Omar ibn Sayyid

COLLECTION, 1871 AND UNDATED

MANUSCRIPT NUMBER: DC0211s

VOLUME: 1 folder

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE:
Omar ibn Sayyid (1770-1864) was a slave of James Owen of Bladen County. Born to a wealthy family in Futa Toro, in what is now Senegal, Sayyid was sold into slavery in 1807 and came to the Owen household around 1810. He was a Muslim and was given an Arabic Bible by Owens. Said spent much time studying the Bible and was eventually converted to Christianity. He wrote his autobiography in Arabic in 1831. He may have been one of the few formally educated Africans in slavery in North Carolina. His Arabic Bible was given to Davidson College in 1871 by Mrs. Ellen Guion.

SCOPE AND CONTENT:
The collection consists of documents that accompanied the Bible when it was given to the College including a note from Mrs. Guion and two pages of Sayyid's handwriting. The Bible is in the college's Rare Book Collection.