National Geographic History - 11.2019 - 12.2019

ELIAS WILLIAMS/NGS

IMAGES OF LEWIS: DOY LEALE MCCALL RARE BOOK AND MANUSCRIPT LIBRARY, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA

BUST OF CUDJO LEWIS, UNION

MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH.

PLATEAU, ALABAMA

Shipmates
Lewis stands alongside Abackey (left), his
shipmate from the Clotilda. Before being taken to
Alabama, Lewis was captured in southwestern
Nigeria, and Abackey in central Nigeria.

Life’s Work

Lewis worked as a farmer, laborer, and shingle

maker. A 1902 train accident left him unable to do

heavy physical labor, after which he became the

sexton for Africatown’s church.

Hearth and Home

Seated before the fire, Lewis relaxes

in his home in Africatown. He lived

there until his death in 1935. He was

one of the oldest Clotilda survivors.