The Kingdom, Parts 4 through 6 Summary and Analysis

Part 4: The first section of Part 4 discusses Isabella Van Wagenen. She was born in 1797 (approximately) to slaves. She was sold to various owners and then to John Dumont, who kept her for eighteen years. She bore four children to a slave named Thomas. When Dumont failed to free Isabella ahead of New York's emancipation of slaves in 1827, she ran off and was bought (then released) by a farmer named Isaac Van Wagenen, from whom she took her surname.

Around that time Isabella had a profound vision of God in her life, and she devoted herself to religion from that point. She joined the Methodist Church. In 1828, she began work for perfectionist James Latourette, switching then to the African Methodist Church. Isabella next joined Pierson's household on Bowery Hill in 1831. Following Pierson's lead, she met Matthews...