Part 1 of Essay
Though born in Cleveland in 1858, the grandson of a white man and the son of free blacks, grew up in Fayetteville, North Carolina where his family, having left the South originally in 1856, returned after the Civil War. Chesnutt who had little formal education taught himself and also received tutoring from family members. ....

Part 2 of Essay
.... had an intense thirst for knowledge. At a time when few educational opportunities existed for black Americans, he studied math, music, literature and languages. He left Charlotte to take a job as assistant principal of the State Normal School. By age 22, he was its principal. "There's time enough, but none to spare."(1) Lack of opportunity to advance led him to go to New York City to find work at Dow, Jones and Company and also writes a financial news column for the New York Mail and Ex ....