Later, Joseph Elam read law with his cousin John Waddill in Alexandria, Louisiana. In 1853, Waddill helped obtain freedom of Solomon Northup, a kidnapped man from New York and the subject of the film, Twelve Years a Slave, who had been sold into slavery in Louisiana.
Later, Joseph Elam pursued legal studies with his cousin John Waddill in Alexandria, Louisiana. Two years later, in 1853, Waddill played a key role in freeing Solomon Northup, a kidnapped man from New York and the protagonist of the film Twelve Years a Slave, who had been forcibly taken to slavery in Louisiana.