George Washington Carver: World-Famous Botanist and Agricultural Inventor

George Washington Carver: World-Famous Botanist and Agricultural Inventor — page 3
Poor Records George’s exact birth date is unknown because birth and death records of slaves were not well kept Slave owners may have kept a record of the number of slaves they owned but they often did not keep a record of their names Slaves did not have legal rights so legal contracts such as marriage licenses were also rarely kept Because educating a slave was illegal many were unable to read or write Slaves could not keep records for themselves 6 Little is known about George’s parents George thought his father was a slave from a nearby farm That man was killed in an accident and George never met him George and his mother were kidnapped from the Carver farm shortly after George’s birth They were sold to another slave owner in Arkansas Moses Carver hired a neighbor to find his slaves The neighbor found only baby George George never knew what happened to his mother When African people were first brought to the United States in the early 1600s they were sold as property to white people Many were forced to work for no pay on large farms