Rayam is a broadcast journalism veteran with strong ties to the Atlanta community. She is currently the Host and Senior Producer of the “Morning Edition” on NPR‘s WABE 90.1 FM.

You may know Rayam from her 21 years at Fox 5, where she was a reporter and anchor of the noon and 6 p.m. newscasts. During her tenure there, Rayam developed a reputation as a tenacious, well-connected reporter and a trusted anchor. She is well known for her wealth of experience, extensive contacts, and credibility that comes from covering many of the biggest news stories in the state of Georgia.

Rayam has extensive experience in both radio and television. After working at Fox 5, she served as Capitol Correspondent for GPB’s LAWMAKERS Show for the past two legislative seasons. She has also worked in radio in both Phoenix and Prescott, Arizona at stations KOOL-FM and KYCA-AM. Rayam has won numerous awards for her reporting as well as many recognitions for her community service. In addition to being an Emmy Award winning journalist, she was recognized as the winner of the Top Women of Atlanta for Rolling Out Magazine in 2013. She was the 2012 Trumpet Awards High Heels Honoree as well as the Who’s Who in Atlanta Honoree in 2011. Also, in 2009, she was the recipient of an Image Award. Rayam is very active both professionally and personally as she was recently inducted into the National Association of Television Arts and Sciences Silver Circle. She is also a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and the National Association of Black Journalists.

As a philanthropist, Lisa Rayam supports many charities and organizations such as Dress for Success and My Sister’s House. She is a member of The Links, Inc., Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and is a proud member of Jack and Jill of America, Inc. She is also a certified spin instructor who enjoys leading “spin to win” rides to help raise funds and awareness for local charities. Additionally, she founded Living Fearfully and Wonderfully Made, Inc., which sponsors self-esteem workshops for teenage girls. Lisa Rayam believes that “being a part of any great community requires a commitment to service and getting involved."