Theophilus Freeman
Theophilus Freeman (c. 1800 – after 1858?) was a 19th-century American slave trader of Virginia, Louisiana and Mississippi. He was known in his own time as wealthy and problematic. Freeman's business practices were described in two antebellum American slave narratives—that of John Brown and that of Solomon Northup—and he appears as a character in both filmed dramatizations of Northrup's Twelve Years a Slave.
Bob Freeman[edit]
Bob Freeman (fl. 1840s–1850s) was a mixed-race man who worked as the jailor of Theophilus Freeman's slave pen in New Orleans, Louisiana, in the antebellum United States. He is described in the slave narratives of both John Brown and Solomon Northrup. Brown spent a fair amount of time accompanying Freeman on errands, such as taking enslaved people to and from the blacksmith to have fetters put on or removed. Northrup also encountered this jailor, whom he knew only as Bob.
Both Northrup's and Brown's narratives mention his violin playing and assess it critically. Brown recalled: "Bob, who had a fiddle, used to play up jigs for us to dance to. If we did not dance to his fiddle, we used to have to do so to his whip, so no wonder we used our legs handsomely, though the music was none of the best." Northrup recalled, "Standing near him, I made bold to inquire if he could play the 'Virginia Reel.' He answered he could not, and asked me if I could play. Replying in the affirmative, he handed me the violin. I struck up a tune, and finished it. [Theophilus] Freeman ordered me to continue playing, and seemed well pleased, telling Bob that I far excelled him—a remark that seemed to grieve my musical companion very much."
In popular culture[edit]
J. Don Ferguson played the role of Freeman in the 1984 telefilm Solomon Northup's Odyssey.[31]
Paul Giamatti played the role of Theophilus Freeman in 12 Years a Slave, the 2013 film adaptation of Northrup's memoir.[32]