Walter Clinton Jackson

“ As free people they felt that they should have the same sort of names as other free people; so they began to add a last name, and usually an initial. If a man had been called "Tom" all his life, he was now called "Tom L. Johnson." The "L" stood for nothing. It was simply a part of his "entitles," as Washington says. Another thing they did was to leave their old home place. They could not realize that they were really free unless they tested the matter by going away from the place of their servitude.
Booker Washington's stepfather had left Virginia during the war and had gone to West Virginia. ”

“ About this time a private school was established in the community. Booker was greatly excited over this, for he had an overwhelming desire to go to school. He was a good worker, however, and was earning money; so his father said "no," and he could not go. Booker was terribly disappointed. He went on with his work with a heavy heart, but he never missed a chance to urge his step-father to let him go to school. Finally, his father agreed to let him go for a part of the day, provided he would get up early each morning and work until nine o'clock and then work two hours after school was out. ”

“ It was several hundred miles from the old home in Virginia, but the family determined to go. They bundled up their goods and put them in a cart, the children walking. They traveled the entire distance in this way. They would stop by the roadside to do their cooking and to camp at night. ”