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Mrs. Lindo
Sam Fraunces is a freed Black man who owns a tavern in Manhattan, New York City. He meets Aminata when she and her enslaver Solomon Lindo check into Fraunces’s tavern when Lindo travels to New York on business. Fraunces becomes an important friend and ally to her in her struggle for freedom. Aminata solicits Fraunces for help escaping Lindo, and Fraunces directs her to Canvas Town, a corner of the city where escaped enslaved people live in hiding. Fraunces comes to Aminata’s rescue again when her former enslaver Robinson Appleby tries to halt Aminata’s resettlement to Nova Scotia (a British colony where Aminata and other Black Loyalists can live as free citizens).
Sam Fraunces Quotes in The Book of Negroes
The The Book of Negroes quotes below are all either spoken by Sam Fraunces or refer to Sam Fraunces. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Book 3, Chapter 2 Quotes
When Sam Fraunces arranged for a porter to escort Lindo to his room, I wrote my name into the registration book: Aminata Diallo. I took it as a good sign that I was free to write my own name in New York City. The mere act of writing it, moving smoothly, unerringly, with the quill in the calligraphy that Mrs. Lindo had so patiently taught me, sealed a private contract that I had made with myself. I had now written my name on a public document, and I was a person, with just as much right to life and liberty as any man who claimed to own me. […]
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Sam Fraunces Character Timeline in The Book of Negroes
The timeline below shows where the character Sam Fraunces appears in The Book of Negroes. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book 3, Chapter 2
...in at the Frances Tavern, where a light-skinned Black man greets them, identifying himself as Sam Fraunces. Lindo introduces himself, ignoring Aminata. He requests separate rooms for himself and Aminata.
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...registry. It feels good to write her name. It makes her feel like “a person.” Sam Fraunces compliments her handwriting but struggles to pronounce her name. Aminata says he can just...
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...her room later, Aminata wakes from a nap to a knock at her door. It’s Sam, who has come with a spicy bean soup, corn bread, and crab cakes. Aminata eats...
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The conversation shifts to Aminata’s plight. Sam tells her that it’s possible for enslaved people to hide away in the Canvas Town...
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Aminata returns to Sam’s tavern, which is overrun by drunk men. They sing and shout of freedom from the...
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Aminata heeds Sam’s advice, heading into the chaotic streets of Manhattan. She walks north and ventures deep into...
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After three days have passed, Aminata returns to Sam’s tavern. Sam greets her and informs her that Lindo is gone, having left the day...
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Aminata continues to help out around Sam’s tavern and teach classes, and she also finds work as a midwife. November arrives, and...
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Book 3, Chapter 3
...Black people find the rebels’ demands for so-called “freedom” ludicrous given their complacency toward slavery. Sam condemns this attitude, insisting that the Americans are more “honest” than the British.
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A few days after the announcement, Aminata is hanging out at Sam’s tavern when Waters drops by and asks to speak with her. Waters introduces Aminata to...
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...taught the man’s daughter at St. Paul’s—and offers to send word of Aminata’s imprisonment to Sam Fraunces. Sam visits Aminata the next day and promises to help her in any way...
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After two days in jail, Aminata is brought to Sam’s tavern, which has been taken over for court proceedings. There she comes face to face...
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Sam heads out while Aminata waits anxiously in the tavern. He returns a couple hours later—with...
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...her shackles. Lindo asks to speak to Aminata, but she refuses, leaving the room with Sam instead.
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Book 3, Chapter 5
...McArdle’s help, Aminata places ads in various newspapers inquiring after May. She even writes to Sam Fraunces, who has been working for George Washington in Virginia. Sam responds, but he has...
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