Born Into Bondage
Yes, George Washington Carver was born into slavery around 1864 on the farm of Moses and Susan Carver near Diamond Grove, Missouri. His mother, Mary, was an enslaved woman purchased by the Carvers around 1855.
Because enslaved people's births were rarely documented, Carver's exact birth date remains unknown. This was common for people born into slavery, whose lives were often recorded only as property transactions.
Carver's Early Life Timeline
- ~1855Moses Carver purchases Mary (George's mother)
- ~1864George is born into slavery during the Civil War
- ~1865George and Mary are kidnapped by Confederate raiders
- ~1865Moses Carver trades a horse to recover baby George; Mary is never found
- 1865Civil War ends; 13th Amendment abolishes slavery
- 1865+Moses and Susan Carver raise George and his brother James as their own
The Kidnapping
When George was just an infant, Confederate bushwhackers (guerrilla raiders) kidnapped him and his mother Mary during a nighttime raid on the Carver farm. This was common in the Missouri border region during the Civil War.
Moses Carver hired a Union scout named John Bentley to track them down. Bentley found baby George abandoned in Arkansas, sick with whooping cough. Moses traded a valuable $300 racehorse to recover the infant. Tragically, Mary was never found and is presumed to have died.
Raised by the Carvers
After the Civil War ended slavery, Moses and Susan Carver raised George and his brother James. Though they had no legal obligation to do so, the childless couple treated the boys like family, teaching George to read and encouraging his curiosity about plants.
This unusual upbringing in a white household gave Carver educational opportunities that most formerly enslaved children never received, setting the stage for his remarkable life of achievement.