Renty Taylor
Renty Taylor | |
|---|---|
Renty Taylor in March 1850 (aged roughly 75) | |
| Born | Unknown name c. 1775 |
| Died | unknown; after c. 1866 (aged at least 91) probably Columbia, South Carolina |
| Other names | Renty Thomson, Papa Renty |
| Occupation | Slave |
| Known for | Being one of the subjects of the oldest known slave photos |
| Children |
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Renty Taylor (c. 1775 – after c. 1866), also known as Papa Renty, was an African man of the 18th and 19th centuries. Born in the Congo Basin, he was captured and enslaved and brought to the United States and sold as a slave. He worked on the cotton plantation owned by Benjamin Franklin Taylor. He was one of the subjects of the oldest known slave photos, which were taken by Joseph T. Zealy under the supervision of Harvard biologist Louis Agassiz in March 1850, whose ideas were used to support the enslavement of Africans in the United States and promote white supremacy.