On a recent trip to Chicago to visit three of my siblings, I found myself invited to sift through a collection of family memorabilia—old photographs, reels of movie film, faded letters, and unexpected treasures. Included in the pile, two small booklets caught my attention. One, titled Genealogy of Solomon Sharpe, and the other, Their Legacy in Our Hearts – The Life and Times of Monroe and Susie Dourte. They were modest and faded. But intriguing. Relics that told an unexplored portion of my own story.
Monroe and Susie Dourte were my grandparents, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania farmers who raised eight children, my mother Grace being the third. As I flipped through the books, I noted that my grandfather’s lineage traced back to a man named Solomon Sharpe, his great-grandfather.
Solomon was born in 1801 in Yorkshire, England, and immigrated to the United States as a young man, seeking new opportunities in the vast, rural expanse of southeastern Pennsylvania. There, he married Christina Lehn, and together they raised seven children.
Solomon became a skilled fence maker and builder, carving out a modest life for his family. But as the years went on, and his family grew, so did his conscience. He became increasingly troubled by the practice of slavery, which had become entrenched in the southern United States.
Before the Civil War ignited, Solomon traveled south to Virginia, where he witnessed the brutality of the slave trade firsthand at a local auction. There, he made a purchase—one that would shape his legacy in ways I hadn’t expected. For $300—more than $11,000 in today’s money—he bought a slave.
After making the payment and signing the necessary papers, Solomon handed the documents to the slave and said, “You are a free man. Go where you please.”
The man began to walk away, but then turned back, handed Solomon the papers, and said, “I will go with you.”
Together, they returned to Pennsylvania, where they worked side by side for many years.
Legacy.
Stewarding the courage and sacrifice of those I call my family—not for the sake
of politics, but for the cause of Christ. Conviction over comfort. Justice
before convenience. Expensive obedience. Dignity imputed through creation. A
Biblical mandate to love and live together.
We too have been bought with a price. Set free at the expense of a righteous
man. We too have been handed our papers.
And for that, the only appropriate response is…
“I will go with
you.”
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