Angeline Lester was born enslaved around 1847, though she was not sure of the exact date. Her narrative was documented by a most likely white interviewer as part of the WPA Federal Writers' Project.

Angeline Lester was born enslaved around 1847, though she was not sure of the exact date. Her narrative was documented by a most likely white interviewer as part of the WPA Federal Writers' Project. 

After the Civil War, she and her family left a plantation in the ironically named Benevolence, GA. "We couldn't tote away much clothes, because we were only given one pair of shoes and two dresses a year," she recalls. She eventually married and settled in Youngstown, Ohio, where this photo was taken in 1937.

After the interview, she inquired about the destination of the photo. When the interviewer said that it would probably be sent to Columbus or even Washington, D.C., he reported that she replied – in his rough gloss of her African American English – "Laway me, if you had 'tol me befo' I'd fixed up a bit." This photograph is a candid shot of Angeline in her workaday attire on the day of the interview, but she mostly likely owned finer clothing that she would have preferred being photographed in.